and yes, for those wondering, my life always seem to be hectic and crazy
Point is, its complicated.
Part of that decision for me is do I sleep in, or head out to my shop and working on some things. On one hand I could get some sleep, which I never get enough of, on the other hand I could accomplish some things at the shop and relieve some stress at the same time. (because I enjoy time at my shop, it relaxes me)
nine times out of ten I pick going to the shop, I can always sleep later (on a plane or in a airport or whatever)
along that same lines, there is always the question of whether to take on new projects or not.
This is one of those times, and I took on a project, for no reason other than I wanted to.
why? I'm getting to that, be patient.
As you should know, I can weld. Am I the best welder in the world? No, but I can MIG weld pretty good.
At a estate sale awhile ago, I bought a small stick welder, which I need to work with and practice and such. but first I need to pick up some supplies so I can start working with that.
but we arent talking about that right now, so quit trying to change the subject.
back to what we were speaking about. TIG welding.
yes, TIG welding
Why?
because, well, I want to learn how to TIG weld.
Why now?
because I really want to learn how to TIG weld.
so you see my dilemma
no?
Well my dilemma is I dont know how to TIG weld, Dont own a TIG welder, dont know anyone that owns a TIG welder.
and the point is, I really want to learn how to TIG weld.
I have been looking around for a used unit for some time now, just could not justify the cost of the units I was finding. They were big, with water cooled torches and all kinds of really cool stuff.
Definitely cool, but probably not a great welder to learn on. I needed something with less buttons and knobs and switches and dials, and meters, and readings, and lights, and inputs, and outputs, and such..
you get the idea.
so I bought a new one.
Yes, a new one. I know, totally bass ackwards from what I usually do...
and Yes, I decided on a Hobart, just like my MIG. Its a less expensive TIG welder, although not a cheap one. Has a foot pedal which means I can vary the amperage while welding, has pre and post flow for the gas to keep the weld clean, and has HF start which means no scratch starts.
Bought myself a good size bottle of Argon that is there on my cart. I got it all setup and plumbed and built a power cable and sharpened the tungsten and cut the filler rod down and was ready to go.
WOW, takes a lot to TIG weld.
so anyway, I laid down a pretty nice TIG weld with no filler. (18 gauge sheet metal)
first time, right out of the box.
the LOML can attest, because she was there..
(early on a saturday morning, did I mention most of the time I get at the shop is very early on a weekend because that is all the time I have? Luckily I had gotten home about 1:30am so I had about 5 hours of sleep before I got up and headed to the shop)
...that I had a huge smile on my face. For a long time I have wanted to try TIG welding, and I finally have the chance to do this, learn this, teach myself this.
The arc is a totally different color than a MIG weld. I guess if I had thought about it that would have made sense, but it surprised me to see it running that bead.
so anyway, after laying down those first beads, I thought, Hmm, maybe this isnt so hard.
maybe this isnt as difficult as everyone says.
maybe I'm just a natural at this.
(not really, I didnt say this, I didnt think this, but you know, I could have)
Then laid a bead and tried to use filler.
and I found out that its hard.
Like Very hard.
like this is going to take a lot of work and practice in order to be able to be a functional TIG welder.
which means a lot of time spent working on this. Which is great because I have plenty of time....
no this isnt a shock, I knew this would take a lot of work. The work put into something is how you get the satisfaction from it. Luckily though, now when I have some time, I can go out to my shop, work on it for awhile, and when I have to go to head to whatever it is that is pulling us 60 ways from sunday that day, I can just pack up and head out
so is the point of all this that I am going to be the best TIG welder out there?
Nope.
The point of all this, is sometimes you do something you want to do, because you need to , even though it will add more complication into your life.
Why? because it makes you happy.
and because anything worth doing, is worth over doing!
Cherry Pie
DD
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