Quick n Dirty Mini Observatory

[Leo.G (Leo)]

Originally Posted by Ramius

Leo
Hadn't thought of used rotors - good point!

Welding cast iron - you would be horrified to see my attempts at mild steel. Still a bit of grinding neatens things up and I haven't had anything come apart (yet) - LOL.

My mild is atrocious now and that's with certification in MIG, TIG, Arc and Oxy welding (fabrication engineering) but my eyes are crap and I can't see the weld pool now so I have a bunch of expensive near useless welding gear (and a lot of new steel for various projects) laying around including a 200Amp AC/DC TIG inverter machine, used once with it's arc welding lead and near new 200Amp non inverter MIG (gas and gas-less).
Grinding is fine, my lack of welding for quite a while means I grind near every weld back out until I get it neat, I prefer not to grind my finished welds and expect higher quality of myself. It is like many things, while you do it continually welds fall into place neatly, drop it for several years as I have except the quick rough hobby weld and they go to crap.
I was offered a full time teaching position at TAFE before I even finished my qualifications, I topped every class and never got below 100% (distinction) on any test and excellent on any weld. Those were the days, when I still had a memory.

[Ramius (Bill)]

That is a totally different level. I am entirely self taught and have only ever done stick. But that said it has been really handy to be able to do the occasional job myself - and it is rewarding and a novel change for a mainly wood guy. I do find that by the end of a job things start to come together but of course by the time I start another job I am back to square one.

[Leo.G (Leo)]

Bill it sounds like you are a lot like me, I already owned stick and MIG welders long before I did my TAFE, I'd worked in enough industries where I needed to know how to weld strong enough to hold and be safe and had a few days training in a welding shop along with doing a lot of stuff of my own. I still have things I welded long before I learnt how and they have never failed. I repaired motorbike frames for friends with the MIG (gas), self taught, they never failed.

Welding is like painting, clean the job properly and you'll get decent results (preparation is key), paint DOES NOT just melt away, remove paint and grind zinc (don't breath the fumes welding zinc).