Projects for a Beginner

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Any ideas for a kid in his Welding III class in high school?  I have pretty good skills in both stick and MIG.  Mastering TIG (Aluminum) is my goal, but is out of the question for a project.  So far my ideas are: A go-kart frame (Or two), a brush guard for my truck, or bike/tire racks (the bike/tire racks are for my dad and really simple, easy to finish)  I was just wondering if any of you had ideas that I could do.  Thanks for your time.
Reply:You might want to practice on some smaller, less expensive and something that will not hurt anyone if your welds fail, such as a welding cart, table, ect. And wait to tacle the go-kart, brush guard projects which could cause injury with a failure. Just my $.02
Reply:Since none of us know your skill level or the time and money constraints you're under, I tend to agree with Scott.Whatever you decide to build, short of a 10 story building, there are a lot of people here who will be ready to help you.Appreciation Gains You Recognition-
Reply:A set of patio furniture would be a nice way of saying thanks to mom and dad. probably not challenging enough for someone of your skill though.
Reply:1. How about a grill? Then you could have a little get together with the rest of the welding class and cook hamburgers and hot dogs. 2.How about some plant hangers for the women teachers at your school? 3. Running boards for the truck.4.Bike carrier for a receiver hitch,5.Bed frame for your room.DavidDavid
Reply:Mukwrestling 103,Welcome to the forum. Nice to see other Wisconsinites join up. If I am correct your user ID would indicate that you are from Mukwanago which is a nice little city we cut through on our way to Waukesha. For a project may I suggest that you fabricate a grill, then deliver it over here to Beloit where I would perform some extensive testing on brats (not Johnsonville bone and gristle sticks) then submit a written evaluation to you sometime in late fall....ha ha. On a more serious note, the other replies to your post are correct. Keep the projects fairly simple, or let your skill level and budget dictate what these projects will be.
Reply:Maybe you guys misunderstood.  I am in the highest level of welding for our high school and will be attending technical college classes as a senior next year.  (Kind of a co-op)  My last project (Welding 2, last semester) was vehicle ramps which are meant to hold my 2-ton K5 Blazer.  I can build things that are safe, I'm not that much of a "beginner" !  Thank you for the ideas, another kid in my class is making a grill out of a big 55 gallon drum cut in half.  I might do the same.  While I am at it, does anyone know what types of welds are made on chopper?  I have heard MIG and TIG.  I am interested because if all goes well, I want to build choppers after I get out of the Marines if I don't just go into the workforce as a welder.  I may go into a welding MOS for the Marines.  Also, what types of welders are most in demand?  I can do pretty well at stick and MIG, but have yet to conquer TIG with aluminum.  I have the concept of TIG down, but I havn't tried it on steel yet.  (I heard that if I can TIG with aluminum, steel is actually easier to deal with.)  Once again, I appreciate all of your responses and thank you for a warm welcome to the board.  ***Disclaimer***  If it sounded like I meant any disrespect to anyone here, it was not intended, I just wanted to clear some things up!  I am a beginner because I don't have certification yet which is my gauge for going from a beginner to an expirienced welder.  I will update my profile so you can see some more of my future plans and goals.  Thanks again!Last edited by mukwrestling103; 03-13-2004 at 07:16 PM.
Reply:My son and I just finished a holding rack for spare fire hose, large base tapered smaller as it goes up with three tears with a drop down turntable able to spin a 400 lb load. Its not just a shelf it's open in the center so not to be a junk collector. Only rolled hose will fit on it anything else will fall through. The way it was made was fun and takes a mind work and we used every different peice of equiptment around the shop. Hope to have the photos up soon.  Give back to the comunityCBT
Reply:Well youngun, nobody lyed to you when they said when you can TIG aluminum you can TIG most anything, especially if you can TIG it with an old transformer machine.Now, here's the question I just gotta ask, Why the Marines?  This old fart knows all recruiters lye their asses off, and I'd even venture to say Marines are the best at it.  You sign on the dotted line, and your future and MOS in the Corps are determined by your DI when you're a boot Marine.  A good buddy of mine's son just got out a year back, and he was a crane operator at 29 Palms, got the MOS by demonstrating aptitude at problem solving as a boot Marine.Uncompensated Endorsement here~ NAVY, especially CB, just stay the hell away from Adak Island.  That place is so damn cold ice cubes are hand warmers.Projects, well, here's a site with enough projects to keep you pondering for a day.http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/Appreciation Gains You Recognition-
Reply:Yeah, go Navy. i was in 67-71. I spent two years in Hawaii. I lived off base. The Marines that guarded the base lived on it. One went postal and ripped a phone of the wall, took his .45 and holed up in the barracks. It took hours to get him to give up. Plus, Navy schools are better.
Reply:Hey muck103,    These guys are right about the Marines. I was in from 78-82 wanted to drive trucks. Signed on to be a 3531 MOS turned out that was 2.5 and 5 tons,, hauling 105's and 155's. Their idea of continuing education was an ammo endorsement on my license. You should check out the Air Force....... close to a regular job. They have lots of young women ( single ones etc. ) private living quarters.. many many duty station choices.. Marines ,, have about 5 or 6 bases where most people end up. Very few women, living quarters are from the 1950's most of the time.. most of their equipment is old Army rejected stuff. Not Kidding here.. Air Force my man ,, thats where I wish I would have did my stint.I have a friend who has a daughter in the AF right now,, we took her to Semore Johnson in NC,, the place was unbelivable. I did my time at los pulgas ( Camp Pendelton,CA and the Okinawa.) Marines is the worst branch as far as taking care of their people..Good luck to you...ROb
Reply:Only hot AF wimmen I ever saw were the nurses, and them gals don't even talk to enlister men.Appreciation Gains You Recognition-
Reply:Originally posted by mukwrestling103  I may go into a welding MOS for the Marines.  Also, what types of welders are most in demand?
Reply:Originally posted by Franz Only hot AF wimmen I ever saw were the nurses, and them gals don't even talk to enlister men.
Reply:Last one I recollect Paychk was very nicely zipped into a form fitting powder blue jumpsuit with more damn pockets than I could count, from ancle to shoulder, and every damn pocket was full of morphine.  She didn't look to go over 110 pounds, and about 99 of them pounds were mouth givin a loadmaster he!!, right till he secured her and the ladder she was on to the litter racks with a cargo strap and cinched her up.Did I mention she had a damn fine A$$?Been about 30+ years, but I'll never forget her.Appreciation Gains You Recognition-
Reply:Sorry guys, I have already made up my decision about the Marines.  I probably will not go into the Corps as a welder though, I can finish my degree while I am in there as whatever I go in as (Probably '03, infantry) because I just got accepted at Waukesha County Technical College for a Welding/Metal Fabrication Degree.  If all goes well, I will have 3/4 of my degree done out of high school.  Then I can finish it up after or while I serve in the Marines.  And by the way, it is my understanding that the Navy nurses are pretty fine and they will be the ones who are "fixing" me!  ;D  Thanks again all!
Reply:Let's hope you won't be in any need of "Fixing"
Reply:Yes my young friend, Navy Nurses are FINE, no doubt about it,HOWEVER, puruse the recruiting brochures the Navy employs to lure the foxes.  The pictures are all of babes with USDA Prime stamped on their butt, lounging around the Medetaranean or on the arm of an OFFICER.Also be aware the hospital ships are now crewed by Civil Servants, who are usually barely civil and never servile.Now, the FINE nurslings will be within miles of where Marines are, BUT, if you wind up in a place like Bethesda, you'll meet the hatchet faced hawkbilled nurses who stayed in the navy, and believe me, you don't want to meet them.Aw hell, Marines need to learn some things on their own.Best of luck to you, and keep your head and a$$ down.Appreciation Gains You Recognition-
Reply:Marines have been guarding the Navy's gates for two hundred years. The only one they ever lost was stolen by the "CB'S". I believe that was at Ben Thuey.
Reply:Originally posted by mukwrestling103 Sorry guys, I have already made up my decision about the Marines.  I probably will not go into the Corps as a welder though, I can finish my degree while I am in there as whatever I go in as (Probably '03, infantry) because I just got accepted at Waukesha County Technical College for a Welding/Metal Fabrication Degree.  If all goes well, I will have 3/4 of my degree done out of high school.  Then I can finish it up after or while I serve in the Marines.  And by the way, it is my understanding that the Navy nurses are pretty fine and they will be the ones who are "fixing" me!  ;D  Thanks again all!
Reply:Jim I think it's one of the first things they teach Boot Marines to always claim the CBs stold whatever is missing.I know for a fact their is still 1 100 ton Lorane Crain with 200 feet of stick + jib missing from Osaka, and the 6 Marines on the gate it left through never saw that machine and 6 trailers drive out that gate that night.NO, I have absolutely no idea, and I was never at Osaka, but I sure spent a lot of time listening to NCID clowns telling me what they could do for me if I ever heard anything and passed it along to them.Appreciation Gains You Recognition-
Reply:I have a real good friend that was in MCB-3, and retired from ACB-1. Those boys had larconious hearts!Muck: RECONSIDER. I was in the Navy, in Danang in 1967. We had Air conditioning, Beer, and ate a lot of "New Zealand' T bone steaks.We used to go trade with the Marines. They would spend weeks in the bush. Come back to Danang. they had to S$$t in barrels, some PFC had to burn it. You had to be at least a staff seargant (E-6) to have a fan. They were all brain washed and thought that was the norm.
Reply:Jim, I assure you, from the depth of my heart,  Line 1 of the CB manual of operation clearly states "Anything that ain't nailed down is CB property".Line 2 " Anything we have a bar long enough to pry loose ain't nailed down".Line 3 " If it's bolted or welded, somebody (Swede) is on the way with the torch".Line 4 "Gray paint will always be open and stirred prior to any supply mission, and stencils with white paint will be right next to the bucket of gray".Line 5 "remember to have Swede torch & grind those little flag holders off any command jeep prior to repainting".Naturally, the manual goes into more specifics relative to certain items available for transferr from other inferior branches of the military machine, but those aren't relative to this discussion.A decent CB outfit can repaint and stencil a jeep in under an hour, or they deserve to walk.Re: those half barrels, and burning the content thereof, are you aware the ARMY asserted command jurisdiction over all fecal material/US/SEATO, as the ARMY command was absolutely certain the dinks wanted US feces?  After much flag level planning, and upon the bad advice of some new jr grade engineering officer, the ARMY decided to burn sh!t, and wrote a manual on how to do same.  Naturally at least 3 Congressmen's relatives made money printing those manuals.  I purloined a copy many years ago, and should still have it someplace around here.Appreciation Gains You Recognition-
Reply:Finishing my degree in the Marines is the best case scenario, and I know that all recruiters lie!   The whole idea here is just to give you an inkling of what my plans are so that any expirience you have could be passed on to me possibly.  Also, I know TIG welders get the most $ because it is the toughest type of welding to do, but I really want to know what types of welds are made on choppers and what types of welders are in demand the most.  This is just for curiosity sake  Thanks again for all of your information!
Reply:Looks like the welds on choppers are all halfassed MIG with a hotglue gun if you watch OCC.From my perspective, I can't think of a single weld on any bike that couldn't or shouldn't be made with TIG though if it was being done right.I sorta think every OCC bike comes with it's very own trailer to haul the bike around on.Appreciation Gains You Recognition-Steelworker 3rd class USNR  HMD  Welding has been good to me and I dont recomend the marines unless you want to learn to kill someone, I do recommend you learn to be utterly respectful, and you learn a bit more humility than you have.  Cause if you think you can waltz into a forum and tell someone you are a good welder and you still in highschool,  a lot of folks just gonna laugh you to town and back.  Its just the reality of the trade.  I feel your gonna spend a lot of your career tryin to convince people your skills when you really need to let your work do the convincing.  Just a word from a lonely ole petty officer
Reply:Now, here's the question I just gotta ask, Why the Marines?  This old fart knows all recruiters lye their asses off, and I'd even venture to say Marines are the best at it.  You sign on the dotted line, and your future and MOS in the Corps are determined by your DI when you're a boot Marine.  A good buddy of mine's son just got out a year back, and he was a crane operator at 29 Palms, got the MOS by demonstrating aptitude at problem solving as a boot Marine.Uncompensated Endorsement here~ NAVY, especially CB, just stay the hell away from Adak Island.  That place is so damn cold ice cubes are hand warmers.Franz,    No disrespect, but you should stick to welding....not speaking for the Marine Corps.  As a US Marine, I have to say you really have no idea what you're talking about.  DI's have NOTHING to do with choosing your MOS.  The ONLY way that happens is if you enlist with an "OPEN CONTRACT".  I know this has nothing to do with welding, but I couldn't let you scare a possible future Marine away with your misguided views of the Corps.  SEMPER FI 0311/8152
Reply:I agree with TxRedneck!  Hook em' Horns!
Reply:"Nice to see other Wisconsinites join up".I'm in waukesha,what a small world...
Reply:yeah go Marines, i am a 1316 wich is a welder in the Marine Corps. I luckily am at the best shop at Camp Pendelton. I can tell you this i went to school in Maryland, with the Army and Airforce. Yes the airforce program there is really into tig welding that is what they spend the most time training for there. So if your into tig u should join the Airforce. If you are going into the Corps not all the shops equiped the same as the shop I am at. We have all fairly new miller machines. We also have a new welding trailer got rid of the hobart and now have a bad *** trailer mostly all shops have one of two of them it has a miller pipe pro and miller plasma cutter. Other things it has is a titanium weld kit because the new artillery guns are going to be built out of titanium.Also has a craftsman tool set on it, also spoolamatic mig gun also miller smart wire feeder and pulsed mig controller witch is pretty bad ***. I work in a 4th echelon shop. We do a lot of fabrication, and work on many different things aluminum transmissions, artilleryguns, etc. I have got a lot of good experience especially in Iraq armoring humvees, making bulletproof shields for gunners and many other things. I have learned a good amount since i have been in but if i were you go airforce they have better equipment and more girls dog.
Reply:Hunz is definately right about Air Force.  My brother is Air Force.  Hes not a welder, but I have found that the prettiest mil girls are AF.  Also, with all the aircraft work, and there is an awful lot in Air Force, they specialize in TIG and they are trained to do it good.  I dont know what all they do, but people I know that served in years before tell of things like build up on turbine fins.  Thats some really intense welding. Chrome Moly to my knowledge for most of it, if not all. Fins are extra thin and you just have to build them back up.  Its really good experience.  Besides that though, there are so many civi jobs for aircraft welders its a good place to go.  Well good luck in whatever you deciede.CHRIS
Reply:You are getting advice on services.  I did 6 years in the Navy, and a lot of welders around ("everything" {ships} is made of steel or Aluminum).  I would imagine the Air Force has a good gig for airframe welders, but I got to imagine the BIG $$ is being a Navy nuke Machinist Mate; making welds on the nuclear reactors.  Maybe not the big money in the service, but being a nuke certified welder in the economy HAS to pay well.  Just a thought...
Reply:(Snowman) Did you read right over this "Any ideas for a kid in his Welding III class in high school? I have pretty good skills in both stick and MIG. Mastering TIG (Aluminum) is my goal, but is out of the question for a project. So far my ideas are: A go-kart frame (Or two), a brush guard for my truck, or bike/tire racks (the bike/tire racks are for my dad and really simple, easy to finish) I was just wondering if any of you had ideas that I could do. Thanks for your time." All of the above sound like good Ideas to me. If ya got the time and money....
Reply:Iwas in the navy and the welders on the destroyer I was on were HT'sHull Technicians also called turd chasers because they also did the plumbing.I signed up to be a diesel mechanic which became Boiler Tech by the end of boot camp or hole snipe. I was in pearl harbor for home port and off base was the best way to live!