So as an amateur in pretty much everything I do on my home and vehicles, I have no formal and proper training. Most of my education is in physical and cultural anthropology and that doesn’t necessarily translate into knowledge about trades-related skills. I have lived off of book research and of course, with the maturity of the internet and web, research via shared information videos and pictures.
Setting myself to the task of trying do do a basic automotive restoration (and modding) of Żuczek, not to mention air-cooled engine building, has given me a wide range of skill sets that I need to acquire. Some I need to have the basics, others I need a bit more. Not necessarily expert level, but enough skills to acquire to do more than the basics of a given task.
Welding has been one of those skill sets that I am going into with zero professional training on. I’ve spent the past year or so and countless hours at night researching, reading, and watching materials on welding, especially as it pertains to automotive specific needs that will come into play on Żuczek.
I fully expect I’ll need to repair some chassis items, as well as the sheet metal repairs needed on his body so of course, I need to at least put the effort in to learning welding at 50 years of age. Mind you… not expert… but enough to be able to accomplish a given set of tasks from beginning to end.
My extended family that possess welding skills live on the other side of the country so while I have gained some info/direction from them on certain matters, I find myself turning to the internet more and more as I get closer to having to actually begin the real process and executing.
Jason Becker’s videos and blog at weld.com have proven to be excellent resources to me and in many ways I feel as if they were produced for me as the audience.
His recent video Grinder Safety | How to Properly Use an Angle Grinder + GRINDER FAILS has answered so many questions about angle grinders and components that I’ve had.
I mean. I want to know part names, componenet pieces, when to choose this versus that, what each different consumable can do on what material, etc. since I am literally starting at point zero. Walking into a hardware store is a rather intimidating affair for a noob.
I’m really looking forward to solving my garage’s electrical issues to be able to finally choose and buy my first welder and start working on techniques on sheet metals and other chassis parts.
This education material from weld.com really has been a confidence booster for me.
I don’t know why working with metal scares any more than working with wood. But it has.