Learning to Weld

So I started a welding course a few weeks ago - once a week, two hours at a time. Unfortunately I can't seem to grasp the nuances of MIG welding. Luckily, welds generally hold metal together, no matter how shoddy the work is.

Today I decided to bring my camera in (and got my case dusty, boo!). Here's what I got.

First up, I grabbed some tubes! I suppose the plan is to eventually make a pencil holder of some sort. Haha. I marked out the lengths: 150mm, 125mm, 100mm, and around 60mm. I used an automated bandsaw thing - very big, very scary. It's like a giant stapler or scanner; you heave the lid down which has a bandsaw running across it. This cuts the metal, while a tube gushes yellowish coolant onto the blade, lubricating and cooling it.

So it turns out freshly cut metal is sharp! Blood, everywhere! This prompted me to file the edges down.

Which led to some fun with a bench grinder. :) This looks pretty cool in the light, and isn't too sharp. At this stage I decide it's time to do some actual welding, considering it's a welding course.

And here are the results...sigh. I'm pretty sure a bench grinder can smooth that out, but jeez. One's even lopsided! That's as far as I got today. Next week, I put the two halves together, and weld the base on. If there's time, I'll grind it down to oblivion!