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Step 7Grind down the weld
If your weld isn't on a piece of metal that will show, or if you don't care about how the weld looks, then you are done with your weld. However, if the weld is showing or you are welding something that you want to look nice then you will most likely want to grind down your weld and smooth it out.
Slap a grinding wheel onto an angle grinder and get started grinding on the weld. The neater your weld was the less grinding you will have to do, and after you have spent a whole day grinding, you will see why it's worth it to keep your welds neat in the first place. If you use a ton of wire and made a mess of things it's ok, it just means that you might be grinding for a while. If you had a neat simple weld though, then it shouldn't take too long to clean things up.
Be careful as you approach the surface of the original stock. You don't want to grind through your nice new weld or gouge out a piece of the metal. Move the angle grinder around like you would a sander so as not to heat up, or grind away any one spot of the metal too much. If you see the metal get a blue tinge to it you are either pushing too hard with the grinder or not moving the grinding wheel around enough. This is can happen especially easily while grinding thing sheets of metal.
Grinding welds can take a while to do depending on how much you have welded and can be a tedious process - take breaks while grinding and stay hydrated. (Grinding rooms in shops or studios tend to heat up, especially if you are wearing leathers). Wear a full face mask when grinding, a mask or respirator, and ear protection. Make sure that all your clothing is neatly tucked in and that you don't have anything hanging down from your body that could get caught in the grinder - it spins fast and it can suck you in!
When you are done your piece of metal might look something like the one in the second photo pictured below. (Or maybe better as this was done by a few Instructables Interns at the beginning of the summer during their first welding experience.)
Slap a grinding wheel onto an angle grinder and get started grinding on the weld. The neater your weld was the less grinding you will have to do, and after you have spent a whole day grinding, you will see why it's worth it to keep your welds neat in the first place. If you use a ton of wire and made a mess of things it's ok, it just means that you might be grinding for a while. If you had a neat simple weld though, then it shouldn't take too long to clean things up.
Be careful as you approach the surface of the original stock. You don't want to grind through your nice new weld or gouge out a piece of the metal. Move the angle grinder around like you would a sander so as not to heat up, or grind away any one spot of the metal too much. If you see the metal get a blue tinge to it you are either pushing too hard with the grinder or not moving the grinding wheel around enough. This is can happen especially easily while grinding thing sheets of metal.
Grinding welds can take a while to do depending on how much you have welded and can be a tedious process - take breaks while grinding and stay hydrated. (Grinding rooms in shops or studios tend to heat up, especially if you are wearing leathers). Wear a full face mask when grinding, a mask or respirator, and ear protection. Make sure that all your clothing is neatly tucked in and that you don't have anything hanging down from your body that could get caught in the grinder - it spins fast and it can suck you in!
When you are done your piece of metal might look something like the one in the second photo pictured below. (Or maybe better as this was done by a few Instructables Interns at the beginning of the summer during their first welding experience.)
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Work safe, use the guards that the tools come with. If they weren't necessary the manufacturer wouldn't have put them on.
If it's in the way take it off, but replace it when that part of the job is done.
Grinders are made to remove hard metal by abrasion. Imagine how well they will work on soft flesh!
i only bring this up because i just finished taking a formal MIG welding class, and another student tried handing me a grinder, abrasive disc first, while it was still spinning,
after telling him to stop the wheel and to never do that again, he tried to tell me that i was ok, because i was wearing leather gloves and a leather sleeve over my welding jacket,
bottom line: pay attention and be safe, and as toyotero said use your brain, especially when others dont
I must say that I believe that every "intro to welding" written should cover more safety that was included in this one.
For example, readers should know that using a grinder without a guard involves some risk. I've done it to get into an area where the guard hindered me, but I was very careful when I did it and I replaced the guard immediately afterward.
Guards are your awkward friend that can save you from serious injury.
Most angle grinder injuries come from people getting metal particles in their eyes because they didn't wear proper safety gear. On occasion, the grinding/cutting wheel can snag and kick up or back toward your body... or more explosively the wheel can break while spinning 10,000 RPM and send pieces fly with substantial inertia similar to a grenade's shrapnel. The grinding wheel or it's pieces can go through thick clothing. The grinder guards can stop these particles and pieces from flying at your body or prevent contact between the wheel and your body, but not if the guard is sitting on the shelf.
Here are a few documented grinder injuries on a medical website.
http://www.head-face-med.com/content/4/1/1
One other hazard that must be mentioned in regards to welding are due to the materials involved such as metals, metal coatings and solutions that might be used to clean the metal to prep for welding. Everyone who owns a welder should familiarize themselves with these dangers.
For example, common brake cleaner might be used to clean oil or grease off of metal before welding. But if a drop is left on the metal, welding near it will turn it into phosgene gas which is a gas that was used to kill soldiers in WWI trenches.
http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm
http://www.osha.gov/doc/outreachtraining/htmlfiles/weldhlth.html
I don't mean to try to scare anyone with these stories, I just want all my instructables associates to be aware of how to do it safely by identifying the dangers. Welding can be done with complete safety and is a very fun and rewarding hobby if proper precautions are taken.
Have fun and be safe. Use your tool guards, use sufficient ventilation and always use your brain. It is the most powerful tool we have to create new things and to keep ourselves safe.
Toyotero.
Don't you have anything to do.
Breath some of that gas....breath deeply.
The rest of you, use standard safety procedures, You'll be OK.
Have welded for a long time, in big sheds, in the middle of nowhere, under water....etc etc,
This is a good course, read it and "Ask lots of questions",
I don't think the bloke who's running it will care, Lots of fresh content gives you good google ratings...enjoy..:-)