During the winter months, the best welding project is something you can do indoors and, best yet, use indoors as well. In fact, welding your own lamp is the perfect indoor welding project for the winter since it also provides light. If you’re looking for a more artistic project, as opposed to welding a work table or bench, this is a great option since you’ll have to bend the metal for the legs and the more ornate cross pieces for the lamp. Below are some welding project instructions and some tips for setting up your work space for a project like this.
The tools and materials listed at the original project page on Lincoln Electric Canada are as follows:
Welding Project Tools
- Welding Table
- Metal grinder, approximately 5″
- Reciprocating saw or chop saw
- Drill press
- Bench bender
- Round metal file
- Angle finder and protractor
- Speed square
- Level
- Ruler
- 2 squares – one large standard square and one small carpenter’s square
- 2 C-clamps – for clamping project pieces to the welding table and drill
press - Pattern from Web site
- Marker, crayon or chalk
- MIG welder
- MIG wire
- Gas regulator and hose
- Shielding gas with a 75% argon, 25% carbon dioxide mixture
Welding Project Required Materials
- 2 pieces – 4′ lengths of 3/8″ steel rod
- 2 pieces – 1″ by 1/8″ flat stock steel
- 1 piece – 4′ length of 1/2″ steel rod
Make Sure You Have a Safe Welding Set Up
Starting with the basics, make sure you have a helmet that provides enough visibility as well as some shade options and arc sensors to keep yourself from getting flashed. An auto-darkening helmet is one of the most popular choices for welders these days since you can just line up your torch and start welding without having to flip a visor down. Other factors to consider in a helmet is its weight and whether it effectively locks in the upright position when you’re not welding. It can get quite annoying for a helmet to slowly slide down. Check out welding helmets by Miller, Lincoln, and SpeedGlas for some great options.
Welding gloves are another important safety consideration. This project was built with a MIG welder, so you’ll want gloves that offer enough protection from the heat and spatter without necessarily picking up heavy stick welding gloves. The best gloves will give you some flexibility without compromising safety. In addition, choose gloves that go well with your welding jacket or shirt in order to provide
full protection. If you don’t have a heavy duty welding jacket, consider the longer gauntlet gloves for greater protection of your wrists.
Your welding clothing should be cotton or a non-flammable material such as a leather welding jacket or another flame-resistant material. There are lots of great
options here depending on where you live. While leather is great for a cold climate, there are light weight jackets, aprons, sleeves, and bibs you can use in a warmer climate. It all depends on which provides the best safety and range of movement.
The best welding set up will provide a safe work surface where you can effectively clamp down your work and use a reliable ground clamp to prevent shocks. Your table should be level and secure and also as far away from water as possible. This particular project will call for bending metal, so some added stability on your table or work surface will be essential. You could consider adding pins to the legs of your table and drilling holes in your concrete floor for them to rest in. Don’t forget to also keep a fire extinguisher handy in your shop before you strike your first arc.