Welded Farm Art

[kmomaha]

Hi All!
I just joined the forum and wanted to introduce myself. I am a retired mechanical engineering designer, 35 years. I started stick welding and gas cutting on the farm when I was probably 10 years old. Learned the hard way to not stare at Grandpa welding when I was about 6.... Ha! Ooh! what eye pain that night!

In 94 I bought a Millermatic 130/gas to do some tinkering with and it grew into this hobby. I can't make the large welds as the pros do, but I can sure butter a weld across a corner of a 16 ga. edge. I can also weld two ends of a thin wire together. It's 90% sound and 10% trigger speed.

I also do some early Corvette frame restoratioin for a friend, along with some miscellaneous steel shop weldments and repairs for friends and neighbors.

The Millermatic is my best friend errr next to my wife and dogs. Right now it is at the hospital gettting some wire feed problems resolved.

I read where some guys are lambasting the electronic helmet, but I have to say my quality on this tiny stuff doubled once I got the helmet. Prior to that it was set-up, close eyes, fire. A friend warned me that guys have gone blind welding with their eyelids closed. Decided I needed the electronic setup.

Hope to visit often and pickup ideas and get help.

To see more of my projects visit my Photobucket Site:
<Click Here>

Weld On!

[tom37]

Welcome to the forum kmomaha.

The parade piece is a fine looking work of art man. Did I read correctly that you did all your work on that with the 130? I looked at a few of the pics on photo bucket, very nice work. Do you have an idea of about how many hours you spent on the parade piece? I wish I had the time and imagination to create such a piece.

Tom

[Jim-TX]

Welcome to the forum. That is some very nice work. Very nice.

[Wheelchair]

You sir are truly an artist.
Wheelchair

[kmomaha]

Thanks guys ; Glad you enjoy. I spent an hour just going thru the Welded Art threads myself. Lot of neat pieces there also. Weldments of any kind are great art done by fine artists to me.

I spend about 20 hours on a windmill, depending on what sculpture I put with it. The "Farm Parade" took me about 200 hrs. The horses were a work of frustration, but did come out pretty good in the end.

Yes, everything is done with a Millermatic 130 with .023 wire. Some guys accuse me of casting some of the pieces.

I have gone thru about 11 twelve pound spools since 94.

I use 22 ga. for all flat piece work. Bases are 10 ga. The rest is made up of nails, re-bar wire, keystock, nuts, bolts, nail heads, brake tubing. All the "grind back" is the down side of this hobby as it does make a sooty mess around the shop.

[monte55]

I appreciate your skill. Great work...........Nick

[turboglenn]

Great work!!!!!!! I mean awesome.. this is stuff i want to get into doing when i'm not working on customer projects, but would like to know where people find the little stock to use for making stuff liek this

sent you a PM too

Glenn

[FATFAB]

Cool stuff post more.

[JimYoung]

Really nice art work. Thanks for sharing.
Welcome to our forum..
Jim

[jdustu]

Very cool stuff dude, I checked out some of your pics when I first got on over on the weldingweb site. I dig it