6 ms·
I learned how to weld (MIG) and built a giant mushroom to house a mannequin I dubbed "the mushroom man" over about 100 hours in the last 4 weeks. I covered the
by loufe 2y ago
I learned how to weld (MIG) and built a giant mushroom to house a mannequin I dubbed "the mushroom man" over about 100 hours in the last 4 weeks. I covered the outside with thick foam panels cut to size, cementing them in place with copious amounts of spray foam. I shaved the outside to a nice shape with a sawzall and the inside I covered in chicken-fenced, then attached a painters tarp to that (so it could be painted on).
To fit on a trailer (the mushroom's cap is 11.5ft wide) the cap comes off the stem and the edges of the cap are two half-moons which have fixed mounting points where threaded rod sticks through some welded washers, and a nut is put on in place. I was too last minute to install the 200 WS2811 pixels and have them run some cool patterns, before the music festival I brought it to came time, but even just a lantern on top (another painters tarp covered the cap's metal-frame, and everything was spray painted) looked great.
Super fun project. Expensive, but I learned a lot, got to be creative, and I'm happy to try out new things and make the best of my before-children time. Also, it was such a joy seeing people croud around the mushroom (and site beside the mushroom man inside) at night during the festival.
- pavel_lishin 2y agoThat's incredible - do you have any photos of this anywhere? I learned to weld awhile back, but haven't pulled the trigger on purchasing all the stuff I need.
- asciimike 2y agoWhere/how did you learn welding? Have been considering doing a community college welding course (as they have all the equipment, instruction, etc.).
- brk 2y agoMIG is really just a glue gun for metal. For things where structural integrity isn’t critical you MIG stuff together by watching a couple YouTube videos and then going at it.
- winrid 2y ago(note that of course mig can be great for structural things, it's just easy to get started)
- 082349872349872 2y agoWhat I appreciated about metal shop class is the casual (software-like?) attitude towards toolmaking. Would that step go better with a jig? Weld one up on your workbench, and then angle grind everything off when you move to the next phase...
- loufe 2y agoI was using my dad's shop and MIG welder, so he was able to give me an intro. A buddy of mine is a millwright and came over and kindly taught me some tricks which brought me welds up to an acceptable quality. After learning, I'd have to agree with one of the other responses, learning by Youtube is probably feasible. It's safer than I expected (less concern about touching metal in the ground path) though I'd strongly recommend investing in quality gloves, a quality helmet, and good thick pants, and a long-sleeved shirt / overcoat. I thought about taking a course but I found this way of learning a lot more fun and engaging (if you're fortunate, as I am, to have experienced people in your life).
- justinclift 2y agoBear in mind that some metals can be toxic when welded. ie galvanised stuff generates gaseous tin or zinc (~white smoke, i don't remember which). Bad in a confined space like a shed or garage. So there are some non-obvious considerations that Youtube video's don't seem to mention. :(
- kashkhan 2y agoyou can get cheap welders and use flux core so you don't even need gas shielding. something like this works well. https://a.co/d/8XMYx7j https://a.co/d/8XMYx7j for thin steel or aluminum you really do need shielding gas. https://youtu.be/X4WkDDnvS7g https://youtu.be/X4WkDDnvS7g
- ThePowerOfFuet 2y agoHere's that first link but without the tracking linking you to everyone who clicks on it (and vice versa): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B6HL28ZP https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B6HL28ZP
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]