HOMESTEAD WELDING

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Once the arc has been started, your goal is to mix the two pieces of steel together with the aid of the melting rod in order to produce a solid weld. To achieve this, it's best to move the tip in a circular, oscillating pattern. Keep the "circles" about a quarter inch in diameter, with the horizontal axis of each oscillation exactly on the joint. Every movement should overlap the last just a little. (See Fig. 2 for a diagram of the technique.)

This oscillation method is the one that works best for me, but practice is needed to learn the most comfortable and effective wrist and hand action. You'd do well to have an experienced welder show you the proper motion.

After the pieces have been joined, it's sometimes necessary to remove all the remaining slag that covers the finished weld bead. This is a must whenever a second line of welding is to be laid down next to or on top of the first . . . and it's a good idea in any case, as a check for solidity, since air pockets can sometimes be discovered in the process. The cleaning can be done with either a regular cold chisel or a chipping hammer with a wire brush.

There, in brief, you have the basics of welding, and any homesteader will find them worth his while to learn. Well worth the cost of equipment, too. The several hundred dollars you put into a complete outfit will be more than repaid in a few years, especially if you own trucks or farm machinery. If you break part of your harrow out in the field, hiring a welder from a town 30 miles away can be a costly affair (assuming you can find such a person at all). Up here in the backwoods, metalworkers earn at least $6.00 per hour. That's bad news if you have to pay for the service. If you can do the work yourself, though, you can save all kinds of money on your own place . . . and you'll also have the basis for a homestead business that's hard to beat.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The following are some helpful books on welding and metal shop craft:

Modern Welding by Althouse, Turnquist and Bowditch, Good-heart-Willcox Co., 123 W. Taft Drive, South Holland, Ill., 60,473,1970, $9.96 .

Welding Craft Practice by N. Parkin and C.R. Flood. Vol. 1: Oxy-Acetylene Gas Welding and Related Studies. Vol. 2: Electric Arc Welding and Related Studies. Pergamon Press, Inc., Maxwell House, Fairview Park, Elmsford, N.Y. 10523,1969, $2.40 per volume.

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