For my practice welding so far I've just covered things up with fiberglass welding blankets. Like mentioned above, I think grinding is where trouble can start because that will travel farther than MIG sparks will. I'm going to have to hang some sheet rock and empty the garage as much as possible before that starts, or do it outside.
My garage is pretty well stuffed, so all my welding is done outside regardless. I have an old 36" round picnic table with an 1/8" steel plate on top of it that makes a great welding platform. The table stays outside when the welding is done. I really could never justify welding inside, just too much 'splaining to do it something does catch fire. Bob
All my welding is done in my garage. This is the new 2 car for the roadster which is attached to the 3 car for a total of 5. Just finished welding up a 2 1/2" mandrel exhaust system from U bends & straight pipe last night. No pics of me working though. 2 extinguishers, bucket of water, all walls & ceilings insulated & drywalled w/ 5/8 type X. The garage has both heat & a/c. I try & limit the mess in this garage. The 3 car is a disaster zone right now. Tool box is not in final position here- goes next to the wall out of pic- to the right.
My garage is in the basement under the house. I have mig welded in there for 20 years. That being said I take precautions. I only weld at certain times that I know I am going to be around for the rest of the day in case a fire starts. I don't weld and then leave the house to go somewhere or go to work. I don't have any boxes/flamables around where I weld.
Outside detached garage..also just as much of a concern are the sparks from your grinder. Respect fire, it destroys.
I currently weld either in my garage or the driveway. The driveway more than the garage. I wouldn't be afraid to weld in the basement but I would want someone to stand firewatch. I welded all over inside the buildings I worked in as an operating engineer but OSHA Rules and common sense dictated someone stand fire watch. it is important inside of a wood structure that you do that. BTW I do own an asbestos fire blanket that I use when I am welding inside to protect flammables. It is left over from my days working. The company that I worked for had to dispose of it and it was going to be costly so they gave it to me. I am saying that because a fire blanket or even a few pieces of hadry board backer board (cement board) are a cheap investment in saftey. It is not likely that you will find asbestos but you can do the modern equivelent.
I have an steel building that is my garage. I have a 3ft wide by 6ft long welding table. I just make sure none of the cars or close to it..
Not me but I've got a buddy that's building his Blown, 4 port injected, early Hemi powered '33 Willys in his basement. He's doing the complete build there including all the fab and weld work. Before he got the body home he took a backhoe, dug out the ground behind his house and knocked out a section of the basement wall to install a door. Now that's determination!
Tig is there anything else!!! (LOL) You can weld with no sparks real easy.The grinder is the culprit. Hard to beat when doing car stuff.Been 20+ years in my shop not one fire yet.I do have 4 extinguishers at different points if one should occur as it is a possibility.There is a place for other welding operations but each to his own.Nice precision with tig."Go miller Blue" Dynasty 200 dx.H2O torch lots of fun. My2¢ Tig
My shop is a seperate building from my house. If I use my plasma cutter, Mig or angle grinder I hang around for at least 30 minutes after to make sure a spark didn't cause a fire. Usually if you catch something on fire you know pretty quick. This is one of those common sense situations. If my family wasn't home I would rather my house burn down than my shop.
Nearly out doors, covered and open on three sides. I use a wind break to slow things up. Mig and stick for me so far. This is a great question.
did i ever tell you about the time i "cooked" the headers in the stove while the Mrs was sleeping......wrapped tyvek wrap over stove to the microwave to make a tent and turned the exhaust fan on and slept on the couch.....did it two nights in a row and never got caught....maybe you could this with welding
i had a strange thing happen in the shop last week, i was heating up and bending a piece of 1"X2-1/2" flat bar to be part of a lifting arm on a wood splitter, i used soap stone to draw a picture on the concrete floor of the final shape, as i lay the red hot metal on the floor thr floor caught on fire, all i could smell was burning oil, i guess in the past oil must of soaked into the floor and the heat braught it back up to the surface, weird.
I weld in the shop with the garage doors open all the way. I have a 36" x 60", foot peddle actuated hydraulic (for raising and lowering) welding table with a 3/4" steel plate as the top and outlets underneath it. Wherever you weld, make sure you have good ventilation (not wind, just open air) and NEVER NEVER NEVER weld galvanized metal.
In my 2 car garage. Using a MIG with gas bottle cuts down on the sparking. Doesn't eliminate it though. Plasma cutting in the garage too. Keep a fire extinguisher handy at all times and try to stay in the garage installing what I welded and tinkering for at least an hour or so after to be sure there is no fire. I too have started more rags on fire with a grinder than anything else. Although, there was that one time my cardboard plasma cutting template smoldered for about 20 minutes or so before I found it and put it out. Kept smelling smoke but couldn't find it. The template was outside the garage on the driveway, that's where I put them when I am done cutting with them, and the smoke was blowing into the garage.
in the garage.,... with lots of air flow... no matter the weather.... I am near Vancouver Canada... so it mostly rains here anyway.... always turning off the power and gas... after using.. and making sure everything is cooled down... always be aware of your surroundings .... Roy
IN THE DRIVEWAY!!! FRESH AIR......NO confined spaces or any l ow lying gases to worry about...or materials I cannot keep an eye on! Gas cans old paint cans, toxic cleaners dating back to who knows when..acetone, paint thinner......you get the idea....... TOO many gremlins lurkin' in the "average"-3 car garage I think... Just way too much for ME to worry about to the point I cannot concentrate on layin' down good beads... A couple fire extingushers, garden hose near by, everything moved out of the way (furnature, cars, etc...)...it's not that difficult...correct gear to wear and GO...I also picked up a few of these on the cheap too... Yes...some assembly IS required...only took about 15-minutes each... With 2-3 of them placed correctly EVERYONE is protected from any flash and they sorta work as a cheap-o wind break... if ya set something heavy on the legs... I think each one was about 40-bucks by the time it hit my front porch 'cause I got three...TILLMAN is carried by "most" local welding suppliers so I would find near you & start finding reasons to make a stop in to say "HI" every so often!...even if it's just to look around...but every once in a while ya GOTTA buy something...even if it's just another pair of gloves! YES..Outside......are you f@#$%^&*g kiding me? And...your new to welding you say...!?...no seriuosly...listen to these cats man...they know of what they speak......I don't care how damn cold it is man...dont be such a candy-ass...sorry...but it-is what it is...MAN-up. NOW...STOP!!! HOW much do you know about METALLURGY? Take a class at a local Community College BEFORE you SERIOUSLY harm yourself and/or someone else GOD forbid... PLEASE!...or...just stop in the bookstore & buy the welding book...most colleges only use ONE! Here is a little SIMPLE tidbit you may not know...being a newbe as you said when it comes to materials joining...for the record...I did NOT know this either before I took ALL my training in gas (Oxy/Acetelyne), stick, MIG, and TIG welding to get certified... Out of position (upsidedown, sideways, standing-on-your-head, etc...) stick pipe-welding to get certified for pressure-vessel welding was a BLAST!...I'm kidding....it was some HOT, ass kicking difficult...slag-in-your-face & hair...down your sleves & shirt & ALL over my brand NEW Miller Big Window Elite shield...the shield still works like brand new & that was back in...2003...I think...... DO NOT put ANY flame to to any sheetmetal, for example, or ANYTHING ELSE, that has a zinc coating on it..ya know..the type of stuff you find in just about everybodys basement thats used for the heating & cooling ductwork?...it creates a nasty little FUME called; Phosgene Gas; Phosgene is an insidious poison as the odor may not be noticed and symptoms may be slow to appear.<SUP id=cite_ref-14 class=reference>[15]</SUP> Phosgene can be detected at 0.4 ppm, which is four times the Threshold Limit Value. Its high toxicity arises from the action of the phosgene on the proteins in the pulmonary alveoli, which are the site of gas exchange: their damage disrupts the blood-air barrier, causing suffocation. Following the extensive use of phosgene gas in combat during World War I, it was stockpiled by various countries as part of their secret chemical weapons programs.<SUP id=cite_ref-9 class=reference>[10]</SUP><SUP id=cite_ref-10 class=reference>[11]</SUP><SUP id=cite_ref-11 class=reference>[12]</SUP> Phosgene was then only frequently used by the Imperial Japanese Army against the Chinese during the Second Sino-Japanese War.<SUP id=cite_ref-12 class=reference>[13]</SUP> Gas weapons, such as phosgene, were produced by Unit 731 and authorized by specific orders given by Hirohito (Emperor Showa) himself, transmitted by the chief of staff of the army. For example, the Emperor authorized the use of toxic gas on 375 separate occasions during the battle of Wuhan from August to October 1938.<SUP id=cite_ref-13 class=reference>[14]</SUP> <SUP></SUP> <SUP></SUP> <SUP>But...hey man...do what ya want...just give me a head start before you</SUP> <SUP>get going...</SUP> <SUP></SUP> <SUP></SUP> <SUP></SUP> <SUP>Good luck bro...and GOD Bless.</SUP> <SUP></SUP> <SUP>-</SUP> <SUP></SUP>
weld outside, weld inside , it doesn't matter , in industry they weld outside all the time , can't move a 300 ton petro reactor vessel , or a 200 tone barge to a inside shop because its cold out so they weld on it in the cold , we used to do it to barges, tugs and heavy equipment at the place I worked at here in Chicago all thru the winter , just set up a wind break to keep the blanket gasses from the welding operation over the puddle thats it . we often constructed welding huts from 2x4's and plywood and tarps to put up and knock down when we where done ( make them with wingnuts and carriage bolts so the assemble easier ) , and in the rainy months used them to keep the water off our backs and with a little torpedo heater they can get quite warm . as for welding in a basement , never , too much flammable stuff and too enclosed for the fumes ( welding by product gasses are often heavier than air and will not support life and love to collect in low spots ) , and then theres grinding dust , mama bitches about dusting wait till she wipes some of that stuff off your furniture its like sandpaper .
Also don't forget most houses today have intigrated smoke detectors on all levels so if you weld in the basement it will set off alarms all over the house- ask me how I know! Jim
well i'm glad i asked.....i see people weld in shops all the time and if you saw my basement there is not much down there and clean enough to eat off of, mostly concrete, think move in condition. I am a candy ass when is comes to the cold if there is an option to keep warm I will take it if its safe like most people would.....of course I will work in the winter cold and weld in it (I have read it is better to have the metal warm) so im not a complete candy ass, in the end I want to enjoy what I'm doing, working on cars is a hobby for me, lets be honest if you you are freezing your enjoyment will be limited....but no welding in the basement for me, i like to stay on the safer side... rockher_man good idea about talking a class, i have read a few welding books but the words dont come near substituting actually doing it and practicing
Johnny, you could take some old towels, wet them, roll them up and lay them on the floor as a dam to stop any bouncing hot beads from making it to the boxes. I always do this when I weld in my garage, everything flammable is moved away but I don't want a red hot bead getting under a tire!
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