not the best welds yet.. but im sure he will be pretty skilled once he finishes all the welds on the bike.. but what i like the most is your new signature.... ;)

Just a question on the welding... have you discussed in detail what he SEES?

I have OLD eyes and my auto-darkening helmet has dial up settings (I use an Optrel Satellite).... and I find that the SUGGESTED settings are far too dark for me to use.

When I'm helping someone else learn - I always have a long discussion with them about what they SHOULD be seeing (as in how bright or how dark etc) and what they shouldn't be etc. As you know - it's real hard to weld if the light is too bright - and it's just as bad if you can't see a thing... and can't see the "start" point etc. The hard part here would be to get your son to "verbalize" what it is he's seeing - and experimenting until he goes "ah ha!" might be the only way.

In the one picture - it appears he's holding the torch "straight on" to the weld... and he may be covering up the actual "puddle"... For tack welding like this I usually lay the edge of the cup on the work (adjusting the stick out) holding it at about a 45 degree angle (maybe less than that) so I can see the wire and the area to be tacked.

My nephew was here for a weekend - they're about the same age. He wanted to "build something" so I busted out some scrap stock and had him using the plasma cutter - doing some basic layout - some math (to try to show him WHY math is important to learn) - and some welding. The welding I had him doing was about a ZILLION tack welds and it was amazing how much better he got - and his confidence went up - as we went along and we discussed his pattern etc. Once he could see properly (I adjusted the Optrel as he welded to show him "too bright - too dark - just right") it didn't take him long to get the hang of it. It was sure fun to see the sparkle in his eyes with the completed project...

greg that is an excelent point and thats is what part of the problem was is he could not see the puddle with the cone in the way.another thing I always tell someone when learning with a wire feed is listen to the sound when you run a great bead the sound that it makes is the sound you want to here and you can adjust your arc length acordingly. wish somone would have told me that you can't weld with only sunglasses on. i barrowed a stick welder when I was 15 and tried to weld on a go kart that I was building and fried my eyes and woke up at 2 am thought I was blind the doc. looked at my eyes with a flashlight witch really felt good to.and said have you been staring at the sun I looked at him and said do you think I am an idot? LOL.well how did you sunburn your face then? ha I am an idiot you can even ask my wife she will confirm that things still have not changed.LOL.

Eric --

Funny! And anyone that has welded - has no doubt suffered from a little "flash"... Love that sand in your eyes for about a week...

When I first got my TIG machine -- I spent the day messin' with it -- short sleeves -- "thinning hair" -- My arms and head had a very bright red glow...

there is just not enough time in the day.having a hard time trying to finish my shop and organize,work full time and get this bike built. I need a clone,lol.just a little more progress shots.
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/u...ation/0272.jpg
just one of the many mock up fitting,
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/u...ation/0122.jpg
as per requested by the owner he thought it would look better if it was lit up with led. lights I thought it was an awsome idea.will post up some more picts.soon.

Orange County Choppers got nothin' on you buddy!

ha.lol. it's only because I don't have some one screaming at me and breaking my door down and telling me that I need to work harded. maybe I should start yelling at my son telling him that I am the only one that that puts in an effort at this.lol. or not suites me just fine to have such a great time with my son. think we will just keep it like this for awhile.:D

paint ideas
 

well I told you guys my son has a great imagination so I am going to try to make his ideas come to life. he wanted some chains on the bike and he likes candy apple red. and he thought it would look better if it was lit up in led. lights.so this is what we sketched up. now I have to figure out a way to paint this on the bike.have not had much time to work lately.hope to get some more welding done tonight after we finish up some homework.:)

http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/u...ation/0093.jpg
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/u...ation/0113.jpg
I just get a kick out of his coment of this is what he considers a simple paint job.hope he never wants a comlicated one.lol.

Very cool that you are train your son that young:cool: :thumbsup:

I figure I better do it now before he gets to be a teenager and knows everything obout anything.lol. if you have teenage kids you will know what I am talking about. he already is teaching me things about computers.why can't I learn that fast. lol.:D