Welding

I just bought a 2001 D2 TD5.. I wanted one that was cheap because it needed welding.. That might sound a bit crazy to some but I'm a welding instructor so for me an easy job.

Irony struck and I ended up getting a gorgeous D2 which has been waxoiled every year and has a mint chassis.. not a bad thing as the price was great.. but it got me thinking...

What would the demand be for a highly skilled welder who could come to you and do welding jobs. I also specialise in teaching TIG especially welding aluminium including repairs to cast aluminium such as inlet manifolds etc.. what opinions do people have? Is it worth pursuing?

Nige

Wonderful idea.
I bet the majority of Land Rovers can rust at a sufficiently high rate to keep you in high-demand for repair welding.
I you lived close to me I would pay for TIG tuition because I struggle as a beginner at it.
Hope you can realise your ambition.
Good Luck!

Oh nice, a mobile welder, be warned, Land Rover owners are tight as f*** and don't like to pay anything for the earth so you'll have your work cut out there in getting clients who value and appreciate the skill needed and then of course you need to think about the jobs and such, I can tell you from experience that there is a lot more to welding up a rusty old Land Rover than you might think, I've done several over the years, started off with a small hole and ended up being a massive job, which ends up costing more money which is the main reason why they end up DIY at home and not in the garage as garage costs are expensive when it goes South, which it all too often does.

Good luck with it though if you take it on, start weekends and evenings to start then see where you go from there.

Nige4927 said:

I just bought a 2001 D2 TD5.. I wanted one that was cheap because it needed welding.. That might sound a bit crazy to some but I'm a welding instructor so for me an easy job.

Irony struck and I ended up getting a gorgeous D2 which has been waxoiled every year and has a mint chassis.. not a bad thing as the price was great.. but it got me thinking...

What would the demand be for a highly skilled welder who could come to you and do welding jobs. I also specialise in teaching TIG especially welding aluminium including repairs to cast aluminium such as inlet manifolds etc.. what opinions do people have? Is it worth pursuing?

Nige

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Have you lost your welding instructors job?

Al2O3 said:

Have you lost your welding instructors job?

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No I was thinking as a weekend maybe evening type thing.. also I can't understand some of the chassis repair jobs i have seen in the past.. like patchwork quilts some of them there are so many bits of plate... if the rear section has some welding needed why not just have pre-made plates already cut and prepped to cover the whole section.. far stronger, easier to do, looks so much better.. and covers areas around the bits that actually need it before the rust spreads, i.e do it once properly instead of adding small plates only where needed.

like your idea

Nige4927 said:

No I was thinking as a weekend maybe evening type thing.. also I can't understand some of the chassis repair jobs i have seen in the past.. like patchwork quilts some of them there are so many bits of plate... if the rear section has some welding needed why not just have pre-made plates already cut and prepped to cover the whole section.. far stronger, easier to do, looks so much better.. and covers areas around the bits that actually need it before the rust spreads, i.e do it once properly instead of adding small plates only where needed.

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Cheers. I was just wondering.

Good luck with your intended plan.
Fortunately I don't need welding done, but if I did I'd be looking for someone such as yourself as I haven't a clue myself
Just take Dieseldog's comments on board before giving owners a realistic quote for your work.

Nige4927 said:

No I was thinking as a weekend maybe evening type thing.. also I can't understand some of the chassis repair jobs i have seen in the past.. like patchwork quilts some of them there are so many bits of plate... if the rear section has some welding needed why not just have pre-made plates already cut and prepped to cover the whole section.. far stronger, easier to do, looks so much better.. and covers areas around the bits that actually need it before the rust spreads, i.e do it once properly instead of adding small plates only where needed.

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Like these for the td5 for example..................
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rear-Cha...469730&hash=item5d5a32a9c7:g:WMMAAOSwRLZT6gL9

Loads of pre made plates available for allsorts of vehicles on bgay, as the D-Dog says a small welding job
on a landy soon turns into a resto been there done that a few time's.
Why you would want to spend your free time chopping & welding rusty heaps is beyond me are you mental ??

Youl fit right in here welcome to Lz

I'm 100% sure you know it, but (for me at least) there's a million miles between sitting nicely at a bench tigging something up, and scrabbling around under a rusty car on a drive, in the rain, with your lid catching on bits of chassis, having to hold a torch (light) in one hand to see what your doing, whilst trying to bend the other into position with the mig...

Give me bench work any day.

It wouldn't be nearly as bad with a pit or a lift, but you mentioned mobile....

Again, I'm sure you know what you're up to, but....

Welding cars wouldn't be nearly as bad if someone else took them apart for access, cleaned them up, cut out the rust, made up the new parts, properly lifted it, so it wasn't going to fall down and crush you, and all you had to do was turn up with your sparkler...

....you know it's not going to be like that though! : )

Nige4927 said:

No I was thinking as a weekend maybe evening type thing.. also I can't understand some of the chassis repair jobs i have seen in the past.. like patchwork quilts some of them there are so many bits of plate... if the rear section has some welding needed why not just have pre-made plates already cut and prepped to cover the whole section.. far stronger, easier to do, looks so much better.. and covers areas around the bits that actually need it before the rust spreads, i.e do it once properly instead of adding small plates only where needed.

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Members like @julianf have raised a few valid points here regarding the risks. You might be the best vehicle welder in the world, but there'll always be somebody who'll try it on after you've "finished" the job and you're then at home with a drink in your hand when all hell breaks loose and you and your work are rightly or wrongly being blamed for a major failure of a vehicle.
Then there's the possibility of you suffering an injury because of trying to do a job in a bad location and it turns round to "bite you on the bum".
Don't forget there's also the possibility of inadvertently causing some damage to the vehicle you're working on, for example setting fire to carpets or underseal or even blistering bodywork paint.
What I'm trying to say is working on someone else's vehicle for profit is a totally different world of hurt compared to working on your own vehicle. Weigh up you decision very carefully and if you do decide to go ahead then look very carefully at insurances to cover you, your equipment and your type of work.

Nige4927 said:

I just bought a 2001 D2 TD5.. I wanted one that was cheap because it needed welding.. That might sound a bit crazy to some but I'm a welding instructor so for me an easy job.

Irony struck and I ended up getting a gorgeous D2 which has been waxoiled every year and has a mint chassis.. not a bad thing as the price was great.. but it got me thinking...

What would the demand be for a highly skilled welder who could come to you and do welding jobs. I also specialise in teaching TIG especially welding aluminium including repairs to cast aluminium such as inlet manifolds etc.. what opinions do people have? Is it worth pursuing?

Nige

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specialise ali repairs is one thing, dropping a d2 fuel tank to repair rear chassis legs another ,actual welding is the easy part of the job

What about a specialist welding service, I.e people send you their cracked manifolds etc and you weld them up and send them back?

Could spread your wings further than land rover products then, the restoration/classic market perhaps? (That market may be saturated)

Thanks guys really really good points... especially the points about a small job growing arms and legs and being blamed for failure.. have done many restoration jobs in the past and despite trying to way up a job best you can before agreeing to take it on, plans don't always work out.. I will think on this some more.. maybe i should limit to requests for help or make some self help videos... or offer some at home tuition, which i have concidered before, must be loads of people with a small mig or stick set and would love to know how to use it properly..

When i get asked to make a repair to a cast ali part, sumps are very common for example i explain that not all cast ali can be welded, it all depends on what ali alloy it is, so I ask what would you do if this part was not weldable... they always say "throw it away and get a new one" I tell them that I am happy to attempt the repair and there is a 90% chance of success, they have to agree no come back on me if it fails, at the same time i dont charge if it fails.

flat said:

What about a specialist welding service, I.e people send you their cracked manifolds etc and you weld them up and send them back?

Could spread your wings further than land rover products then, the restoration/classic market perhaps? (That market may be saturated)

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I really like your thinking there Ed, nice clean work on the bench with a TIG torch in one hand an a cuppa in the other. I remember welding a patch on a 125 exhaust for a guy at work, charged him £30 quid and he nearly fell over and begrudgingly paid me the money, stupid twunt thought I was gonna take it home, grind it back, cut it up, supply steel to patch it, shape it and weld it up for free

dieseldog69 said:

I stupid twunt thought I was gonna take it home, grind it back, cut it up, supply steel to patch it, shape it and weld it up for free

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There's a lot of morons out there, but I find them easy to spot after just a short conversation. My tolerance levels (never very high) have reached rock bottom over the last couple of years, might be something to do with my age

Nige4927 said:

No I was thinking as a weekend maybe evening type thing.. also I can't understand some of the chassis repair jobs i have seen in the past.. like patchwork quilts some of them there are so many bits of plate... if the rear section has some welding needed why not just have pre-made plates already cut and prepped to cover the whole section.. far stronger, easier to do, looks so much better.. and covers areas around the bits that actually need it before the rust spreads, i.e do it once properly instead of adding small plates only where needed.

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Weird isn't it. I couldn't give away four new rear chassis rails and so scrapped them.

Actually I would like to learn how to weld and wouldnt' mind learning on my defender. Being a solid 2003 the chassis is currently fine, but the doors on the other hand are way past their best.
Due to a on oing divorce I can't afford new doors but need to do something with these

Can you please move to Scotland and teach me?