Teach Yourself to Weld

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Recently I’ve been teaching myself to weld. I live in Cambodia. The guys who weld here professionally are anything but rich, so the equipment they buy is the most basic and cheapest. Not cheap in quality, but cheap relative to other welding equipment. So that means no MIG or TIG welding, just stick. That also means none of those other welding types are available to buy here. I could jump over into Thailand to get it, but it’s easier for me to just learn how to stick weld.

Another thing is, most of the welding here is structural, and the most common metal building material is square tubing. The thickness of the tubing is very thin, often less than an eighth of an inch. So, the only stick electrode one can buy here (in my town anyway) is the E6013, which is designed for thin metal. How the local welders here manage to work with that thin metal without burning it full of holes is a skill I have yet to master. I usually do my own work on some thicker gauge angle iron or flat bar stuff.

My intention is not to become a professional welder. Rather, I just want to be able to fix things around the home, and do some small projects here and there. I recommend the same for anyone with some free workshop space and a desire to build stuff. I’m already a master electrician, so I have experience with electricity, but I know welding can be somewhat intimidating. But, if you work smart and safe, welding isn’t anything to be afraid of.

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First off, I recommend reading How to Weld by Todd Bridigum. This book covers everything from safety to required tools to the different types of equipment and how to use it. The book will also help you decide what type of machine to buy. It also has quality coloured photos to show you all you need to know to get started.

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Next, I recommend subscribing to some good welding Youtube channels. One of my favourites is Welding Tips & Tricks. In these videos you get to see close up what the welding process looks like before having to try it yourself. They often film with a shaded guard over the camera lens so that you can see what the welder sees as the rod is burning. It’s very helpful. And you get good advice from experienced welders. There are several welding channels on Youtube to choose from.

Here’s a typical video to be found on Welding Tips & Tricks…

And here’s another one from the Youtube channel ChuckE2009…

So, if you’ve been wanting to teach yourself to weld, then go for it. The worst that could happen is you kill yourself. But you probably won’t, so stop worrying!

Safe Spaces be Damned

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In light of all the “safe space” talk coming out of universities these days, I thought I’d quote Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy speaking to his students in a philosophy course at Dartmouth College in the 1950s….

“So my appeal in all these (philosophy) classes, you may now understand, has always been to you as people who have to outgrow your childishness. I therefore cannot act as your wet-nurse. I — I’m not interested when you have a cold. Have 10 colds. Suffer! Because it will make you able, if you really suffer, to grow up. And if you — (if) I should pity you in all your difficulties and hardships, you see, I would forestall this process. I would tell you that you are still protected. I am not here to protect you against anything. I’m here to expose you. And this is what the world can expect from anybody who has this tremendous retardation of his growth granted to him in a college.”

*Quote taken from lecture #15 of Cross of Reality taught at Dartmouth College in 1953.

Rosenstock-Huessy’s lectures are available for free mp3 download here.

Poipet Through the Ages

When the Khmer Rouge came to power in Cambodia in the ’70s they destroyed much infrastructure, including the railroad. And as Cambodia has been rebuilding, the railroad is coming back.

Poipet is the main crossing point between Cambodia and Thailand. Here is Lonely Planet’s description of Poipet…

Long the armpit of Cambodia, notorious for its squalor, scams and sleaze, Poipet (ប៉ោយប៉ែត, pronounced ‘poi-peh’ in Khmer) has recently splurged on a facelift and no longer looks like the post-apocalyptic place it once was. Thanks mainly to the patronage of neighbouring Thais, whose own country bans gambling, its casino resorts – with names like Tropicana and Grand Diamond City – are turning the town into Cambodia’s little Las Vegas. However, beyond the border zone it’s still a chaotic, trash-strewn strip mall sprinkled with dodgy massage parlours. The Khmers’ gentle side is little in evidence, but don’t worry, the rest of the country does not carry on like this.

As the railroad is being rebuilt, it will eventually link Bangkok to Phnom Penh. That railroad will run right through Poipet.

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Just as you enter into Poipet from Thailand, there is a roundabout (Kbal Spean Circle in above picture) which then leads on to the main road through the city. The train will come straight through that roundabout (the busiest road in town) and then run south of the main road through the current slum area.

I don’t even want to think of how busy that border crossing area is going to be when the rail is finished and the train is running.

Here are some photos of that border crossing over the years….

1) I don’t know how old this photo is, but it’s quite old I think. If you took this photo, your back would be towards Thailand, and you would be looking into the beginnings of Poipet and Cambodia. That’s a big idol standing in the middle of the Kbal Spean roundabout. All dirt roads.

2) This photo is well over ten years old. Now we are looking towards Thailand while standing on the road of the round-about. That big idol is standing just off camera to the right. The first photo was taken from straight ahead of the view of this photo. That arch-way being constructed is the start of an entrance to a new casino.

3) This photo is taken from inside Poipet looking out towards Thailand (probably taken around 2006/2007 or so). The idol can be seen, but now we are seeing the reverse side from what we see in the first photo. The red brick pillar seen on the far right of this photo (centered from top to bottom) is the archway under construction in the last photo. Now we see the casinos are dominating the scene.

4) Now we are looking into Poipet again with Thailand at our back. Now we see there are lots of buildings, and the roads are paved. This is pretty much what Poipet looks like today, except that big idol is gone. The new railway is going to run straight through the roundabout.

5) Here is the track being constructed. This photo was taken just a few days ago (May, 2016). The track is running right through where the roundabout used to be. Notice that the red brick archway from photos #2 and #3 has been torn down to make room for the train. Also notice the crane on the left is still there (from photo #3). I think that crane has become a permanent fixture.

6) A closer look. The casino builders knew the train would eventually come which is why they built the walkways up above the road to connect their buildings.

Sources…

Photo #1 is from Cambodia.com

Photo #2 is from this website.

The Great Cambodian Exodus

I took these photos this morning at the Cambodian/Thailand border crossing in Poipet. Thousands of Cambodians are leaving Thailand because of the military coup there. They’re coming over by the truck load.

Make Your Own Air Conditioner

Here is a cheap and easy way to make your own air conditioner. Now of course it’s not going to work nearly as good as a professionally manufactured machine, but if you’re looking for an inexpensive way to cool down a small room, or something to help you sleep in the summer time, this will work pretty good.

You need to buy one of those coolers only made of styrofoam, and also a 10″ fan. It’s easiest if you get a fan where the controls are mounted on the fan casing and not the base; that way you can remove the base of the fan. Then find some 3″ or 4″ PVC pipe (you only need about a 8″ long piece).

First, cut a hole in the lid of the cooler big enough for your fan to rest on, facing down so that in blows into the cooler. Not too big that the fan falls through obviously.

Then cut two holes for two pieces of PVC to stick into, each piece being about 4 inches long. Cut the holes on the same side of the cooler and keep the holes close to the top.

Now fill the cooler with ice or frozen water bottles, put the lid on, and set the fan over the hole. That’s it, you’re done.

Like I said, this air conditioner will not work nearly as good as a professionally made machine, but it’s much better than just a fan which will only blow hot air in the middle of summer. After I made this air conditioner I put it into a small bedroom and let it run. After an hour I checked on it and the room was noticeably cooler, and I live in Cambodia where at this time of year it’s scorching hot (daily avg. 38°C/100°F)!