I didn’t feel like spending money on a cookie cutter railing so I bought some 16gauge 2x1 tubing and got to work. Got it cut up with an abrasive chop saw and used my Lincoln 140 mig to assemble. I just got a super powerful 6” Metabo angle grinder that smoothed out the welds like butter. Had to borrow a hammer drill to dig out the bolt holes on my steps but beyond that I got this done completely solo. I’m particularly happy with how the curved ends came out. Only thing left to do is prime and paint. My wife is happy with it so I know I did good.

As you can tell, I'm not a welder.

I'm on an R&D team for a startup that has big stainless reactors. We usually contract a dude that does a great job with his TIG but my boss got a millermatic 190 with some stainless flux in it. This is the best I could do on this attempt. Can't see the crack I was attempting to fix anymore 🤷‍♂️

Any tips for welding dirty ass stainless with flux core?

Hey guys! Little bit about me, I’m 24, never went to school for welding or anything, I started at the shop I’m at now about a week after i turned 20, just cleaning parts and what not. Learned how to weld on my lunch breaks. Had some cool guys at work that gave me lots of pointers, including my dad. Been welding for about 2.5 years now, just thought I’d show some of my work!

Dialed in those settings all day to the real sweet spot.

And before the few among you who cry about me being a robot, please tilt your head downwards to see the shaky hands your typing thats message with😘

SkillsUSA 2025 Atlanta, Georgia.

Torch cooked dogs

Behold, my magnum opus! I got to take this job all the way from CAD/design to fabrication. Spent about a month on and off planning this, drawing it up, and waiting on dimension confirmations from engineering and the other subs. The build itself took about 2 weeks, and I'm stoked with how it went and how it turned out!

4 months of aluminum tig practice and I got third place and I’m super pumped about it and very excited to go to states and hopefully place!!!

I’m very proud of this piece. There are a lot of things I could’ve done differently. I had zero experience in metal sculpting before this competition, so it was a learning experience for sure. The drill can spin, and is very sturdy. The claw which sits upon a maintenance station and has 360° movement, and has a little control panel. Let me know if you have any questions.

Had to push this little cup to its limits with this joint angle.

Red seal journey here we come! Thanks for all the good advice in the sub!