Six Figs Farm LLC

by Mike

Forty some years ago I enjoyed learning some basic welding skills, in high school shop class. Over the years I have been wanting to get back to it, and as a small farmer I certainly see the many benefits of being able to weld. Equipment repair, as well as some manufacturing, crop up from time to time.

After some research, and a lot of browsing, I finally decided to invest in an entry level flux core welder, as the local HF had them on sale for $149. It only weighs about 15 lbs, and plugs into a standard 110 volt household outlet. Because of this it is super user friendly, and I even used it with an extension cord, as well as a portable gas generator, without any issues. I also bought a 14 inch chop saw, so I wouldn’t have to make all the cuts with my little 4.5 inch angle grinder.

After some initial practice welds, I felt ready for my first learning project. I decided to manufacture a three point hitch attachment for the tractor. This would be a hitch receiver for a standard two inch channel ball hitch, so I can tow the various trailers around the farm. I had saved an angle iron shipping cradle, that held the wood chipper we bought last year, and this would be my stock. Apart from that I did buy the two lower link pins at TSC. I already had an extra ball hitch laying around.

The little welder performed beyond my expectations. After the initial figuring of settings, how much electricity and wire speed, I was able to join metal pieces solidly together. Now, the welds are not by any means pretty. But I believe that with more practice that will continue to improve. So I make sure I get good penetration, and the grinder is a good friend in cleaning up and smoothing out the result.

By this time I felt ready for my second project. We have decided to build a new, substantially larger chicken coop. This coop will be walk in size, so we wanted to improve the stability when parked. For this we decided to attach leveling scissor jacks in each corner, just like a camping trailer. I manufactured supports and welded everything to the frame itself.

If you have been thinking about learning how to weld, go ahead! It is a very good skill to have, and the prices for entry level welders have come down significantly. There are also many used welders for sale. Check back in for more about our chicken coop build in an upcoming blog post!