ARC LIFE

Strike a light! We find out the secrets of artisan welding, from a man who knows...

- Alan Dowds

There are few more manly tasks than welding bits of metal together. Like some modern-day Thor, you wield bolts of lightning that melt, rend, fuse and burn solid, massive lumps of steel or alloy together into one. And unlike namby-pamby bolted or screwed joins, these are permanent, super-tough junctions, which are, apparently, even stronger than the metal itself.

But like Thor, there’s a huge amount of mythology surrounding welding. Partly that’s because the term covers such a wide range of technologies, and partly it’s because the physical act of welding is as much an art form as it is a mechanical process. Any fool can (pretty much) fasten and loosen a load of bolts, or use a screwdriver without too much drama. But welding is an artisan’s skill that takes years of practice to perfect.

We’ve gone to just such an artisan, to find out the ins and outs, the whys and wherefores of welding techniques. Jeff Hill is a freelance welding and fabrication guru. Working from a large workshop in the smallholding near where he lives, Jeff does all sorts of metal fabrication, but he specialises in exhausts and pipework. From classic F1 cars through to turbocharged drag race bikes, Jeff works on a bewildering variety of projects, all finished to a supremely high level.

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