The "Whatcha Doin Today" Thread

[nic579]

I find my problem is I don't have enough tig welding to do that I am or stay proficient at it and have to relearn every time I do need to weld something. If I can get away with the mig I do because of this. Personally I find properly prepped aluminum easiest. Stay away from the break cleaner!

[o1marc]

[QUOTE=Cyorg;584881]

You know you will hate yourself in the morning. A few weeks ago I did some purging in the shed... had some old crappy roof racks and decided to keep the cross bars (1' square tube) , but tossed the mounts. Turns out the mounts would have been a perfect way to attach some of that tubing to the welding cart for a push bar.

I'll throw it all in another box to put into storage that i'll never open because, again, at my age i'll never remember what's in the box.

[Cyorg]

[QUOTE=o1marc;584905]

I'll throw it all in another box to put into storage that i'll never open because, again, at my age i'll never remember what's in the box.

i can never remember what I put in storage or in a drawer, a box or whatever. The upside is it's like christmas every day.

[Cyorg]

I find my problem is I don't have enough tig welding to do that I am or stay proficient at it and have to relearn every time I do need to weld something. If I can get away with the mig I do because of this. Personally I find properly prepped aluminum easiest. Stay away from the break cleaner!

Yes the fellow that sold me the welder explained that to me. He made it abundantly clear. I hate the stuff anyway and don't have any around. I usually use a mix of acetone and methyl ethyl ketone (no aerosol) for cleaning small important stuff. The MET cuts through carb varnish like nothing else. For cleaning the aluminum, I'll just stick with straight acetone. I hate that stuff too, but I'm not planning on having any more kids and I don't have to worry about my balls dropping off anyway..... they are safely tucked away in the brides purse.

[XB33BSA]

in my opinion the key to being good at tig is first mastering all forms pretty much of welding brazing with oxyace and a good dose of stick welding

because you will then understand molten metal listen for and get the frequency down to second nature
every movement of hands pretty much needs to be an automatic undeepthinking deal,second nature like a backhoe operator

and the rod is only added to the puddle to advance the weld along its path and at a time when the weld puddle needs that little chill off of some rod added or it may droop a second later timing timing timing

it can be tricky getting that even shiny molten v formed evenly on both sides of centerline when tigging al thick to thin ...correct flame preheating is crucial
if you cant heavy pedal the first puddle in less than 20 seconds shit is too cold
stop breathing.you are wasting air at best

tig is by far the easiest form of welding to do as far as a good strong penetration
pretty beads are a different deal
big reason is it is so easy,you have smoke free vision to see but first you gotta understand what you are looking at
thats all
i did a fair bit of tig welding as my job at times
i was the machinist that was able to step in when our tig guy was not present
just for real rush stuff tho
then i learned the bronze tigging doing these thingies here when i set up a torque converter rebuilding shop
not mine but a fun kinda thing to heat up

[jcw]

Agree with above.
Welding tig is all about getting the heat right. Once the heat is correct, the puddle is stable and tigging is fun.

Too much heat and the puddle gets squirrely and out of control and risks burning through or at the least picks up oxides from the unshielded back side.

Only way to determine correct heat is to watch the puddle.

Only way to watch the puddle is when you arent worrying about making a crucial weld.

Practicing on metal scraps of the same thickness helps you dial in the heat. Makes things easier when you do the actual part.

[Andyshep]

Practise, practise, practise.

I used to be alright at TIG, not great at stick, mostly because we only really did stick outside in shit, MIG is piss.


I haven't welded for 10 years, I wouldn't know which end to stick in the wall now

[CaTacL1sm]

I want to run power and water to the back of my yard (~300') so that I have light in the shed and water close to the chicken coup.

I rented a small 18" trencher from home depot yesterday... took all day. Next time I'll rent one that is motorized.



Today I started laying the 3/4" water pipe and the 3/4" conduit.



I'm doing 12/3 UF in a multiwire circuit. One 120v wire will feed lights and outlets at the front gate and raised beds, and the second 120v wire will run to lights and an outlet at the shed.
The water line is basically functioning as a buried hose line, with a hose hookup at the house and outlets at the raised beds and at the shed... not concerned about water pressure loss (losing maybe 9psi over 300' not factoring in the 20' elevation drop).

[Cyorg]

[QUOTE=o1marc;584905]

I'll throw it all in another box to put into storage that i'll never open because, again, at my age i'll never remember what's in the box.

Just to illustrate HFB I'm afflicted with that problem... this morning I'm looking for Commando gearbox bits on Ebay. I order the LH nut that holds the sprocket on, along with the lock plate. Then I head to the garage to pull the gearbox apart to check to see if it needs the roller bearing update. I need a box to put the bits in... reach under the bench to grab a box that only has a few small items that were in my brother's stuff. As I go to remove the items from the box and put them elsewhere.... guess what? Not 1, but 7 of those LH nuts. 4 that look grubby, but it turns out they are NOS and the grubby appearance is from cosmoline and 3 used ones that have been re-placed with cadmium. I didn't bother counting the locking tabs. Glad it was only $15.00 FML......

[Hoofhearted]

Christmas came early this year. Godden GR500. Be making a space for it in the garage today and start getting ready for El Mirage and Bonneville next year.




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Christmas came early this year. Godden GR500. Be making a space for it in the garage today and start getting ready for El Mirage and Bonneville next year.