Buck's random home-made things.

[inVERt'D]

Well shoot, maybe I'll just mount a tool box on top then, haha! Just trying to make this thing as useful as I can, being space limited and all. any ideas?

Now a bolt-on tool box would be very useful, IMO. I've planned to add to mine since the beginning, but never have. Would be nice to have one box or compartment for welding tools, and another for consumable parts. In your case I think you have enough room to store a couple of 10lb spools of wire. Would be nice to have that compartment well-sealed and have silica gel packs or something to absorb moisture.

You also need a good way/ place to hang your cables. My preference would be something that isn't likely to gouge your eye out when you squat down next to the machine.

If haven't built it already. You're going to want a secure way to hold a bottle or two as well. Mine holds two bottles forward of the rear axle. They are held in place by a ratchet strap to the frame. Two ratchet straps would be even better. Two pieces of angle iron welded to the floor diagonally keep the bottom of the bottles from kicking out. My MIG welder power cable goes between the two bottles to isolate them (I should put a real isolator in there). You can also buy purpose-built bottle holding bracketry. Allow for a larger bottle. Bigger bottles can be much more economical to fill.

So, a neighbor of mine's F250 snapped the front track bar mount as he was jacking it up to change the brakes (it has previously been in a front end accident hit from the side, so we think that might have put some stress on the mount). In any case, after we cleaned up the mount I welded it up. Shoot, I found some very interesting welding positions trying to get this all welded up, haha! Had to start and stop alot though, with everything in the way of getting the gun in there. And also had to weave back and forth a lot because we couldn't get the mount to line up perfectly, there was about a 1/8" gap most of the way because it wasn't a clean break, parts of it bent and tore as it broke, and didn't seem to ever line back up again. But the gap might have actually helped here, as it let the weld sink in pretty flat I think.

The break was probably 6-8 inches long, went up and around the entire mount. Fortunately, I had access to the back of the mount as well, so I was able to hit both sides. Hope it holds! I had the flux wire spooled up, so that's what I used. Probably best though, since we weren't able to clean the mount real good, I think the flux wire handles dirty metal better than solid wire with gas? It was hard enough to get even a brush in there, and no way to get a grinder in there at all.

Not a pretty weld, but it sank in pretty deep, almost went all the way though, so I think by hitting it on both sides it should be pretty solid?? we'll find out soon haha!

It was fun for me! Got a chance to use the welding cart, wheeled it down the street into the alley way. It wheels just fine! I just hope the weld holds

Flux core was definitely the right choice. Sounds like you did the best job possible under the circumstances. It broke once, and since neither the design of the part nor the stresses on it have changed for the better, there's no reason to expect it won't break again. It needs some good reinforcement.

[daniel_buck]

Wooh, did a whole lot of welding today. Helping out a friend, welded up a 20 foot long balcony railing (at least I think that's what it's for). It was already cut up, so all I had to do was weld it all up. Took most of the day, but it's done Switched back to MIG for this.

I'm getting alot more confident in welding, I seem to get decent welds for the most part, but sometimes I get some popping on a weld run where the previous runs in the same position and angle didn't. I'm guessing this might be from not cleaning the metal good enough? I took a wire brush to the areas I was welding, but maybe that wasn't enough. Maybe there's still oils on there and I should hit it with some acetone? Mill scale on the thicker parts doesn't seem to cause popping (although I usually do grind off mill scale).

But even when it's not popping, I'm usually never completely satisfied with how the weld looks. Probably not really a problem, but the furniture stuff that I like to make I like the industrial look where the welds aren't ground down, I gotta work on getting a more consistent and better looking welds I suppose if I welded more often, I'd get better at it, even once a week. I usually go at least several weeks, or even a month or two at a time inbetween a project that I need to do any welding on.

I'm glad I have a leather jacket, I'm sure my arms would be bright red from arc burn if I didn't have it on for all the welding today. If I'm just welding a small bit, I usually don't throw the jacket on unless I have to be in a position where I'll be sprayed with sparks. But if I'm going to be welding for more than a short bit, I throw the jacket on. I think I should get a little welding cap, or a do-rag. Every now and then I get a hot piece that lands on my head, and my ball-cap turned backwards isn't comfortable with the plastic adjustable strip on my forehead.

[daniel_buck]

I can't believe I haven't done this before, putting a flashlight on the helmet it makes welding so much easier!

The helmet is auto-darken, but even when it's not darkened it's still kinda dark, and difficult to see where I'm going to start welding (until the arc starts). It's super easy to see now, saves alot of helmet flipping up and down :-) I just glued it on there.

[inVERt'D]

Great idea! Cleaning your lens would probably do wonders too

[inVERt'D]

Wooh, did a whole lot of welding today. Helping out a friend, welded up a 20 foot long balcony railing (at least I think that's what it's for). It was already cut up, so all I had to do was weld it all up. Took most of the day, but it's done Switched back to MIG for this.

I'm getting alot more confident in welding, I seem to get decent welds for the most part, but sometimes I get some popping on a weld run where the previous runs in the same position and angle didn't. I'm guessing this might be from not cleaning the metal good enough? I took a wire brush to the areas I was welding, but maybe that wasn't enough. Maybe there's still oils on there and I should hit it with some acetone? Mill scale on the thicker parts doesn't seem to cause popping (although I usually do grind off mill scale).

But even when it's not popping, I'm usually never completely satisfied with how the weld looks. Probably not really a problem, but the furniture stuff that I like to make I like the industrial look where the welds aren't ground down, I gotta work on getting a more consistent and better looking welds I suppose if I welded more often, I'd get better at it, even once a week. I usually go at least several weeks, or even a month or two at a time inbetween a project that I need to do any welding on.

I'm glad I have a leather jacket, I'm sure my arms would be bright red from arc burn if I didn't have it on for all the welding today. If I'm just welding a small bit, I usually don't throw the jacket on unless I have to be in a position where I'll be sprayed with sparks. But if I'm going to be welding for more than a short bit, I throw the jacket on. I think I should get a little welding cap, or a do-rag. Every now and then I get a hot piece that lands on my head, and my ball-cap turned backwards isn't comfortable with the plastic adjustable strip on my forehead.

Looks like you're getting a decent amount of heat into the metal. Besides contamination, a little breeze can really mess up a weld. Happens to me quite often when I'm MIGing outside. Besides building little shelters, I often cup my left hand over the puddle to shield it. May be a little more awkward, but anything is better than the wind hitting your puddle.

Since you'll be staying with 110V for awhile, set yourself up with some .023" wire--it will melt better with the lower amps, just turn the wire speed up some to compensate. You may have to flip your feed roll or get one for .023. An .023 specific liner would be good, but probably not necessary. Cool/ cold metal tends to have invisible moisture on it, even in Socal. You'll have less hydrogen embrittlement, better penetration and fusion, and "wetter," more attractive weld beads.

[daniel_buck]

I've already got the .023 wire, indeed it does seem to work good, especially on the thinner 1/16" metal like the square tubing here. It's the same thickness for most of the furniture stuff I've made. I picked up a bit spool of it (10 pounds?). I've got different roller sizes for the different size wires.

What's a liner?

Maybe hitting the areas with a propane torch quickly before welding might be a good idea? not really to heat the metal up, but to get any moisture off of it?

I really wish I had a tig welder, I would love to learn to weld with one of those, it's such a slower process, I'd love to be able to slow down and get nice looking welds for my furniture stuff. With Mig, it all seems to happen so fast, I'm more worried about staying on the joint than anything else, haha!

Cleaning your lens would probably do wonders too

oh hush!!

[inVERt'D]

The liner is a tube that goes inside your MIG gun lead. It's what the wire rides in. For steel wire it will be a tube of tightly coiled spring wire. For aluminum, you'd want a plastic liner (or better, a spool gun). There are different liners for different wire range sizes. In my experience, the difference between an .023 liner and a .030/.035 liner is not crucial but every little bit helps. The liner will get full of metal dust after awhile so you'll want to blow it out. Also, excessive wear can cause feed problems. Your welder has a a little better feed roll setup than my older model Lincoln, so that's a good thing. The commercial-level machines have much more robust feed roll setups, though.

As for the torch, colder is wetter, and drier is better. Hey I'm a poet (and I didn't know it) :homer:. The hot sun is my friend.

I'm guessing you'd love TIG, once you got used to it. It is slower, but the control is much better. It's all you. It can be fairly fast, though. A hot torch with some angle on it and you can really push that puddle along. It's kinda like sailing in a fair wind. Maybe you are going relatively slow, but it doesn't feel like it.

[daniel_buck]

clutch/brake tube mount welded in! I couldn't bolt it in, because the bracket for the new MC was in the way, so I had to weld it in.

When I put the clutch pedal on the tube and hook up all the linkages, somethings not right, I can't press the pedal as far as I used to (about 1/2 as far) and the clutch doesn't disengage. I don't think anything is binding the linkage, I'll check tomorrow though.

[inVERt'D]

clutch/brake tube mount welded in! I couldn't bolt it in, because the bracket for the new MC was in the way, so I had to weld it in.

When I put the clutch pedal on the tube and hook up all the linkages, somethings not right, I can't press the pedal as far as I used to (about 1/2 as far) and the clutch doesn't disengage. I don't think anything is binding the linkage, I'll check tomorrow though.

Doesn't this belong in your Willy's Diesel thread?

Did you use preheat?

[aw12345]

Silly question, but does the pedal move freely with the clutch linkage disconnected at the clutch arm?
Problem might just be in the clutch plate being in backwards or something like that

[6spdYJ]

Problem might just be in the clutch plate being in backwards or something like that

BTDT!!!

[daniel_buck]

Doesn't this belong in your Willy's Diesel thread?

Doh! yea, wrong thread, haha!

Silly question, but does the pedal move freely with the clutch linkage disconnected at the clutch arm?
Problem might just be in the clutch plate being in backwards or something like that

ahh geeze, I hope not :-\ lol! It looked like the plate only would go in one way, but I guess it's possible, being that I've never done any of this before :-D

I'm gonna get back under there this afternoon and see if the pedal moves freely with the cable disconnected.

[daniel_buck]

So, I finally got the TIG machine setup (Everlast 200DX), after scratching my head wondering why I was burning up the tip of the tungsten, I realized that the torch needs to be negative, and the clamp needs to be positive for DC welding steel.

I really like how slow I can travel, and how well I can see the puddle, no sparks and smoke flying everywhere, haha! I think I'm gonna enjoy this once I get more familiar with it.

Just threw a piece of scrap in the vice, and made sure the machine was working. As soon as I get my welding table cleared off, I'll sit down and get comfortable, clean off a bunch of pieces of scrap and start working on staying consistent with travel speed, tip distance, and getting used to the pedal and what not. Then I'll work on adding filler metal.

Any tips for learning TIG are welcome! I've been reading alot and watching videos online, I think I understand it well enough, just need to get as much seat time as I can Focusing on mild steel for now, but eventually I'll try aluminum once I'm more comfortable with steel.

[daniel_buck]

a few practice lines (without filler) on my lunch break today Trying different things to get a feel for it. I love how slow the process is I'll mess around a bit more, and then I think I'll try and do a bunch of lines and keep them consistent.

[daniel_buck]

Ran a few more lines without filler rod, then decided to try a butt weld while adding filler. I think I probably could have used a bit more filler but I'm completely stoked at the results, much nicer than I anticipated! I think since the rings/ripples in the weld aren't arrow shaped, that indicates that my travel speed is about right?

1/8" steel, I had the power set at 120 amps, but I didn't push the pedal down all the way, so I don't know maybe it was somewhere around 80-90 amps or so.

I don't really have a comfortable place to sit, so I'm kinda leaning on a step ladder. I never realized it before, but I don't really ever sit down when I'm in the garage, I don't have a stool or anything. And my 5 gallon buckets are to short to sit on. I think I'll pick up a cheap stool so I can sit at a better height.