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I want to join in with "there's nothing wrong with MIG". Welding has more to do with the monkey than the machine and most of the time it's the former that's deficient. Case in point: When I was doing a ticket upgrade course one of the required bend tests was a 5g open root with downhill fill on 8inch schedule 40. All done in short circuit transfer. It works, if you know what your doing, but I've had "experienced" welders tell me it's not possible because "MIG isn't strong" and "downhill is weak". So this thread has had tons of smithing, smelting and straight-up welding. How about a little metal fabrication? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPgTkokPXII I made this for a precast job the plant started about a month ago. The contract is for literally thousands of 50x50x100cm blocks that need to be covered at night to control the curing temperature. The old system of covering them was stringing wires from one end of the bay to the other, then using the crane to help lay the tarp over it all. It's a giant pain in the rear end, so I got to build this to replace it. Fun times.
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Apr 29, 2012 20:19
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duck hunt posted:A lot of welders think that because the face of the weld looks good, that the weld is strong. Those kinds of welds are like nice decorative icing on a cake. They look great, but they just sit on top of the metal and look cute; they don't actually hold anything very well. With MIG, most people don't know what indicates a strong penetrating weld. MMMMMMM that hum of a good pulse setting. When liquid hot metal is pissing off your plate at the top of a vertical weld, you've probably got some penetration.
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Apr 29, 2012 20:21
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thecobra posted:MMMMMMM that hum of a good pulse setting. When liquid hot metal is pissing off your plate at the top of a vertical weld, you've probably got some penetration. I only got to use pulse one day in school. Id love to try it again now that I really know what I'm doing. There are a lot of times I wish I could use wire feed but no company seems to want to trust it. Especially flux core, too many people have had too many repairs with that process.
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Apr 29, 2012 23:02
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I for one have never worked with Pulsed MIG or FCAW. I've been told by old timers that it is technology made up by marketing people to give engineers something to do. Like wirefeed is fine, but they want to 'improve' it. Then you end up with $10,000 welding machines with all kinds of settings. I feel like pulsing is kind of like adding blades to a facial razor. You suffer from steep diminishing returns on actual improvement. I also sense that welders are skeptical of pulsing because it represents further skill dilution in the trade. Not to say that there isn't skill in short-arc welding. It takes longer and more skill to put a TIG uphill root in a pipe, and therefore makes the welder more money and garners more prestige than it does to run a short circuit downhill root. Companies don't give a poo poo. They are always looking for production, and a lot of the times, in my experience, the people that do the procurement for the shop are not welders themselves, so they end up susceptible to marketing men and you end up with weird gas blends and pulsing equipment. From what I read about pulsing, a lot of it makes sense in theory. Rapidly modulating the voltage makes the shorting of the arc contain a more repeatable and regular amount of energy... so does keeping a correct stick out and a steady hand and eye. Like I said before, I don't have a ton of experience using pulsing, but it seems from what I have read and heard about it, that the price per improvement is little.
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Apr 30, 2012 18:45
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So I decided to take a stick welding course, 'cause I suck at stick welding. My main issue is travel speed. I just need to practice staring at my puddle to know when to move and how far. The instructor says that my inconsistent travel speed is the only thing holding me back. That being said, I'm at the top of the class. 8 days in: 1/8 6010 flat  9 days in: 1/8 7018 vertical up T-joint  The blob off to the right about 1/2 way up my 7018 is where I did a terrible job tying in my restart. Also the instructor says that I'm moving too far up and stopping too long on my weave. Practice practice practice. Edits: typos iForge fucked around with this message at 06:32 on May 1, 2012 |
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Apr 30, 2012 19:02
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Well Ralph has quoted us at $150 per stand. He said materials would be about $50, so that puts labor at $100 per, and I'm ok with that. I told him that shipping the stand, if I bought it online, would kill us. And that we would love to give work to a local guy. I'm going to ask him about showi g me the ropes when we pick the first stand up. Ralph also had a very sweet looking BBQ/smoker he's working on. It is fashioned in the likeness of a pig.
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May 1, 2012 00:34
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iForge posted:So I decided to take a stick welding course, 'cause I suck at stick welding. I like your 6010! You need to make your weave much much MUCH tighter on your 3f though. When I'm doing those I pretty much just move slightly more vertical than straight across and pause ever so slightly on the edge rather than a full on stop. I move pretty fast going across the joint. In other news the QC manager here said he likes my work a lot and wants me to get into inspection so I dropped the $400 for the level 1 Weld inspector books and hopefully in a month or so ill be certified and ready to start inspecting! Hurray, soon no more sore knees everyday!
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May 1, 2012 06:17
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SmokeyXIII posted:
Nice bud. They're going to cover the testing costs right? I'm pretty sure those tests aren't cheap, from what I've heard anyway. I have a couple friends who are level II's right out of school so went out of their own pocket.
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May 1, 2012 06:55
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thecobra posted:Nice bud. They're going to cover the testing costs right? I'm pretty sure those tests aren't cheap, from what I've heard anyway. I have a couple friends who are level II's right out of school so went out of their own pocket. its not bad, about $400 for each test. But alas it will be out of my own pocket. Super worth it though when you think what a guy can earn in Alberta working industrial.
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May 1, 2012 08:47
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I've thought about taking the CWI course, but I hate book work. The other day I was talking to our welding engineer and he said that the written part of the test is a pain in the rear end because its timed and you don't have your code book with you. You pretty much have to memorize the entire D1.1 book.
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May 1, 2012 09:13
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fps_bill posted:I've thought about taking the CWI course, but I hate book work. The other day I was talking to our welding engineer and he said that the written part of the test is a pain in the rear end because its timed and you don't have your code book with you. You pretty much have to memorize the entire D1.1 book. I know to get cwb level 1 I'm allowed to use a code book. I'm going to do 31.3 first then 31.1 after. Then start on my boiler endorsements
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May 1, 2012 12:49
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fps_bill posted:I've thought about taking the CWI course, but I hate book work. The other day I was talking to our welding engineer and he said that the written part of the test is a pain in the rear end because its timed and you don't have your code book with you. You pretty much have to memorize the entire D1.1 book. I know to get cwb level 1 I'm allowed to use a code book. I'm going to do 31.3 (process piping) first then 31.1 (power piping) after. Then start on my boiler endorsements
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May 1, 2012 12:50
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iForge posted:So I decided to take a stick welding course, 'cause I suck at stick welding. On the 3f weld a technique that I use is rotate my wrist left and right as I move up. What this does is give you the wall tie in and a more subtle osciliation. I put my electrode almost straight into the middle with a 10-15 degree incline, then just rotate my wrist. My left hand just keeps the slight inclined angle of the electrode as I move up. This rotation technique also works for 3f welds with wirefeed as well. While I am doing this, I am always watching the bottom edge of the puddle and the toes. What I see a lot of people doing when they are learning this weld is they use their left hand and literally point the electrode at the wall and then point the electrode at the other wall. The middle "takes care of itself." What happens is you get undercut or cold lap on the toes of the weld. This is because the electrode angle gets pretty dramatic when you are pointing the end into the walls.
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May 2, 2012 01:39
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Well... I now can say I've done four, nice, good penetration beads on a bit of metal. Yey for the metal squirt gun.
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May 9, 2012 16:53
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Tubalcain the crotchety old machine shop guy from youtube is selling some foundry equipment for any of you americans in the illinois area http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM6iq13iyGY
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May 14, 2012 13:02
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Lately I've been compromising between what I want to be doing and the resources I have by doing wrought scrollwork-esque jewellery.  I'm having a hell of a time joining the components, though. In that one I used wrapped wire, which worked okay- It holds everything together, but stuff can still shift around and get all messed-up-lookin. I tried making collars, like you'd use for full-scale wroughtwork, but without being welded shut they're way too weak, and still have the shifting problem. I tried cutting grooves for the wire to sit in so it wouldn't shift, but at this scale it's just a shitshow and doesn't work too well. Any tips for joining 'em? I'm amenable to, I don't know, soldering them together and then hiding the joints with a collar or wire, but the contact area we're talking about is so small I don't know how well it'd work. I tried welding/brazing them as well, but again, it's a shitshow at this small a scale, with super-messy joins or no joins at all or straight-up melting the components.
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May 14, 2012 23:10
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Ambrose Burnside posted:Lately I've been compromising between what I want to be doing and the resources I have by doing wrought scrollwork-esque jewellery. What's your base material there? Copper, Silver?
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May 15, 2012 01:06
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Copper, sorry. I forgot that the unearthly glare makes it hard to tell. Also, I'm a filthy decadent hedonist so I'm doing A Production Run of paraphernalias   Stylish roach clips, for holding your... I don't know, cigarettes or herbal smokes or whatever crazy stuff you put in your lungs. e: I'm gonna knock out a couple more and then sell them in SA-Mart real soon if yall care Ambrose Burnside fucked around with this message at 03:04 on May 15, 2012 |
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May 15, 2012 02:54
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Bench grinder question: How many do I need? If I am going to be TIG welding, I know I need a wheel dedicated to tungsten, probably a wire wheel, and at least 1 grinding wheel. Do I need a separate grinding wheel for aluminum than the one I have for steel? What about polishing wheels? Do I need 1 for each type of grit/buffing agent? Does this mean I'll have like 3-4 bench grinders?
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May 15, 2012 07:34
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Fire Storm posted:Does this mean I'll have like 3-4 bench grinders? Yes.
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May 15, 2012 07:38
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You can get grinders with removable wheels so you could just get one and swap wheels all the time. Which would be annoying, but take up a lot less space in the workshop and also be less expensive.
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May 15, 2012 07:52
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Fire Storm posted:Does this mean I'll have like 3-4 bench grinders? Depending on how you read this, it almost seems like you don't want more tools? I don't really see why you'd need one for aluminum and one for steel. Also, could you get by with using a wire wheel in a drill? As for tungstens, you could buy a sharpener (usually not cheap), make one, or yeah, get a dedicated grinding wheel. I guess that depends on how much you're going to use it. If you won't be welding much, and can weld decently, you won't even be sharpening your electrode much, so you could use a rotary tool to get by. thecobra fucked around with this message at 08:00 on May 15, 2012 |
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May 15, 2012 07:57
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Leperflesh posted:You can get grinders with removable wheels so you could just get one and swap wheels all the time. Which would be annoying, but take up a lot less space in the workshop and also be less expensive. They make grinders with non replaceable wheels?
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May 15, 2012 08:28
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Fire Storm posted:Bench grinder question: How many do I need? If I am going to be TIG welding, I know I need a wheel dedicated to tungsten, probably a wire wheel, and at least 1 grinding wheel. Do I need a separate grinding wheel for aluminum than the one I have for steel? What about polishing wheels? Do I need 1 for each type of grit/buffing agent? Does this mean I'll have like 3-4 bench grinders? If it makes it any easier, aluminium really doesn't need a grinder. If you have a belt sander (which you probably should as they're not really expensive) just swap the belts out when you want to do aluminium or steel. But yeah. Dedicate a wall to grinders/buffers. Try to get good ones if you can, I have a cheapass one from princess auto and it's pretty lovely. No guts to it at all.
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May 15, 2012 17:18
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Sponge! posted:They make grinders with non replaceable wheels? Iunno! But I figured it was possible and maybe he didn't know they've got replaceable wheels, but I didn't want to make a blanket statement like "they've all got replaceable wheels" and be wrong.
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May 15, 2012 18:14
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Ambrose Burnside posted:Copper, sorry. I forgot that the unearthly glare makes it hard to tell. ok, since it's copper I will say solder, be sure to sand contact areas and flux thoroughly and it should stay pretty hidden, wicking only between touch points. Edit: Also, go VERY light on the solder, you only want it to just stick rather then full on welding it together with the stuff (as big blobs would show). There may be some sort of copper coloured solder out there for jewelers. Linux Assassin fucked around with this message at 20:09 on May 15, 2012 |
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May 15, 2012 19:56
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thecobra posted:Depending on how you read this, it almost seems like you don't want more tools?  (Although...) Plus floorspace. Can't wait until I have a dedicated work-shed or garage instead of a bench in the corner of the basement.I'm thinking of making a rotisserie or a turntable to mount the grinders, just roll what I need into position and lock it down  OR one massive grinder that has a dozen wheels attached! My current grinder is an old and heavy Craftsman (likely older than me) one with a very worn down wire wheel and a grinder wheel that I did a stupid thing on and used it to finish the edge of some wood because I couldn't find my sanders or sand paper (Still grinds steel like a champ). I'm actually looking forward to trying to balance the new wheels using a technique I read in a magazine a few years ago. I just don't want to have to futz around with replacing wheels all the time. VVVV Oh yeah. I was using mine the other day and when I was finished I found out I had a few wires came off the wheel, went part-way through my shirt and tried to embed themselves in my skin. Fire Storm fucked around with this message at 22:27 on May 15, 2012 |
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May 15, 2012 22:12
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Full-size steel wire wheels actively scare the poo poo out of me because they're probably the most dangerous thing in the shop, and that's before you even start considering what happens when a wire comes loose while the thing's running at full tilt.
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May 15, 2012 22:22
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Fire Storm posted:(Although...) Don't do it. That's the cheap rear end one I have. Weak enough that you can stop it with a gloved hand easily. I use mine exclusively for buffing, one side cotton, the other side stone because it really needs the extra energy you can store in it as a flywheel. But don't buy one of those. The blue one might (MIGHT) be ok.
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May 15, 2012 22:36
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Ambrose Burnside posted:Full-size steel wire wheels actively scare the poo poo out of me because they're probably the most dangerous thing in the shop, and that's before you even start considering what happens when a wire comes loose while the thing's running at full tilt. Best thing for cleaning rust off of stuff in a hurry though. I wear a full face shield using mine these days after having a bit of wire from one stick in my forehead. I probably use more care and thought using it than any other tool in my shop though.
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May 15, 2012 23:18
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Gwamp posted:Best thing for cleaning rust off of stuff in a hurry though. I wear a full face shield using mine these days after having a bit of wire from one stick in my forehead. I probably use more care and thought using it than any other tool in my shop though. Lmao one day I was showering up after work and I was washing my private bits and lo and behold... A wire from a wire wheel in my sack. Thankfully it missed the important parts and just hit the skin. Didn't hurt or anything actually but it was a serious WTF am I doing with my life moment.
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May 15, 2012 23:20
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Even wee lil wire-wheels for drills throw wire fragments hard enough to actively embed in exposed flesh, I'm gonna need a proper wire wheel soon and it's making me more nervous than a power hammer or oxy torch ever could.
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May 16, 2012 02:58
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Seconding don't buy a HF bench grinder. Spend the money on something that will last forever and won't stall out constantly.
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May 17, 2012 03:03
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Ambrose Burnside posted:Even wee lil wire-wheels for drills throw wire fragments hard enough to actively embed in exposed flesh, I'm gonna need a proper wire wheel soon and it's making me more nervous than a power hammer or oxy torch ever could.
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May 17, 2012 23:11
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Iskariot posted:I put a finger against one while it was spinning down and it ate through a thick welder glove and into my finger. Your Darwin award is in the mail.
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May 17, 2012 23:50
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thecobra posted:Your Darwin award is in the mail. Anyway, wire cups and discs have given me steel thigh hair a few times, and possibly some nut ache, but aside from eyes I don't see how it could be more terrifying than regular discs. Fine wire discs for polishing work you don't even feel pierce your skin. It's those rugged bastards that hurt.
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May 18, 2012 01:10
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Always wear eye protection, kids.
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May 18, 2012 01:21
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Iskariot posted:Then I blame the jury for poor selection choice! I got a slight flesh wound to show for it, that's all. I can't really remember what I did to place my finger near the disc but it was possibly because the shield was awkwardly tilted. Old gloves with poor grip. My bad, I was reading that as Iskariot posted:One time I decided to see if I could stop a cutting disc with a leather glove. On top of eye protection, some kind of breathing protection is always nice, too. Unless of course you love the taste of metal, or black boogies. These things are also awesome for stripping material of rust and paint. http://catalogue.3m.eu/en_gb/gb-asd/Roloc_Quick_Release_System/Roloc_Bristle_Abrasives/Bristle_Disc~RD-ZB thecobra fucked around with this message at 01:29 on May 18, 2012 |
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May 18, 2012 01:26
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I try not to wear gloves around things that spin at 10000rpm, in general
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May 18, 2012 01:28
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Dongsmith posted:I try not to wear gloves around things that spin at 10000rpm, in general A slow rotation like a huge massive steel boring machine on the other hand. Very dangerous.
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May 18, 2012 02:07
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