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two_beer_bishes posted:I only have 110v available Do you live in a house, and do you know anything about electricity and installing circuits? A 50 amp, 220 volt circuit, would make your life much much easier if you want to weld. Good electricity is the most important tool a weldor can have.
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Sep 23, 2008 03:17
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Slung Blade posted:That's gorgeous man. How did you make the tenon? My (crappy) tenon former was posted earlier in the thread, I'd like to see yours (if you used one). Did you use a monkey tool to form the shoulder?
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Sep 23, 2008 06:34
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I did my first 5G TIG pipe today. It was pretty bad, but there were some really nice parts, and I just need a bunch more practice to get it looking really uniform. Hopefully I get a booth closer to the tungsten grinder tomorrow haha. I think I had to stop and sharpen my Tungsten 20-30 times today. At the end though I was getting much more stable when I tried to walk to cup a little bit. Also I burned the poo poo out of my fingertips, but that will get better when I learn to walk to cup better. Also I need a new pair of gloves.
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Sep 24, 2008 22:13
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SmokeyXIII, So you did quit that job and to the TIG pipe class? Good luck with that! That is alot of tungsten grinding! Are you wearing any sort of mask so you don't breathe all that tungsten dust? I hear tungsten is slightly radioactive. My 7018 fillet welds are looking great. Just for fun, I decided to try some 7024 today. HOLY COW, I see why they call that a "fast-fill" electrode. That thing zips right along. Tomorrow, me and a 2-3 other guys will be introduced to open root V butts, I'm looking forward to that. While some more fillet weld practice won't hurt me, I'm ready to try something new. I need to try and get some pictures taken.
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Sep 25, 2008 00:47
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dv6speed posted:SmokeyXIII, Yeah I quit that job. It's way better not being 500km away from the girlfriend for 10 days at a time. I did it for 4 months and that's enough of that. I'm not taking a class or anything formal, I just go to the welding shop at the union hall and practice on my own time and ask the instructors for advice when I need it. I'll get my TIG tickets and then I'll have work till the day I die in town here. I didn't wear my mask today for some reason even though I usually do. Some tungsten are slightly radioactive, some are not. I'm not sure if the one I was using was or not. Probably I guess they were. 7024 is bullshit rod. I hate it. If you have any kind of gap, or oil, or debris you try to fill in it gets these huge worm holes that you have to grind out. The slag sure chips off nice off it though eh? Good luck on your open roots, you're getting to start some real welds now. 1G isn't hard, or 2G, but 3G might give you some trouble. Just watch your key hole and try to keep it steady. This is where the whipping practice comes in. SmokeyXIII fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Sep 25, 2008 |
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Sep 25, 2008 01:07
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If you were using the right tungsten and welding steel it was probably 2% or 4% thorium which is radiactive. If you were welding aluminum it was probably pure tungsten which isn't. You can tell by the color on the end of the rod. http://www.uniweld.com/catalog/alloys/tungsten/tungston_main.htm
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Sep 25, 2008 05:43
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RealKyleH posted:If you were using the right tungsten and welding steel it was probably 2% or 4% thorium which is radiactive. If you were welding aluminum it was probably pure tungsten which isn't. You can tell by the color on the end of the rod. Yeah I assumed it was thoriated but it was impossible to tell because we sharpen both ends so that cuts the trips to the grinder in half, so I had no way to tell for sure as I didn't start with a new tungsten. Also the tungsten we use are used on all different metals from carbon steel to stainless and then exotics like nickel hastalloy and chromoly. It's also possible that they have different tungsten for each metal, but I'm new to how they opperate the shop so I don't know what the deal with that is.
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Sep 25, 2008 06:31
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Started on open root V butt welds with 6010 today. He actually has us start with doing them in 3G first. Putting in that root pass is harder then it looks! Only had time to do 1 root pass today, I'll definitely need to do some work on the keyholing technique. Any good pro tips? I got tired of spatter/slag killing my shoe laces in out of position welding, so I added some strips of leather to my boots.   
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Sep 25, 2008 21:12
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dv6speed posted:Any good pro tips? I would use a 3/32" land and a 3/32" gap running around 80 amps with 50% inductance. Now if your instructor tells you to do it with a 1/8" land and gap I would advise that you listen to him as everyone welds slightly differently and he's just teach you his way. But anyways that's the configuration that I use. The key thing with open roots is the FIT UP. It is absolutely the most important part. 80% of the weld is the fit up. You have to have your gap and land totally perfect. If you can accomplish this every single time you do a weld you will be successful. I really can't stress enough how absolutely important a perfect fit up is. Other than fit up, you want to make sure that you're keeping your manipulation constant, keeping the keyhole uniform, and making sure that you don't pause in one spot too long or you'll get grapes. I went to practice my TIG again today. It went substantially better, my hand was getting used to the new procedure a lot better. Also they didn't get burned half as bad. My 3rd pipe root looked like it was getting nearly acceptable, I just need to work on getting slightly more penetration and not getting blobs of filler rod from shaky hands. I'm going to go in for another 4 hours tomorrow. The instructor said after a few more pipes of practice I'll probably be ready to test for a job procedure and take calls as a TIG welder. I'm glad that I'm catching on quickly because supposedly TIG can be a bitch to learn for a lot of people. Edit: Also the tungsten is 2% thoriated, I checked today.
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Sep 25, 2008 22:33
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We are using 1/8" lands and gaps, along with 1/8" 6010 electrodes. He also stressed the same thing you did about fit-up/preperation. I have good attention to detail, so that isn't an issue for me. He did mention it can suck on the job when you have to weld some plates that some other guy prepared and fit up, and did a poor job at. My biggest issue running the 1 root pass I did today was figuring out exactly where to set my heat, and keeping the keyhole a constant size. I do think my heat was too high, since with the fillet welds, I tend to prefer to be on the hot side of things. I'm going to make sure to have him watch me do the next root pass I run so I can get instant feedback. That being said, I still like gathering all the tips I can from different people. Edit: Obligatory welding joke: You stick your rod in the open butt and manipulate it by whipping it in and out to get the right amount of penetration. This, of course, can be done in any position. AbsentMindedWelder fucked around with this message at 00:08 on Sep 26, 2008 |
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Sep 25, 2008 23:57
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How fabulous a deal is a Millermatic-130XP for $500? I can just barely swing that much. It seems like a good price a spool of wire included. I guess I'd need gases, too. I can also get a miller plasma cutter for $500
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Sep 26, 2008 04:49
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:How fabulous a deal is a Millermatic-130XP for $500? I can just barely swing that much. It seems like a good price a spool of wire included. I guess I'd need gases, too. It should be OK for light fabrication. What kind of welding do you plan to do with it? If you don't want to buy a cylinder of shielding gas right away you can always run flux-core. Oh, and I would never buy a used wire fed machine without testing it out first... too many moving parts to go wrong. Make sure it has all the included accessories with the machine, such as the gas regulator. I would ask the seller for the serial number before you go look at the machine so you can call up Miller and find out if it is a stolen unit. babyeatingpsychopath posted:I can also get a miller plasma cutter for $500
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Sep 26, 2008 10:32
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Hobart electrodes suck rear end... I swear one of the 50lb can's we had open up at school today didn't have a good electrode in the whole loving thing. It's gotten to the point the instructor is going to call up Hobart and bitch them out. It pisses me off when I know I'm doing everything right and I still get a hosed up looking bead that I know has weld defects simply because no amount of manipulation makes the loving arc do what you want it to. It finally got to a point today that we went out to the storage shed to try to find a can with a different lot number, and boom, everything works fine. Talk about loving lovely quality control. I know one thing... you will never, ever, see me purchase Hobart electrodes for the rest of my life. I'm pretty sure the instructor and the school won't be buying them again either. At least I was able to start burning some OK electrodes to finish up my first open root V butt. It took most of the day to fill up the groove in some 1" plate. It would have taken me less time if I wasn't to too busy cussing at the crap rods. Monday morning, I'll start on some new coupons, and I'll be sure to make the instructor sit in my booth and watch me run the root pass so I can get that keyholing technique down pact. I just had to vent about those electrodes, it was that loving bad. Spending 3/4 of the day burning lovely electrodes is driving me to drink... after I click "submit reply" I'll pop open some Yuengling and get good and drunk before I watch the U.S. presidential debate.
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Sep 27, 2008 01:07
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Did a little work today. The wind really picked up later on and was blowing so hard the charcoal kept flying out of the forge and into my face. Started on a plant hanger for a friend.  Click here for the full 1024x768 image. Did some upsetting for the hanger, not done yet.  Click here for the full 1024x768 image. Cleaned up and clearcoated my "knife" which is less a blade and more a charcoal bag opener. I didn't heat treat it or anything but it still cut an aluminium can in half (I know, that's not saying much). It's adequate, and very very shiny.  Click here for the full 1024x768 image. "Round" ground edge, like an axe.  Click here for the full 1024x768 image.
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Sep 28, 2008 03:54
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I know nothing about this art. Slung referred me to this thread, it's quite fascinating. Great work all around, I'm impressed. Is that the knife you said was made out of a railroad spike?
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Sep 28, 2008 07:40
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Bewilderbeest posted:I know nothing about this art. Slung referred me to this thread, it's quite fascinating. Thanks man, and yes, railroad spike.
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Sep 28, 2008 10:35
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dv6speed posted:Monday morning, I'll start on some new coupons, and I'll be sure to make the instructor sit in my booth and watch me run the root pass so I can get that keyholing technique down pact. Good news too! The local shipyard is accepting welding apprentice applications again. Their new apprentice program is recognized by the state's depart of labor, so that's a good thing. It's worth applying. Since the process takes a few months, I can still look at other opportunities too. In other news, I actually started some work on the new crucible furnace! I will post some details and pics in the next week or so.
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Sep 30, 2008 01:02
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dv6speed posted:This went very well. I learned that I had too much heat, was whipping too far, and pausing too long. I did 2 root passes today and they came out pretty good. Another 2-3 more and it'll be a piece of cake. What kind of ships are they building? I've never worked on ships but I've heard it can be crummy work. Lots of subarc, gouging, and grinding.
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Sep 30, 2008 01:20
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SmokeyXIII posted:What kind of ships are they building? I've never worked on ships but I've heard it can be crummy work. Lots of subarc, gouging, and grinding. That being said, I'm still mostly interested in 100% pipe welding. I need to look into the local pipefitter's union. It's still worth applying at the shipyard, just in case, with the job market being the way it is. AbsentMindedWelder fucked around with this message at 01:40 on Sep 30, 2008 |
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Sep 30, 2008 01:34
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dv6speed posted:I need to get some more information on that. From what I've heard they do all sorts of different processes up there. I'm getting initiated into UA local 488 on Saturday myself. I feel pretty good about it 
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Sep 30, 2008 01:54
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Chauncey fucked around with this message at 03:07 on Jul 20, 2020 |
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Oct 1, 2008 00:30
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SmokeyXIII posted:I'm getting initiated into UA local 488 on Saturday myself. I feel pretty good about it Besides, If I can pass a 6G pipe test out of school here, I can make almost double what the shipyard would pay me as an apprentice. Oh, and I've been moved from 3G to 2G now. Will probably do 4G in a day or 2. They don't even have us do 1G, since it's just too easy, and if you can do the other 3 then flat is no issue. Chauncey posted:I work in maintenance and am getting my journeyman's as a machinist at a large dental supply company. We make all kinds of poo poo here, and therefore have all kinds of machines from engine lathes to 8 foot drill presses. I will snap some pics tonight at work of some of the stuff if anyone's interested. AbsentMindedWelder fucked around with this message at 00:42 on Oct 1, 2008 |
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Oct 1, 2008 00:37
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dv6speed posted:Oh, and I've been moved from 3G to 2G now. Will probably do 4G in a day or 2. They don't even have us do 1G, since it's just too easy, and if you can do the other 3 then flat is no issue. A picture is worth 1000 words:  
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Oct 1, 2008 23:59
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dv6speed posted:If you have no idea what that welder gibberish means... this post is for you! Link added in OP, thanks man.
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Oct 2, 2008 16:12
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pics:
Chauncey fucked around with this message at 08:15 on Sep 3, 2011 |
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Oct 3, 2008 04:28
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Oh man, that is really awesome, thanks for sharing those pictures. How long have you been a machinist? How much fun is it?
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Oct 3, 2008 18:02
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Well I took a nifty little job today. We're going further north than I've been before, but not by that much. The job is short term, 6-8 shifts and 12 hour days. I'll get 500 bucks in travel money. Basically I'll be back in a week with $3000 bucks in my pocket. The cool part is that we're doing Chrome Carbide overlay, which is something I've never done before. Hopefully it goes well. I was talking to some guys at the hall and they said it welds like poo poo but I should be okay. Just gotta make sure to wear my respirator.
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Oct 6, 2008 18:04
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Have fun with that SmokeyXII! I've been working on 4G with 6010 for the past 2 days. Whoever invented 4G is pure loving evil. I'm starting to do fairly good at it, but it is not easy by any stretch. At least my arms and back are starting to get used to it. The hardest part for me, was figuring out what position to get in so I can see the puddle. I have 2 positions I stand in, depending on what angle and side of the groove I'm working on. I like standing to the side a little bit, instead of directly under the V. The way I stand puts my arm directly under where I am welding, so I found that the 1 layer of leather my welding gear provides isn't enough. So, I just drape a loose piece of leather over my left arm, problem solved.
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Oct 6, 2008 21:11
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Holy poo poo. I had no idea this thread existed. I fabricated 85% of this thing (15% was about when I got help from another guy) for an artist. The artist helped zero, actually the work he did set us back. That thing is 25' high. All stainless. Stainless sucks rear end. Started June 2007. Finished July 2008. Work is slow when you work alone for 8 months. ASSTASTIC fucked around with this message at 17:21 on Oct 7, 2008 |
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Oct 7, 2008 17:18
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ASSTASTIC posted:Holy poo poo. I had no idea this thread existed. Wow man, that's really cool. It looks more like granite than stainless, how did you pull off that paint job?
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Oct 7, 2008 20:21
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Slung Blade posted:Wow man, that's really cool. It looks more like granite than stainless, how did you pull off that paint job? Its not painted, but textured stainless with a grinding disc(blending disc to be exact). Back and forth pattern. I honestly did not do any of the finish work, the other guy who did the 15% did all of that. I did all the fabrication. I also did a lot of casting in college(bronze, aluminum, iron) using a variety of techniques(lost wax, furan sand, co2 sand). Even though it was horribly toxic, i wish I was still doing it instead of being behind a desk all day 
ASSTASTIC fucked around with this message at 21:25 on Oct 7, 2008 |
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Oct 7, 2008 20:40
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Nice work ASSTASTIC! Speaking of toxicity, I went and got a 3M 6000 series welding respirator and P100 filters today. The welding booths at school do have ventilation, but I'm convinced it's not enough. The past few days I've been doing 4G and have been blowing black poo poo out of my nose when I go home. I observed the other guy who is doing 4G today and I could see the fumes lingering around the plate, right near his head. I'm sure I'll get some sort of comments about wearing a respirator from people, but at least I'll be able to weld with the peace of mind of knowing I'm not breathing welding fumes and grinding dust which can cause anything from cancer, COPD, Parkinson's disease, and who knows what else. Time to go shave my beard... 
AbsentMindedWelder fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Oct 8, 2008 |
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Oct 8, 2008 01:05
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dv6speed posted:Nice work ASSTASTIC! My biggest problem doing 4G welds is that those are the ones where I set myself on fire, but fumes are definitely unwelcome too.
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Oct 8, 2008 01:53
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Dongsmith posted:Are those filters activated charcoal or something? It wouldn't be a bad idea for blacksmiths to work with one on in case of exposure to galvanized pieces (metal fume fever sounds like a bitch and a half when coupled with chronic respiratory disease) If you have any specific questions about what type of filter you need for a various substance, call 3M technical support. They also have a good amount of info on their website. I highly recommend 3M respirator products. I've spent MANY hours in my 7800 full face one while doing lead work. Dongsmith posted:My biggest problem doing 4G welds is that those are the ones where I set myself on fire, but fumes are definitely unwelcome too. AbsentMindedWelder fucked around with this message at 02:31 on Oct 8, 2008 |
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Oct 8, 2008 02:28
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dv6speed posted:Nice work ASSTASTIC! Thanks man. I appreciate it. I used the 7500 one that was silicon instead of rubber. Bit softer on the face, but other than that, no difference. http://tinyurl.com/3jscat (note: I have never bought from these guys, just showing you what it looks like. Buy from your local welding store) The only way I would get a safe seal where I would smell zero dust/stainless particulates was when I would be cleanly shaven. I would be able to get a solid seal around my face. Also, those filters, like the 3m p100 2097s are suppose to be rated for 40 hours of use or so I think. You can clearly see them go to poo poo after a while of use. I'd replace mine once a month or so if you keep it in a bag every time you are done for the day with it. Also, learn how to disassemble your mask and reassemble. Mine would get gunked up everywhere with dust and shavings from grinding. Would also get caught in my exhale trap which was gross. After disassembling and cleaning, I would definitely feel an improvement on my quality of breathing. Also, from experience, safety is my #1 concern now. I would wear full Red Wing boots, carhartts with a flame resistant shirt for my base layers. I have a full split hide welding jacket, leather chaps, and appropriate gloves. I would sometimes wear a gauntlet on one hand if I was welding for a while, pushing the duty cycle. I need to take a picture of my Red Wings and show you guys who much making that loving thing destroyed them. My favorite boots
ASSTASTIC fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Oct 8, 2008 |
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Oct 8, 2008 17:20
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I buy nothing but Red Wings anymore. I have wide feet and they always carry an excellent selection of really awesome footwear that's comfortable and durable as all hell. poo poo, I bought a pair of their "worx" boots as a cheapo set of steel toes for my O/A welding course last year. I do everything in them, they are easily the most comfortable work boot I've ever used. The blacksmith I took a course from last spring is offering another weekend course this fall, I'll be going again. Hopefully I can lean on my experiences over the summer and ask the right questions to build my minor skill into moderate skill. It's getting harder to practice as we approach winter, the days get so short up here in Canada
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Oct 8, 2008 18:06
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This thread is just what I needed! I've been wondering about metalwork as a hobby. It seems like it would be a fun and useful thing to be able to make poo poo I need. So far the things that have caught my eye are casting, welding, and milling. I'm thinking of trying to get started in that order but the entire thing just seems daunting. For now I'm just reading like mad. For casting: is this worth buying and building? Small-scale seems like a fairly logical place to start and I'm a poor college student. This seems like the simplest of the things I want to try. That's not saying much. Second, welding. The main thing here seems to be expense. Seems like there's a pretty substantial minimum outlay to get a welder worth having, and it also sounds like having too little oomph causes big problems. The processes I was looking at are MIG, Oxy-acetylene, and SMAW. I obviously have to pick a process but I don't know which one. I don't really have any specific projects in mind, either. The general impression I have is that MIG seems nicer for small scale projects, and has the benefit of being cheaper. Acetylene welding seems to be not too bad for small scale either, and has the benefit of being a cutter too. Some people seem to really like SMAW, and some people seem to prefer other processes. Is this just a Chevy/Ford kinda situation or is each process good at specific things? Which process should I start with, and how much power should I be looking for in my situation, and does anyone have any specific recommendations of where to hunt for one? So many options. Let alone figuring the technique out.  Milling and lathing seems like it'd be quite useful. Are the minimills and minilathes you can find at Harbor Freight or Ebay or whatnot (and info on the minilathe website) worth having? I don't have huge piles of cash to spend here but I don't want to spend more time fighting bad equipment than learning the technique. It sure makes those castings look nicer (that flywheel). I have to have something to mill, though, so it seems like maybe I should learn these in the order cast, mill, weld? Finally, classes. I'm really considering trying to take a welding class this summer. I have Washtenaw Community College right on my doorstep. Seems like I could eventually figure out milling and lathing but the whole welding thing is so large and confusing. I'm probably reading too much about it and I need to get my rear end into a class, but still. Worth taking?Also, preparing to be mocked for not knowing where to start. Such is the life of the beginner. Paul MaudDib fucked around with this message at 04:43 on Oct 9, 2008 |
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Oct 9, 2008 04:23
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The mini milling machines and lathes are good for hobbyists who fabricated small one off things, but they aren't as accurate as a big lathe. In my instrument repair class we have the Sherline milling machine and lathe, as well as a full sized milling machine and lathe. I much prefer the larger one unless I am making small things that don't have to be accurate to the .0005
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Oct 9, 2008 05:30
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If I wanted one of you metal gods to make me a stainless rod with a loop in one end what would it cost me? 16" long, with a 1" diameter closed loop in the end, 1/4" diameter rod. (316 stainless)
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Oct 9, 2008 05:34
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EVERYTHING I SAY ABOUT JAPAN OR LIVING IN JAPAN IS COMPLETELY WRONG, BUT YOU BETTER BELIEVE I'LL 
ABOUT IT.
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Anyone know how to extract a broken tap from a hole? I was tapping a hole in polycarbonate and the drat thing broke. I don't have a tap extractor unfortunately... Any ideas? I know this is a metalworking thread, but someone has to have some idea how to do this.
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Oct 9, 2008 06:08
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