Merry Christmas All !!
 

KC wrote:
On 12/26/2013 11:05 AM, wrote:
On Thursday, December 26, 2013 10:42:28 AM UTC-5, KC wrote:
On 12/26/2013 10:29 AM, wrote:

On Thursday, December 26, 2013 8:11:53 AM UTC-5, KC wrote:



Yeah, that's where they told me to start. Jess and I have a bud across

town who is a welder by trade, said to call him as soon as I get a

machine and he will head over to start the lessons:) I already have a

couple projects in the works.



Get some scrap metal and practice! Since my first project was (and
still is) some auto body work, I went by a friends body shop and got
some body panels that were pulled from wrecks. Cut a chunk out, weld
it back in, repeat. Tough to do at first without blowing holes
through it. Figured out later that thicker metal is easier to weld,
you just have to worry about getting enough penetration instead of too much.



Get a decent quality welding helmet. Gotta protect those eyes.





That is an issue. They got me a number 5 lens on goggles but I can still

see through them indoors and that concernes me.



I was looking at a couple of the auto tint helmets at Harbor Freight and

it says they change in 1/25000 of a second... that scares me too.



Any input from you all on helmets and what is a "decent quality" welding

helmet... If you got a minute, maybe show me a link to one you would use

(if you were on a tight budget like me:)...? Thanks.

Personally, I'd stay away from the Harbor Freight helmets. Their stuff
tends to be very cheaply made, and while I'd consider buying something
there that I would only use a couple of times, if it's something that I
want to keep and use for a long time (like my eyes) I buy the best I can.

A decent helmet would be somthing like this:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...1185_200591185

Name brand with some reputation of queality. A Lincoln would be good,
too. You can spend a lot more for professional stuff (for people using
them 8 hours a day!), but for occasional hobby use these are good.

Don't worry about the switching time. Even 1/12,000 of a second is
fine, again, for hobby use. If you were welding for hours on end, you'd
want faster or a permanent tint lense.

That's my advice. Check with your pro welder buddy. I think he'll
steer you away from HF, too.


Thanks... I won't buy the HF one... Still, I have a hobart goggles with
permanent lens and it says #5... I am not sure what "#5" lens signifies?
Could of course Google, but if you got a quick
explanation/reccomendation, go with it? The hobarts I got allow for lens changes...

It is the shade of the lens

Merry Christmas All !!
 

wrote:
On Thu, 26 Dec 2013 11:14:14 -0500, KC wrote:


Thanks... I won't buy the HF one... Still, I have a hobart goggles with
permanent lens and it says #5... I am not sure what "#5" lens signifies?
Could of course Google, but if you got a quick
explanation/reccomendation, go with it? The hobarts I got allow for lens
changes...

The number is the shade. I prefer something in the 11-12 range for my
stick machine. I don't think I would do any kind of arc welding with a
#5. That is more like a gas shade.

And if you do a lot of gas welding, forget the goggles and get a full face
mask and get a #5 shade for it.
Like http://www.amazon.com/US-Forge-99111.../dp/B000KKT6VY but
you can get a shaded mask for it. Go to a welding supply store and look.
Protects pops and splatters.

Merry Christmas All !!
 

KC wrote:
On 12/26/2013 10:29 AM, wrote:
On Thursday, December 26, 2013 8:11:53 AM UTC-5, KC wrote:

Yeah, that's where they told me to start. Jess and I have a bud across
town who is a welder by trade, said to call him as soon as I get a
machine and he will head over to start the lessons:) I already have a
couple projects in the works.

Get some scrap metal and practice! Since my first project was (and
still is) some auto body work, I went by a friends body shop and got
some body panels that were pulled from wrecks. Cut a chunk out, weld it
back in, repeat. Tough to do at first without blowing holes through it.
Figured out later that thicker metal is easier to weld, you just have
to worry about getting enough penetration instead of too much.

Get a decent quality welding helmet. Gotta protect those eyes.


That is an issue. They got me a number 5 lens on goggles but I can still
see through them indoors and that concernes me.

I was looking at a couple of the auto tint helmets at Harbor Freight and
it says they change in 1/25000 of a second... that scares me too.

Any input from you all on helmets and what is a "decent quality" welding
helmet... If you got a minute, maybe show me a link to one you would use
(if you were on a tight budget like me:)...? Thanks.

The HF helmet is fine. I use a Jackson helmet and I like the fit. Even if
the helmet is slow changing, you might get bright light, but even if the
helmet did not change it protects the eyes from the UV, so no flash burns.

Merry Christmas All !!
 

wrote:
On Thu, 26 Dec 2013 08:55:28 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:


TIG welding is an art form to me. I learned to use both TIG and MIG
welders, although my welds look horrible compared to the highly skilled
and certified welders I've known over the years.

In the business I was in, the large (up to 120" square) vacuum chambers
are constructed of half-inch thick (or thicker) stainless steel plate.
The welds required for vacuum integrity all have to be TIG welded to
ensure 100 percent root penetration to eliminate any microscopic voids
or cracks. You could hold liquids with no problem with these
microscopic cracks because the molecules in the liquid are larger than
the cracks ... therefore no leakage. But to many gases in the
atmosphere the same crack looks like the Grand Canyon.

We put "stiffeners" on the chambers to add the required wall strength to
withstand a 14.7 psi pressure delta. A 60" square chamber under vacuum
has about 26 tons of force per side trying to crush it like a tin can.
Those welds were structural only and therefore could be MIG welded.

Watching the quality of the "bead" that some of the welders could lay
down over a long distance was amazing. Tedious work, but critical to
the vacuum integrity of the chamber.


TIG is the welder of choice for pontoon boats around here and that
work is steady. A guy with a TIG on a truck can easily charge $100 an
hour or more, usually with a 2 hour minimum. I do understand it is an
art. The quality of the weld you can get makes it worth learning tho.
I started with a stick welder and once I get in the groove I can lay
down a decent bead. I usually have to practice for a while before I
start on the real work because I don't really weld that often these
days. If I am serious about it I put my rods in the oven at low heat
for a while to get them dried out

You can practice a lot of TIG technique with oxy/acet gas welding. Very
similar, but TIG has better heat control.

Merry Christmas All !!
 

KC wrote:
On 12/26/2013 10:22 AM, wrote:
On Thursday, December 26, 2013 8:55:28 AM UTC-5, Mr. Luddite wrote:


TIG welding is an art form to me. I learned to use both TIG and MIG
welders, although my welds look horrible compared to the highly skilled
and certified welders I've known over the years.

A friend who's a metal artist and a good MIG/TIG welder told me that's
what grinders are made for. :-)


Good point, I will remember that.

You want 2 angle grinders. 3 would be nice also. One with a flap wheel,
and 1 with a cutoff or grinding wheel. Saves loads of time when welding
saving on changing grinder stones or wire brush. Get a harbor freight
grinder for one and a good grinder for the other. Use the HF grinder for
the least used.

Merry Christmas All !!
 

wrote:
On Wed, 25 Dec 2013 22:17:11 -0500, KC wrote:

On 12/25/2013 9:27 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 25 Dec 2013 05:11:56 -0500, Poco Loco
wrote:

Leaving to go watch grandkids open presents!

Hope ALL of you have a super Christmas and find the joy and peace that
comes with the season. Don't
forget to give the Salvation Army collection man/lady a few bucks to
get themselves a nice dinner
somewhere. Oh, and put some money in the bucket too!

Thanks
I hope everyone had a great Christmas.
The kids were all here and we had lots of fun, ate too much and
engaged in the total commitment to stimulate the economy.
The wrapping paper alone would heat the house of a 3d worlder for a
couple days.
Watta country!
70s and sunny so we got out for an evening boat ride after the kids
left

http://gfretwell.com/ftp/Christmas%20sunset%2013.jpg


Nice... spent the day with my girls, got a flux core, wire feed, welder
so I guess it's time for me and Jess to learn a new art:)

I have a little Lincoln 100a (used/free from a friend) but I still
have not done a lot with it. I played with it a little and it crapped
out. Something went wrong in the wire guide of the lead. I never took
the time to get the wire free. I think that is why I ended up with it.
I keep promising myself I am going to buy the MIG conversion kit that
replaces all of that stuff along with a gas feed but I haven't seen
the need yet. I still have my old stick box.
I really want a TIG.

I have the Lincoln 180c with a spool gun, so I also do aluminum. I do art
welding as a hobby, and want both a TIG and a plasma cutter added to the
arsenal. The Lincoln does both MIG and also flux core. Most of the steel
I do is flux core, and use my old AIRCO stick welder for stainless and
heavy steel.

Merry Christmas All !!
 

wrote:
On Wed, 25 Dec 2013 05:11:56 -0500, Poco Loco
wrote:

Leaving to go watch grandkids open presents!

Hope ALL of you have a super Christmas and find the joy and peace that
comes with the season. Don't
forget to give the Salvation Army collection man/lady a few bucks to get
themselves a nice dinner
somewhere. Oh, and put some money in the bucket too!

Thanks
I hope everyone had a great Christmas.
The kids were all here and we had lots of fun, ate too much and
engaged in the total commitment to stimulate the economy.
The wrapping paper alone would heat the house of a 3d worlder for a
couple days.
Watta country!
70s and sunny so we got out for an evening boat ride after the kids
left

http://gfretwell.com/ftp/Christmas%20sunset%2013.jpg

We had Christmas in Naples, Long Beach, CA. Was 64 at 10 pm. Both
daughters, and families, and older daughters mom and significant other.
Took a walk after dinner through the Canals to look at the beautiful
decorations.

Merry Christmas All !!
 

KC wrote:
On 12/26/2013 11:22 AM, wrote:
On Thu, 26 Dec 2013 11:14:14 -0500, KC wrote:


Thanks... I won't buy the HF one... Still, I have a hobart goggles with
permanent lens and it says #5... I am not sure what "#5" lens signifies?
Could of course Google, but if you got a quick
explanation/reccomendation, go with it? The hobarts I got allow for lens
changes...

The number is the shade. I prefer something in the 11-12 range for my
stick machine. I don't think I would do any kind of arc welding with a
#5. That is more like a gas shade.


What about a MiG wire feed? Or is that one of the ones you mentioned above?

MIG is still in the 11-10 range.

Merry Christmas All !!
 

On 12/26/2013 3:05 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Thu, 26 Dec 2013 00:38:21 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/26/2013 12:25 AM, Wayne B wrote:
On Wed, 25 Dec 2013 23:33:35 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

As you suggested, there are areas in central Florida that I liked (Ocala
and northward) because they are very similar to New England in terms of
topography. But, I would really like to be near the ocean and have
another boat, so that's where we stand in our "negotiations". :-)

======

There's some very decent horse country in and around Ft Myers, and it
is also close to some very good boating. Summers are not a walk in
the park but are bearable. Congestion is not even remotely close to
what you see on the east coast.

Let me know if I can be of any assistance.


Got any tips for my "negotiations"? So far they have seemed to stall.
(horse reference) :-)

===

Negotiations? Wait for a really cold, windy blizzard and ask Mrs E
where she would rather be at age 80. It worked for me. :-)

Keeping the horses in a stall all winter has got to be bad for their
psyche. I'd think that the idea of being able to ride 12 months a
year would have some appeal.


Our horses are outside 12 mos a year, and they get ridden 12 mos. too...
You could ask her where she would rather ride in December though...
that's legit... Florida wins every time.

Merry Christmas All !!
 

On 12/26/2013 3:05 PM, Wayne.B wrote:


Keeping the horses in a stall all winter has got to be bad for their
psyche.

Absolutely... They need the security of being able to see the horizon or
the tree line anyway, a place to run to, and leaders/followers...

Our horse has another partner that she bosses around but they are
buddies. When we had to remove our horse from the herd a week or so ago
the other horse just stood at the gate all the time looking for her. The
other horse escaped and went straight to our horse, even though our
horse "beats her up" as it were... The horsed need herds, it's natural
for them, makes them nice horses...