Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Upgrading the Welding Shop a Bit

Years ago folks steered me away from trying to wire weld aluminum on a production basis. Interesting seeing how it's straightforward now.

The squared-away, orderliness of your shop always impresses, 'Cross. Enjoy the new unit's abilities and have a good one out there.

Yup. For years we would not allow FCAW on any of our equipment (O&G stuff) and now it is pretty common.

yes and what we cry about the most is all new power rigs , trucks hoes, bulldozers, drill rigs, ect cant be fixed by you and me
only by tecs at 140.oo an hour or more but they sure produce more work, and what's comming next is the robotic computer screen controled desk jocky operator leaving us OLD schoolboys shaking our heads :confuse

norm

Well there, THAT is out of the way, and where it belongs



......and I didn't kick the ladder out of the way and wind up stranded up there. Actually that whole lashup went together one piece at a time, telescoping together as it sprouted.
Lord bless and keep our boneyards full, this I humbly beseech you.
....Ya' just can't BEAT a MIG when "show Quality" is not the objective, but rather slamming something that will WORK, and getting it done pronto-like.

Thank you Lord for that crop of 3X3" HSS that I grabbed in town yesterday being EXACTLY the right length needed to get the height required at a simple 45*. Please,.... Continue to bless and keep the makers of these fine American truck muffler clamps, too.



Guess as long as I'm invocatin' and beseeching,...

Lord, please let me find the sucker rod that's given up at a shallow spot in the string, and I promise not to put the thing in top gear again unless it's real cloudy

One reason I was hired at a company in California was, during my interview they laid a part in front of me and asked, "How would you make this?". It was a welded steel assembly. I asked the monthly quantity, got the answer, and replied, "cut the sheet metal with a laser, form it, and weld it with a robot."

They had been importing a Chinese product, and wanted to start selling a US made product. Both the products and production line I designed worked well, and 18 years later, they are still doing it pretty much that way. Volumes got high enough to justify a big blanking press, and a 2nd Lincoln robot. I got the satisfaction of creating a few jobs in the USA.

I eventually moved on to greener pastures, running a smaller company. But it's real interesting, to wire weld aluminum

Mornin' Hoser !

Dwayne, actually that setup is as azzbackwards as one could manage, but keeps the Lawyers happy,...it's almost impossible to tip.

The OPTIMUM spot for that wire drive would be 3' ABOVE the workpiece, and pointed down at 15* or so,....the first 4 feet of lead supported dead straight. Suffice it to say that "convenience" goes out the window, and we're no longer dragging it around the shop lickety splitsky.

Best I can say is ALWAYS try to keep that feed / lead as STRAIGHT as possible, and use wipers and wire lube / cleaner.

GTC

All that. And shipping manufacturing jobs overseas. A lot of that equipment is for sale, cheap, because of our high unemployment.

Very nice shop and plenty of outside space.

At 71, I'm just learning to tig weld, using a Miller Dynasty 200DX I picked up used/remanufactured/used some more, on oBoy. Got a couple argon bottles on c/l. Getting better at handling the filler rod. Though I'd done some stick welding projects, decades ago, so far I've only used what I've learned to tack together some steel and some stainless pieces I fabricated, so I could then have a pro complete the welding; these had to be perfect for a client. Have to admire anyone with well honed tig welding skills. And I don't mind paying a pro for this, as I often have done in the past.

Tied to this was my purchase of a (ancient) vertical mill and lathe and a new mitering bandsaw, plus the precision layout, measuring and setup equipment that go along with more refined metalworking. And the major reorganization of my already seriously overcrowded (primarily wood) fabrication shop, which is a dust hole.

UMmmm, I THOUGHT that I'd just said that. Sorry if it was obtuse.

Want to REALLY learn how to manage a Tig Puddle and Filler Rod ?

.....learn to Oxy-Acetylene weld at a master level,....FIRST.

Fatigued, a bit arthritic and muscle achy here all the time now, so I see my TIG skills largely in the toilet.

Best high precision welders I've known were gals.

GTC

All,

Weld string's been lifted, no sucker rod damage evident, so plugging the frost weep in the lift pipe (48" down casing) and resealing the VERY leaky top gland is underway.

.....next time you see a pic of that 211 it will be missing alla' those stupid safety and model labels ( I mean I KNOW what the damned thing is). That stick on labeling stuff gets RASTY /discolored when hit with weld spatter, and grinder chips, and the only time to get it gone is when NEW,.....once aged at all, and hit by IR and UV it'll rip the paint off.

GTC

Very nice, there was a time in my life I would have killed for one of those!

I've done a fare bit of O/A welding as a lad and even more brazing. The first time I picked up a TIG torch and glued some stainless together, I was in heaven. My mentor at the time was impressed as well and commented that I must have burnt some gas in the past.

TIG is an awesome skill to have but slow if not required. Tough to beat MIG for speed but the old stick is always required for outside or sticky situations.

What gas do you run in your MIG, Cross? I did straight CO at first and still do for dirty projects but 75/25 is my go to as it is a cleaner looking weld at higher amps.

I picked up a slightly used 304 Miller with a S60 pusher a few years back and won't have a lesser machine in my shop except for some .030/.023 work on the thin stuff. That thing flat out welds. I use it for everything from MIG to TIG to stick to arc gouging and it's been flawless. I try to use a big 40 oil burner for the gouging so I don't wreck a good outfit needlessly.

I noticed that you don't seem to have any insulation on your shop walls. How do you stay warm in the winter months? I need heat for half of the year.

No insulation ?

Well,....not yet, I'm still trying to get this place half azzed squared away.

Gas,....STRAIGHT CO2 is still the economy choice,....
and if and when I need to boot that, I mix my own, I've got Argon for the Dynasty, and I believe there's a big helium bottle out there somewhere.....Haven't counted "Owner Bottles" or stacked up alla' the Ys, Ts, or adapters, but they all seem to be here.

The last time I did any serious playing around with mixing gasses, I remember being really impressed with the addition of MINUTE (e.g. .05 to .2 %) Oxygen, to CO2 Argon, and CO2 Argon / Helium.....mostly when running FAT 3/64" wires. IIRC, it seemed to lay down a smoother boundary zone when capping.

Big 40 dittos, my friend,.....and semper E 7024, E 7018 when one just HAS to dump a string of metal where there ain't any, and have it HOLD.

I've had mine (Big 40) since 1982,....and am finally "overhauling" it.

GTC

I love welding with a splash of O2 in the gas mix but I don't always have the patients to prep my work for it. It seems that it needs to be CLEAN to burn an oxy mix.

I welded some boilers with a tri-mix and that was fun but I had everything brushed and degreased perfectly. Also did a bit of 95/5 for some fancy production spray transfer MIG. I didn't care for the weld but that's what the smart guy spec'd. I prefer a little texture to the weld profile.

75/25 is not as cheap as straight CO2 but most of my welding is on .125" and over material. It's not uncommon to have the wire pusher up to 750IPM on some of the larger jobs and straight CO2 just doesn't cut it for me on those projects.

Don't forget to show us some pics of that loomynum project when it happens.

CHIT !

My apologies for not answering this sooner.

That "Dolly" was a Flea Market score,....as pictued, and intact it only required shortening,
....the Workmate just sits on it, and can be lifted off. Beats the chit out of packin' the thing around on blown out knees.

Roll on, Owayhee !

I like that welder you have on the trailer. Have one just like it, powered by a flat head continental

Crossfire,

I thought push pull spool guns are required for aluminum welding?

I think spool guns are single drive but its point of use, little spool right there on the gun.

Nice stuff crossfire.

Yep no need to waste a long string of wire when it goes tits up.

I do use a felt wiper fob wetted with some kind of amazing stuff(lighter fluid i think)that keeps the liner clean.

Guess I am out of my league.