Good morning
- Thread starter meanstreak
- Start date
My wife had me weld her Bissel sweeper today. The modern ones have a segmented handle that (almost) screws together. That thin tubing needed about 18 amps, and is probably the thinnest thing I have ever welded successfully.
I had parts to clean but ran out of sandpaper, and my big wire wheel on the Baldor was shot.
So I quit cleaning parts, and I got my seats about half-way set up, then I ran out of argon & couldn’t weld.
My wife decided she needed me to buy her a dowel for some decoration.
Then my garage door opener crapped out again. It usually works, but randomly it has a seizure.
So today was spent shopping for argon, hardware, dowel, wire wheel, etc, and a new opener.
I bought a 1 hp Craftsman belt drive with wi-fi and backup battery. I chose that one partly because I have installed a pre-wi-fi version.
I inspected all the parts and read the manual. By then I was done for today.
I had parts to clean but ran out of sandpaper, and my big wire wheel on the Baldor was shot.
So I quit cleaning parts, and I got my seats about half-way set up, then I ran out of argon & couldn’t weld.
My wife decided she needed me to buy her a dowel for some decoration.
Then my garage door opener crapped out again. It usually works, but randomly it has a seizure.
So today was spent shopping for argon, hardware, dowel, wire wheel, etc, and a new opener.
I bought a 1 hp Craftsman belt drive with wi-fi and backup battery. I chose that one partly because I have installed a pre-wi-fi version.
I inspected all the parts and read the manual. By then I was done for today.
Today it's the dreaded Tule Fog. Highway visibility is naught. It might be damp all day.
There may be some welding but no sanding or painting. Everything is going to rust fast.
According to the forecast, Thursday should be the day to paint.
I did some more work on the seats, getting them set up to weld in the seat bases. There is an issue with fitment, as the floor pan rises at the rear inner corner of the seats. I must modify two of the rails as necessary to fit the floor.
There may be some welding but no sanding or painting. Everything is going to rust fast.
According to the forecast, Thursday should be the day to paint.
I did some more work on the seats, getting them set up to weld in the seat bases. There is an issue with fitment, as the floor pan rises at the rear inner corner of the seats. I must modify two of the rails as necessary to fit the floor.
Lesson #2345 in why we need to be involved in local government:
I was reading our local city newsletter today and found that we have a new chief of police. Appointed by our city manager, who apparently has the authority to do so -- without city council approval.
Now the city manager is a competent lady that leans left, and her appointee is a great example of a DEI hire. The new chief is also a woman, which is fine, but her most recent position in law enforcement was being the chief of the campus police at the Univ. of Colorado - Boulder. Hardly a bastion of conservative values. Fear not, though, she has a degree in criminal science and a doctorate in "Leadership in Educational Equity" - swell. No military experience either.
There HAD to be more qualified candidates. Barney Fife would be more qualified.
Anyway, I'm meeting with a long time friend and former coworker who's been on the city council for a while. The city charter needs an amendment.
This will teach me to avoid city council meetings.
I was reading our local city newsletter today and found that we have a new chief of police. Appointed by our city manager, who apparently has the authority to do so -- without city council approval.
Now the city manager is a competent lady that leans left, and her appointee is a great example of a DEI hire. The new chief is also a woman, which is fine, but her most recent position in law enforcement was being the chief of the campus police at the Univ. of Colorado - Boulder. Hardly a bastion of conservative values. Fear not, though, she has a degree in criminal science and a doctorate in "Leadership in Educational Equity" - swell. No military experience either.
There HAD to be more qualified candidates. Barney Fife would be more qualified.
Anyway, I'm meeting with a long time friend and former coworker who's been on the city council for a while. The city charter needs an amendment.
This will teach me to avoid city council meetings.
| “I must modify two of the rails as necessary to fit the floor.” |
What I needed to do was simply reshape the floor pan a little bit with a ball peen hammer. One side is done and the seat rail now sits down quite nicely.
The original builder just ignored this and mislocated the seats all crooked.
Anyhow you can see where I hammered by the missing paint.
Also you can see one of the seat risers attached through the crossmember with the temporary bolt.
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I own that same little POS Chinese drill press, only marketed under another name. It has actually held up OK, but is not super accurate.
EDIT: looking more closely I can see they are not identical. Mine is likely a cheap copy of the Delta.
EDIT: looking more closely I can see they are not identical. Mine is likely a cheap copy of the Delta.
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Ok but more like this.
Farms = republicans now.
Weed=Unofficial state flower everywhere
(Was poppies)
Rednecks mostly around Bakersfield.
Loonies flock to the Nevada border, owens valley & Palm desert area.
I see they left out the pedophiles as well.
Farms = republicans now.
Weed=Unofficial state flower everywhere
(Was poppies)
Rednecks mostly around Bakersfield.
Loonies flock to the Nevada border, owens valley & Palm desert area.
I see they left out the pedophiles as well.
I got the seat risers installed and the seats fitted.
Then the seats came back off during welding & paint.
The back of the seats bolt through the steel crossmember, but the fronts just bolt to the pan. This was flimsy & always needed its own crossmember.
This new crossmember tube is only 16ga so just enough to stiffen the floor.
Then the seats came back off during welding & paint.
The back of the seats bolt through the steel crossmember, but the fronts just bolt to the pan. This was flimsy & always needed its own crossmember.
This new crossmember tube is only 16ga so just enough to stiffen the floor.
Good morning. Sunny and mid 30s. The high today should be right at 40. Yesterday we hit 67.
Have a great day.
Have a great day.
The weather here is still lovely, mid 60s but a bit of early fog these days.
I got all the rust and dirt out of that tube and coped it a bit more. Then I drilled the holes and the access holes.
It needs a bit more trimming but it is almost ready to weld.
I got all the rust and dirt out of that tube and coped it a bit more. Then I drilled the holes and the access holes.
It needs a bit more trimming but it is almost ready to weld.
Well today was a challenge. I tried to weld that crossmember in, and started masking a real mess.
When TIG welding steel you see the blue-white plasma flame of the electric arc, and you see the glowing puddle of hot liquid metal.
When you TIG weld over dirty or painted steel you will also see miniature fireworks. Tiny little orange sparks fly from the puddle. This is carbon atoms as they burn up and die.
But my metal was clean. Burnished and acid dipped, then sanded. I had a new electrode.
What the devil?
You will also see those sparks when you are welding and run out of argon. But I had a fresh bottle. I had just turned it on.
I checked the flow, and gas was flowing normally. I even added more gas. The sparks actually increased a bit. My weld looked like porous crap. I did a test weld on different steel. Same issue…
Finally, you will see those little sparks when someone has put MIG welding gas in an argon bottle: 75% argon and 25% CO2.
The carbon sparks come from the CO2.
So after I figured this out, I had to take the gas back to the welding shop and exchange it. This whole exercise blew most of my energy today and I didn’t get as much done as I expected.
I did however get 24 little welds tying that crossmember to the floor pan, and the whole car just got much quieter and stiffer.
When TIG welding steel you see the blue-white plasma flame of the electric arc, and you see the glowing puddle of hot liquid metal.
When you TIG weld over dirty or painted steel you will also see miniature fireworks. Tiny little orange sparks fly from the puddle. This is carbon atoms as they burn up and die.
But my metal was clean. Burnished and acid dipped, then sanded. I had a new electrode.
What the devil?
You will also see those sparks when you are welding and run out of argon. But I had a fresh bottle. I had just turned it on.
I checked the flow, and gas was flowing normally. I even added more gas. The sparks actually increased a bit. My weld looked like porous crap. I did a test weld on different steel. Same issue…
Finally, you will see those little sparks when someone has put MIG welding gas in an argon bottle: 75% argon and 25% CO2.
The carbon sparks come from the CO2.
So after I figured this out, I had to take the gas back to the welding shop and exchange it. This whole exercise blew most of my energy today and I didn’t get as much done as I expected.
I did however get 24 little welds tying that crossmember to the floor pan, and the whole car just got much quieter and stiffer.
Good morning to all of yous. A beautiful December morning here. Sunny and 38 at 8 am. The high today is supposed to be 62. That suits me just fine.
Y’all have a great day.
Y’all have a great day.
Bobster
.30-06
I had a small (40?), "travel" tank of Ar that had WATER in it.
Straight back to the LWS to swap it out. They couldn't explain why it had water in it but if I cracked the valve and tipped it upside down water came out. I think I noticed some spray when initially cracking the valve before mounting the gauges. I do this to make sure there is no debris in it.I've seen your C25 (ie: 25% CO2) issue before with someone trying to TIG with it and asking me why their welds sucked. In this case, the tank was clearly labeled C25 and they hadn't noticed...
Don't know if any of you are following the ongoing conflict in Syria and the rapid rebel advance into Homs and toward Damascus but the pictures coming out show some interesting weapon platforms all being focused on mobility. Carefully look at the mods to this motorcycle.
Bobster
.30-06
I'm thinking ISIS v2.0...
PS: beheadings soon to follow!
PPS: bargain basement military materiel purchases from the Taliban!
