So What Did You Weld Today?

[soundman]

Posting up for yesterdays welds..sorry no pictures.

But I heard my compressor making some funny noises...like a squeaking belt....but not quite the same.

I'd heard this noise before....and yep on inspection the motor bracket had some cracks in it.

These CMG motor brackets are stamped out of a flat piece of tin.

They seem to crack in some obvious stress ponts.

I had this happen about 10 years ago & I replaced the bracket with a new one but before I did I reinforced it with a piece of 10mmx 10mm bar brased across the weak points on the tension side of the bracket.

Well that worked...it has not broken there, but there where cracks in the same pleces on the compression side.

ANYway, I migged up the cracks, built up a bar of weld across the end, then ground and filed the flat bits flat again.

A slash with some black paint, put it all back togeher with a new beltand ..."the jobs good'n"

Hopefully it will last another 10 years

Still clearing up the workshop to make room for a bit of a metalwork session.

cheers

[Ch4iS]

First project on the list after buying a cylinder, went with the G size as it's over double the size of an E cylinder and yet only an extra $40 to refill, downside is my old cart isn't stable enough.

Still to add some hooks for leads ect. and thinking of adding another piece of flat bar to support the cylinder.

[soundman]

I've recently baught a G sized shielding gas...I'm still running out the old E...that is that last rental BOC will see from that machine.

But I have decided not to put the G on the cart.

I've strapped the G to the wall and it will stay there.

I'll run a long hose to it.
I have to run power to the machine so whay not gas...unlike oxy/acetylene pressure and flow are not critical.

This makes the actual welder on its trolly much lighter and easy to move around.

cheers

[Ch4iS]

Sounds like a good idea soundman.

Didn't even consider it when planning a cart, even after seeing the wall of gas bottles chained up at the speed gas reseller.

[beefy]

Didn't make these today (or yesterday) but they're the last major things I did. The 2nd photo shows just one of the reasons I like toys like these. Try picking that up with just a bucket. I still get an evil grin when I do that sort of thing LOL.

[RustyArc]

Any reason you don't have a cylinder on that thumb? You look to have the piping available.

[beefy]

That grab was built in a relative hurry. A builder had a job coming up for a rock retaining wall in a very confined space. I had a think about the job and thought I really need a grab so made it up in a hurry. Then the job fell through My stick is relatively short and was posing a challenge to fit a long enough ram in. Also a hydraulic ram would have took longer because there's more precision required with the installation of hardened pins and bushes. I pretty much got by with just drilling all the pin holes on this thumb.

If time had not been an issue I would have tried to design a full blown hydraulic "progressive link" thumb. They are pinned at the same point as the bucket pin and they have the greatest range of motion, more than a basic hydraulic thumb. Saying that, I absolutely love the basic rigid thumb and couldn't live without at least that on an excavator. The huge increase in efficiency, speed and capability (and safety) with various tasks is great.

I was going to build a load of attachments for my business but I noticed that most customers have no idea of the benefits the attachments bring them. All they see is an excavator doing the job, they don't see and understand how the job is being done. Thus many don't want to pay any more. My rigid thumb has actually lost me money because its use speeds up the job quite a bit, and I'm on hourly hire. Talked to quite a few operators since and many have the same experience.

[meadow street]

had my first taste of wire feed welding today......and I like it !!!!!

havent got good enough power for my big mig yet, but found a cheap lincoln 180c to cover the really thin stuff so had a play.

mucked around with t joints and a few fillets on un cleaned duragal, just to see how it burns.

tried some vert up after turning the voltage and wire speed down and think I could get a decent joint with a bit more practice.

recommend mask and fan though

[Karl Robbers]

had my first taste of wire feed welding today......and I like it !!!!!

havent got good enough power for my big mig yet, but found a cheap lincoln 180c to cover the really thin stuff so had a play.

mucked around with t joints and a few fillets on un cleaned duragal, just to see how it burns.

tried some vert up after turning the voltage and wire speed down and think I could get a decent joint with a bit more practice.

recommend mask and fan though

Was that done with self shielded fluxcore? It's damn fumey stuff isn't it.
I've never worried about grinding Duragal, the arc burns the thin coating off quite effectively.
Quite a nice profile on the weld you photographed.

[meadow street]

Was that done with self shielded fluxcore? It's damn fumey stuff isn't it.
I've never worried about grinding Duragal, the arc burns the thin coating off quite effectively.
Quite a nice profile on the weld you photographed.

yes lincoln mr 211 mp innersihield self shielded fluxcore 0.9mm Karl

got three passes on a piece of 2.5 mm rhs just for kicks....... hahaha

[RustyArc]

I made a stand for a so-called "pop-up" market and food event yesterday.

Well, took more than a day, and was finished about an hour before it had to be carted onto site and put together.

Started with a drawing in Sketchup:
QH Stand 1.jpg

Then out with the hot metal glue gun.
QH Stand 1a.jpg

The legs plug in, so the telescoping sections had to be shimmed into centre with special shim stock.
QH Stand 1b.jpg

Remarkably enough, legs actually fitted top without the need to belt the crap out of it.
QH Stand 1c.jpg

The cladding was this weird stock - can't weld it, if you try to grind it gives of this acrid smoke.
QH Stand 1d.jpg

Then made anothery for the back, plus a plug-in backboard. Painted it, threw on ute and out to the airport hangar where the event was held.
QH Stand 2.jpg

And ready to sling booze to the punters!
QH Stand 3.jpg

[RustyArc]

My sister is into smoking stuff - she's spent too much time in the US where they're mad for complex BBQ and smoking procedures. She already has a smoking cabinet, but wanted to try cold smoking, as the raw meat absorbs more smoke (you cook it afterwards).

So for Christmas, she wanted a separate thing to generate smoke that could be piped into her existing cabinet.

Thus I started with a sheet of 1.6mm steel on the V8 workbench:

IMG_0703.jpg

And cut off bits with the ol circ saw:

IMG_0704.jpg

Then cut, score, fold and weld 4 trays to go inside (for ash, heat beads, smoking chips and water):

IMG_0707.jpgIMG_0712.jpg

Do the same for the enclosure:

IMG_0710.jpgIMG_0711.jpgIMG_0713.jpg

Add a door, chute, air control, handles, latch & legs and she's done:

IMG_0716.jpgIMG_0718.jpg

I had to go onsite to complete the installation, as the existing cabinet needed a hole in the side to let in the smoke. There's a length of flexible metal ducting to carry the smoke to the cabinet that should help dissipate some of the heat. It'll get tested in the next few days, so hopefully it'll do the job...

[Normanby]

Earlier this year I obtained a Power pole 7.5 metres long for an eventual replacement of a deteriorated pole on our block. It was unloaded onto a flat area near our front driveway as the truck could not get closer to where it needs to be.
I decided I would move it to an area closer to the bad pole and out of the way. I didn't want to just drag it along the ground so I built a small trolley using a piece of galv channel 6" X 3" X 3/8" 36" long. Cut out two pieces with a plasma cutter to the profile of the large end of the pole. Cut and drilled two lengths of 1" dia round bar and welded them on for axles to take two steel rim wheel barrow wheels. Then bored some holes to fit two "U" bolts into the base for attachment purposes.
Jacked up the end of the pole, attached the trolley and then connected the pole small end to my Fergy tractor. The move went ok earlier this week with my son guiding me between trees and through a gateway.
The pole is now sitting above the ground available to be used when needed some time in the future.
Hope attached photos view ok. Not much welding, just stick for the axles.
Regards
Sorry not in order, also need to learn to attach titles to photos.

[Normanby]

Realized later that Power pole is actually 12.5 metres long, not 7.5 as I think I previously stated.

[Marc]

Realized later that Power pole is actually 12.5 metres long, not 7.5 as I think I previously stated.

Epic!
How are you going to erect it? Do you have an excavator?