What Did You Buy Today?

I will start a thread @erikmannie.
I’ll try to chronicle my journey from absolute hack to minimally capable wanna-be :D


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francist said:
Wow, you don’t fool around do you? :)
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I’ve been pining for one for months now.
I have designs on making some garden structures, trellises etc for our garden.

Plus I don’t enjoy the smoke and sparks from Mig or stick.


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Weldo said:
Congrats on the welder @DavidR8! That's a big purchase and will give you a lot of capability.

I got something less exciting in the mail today.

Never got a package with this sticker before!

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I picked up a new blade for my square and some new screws for it. I went with the TiN coated one for visibility. The markings are very easy to read. The parts are PEC from ebay.

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I had a PEC combo square years ago from welding school but have since lost the protractor part and the blade. I've been using an old unbranded blade for a while but I use it enough to want a nicer one.
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Thanks @Weldo, I’m pretty excited about learning a new skill.
I’ve been wanting one for months now and well my birthday is coming up :D

That’s an interesting ruler design. I like how the numbers are staggered.


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Corona crisis made a lot of people sell their nice tools.

Just bought a 500mm, 0.05mm resolution, Scala (german made) caliper in mint condition.

Very happy with the find

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Janderso said:
Davi

David,
May you find tig welding to be an easy endeavor.
I struggle with it. I have a good Miller tig welder, I just suck.
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Thanks Jeff, I expect the learning curve will be pretty vertical!
 
Janderso said:
Davi

David,
May you find tig welding to be an easy endeavor.
I struggle with it. I have a good Miller tig welder, I just suck.
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I have spent over 1000 hours welding, and I cannot even make a consistently handsome bead. I can consistently produce a sound weld, but it is nothing that I would photograph and post online. It must take well over 1000 hours of practice.

The key to making a beautiful TIG bead seems to be 100% consistency (arc length, travel speed, torch angle, amount of filler rod added per dip, filler rod angle, keeping the filler rod in the shielding gas at all times, and a steady hand). Near 100% cleanliness is a given. Using a quality vs. cheap import gas lens will eliminate some frustration.

I have concentrated on cleanliness and penetration. I like to weld hot and fast in order to minimize the HAZ. When I fabricate something, the welds are structurally sound, but I almost always grind down my embarrassing welds.

Now in order to not be off topic I just bought a 11 lb. roll of .035" ER70S-6 roll of MIG wire. It was $30.07 delivered.
 
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1,000 hours makes you qualified to have a sound opinion. I agree, cleanliness is so important, you have to be a machine.
One of my problems is I just can't see well. I dip the tungsten and didn't see myself doing it. I have cheaters in my Miller digital elite helmet and still struggle.
Give me a mig job anyday.
 
There's a knack to TIG welding that most of us will never have, regardless of hours of practice. I've got maybe 50 hours under my belt and can make sound welds in steels from 0.020" thick up to around 0.25" thick (200 Amp machine). My beads are not always pretty, but they hold. Aluminum is still a work in progress. Butt or lap joints aren't too bad, inside angle, not so much.

At the old Lansing Plant 3 stamping plant die shop, the "test of the best" was trying to weld together two Werther's candy wrappers. Must be they are aluminum foil with a plastic film The challenge was to weld two wrappers together in no more than 3 tries without any burn-throughs plus a good bead. I was told only two guys ever met the challenge. Naturally, not a very pertinent test to being a good welder, but some guys just have the knack.

Bruce
 
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A couple of things found their way to my house recently. Some threading wires, and a half dead (carbide) center.
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Today a big truck came by and I helped unload it. With my wife's help, and an assist from gravity, who am I kidding, a gentle free fall, I got this into the basement. 1.75" maple top that weighs 100 lbs. Allegedly can support over 2000 lbs!
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Finally, a sturdy table to mount a 6 inch vise and a few other things!
 
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