Recent content by Fedup

I don't mean to ramble here, but bear with me for a bit. I have a friend, local farmer, for whom I do a lot of work on equipment. I use his shop (and sometimes other buildings) for my projects, things I can't do at home. He acquired a really nice Miller DC stick welder. Not sure of the model...

The part is in two pieces now, so the two need to be joined back and be water tight. The fabricated piece would be added to the flat surface where a gasket will deal the housing to the cylinder head. That of course would need to be water tight as well. I guess I need to find a welding shop and...

I'm wondering where/who to ask this question. Can cast aluminum be welded? If so, can it be welded to other aluminum, like sheet stock or plate? I need to replace(or repair) a broken cast thermostat housing for a tractor made in Japan for International some thirty odd years ago with a Nissan...

https://www.purplewave.com/auction/140416/item/g2326 Anyone know much about these? I have a chance to pick one up for a song, I just don't know if I have enough power to run it. I have 240V in my (mostly outdoor) work space, but it's a long cord, powered off a double 40 amp breaker. I run my...

Okay for welding? I would say most likely yes. If all the wood is covered by metal, and there are no exposed gaps for sparks, welding berries, cutting slag etc to find their way directly to wood, then it should be safe enough. Unless you plan on some serious construction projects generating a...

It turns out my oxygen bottle is 125 cu ft and the gas bottle is 75. Last refill on the O2 was $45. When I bought them 14 or 15 years ago, I think it was something like $300 or $400 for the pair. This was actually the first exchange on the gas in all that time. Probably twice on the O2. I use...

Well, maybe it's just me. I know that for as often(or more accurately, seldom) I use them, I think they are just too expensive to be practical for me. I need the portability maybe once or twice a year. Every time it takes a $45+ bottle of gas, sometimes two. I used it again last week and got a...

My O2 tank has what I would call a "standard" valve, similar to my larger tanks. they seem to work just fine. It's only the gas bottle that has this funky type with a square stem without a handle. Probably 3/16" square. Seems that in order to get a tank with a standard valve it requires going to...

I have a portable torch setup, using #1 size bottles. Granted, I don't use it much, but whenever the need arises the gas bottle is always empty. I can't help but conclude the valves on these small tanks must be junk. Maybe I need to leave the regulator, hoses and torch valve (turned...

I'm wondering if you've noticed any improvements by following any of the above suggestions? I too have much the same problem. Old age and diminished eyesight have made welding much more difficult than ever before. Frustrating for sure, and usually with disappointing results. I have what I...

Looks pretty good for the price. It has most of the features I paid $200 for. I'd say go for it. I have no problem with the internal adjustments. It usually takes only one or two anyway, and no chance of bumping the knobs.

I still haven't tried the cheater lens. Not sure what to expect from it. Will it make things appear twice as big, or twice as close? Just getting accustomed to seeing the puddle, keeping the tip of the rod where I want it and the arc going is challenging enough without throwing in guesswork...

The new Lincoln was delivered as advertised, and was indeed tried out that day. Like anything new there's a learning curve. It comes with a myriad of adjustments for the headgear alone, plus other positioning variables. That took a while. I used it some that day, and again for a while on the...

I went ahead and ordered the Lincoln 3350 from Cyberweld. It should be here today. If the weather holds I might even get to try it out. I was bidding on a used one on Ebay, but it was almost up to the price of a new one.

Never thought I'd spend this much time studying and discussing options on a welding helmet. Wow! With my old cardboard Hunstman, about the only option I had was when to change the plastic lens shields before they got so bad I couldn't see at all. Now I'm wondering about control knobs. My...