ifitsmetal

Appreciate all who looked at the post and gave it some thought. Ben

I need a pc of 10" wide x 2 5/8"leg x 1/4" thick web aluminum channel 18" long. If anyone has some and is willing to sell a pc of it, lets get it on. Thanks, Ben

I use another hammer to drive drifts, punches, etc. Its my own hang up that I have, amongst many others.

is to have a sharp tap. Being the thrifty type people that we blacksmiths are, we try to get the most life out of any tool. A dull tap can ruin your day and sometimes the whole job as usually it will break off at the very end of a long drawn out affair. So stay sharp.

Starting to work on one as we speak.
Here is the plan:
6" X 9" X .25 mild steel plate. Will tig weld .50 tall letter out lines onto the plate with ss wire. Frame above plate like a picture with hammered and textured 1" or 1.5" X .25" flat bar. 2 .50 square legs hammered and twisted with cross pc welded in between the two approx. 8" up from the bottom of the legs to help facilitate sticking it into the ground. Top of the legs to be bent at 45 degree angle where the above plate is attached for easier reading from a standing position. Customer wants it painted black. I will then take a small polishing pad and remove the black paint from the ss letters. We will see how it turns out. Did a similar lettering job all out of ss that is attached to a sunken memorial out in the Atlantic, it turned out quite nice. Good luck.

Sorry, missed the foot pedal that came with it part. Ben

Arftist is pretty much right on the money. I ran 4 of those machines for years, never had a problem with any of them. Should do whatever you would ask from it. The Miller water cooler is a plus, nice unit, quiet and works well. Did not see a foot pedal but those can be bought off EBAY for under $ 75.00.
A lot of people only want the newer Miller Syncro Waves with all the bells and whistles, the older machines will weld just as well and any parts for the older machines are way cheaper than an $800.00 circuit board for a Syncro Wave.
IMHO I would say it will go for between $400 to $600 with the water cooler. But you never know at a weekend auction.
Good luck. Ben

You can always try sandblasting, it removes the soft grain areas and leaves the hard grain areas. Then stain to your preference. Good luck.

Have run tig machines with numerous brands of water coolers over the years, Cool Mate, Miller, etc. All did the job and worked well. But some ran so loud that it was quite annoying, might have been the age on them, don't know.
The Miller units seemed to be the quietest running of them all.

Rich is right. When the material reaches the temp that the stick is rated for ( or hotter) when its rubbed across the hot surface the stick will melt leaving an easily seen indication. Sort of like a melted crayon mark on a very warm surface for lack of better words.You do not rub it on and then put the pc in the fire.
Heat a test pc , pull it out as the temp is going up and rub the temp stick across it lightly, you might see a slight mark or indication, back it the fire and continue raising the temp and repeat. Once it does reach the temp of the temp stick the melted mark will be readily apparent. Once you see it happen you will understand.