Bam Bam 1

Yes a pest. they dig large holes and tunnels in the ground. like having a moles but 5x larger. not good having them rooting up the foundation of a small shop. not to mention my expert weight and load bearing system that is in said shop. .lol funny you mention cannons my neighbor makes cannons I might give him a call! been wanting a new shop building anyway!!

dragging out dead armadillos! duh... shop is on a raised foundation.

I have Blue tailed skinks (lizards) in my scrap pile and I kill about 4 armadillos a year under my shop.

Welcome Aboard D~W...You have just entered the realm of all things Smoky and Rusty!!!

All very good advice.all rod and metal have thier own personality same with welding machines.be patient .welding is a mean beast at times!but watch your puddle and take it slow.there is more going on than just smoke and fire.practice on scrap first.the more you weld on the same piece the hotter it gets.and the ugly gets bigger.have 2 or 3 pieces of scrape on hand when you are welding.so one piece doesnt get to hot or to ugly.

OOps.California

welcome, i live in south central Mo.there are alot of blacksmiths in your area.Ya you need a handle people can remember. howabout SO-ILL.NO.that one only works in califoria.

atta boy.good score on the machine ive seen those welders run non stop for weeks at a time.and yes i mean 24hrs aday not ever turned off between shift changes on heavy construction sites.

a few things to remember.if you have to weld thick steel or iron of what ever flavor a bevel is needed to produce penetration.other wise you are just putting duct tape over a crack in a brick wall.chip out crack fill with mortar all the way thru.bevel steel weld all the way thu.mortar flush to brick.weld fush to thickness of steel.1/2" thick plate with a bevel fill bevel weld to top rule to remember cap weld is nickle wide and dime high.(dime thick not tall).at suface of parent metal.high pressure welds in nuke plates are welded with 3/32 tig roots and 3/32 stick caps at 80amps.100% x-ray and hold 10,000 psi when tested.yes.. i do this for a living.

i've welded 100% x-ray welds in steel mill blast furneces.and hammer mills with .35 wire and 3/32 stick.it all depends on prep work and procedure.with high sress welds less is more.your first weld does all the penatration.or root weld as it is called.once you have a good pre heat.and remember the welding machine is also produceing heat.and maintaining what is called the interpass[ temp at core of weld].when you weld in mutiple layers you will produce a stonger weld than a fat hogger weave.think of braided steel cable vs solid steel of same size.our smithing math some times is miss placed with our welding math. i am finding my welding and metal working exp. at odds with my smithing quite often.same animal just a different breed.bull dog vs poodle.

I started on the farm when i was about 13,the hired hand would need a holder.after watching with amazment.and burning my eyes so bad i couldnt see.he gave me a hood and was my holder.after high school went to tulsa welding school for nine months.now im a union boilermaker of 19yrs 100% x-ray on stick mig tig.and welding teacher to apprentices.

Just like ALL skilled trades. proper teaching hours under the hood and miles of welding.Yes scott common arc is not for the light hearted!

Thanx for all the support and comments.I am lokking forward to going to a BAM meeting.I have foud acouple of members close by.Would love to get together with them and share some skills.

Most of the Amish i have met do alot of farrier work 8 out of 10 have an anvil.But hardly any do any real Blacksmithing.horse shoeing to them is like rotating tires for us "English" as they call outsiders.

I do trade work with a few of them i weld for them they shoe my horses. my blacksmithing started this way a couple of years ago i would bend old horse shoes around and weld a lagg bolt to the back makes a great hitch for tying horses.Get all the free horse shoes i want.