HWHII

She's on my list!

I did not mean my earlier comment to be a smart one towards you. I had made a comment earliy on in this thread, stating how easy to run 6013 is. You are right it is a great rod to learn with. In fact when I first learned to weld in high school it was the first rod we used for assignments. Also to anwser your question the coating is different. 6010&6011 have a organic coating and is considered a fast freeze and penetrates deeper and handles paint and rusty material better than 6013. 6013 has a rutile coating and a softer arc with a less penetrating weld with less spatter. Also someone else had mentioned it is a sheet metal rod which is true but also good for irregular short welds that change positions, Maintenance or repair and for use with AC welders with low open circut voltage. It is available in dia. 5/64 all the way to 3/16 which makes it great for plate welding also. I hope this anwsers you question better. :)

Didn't someone mention this earlier? :lol:

I too was given the curse of diabetes in Oct. 09 Like you I was just over 7.0 for A1C mine was 7.1 and the life style change came. I was sent to diabetes classes at the hospital and man did I learn alot. For me a low carb high protein diet works for my body well and have been able to keep my A1C at 6.2. and still can have a few low carb beers I am only 48 and all the years of punking iron and standing ladders has take its toll. Some mornings like today it brings tears to my eyes just to swing my feet over and touch the floor and stand up. If it was not for my back quack I not sure where I would be. I wish my brain would stop writing checks my body can't cash. I hope you feel better Bentiron. I too understand what you are dealing with. ;)

I am glad it is working again for you. It is a interesting looking older machine. I haven't seen one like it before. By the way nice color! ;)

I would stay with your first choice. In my experiences your ground always has to reach your work unless you are always working on a table.

AllRight! Hope it takes care of the problem.

As I have stated before I have belonged to two unions, Ironworkers, and Sheetmetal Workers and my father was a devot IBEW man. As for my father the union worked very well for him and our family. That I think was a different time and era. As for me I can not say the same. I have experienced almost all the problems mentioned so far in this thread with other people. Which makes me think it is commmon practice. In America today I think we have lost touch of a honest days work for a honest days pay and maybe some of the jobs that have been lost over seas might still be here and a pickup truck might not cost $40,000.

I got this idea for this thread yesterday while replying to another. In the past before I started my buisness, it was common place for me to work for beer. When it came to friends and family. I do not like to exchange money and would rather barter for stuff. This is because I believe money is a root to evil. It is nice if you have it, but it can bring head aches and trouble. I have done countless repairs, traded tools, tongs and even coal for beer. Recently I had 9 very good friends help me raise my shop in an old time barn raising for beer and steaks. On the flip side there countless things I have done because of beer that have not been good. Like quote a job over a couple of beers and have it come back to bite me hard. I do believe Benjiman Franklin was right when he said, " Beer Is Proof God Loves Us." I would love to hear some of your stories! :D

I would check your imput power and contections. All they way from your electrical box, cord, female plug, male plug, the cord into the power source and internal conections. From the sound of it you may have one leg not connected. It might be as simple as a lose or corroded wire.

You are right you have to have checks and balances. But at some times common sense has to play a roll.

Infact Yes! I have worked for much less over the years and actually applied for the job in Mackinaw City this year and would leave my buisness for 6 months to do so. Having my own buisness does not always mean you are succesful there are lean times and good times. You always don't make the big bucks. :D

I don't think this is a matter of trying to lower blacksmiths wages, but being paid appropriately for the job at hand. This is a museum with live demonstrations for the public and I believe is seasonal. It is hard to justfy the $25.00 to $30.00hr. plus benefits and it could be more because I do not know what the prevailing wage is in Michigan now. I personaly have worked for two unions and understand the purpose they serve but at some point common sense must prevail. In Mackinaw City MI there is a blacksmith shop at the fort and the Benjamin House shop on the Island which is run by the parks service. They pay $10.00hr and have smiths working there.

OOOOOH! The things I have done for beer and the things I have done because of beer. I am to embarressd to say. This might make a good thread though. :blink:

WOW!! Thanks for that info. It just makes you wonder doesn't it? :huh:

This is a sad thing. Thanks for sharing your photos. They bring fond memories back for me. I have been there many times as a child, taking school field trips and with my father. I have spent lots of time watching the smiths work there. I can remember my dad having to pull me out of there to look at other things. They use to make horse shoe nail rings and they had a box and handed them out to all the kids. Now after thinking about it this was my first exposure to blacksmithing and probably set the seed for where I am today. Maybe someone from the MABA will chime in and tell us what has happen there? Hopefully it is just a budget problem, or not being able to find a smith to run it.

No I am not joking! I really like your sword and there is much more than just drawing out a blank. You really do nice work.

Larry, It was a interesting press. I will do some things differently when I get around to building mine but it will be on a smaler scale. I was mainly interested in the die set up he had. Here is some photos of the set up.

Good luck and be safe!

Bryce, I was in Santa Fe on June 16th and met Helmut in his shop and actually seen the fence you helped with. It is very nice job and more impresive in person. I went there because I am very interested in the hydraulic forging press he built and the slitting and drifting dies he has for it. It just so happened he was slitting and drifting the 1 3/4" rebar then upsetting the ends while I was there. He is a very nice man and you are very lucky to be able to work with somone of his skill. ;)

You are very right in what you say. I personaly do not have that kind of drive even though I am very pasionite about what I do. To all who look at this and envy what Larry has remember it is a double edge sword, so be careful what you wish for you might just get it. ;)

As I get down on my knees and begin to bow and chant I'M NOT WORTHY, I'M NOT WORTHY, over and over again. Maybe your are the true Franklyluckyman.

Beautiful all around craftmanship!

All this being said is good advise and I would like to throw in my two cents worth and add a rod which no one else has mentioned and is very easy to run in fact runs practicly by itself if you strike a arc and just lay the rod down and is not very expensive is 6013. ;)

Sorry wrong picture.