Golden_arm

Well, according to the government our economy is improving at a steady rate..(chuckles). Perhaps that's why California is sinking their claws and pulling in everything they can get in to, or why Michigan is still loosing jobs by the thousands... ie.. GM and Chrysler. I know I'm venting, and I really do apologize. Despite what our government says about Not wanting to "own" these companies, I believe otherwise. I feel it's way to convieniant how things worked out. The Gov forced these companies into bankruptcy and now gas prices are rising again... trying to force people to buy the new fuel efficient/alternative fuel vehicals with money hardly anyone has. Oh yeah, let us not forget the 787 BILLION dollars which that have been "injected" into our economy. In reality, the majority of that money is somewhere since only 7 billion dollars has been used... so yeah.. the economy is great. Like I said, I am sorry about venting, but it all seems like a lie to me. I work at a Fab shop and ya can tell when things are getting tight because we don't have any "Scrap" anymore... only drops, and the boss man's face puckers up like he just ate a lemon when ya drill a hole in the wrong place.

I've used Gorilla glue, but I don't think I've ever really had the problem of getting on my hands. I used that ajax powder stuff and a scotch brite pad.... it came off with a little work.

Okay, I have a Cannedy Otto Western Chief blower. The other day I noticed that when I was cranking it, it felt as if it was slipping. I took it apart and found that the big gear inside was slipping on its arbor. It looks as if the gears are friction set on the arbors, but it also looks as if there is a softer metal lining the hole in the gear; maybe to kinda wedge the gear to the arbor... My question is: Is there a softer metal lining the hole in the gear or should I just use a small pointed punch and close the hole around the arbor? This idea works for clock movements, but those aren't forge blowers... Any info is appreciated... thanks a bunch.

I have some experience with welding AR400...and I'll go out on a limb here and assume AR400 and 500 are similar. I know that welding the 400 with a mig does no good, not enough penetration. You can tack it with a HOT mig, but that's about it. My experience is to arc weld it. Perhaps this could be the reason the plug welds came out? 7018 rod seems to be the one to use.

There are also some flux cored wires that work very well with Co2 also. The welds are cleaner and they look pretty.

Well, I'm not an "old pro," but I'd like to chime in if'n it's okay. I think what's been said so far is right.... stick with the higher quality machines like Hobart, Lincoln, and Miller. I've no experience with Hobart, but I've had plenty of time with lincoln and miller. My experience says that Lincoln has a smoother arc and tends to be more forgiving, and miller, when ya get used to them (they're HOT) they are a great welder. When I first began to weld I liked the lincolns a lot, but since I've had some time using a Miller, I'd prefer to stick with the Miller. If you're anything like me you want all you can get out of a tool you're gonna be spending good money on. Sometimes I go overboard and want the pulse mig features and the aluminum capabilities, but if you do just general welding ya won't need that stuff unless you find out you really like doing all sorts of stuff. I'd look into a welder that will weld at least 1/4" inch, but for the budget and the power you need to use you may not find that in a 110 machine. Most of the 110's will run a flux core wire which is good for the heavier stuff...

I have a Clark MIG/Flux core welder and it isn't too bad. I'm not sure how thier stick welders are, but I'll tell ya with the MIG, you have to do some fine tuning on them. I had feed problems to start with. First I had to sand off the extra plastic from the wire hub to the welder woulndn't struggle trying to pull the wire off the reel. Then, or I should say, if ya weld in a cold garage, the liner likes to get all stiff and tends to grab the wire a bit because it's a teflon liner. I guess all being said, if ya want a fair weather MIG, get a clark... I do like the welder, but at times I wish it was a stick. That being said, it is better than nothing and for now I have to put up with it's little "fits." Would I buy another... NO. I'm not sure how the small lincoln welders are, my brother has a lincold weld pac model and likes it a lot. My experience with Lincoln welders is that they are a good product, but I prefer Miller... but then there's that money issue....

So, I picked up a box of Borax today... looks like it has a load of uses. I guess to use it in the washing machine, ya just add 1/2 cup to the wash load with regular detergent and fire the machine off... again... thanks for the info ya'll.

Hey thanks for the info Gents... It's kinda funny how ya just kinda run across things I guess.... Just wanted to make sure that my thinking is on the right path...thanks again.

So, this may be out in left field, but I really need to ask 'cause I don't know. I was walking through Walmart the other day in the laundry soap isle and noticed a box that said it was borax. Is this the same stuff that's used in forge welding or am I just totally lost? I'm not sure if it's a brand name or the actual stuff. I didn't pick up the box to read it, I was a lil pressed for time... thanks for any help..

Well the type of hood to buy depends on how much ya use it.... If you are in the profession... take a look at Speed Glass hoods. You can get an entire fresh air set up and auto lens hood for a pretty penny. I'm not aware of any other manufacturer making a fresh air set up... so ya might be better off just getting a resperator instead.

Hey thanks for all the good info... I really appreciate it. I have a couple of hammers, but the cross pein I picked up felt a lil better in my hand. But, I'm new at this so I'm not sure what "right" really is. I'm mostly interested in ornamental work for now. I am interested in bladesmithing, but figure I'd wait to try that out later. Again, thanks ya'll.. I really appreciate the info.

Hey Finnr... Thanks a million. I have a load of questions...

So, I just picked up a 2 pound cross pein hammer. I have read that before ya use most hammers, you should dress the face of the hammer. My question is: Should the face of the hammer be a lil' convex or flat with the edges kinda feathered so it leaves no rings? Is a 2 pound cross pein a good choice for a beginner? Thanks for the help...

I just joined this site a couple of days ago... I've been on here before to look through the site, but just got around to becoming a member. I've been interested in blacksmithing for quite sometime, but just recently built my first forge. It was pretty interesting to say the least. It has taken me some time to finish the forge because most of the material I used was just old scrap and to me.. that's half the fun... What really got me interested is I got the chance to make my first rose and it turned out pretty good. I've been reading like crazy and looking around at different sites to figure this stuff out. I'm thinking someday, I'd like to tinker around with some bladesmithing. Thanks for having me here and I'd appreciate any comments or advice ya'll can lend me.... Thanks, Jeremy