What did you do in the shop today?

[JHCC]

I don’t know about being in charge, but he received the Silver Star and the Purple Heart for his service in Torch.  

[Daswulf]

8 hours ago, Pat Masterson said:

strands of the cables that are different

Ok, correction on my at work poor memory. It is six outer strand bundles and an inner strand bundle. This is a piece I heated to burn off some of the nasties to start another one so it needs welded on the ends, heated and fluxed then re twisted tight. But it sparks pretty evenly high carbon. 

[SHC]

 

I finally picked up a little welding machine last week. I went with the Hobart 160i rather than the Lincoln I wanted mainly because of availability and ease of use. So today I just practiced. Been twenty years since I’ve done any welding and I’ve never pretended to be a professional, so I just ran through a small pack of sticks getting the hang of it again and learning the machine. I had a piece of rusty old scrap steel and just ran beads all over it. Didn’t actually put anything together. There was a plate bolted to it to patch a hole (no idea what this piece was used for) so I did go ahead and weld that together just because.

Didn’t take long to get back in the saddle. My oldest boy went to trade school to learn to weld and did a little on the wind and solar farms so he was there giving me pointers too. Gotta say by the end of those few hours I’m feeling pretty confident I can take on just about any task I need to around the house and shop. 

[Glenn]

You will find the welder is a very useful tool.  It will open up many opportunities to make other tools.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Hobart welders are good ones. We have a Hobart 187 Handler MIG welder and a very old Lincoln tombstone stick welder and love them both.

[Daswulf]

Back when I was in automotive school nobody wanted to use the few hobart welders vs the Lincoln's.  Hobart has come a long way and are quality machines for the money. When I was in the market for a beefier welder I went with hobart. My little lincoln 135 is still going strong as well tho. 

It should serve you well and yes, they are sold many places so you should have no problems servicing the consumables. 

[Frosty]

I've used a Hobart 120 Handler GMAW wire feed for better than 30 years and the worst I've had to do is replace the drive rolls. 

I run 75/25 and steel wire but it's a pusher puller so I could run argon and aluminum, or more exotic wire if I wished. 

Its a good solid welder. I picked up this model because it'll run on 20 amps of 120v house current and that's what I had available.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Pat Masterson]

23 hours ago, Daswulf said:

 No idea really if the inner is a differing alloy or not. Ill have to take a closer look at the cable. 

But don’t they HAVE to be differing alloys in order for the etch to reveal a pattern? I’m just using 1084 as an example but if I did a billet of 1084 on 1084 it would be kind of pointless as no pattern would be seen, no? This is why the cable thing always confused me lol. 

[Daswulf]

I know what you are saying Pat. If you have a single alloy in a single piece you wouldn't get a pattern. It would be about pointless to forgeweld a billet from the same material unless you needed it as thicker material. But could you then get some kind of pattern from it if you ground through a weld in the shaping then etched? It would be more faint if it showed. 

Typically differing alloys are chosen for not only their properties but also for differing contrast in how they look when etched so the pattern pops more. 

I'm not very knowledgable in these things. I could guess it is possibly from carbon loss on the outer edge of the strands, or how, when cut, you might see the seam line in a forgewelded piece.  

[JHCC]

I wonder if the pattern of a cable damascus blade might be analogous to the hada of a traditionally forged Japanese blade? That is to say, the traditional process of multiple foldings and forge-weldings produces a steel that has a pretty consistent carbon content throughout, but still has a visible (if subtle) grain pattern. It might be noteworthy that the hada generally cannot be seen without close examination, whereas the pattern of cable damascus is only made visible by etching. Just a thought.

[Daswulf]

Well plus the cable is nowhere as refined as a japanese sword steel would be in the forging process. 

[JHCC]

I'm thinking more of the boundaries between layers/strands than of the overall composition of the steel.

[hheneg]

On 1/14/2022 at 12:35 PM, SLAG said:

In my experience, creativity was avoided at all costs and I.Q. was severely rationed, in the military.

Maybe so,  I guess I got lucky, virtually every one of the guys I flew bombers with in the Air Force with had advanced degrees and seemed pretty smart in general.  Of course you have to temper that assessment with the fact that I am a University of Arkansas Alum.  Pig Soouuuee :-)

My dad was Army WWII and Korea, he did tell me that if I joined the Army during Viet Nam he would shoot me himself - sometimes you couldn't tell when my dad was joking.  

 

[ThomasPowers]

Cable: there is some differentiation as the outer layer of steel tends to get decarburized when you are welding.  I think the keyword is "Subtle".  Notice how much harder it is to get a good etch with a same steel pattern?

hheneg;  U of A is the old "family" school for my Father's side.  A number of us have our names in the sidewalks; kind of funny walking over my Father's or Uncle's name on the way to class.  I couldn't talk any of my kids into choosing it; but perhaps the grandkids...

Since none of my forge friends/minions could make it to the shop yesterday I decided to do some light work:  moved the 367# slab into position and then moved the 25# LG over onto it by myself and then cleaned up the shop a bit.  For reasons of cunningness it's positioned under a steel truss so I can lift the top end using a come-a-long or a block and tackle.

 

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Pat Masterson. some cable has non metallic center cores that would need to be removed.  I believe the pattern is from, as said previously, the boundary layers between the wires. Forge welding is not like arc welding where a liquid puddle is formed. Even with arc welding, when a flat joined piece is polished up some you can see the weld bead edge.  If the cable was repeatedly folded and welded it would look more homogeneous.

 

Hheneg - my Dad said the same thing, and he was ex Air Force.  He said he would fight to keep our Marines, but never wanted to have one of his kids be one. Something about having to check their ID  when you asked them their name...   As for imaginations, the Air Force had a program called beneficial suggestions aka benny sugs - don't know if the other branches had it as well.  What these were for was to improve the running of any operations. If you saw a way to save money, or improve how something was done, you filled out a form. If the idea was adopted, it was sent out to all of the bases that could use it. After one year of implementation you would get a check for 10% of the cost savings your idea provided.   That cash incentive got people motivated.  Don't know if that program is still around, dad was in the Air Force from 1947 - 1967 as a machinist and aircraft mechanic. He also did 4 in the Army from 1943 -1947 as an Engineer.

[BillyBones]

BGD, i do not know if it is still around but that suggestion thing was still around 10 years ago. They did not pay a percentage but a lump sum. A kid in an armor unit got a check for $15K for a simple piece of sheet metal. It would have 1 bolt hole that would attach it to the ceiling in the turret of a tank in a threaded lug that is already there. It is over top of the coax machine gun. The metal was bent over to make a sort of ">" shape. Its purpose to close the feed tray of the coax so that it did not get smashed on the top of the turret when the main gun was max depressed. 

I never had a doubt in my mind that i would join the Army. Just about every direct male descendent i have was a soldier going back to when my family first arrived  in what was to become the United States of America. Even when i was a wee lad when asked what i was going to be when i grew up i said a soldier. Duty to God, country and family was very much ingrained into my psyche. One of the reason i am kind of put off by the "Thank you for your service" thing. Not that i do not appreciate it but i was just doing my duty, it was my honor to serve and to wear the uniform, to be accepted into the brotherhood of so many great men who came before me. 

Did nothing in the shop all weekend, been down with the flu. 

 

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I could see it becoming a flat rate today with what things cost today. One good suggestion could save millions of dollars. Glad to hear it is still around.

I made it as far as talking with the Army and Air Force recruiters when I was a senior in high school.  Ended up taking some machine shop courses for two years at the local community college, and going straight to work after graduating. Three years later I started my machine shop with a friend.  I sometimes wonder how much different my life would have been if I had signed up back in 1983. 

[Frosty]

8 hours ago, BillyBones said:

Just about every direct male descendent i have

You have DECENDANTS that fought in the American Revolution?! How old are you Billy?

Your name isn't really Casca is it?

From the Barry Sadler novels if you're not familiar. He Also wrote "Ballad of the Green Berets."

Thanks for the straight line.

Frosty The Lucky.

[hheneg]

New project

[Rojo Pedro]

Marines dont want dumb recruits. When I enlisted the Marine Corps and Air Force where the only branches that required a high school diploma. Army and Navy would take the uneducated at that time. The Coast Guard required a higher degree if I recall. 

Also the MC would put their less intelligent troops in supply or motor pool. They claimed that they wanted the best minds on the line as bright men make better fighters. 

Not sure of the merits but they did make me a 0331 machine gunner haha.

That said you have to be pretty dumb to volunteer for what we went through. It is amazing how those 4 years have impacted my life since and recommend military service to all young people. 

Ooh-Rah, Semper Fi and good night Chesty Puller, where ever you are  

[SHC]

On welders, the Hobart 160i is a DC stick welder that can use 120 or 240. My generator has 120 and 240. The manual says all I need is a 2500 watt generator and my generator puts out 6500. I went with stick because the machine is cheaper and it’s what I’ve used before

 

 Smart Marine vs Dumb Marine…

When I enlisted the USMC and USAF were the only ones requiring diplomas too, maybe I joined in the same time frame as Rojo?

 Don’t want dumb Marines out front calling in artillery or hogs. You’re gonna have a bad day. Yeah, motor pool sounds good. 
 

I embrace the good natured ribbing though. Anytime I know I’ll be around army vets I bring some crayons just for the laughs. 

[BillyBones]

15 hours ago, Frosty said:

You have DECENDANTS that fought in the American Revolution?!

And the French and Indian war. Been around for a while now. 

I am blaming my mistake on the flu. Fever, tired, a bit dehydrated... yeah thats it. 

Anyway, as a soldier i have to ask, What does Marine stand for? Muscles Are Required, Intelligence Not Essential. ( got to rib y'all a little bit, much respect to the Marines)

 

 

[ThomasPowers]

My sister married a Captain in the Army Rangers; when she was taking him on the "pre-marriage meet the kin folks" tour he was talking about the Marines as being Crazy as they would undertake missions with outrageous casualties...then he found out that everyone in the room was: an ex Marine, currently a Marine, in Marine ROTC, or in the high school "pre ROTC" for the Marines.  He said his blood ran cold...

Hoping things calm down enough that I can visit my Grandfather for his birthday; he was a young Marine on Iwo Jima and is in his mid 90's now.  I remember him telling me back when I was in single digits that Marines didn't shave; they just pounded the whiskers in with a ball peen hammer and bit them off from the inside...

[SHC]

Aw Billy, you just Ain’t Ready for Marines Yet, but it’s okay we still love ya. 
 

Marines do have a tendency of volunteering for the crazy stuff. Walking into the recruiter’s office is the first sign. Really, we had recruiting commercials about fighting lava monsters and if that don’t get ya fired up I don’t know what will!

[ThomasPowers]

As a geologist I am shocked, shocked I say; that they would pick on those poor magmatic creatures!