Frosty Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 House Mike, bird HOUSE. Might maybe could turn one into a bird Shower bath but that'd be a serious stretch even for me. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 An owl's nest maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 That's an artful possibility Mike! Ooh ooh, mentioning an owl nest reminds me of a picture in an old book of owl pictures of an owl's nest in a mailbox! Now we're talking a proper Iforge joint art project! A polished stainless steel mail box made from a brand spanking new propane forge with one of Das's junk art owls peaking out, snug in it's nest made from the wadded tangle dug and cut out of a mig gun when the wire . . . birdsnested! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeHene Posted January 13, 2023 Author Share Posted January 13, 2023 I think it could make a lovely birdhouse if one was so inclined. Mounting it to a tree could pose a challenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 Just weld it on? Everyone knows that anyone can to anything with a MIG gun, right? Good one, Frosty (birds-nested). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 Climbing trees is what teen agers are for aren't they? The first time I used a spool gun it tended to wad wire up between the drive roll and contact tip. and unlike most free spinning wire, rope, fishline, etc. rat's-nests the spool gun made nice little bird's-nests. It happened so fast and was such a royal PITA to dig and cut out. Spool guns weren't supposed to do that like the old pusher migs but when they did. . . Nevermind. It's just astounding how much aluminum wire can be jammed in such a small space, much language was used. I brought my brake spring tool in but it was still a PITA. When the sales rep stopped by the shop with a pusher puller mig gun the owner bought two on the spot and the spool guns got put on the shelf. After that one of the old hands showed us what the problem was with the spool guns, seems the owner had his own idea of how the drive rolls should be adjusted, loosening them up a little bit and the guns ran like silk. It's funny what will trigger a memory eh? I think the hassle with the spool guns fit right in with how little I liked welding aluminum, especially mig welding aluminum. Argon made for a pretty cyan arc though. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 I got stuck welding marine grade aluminum for Boeing's hydrofoil program, back in the early seventies. After six months of that, I got a year off to retrain in a third trade (machinist) while my lungs recovered, somewhat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimw3326 Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 If you want, I can collect up the birdnests we create here to the tune of 15-20/day. I've come to the conclusion we only pay enough for trigger pullers. Can't tell you how many come in that don't have a clue about the mechanics of the machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Jimw3326 said: Can't tell you how many come in that don't have a clue about the mechanics of the machines. Since about 95 % of doing proper work with any wire feed welding machine is all about understanding its mechanics, I can well understand why you reduce them to the status of "trigger pullers," rather than even calling them amateur welders. On the other hand, since I found the goal of most employers for using MIG machines, wasn't so much to increase output as to devalue their workers, I consider the result inevitable, and thoroughly deserved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimw3326 Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Mikey98118 said: On the other hand, since I found the goal of most employers for using MIG machines, wasn't so much to increase output as to devalue their workers, I consider the result inevitable, and thoroughly deserved. I'm not real sure where that comes from, didn't mean to strike a nerve, but when I find out where they learned to weld and the answer is u-toob they usually don't last long. When I get one fresh out of welding school then things work out pretty good. If they have been to school and in the field for a while they don't stick around long. Then there's the ones that are self taught and can run a good bead, most of the time, know what settings to use but don't have a clue when things go south and argue with it until they've blown a gasket. I try to explain the issue to help, some comprehend, others not so much, AKA trigger puller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeHene Posted January 14, 2023 Author Share Posted January 14, 2023 My welding abilities are self-taught. (I work industrial maintenance.) Been welding now and then for a long time, but I'm by no means great at it. That being said, anyone who has the opportunity to learn from a professional but turns around and argues over what to do when something isn't working out right -they're ruining a great opportunity to learn and build on their skill set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 I was a self-taught welder in non-union steel and ornamental iron shops for fourteen years before the opportunity came to go to welding school for a year. As a certified stick and MIG welder, I jumped on every chance to learn something more; over the years new learning opportunities dried up, so I went back to self-teaching, right up to retirement. Never learned a trick I didn't need, sooner or later. Came to love torch welding and brazing more than anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimw3326 Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 You and I have gone down a similar path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 Then, the best life lesson, you already know When I started working steel, it was 'a given' that someone in the trades learned enough to join management by his forties or spent his time underemployed. When I reached my forties the game had changed so much that anyone who knew his or her job, couldn't get away with a forty hour work week; we could negotiate anything else, but every single employer considered forty hours as part time work By fifty I was a very old man...but satisfied with life--and early retirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 Funny, when I got out of high school I'd planned on becoming a welder I actually had my eye on being a deep sea diver. It didn't take long to discover nobody was going too hire me regardless of my test scores so I went to trade schools, structural and pipe, Plate and heavy section, (same instructor) and pressure vessel. got certs in all three but both instructors I studied under had cataracts, scars on their throats and forearms and tremors. Arc flash had damaged their vision and caused cancers in their arms and throat and breathing metal fumes and done nerve damage to the point they couldn't run a decent bead longer than about 1.5" tops. I graduated all three courses with certifications but at my age nobody would hire me as more than a helper so I've never run a "certified" bead. These were the days when nobody wore a respirator that was more than a dust mask or supplied air. If the fumes were getting to you go out for a smoke and get some fresh air. Welding and fabrication became a fall back trade and a really useful tool in my skills kit. I've done a lot of welding, just not as a professional welder. More than one job I was one of the last laid off and first called back because I could do field repairs and build things. If I had to pick a favorite it'd be tig welding stainless and stick welding comes in ahead of mig. Not that I don't like mig well enough but stick is so much more versatile and economical. Unless you're just laying as much bead as possible. Gas welding is right up there with Tig and brazing is sweet. One of these days I AM going to silver braze a grader edge to the face of a Chinese ASO someone left here to see if it makes a good anvil. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 Well, I started out where you ended up, but came to regard my welding skills as just part of a set to make me last one to leave the job; by then, it was leave or go to Alaska,one more time, wth the ship Being a ships welder is a gig that is okay, if there important tasks to complete; other wise owners start trying to cut your pay; no thanks Omaha, but Omaha thanks a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leather Bill Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 On 1/7/2023 at 8:12 PM, ThomasPowers said: Note that soaking a denim apron in a borax solution will help it's fire resistance even when dry and even helps clean it when you throw it in the washer! Some tips and advice are good,some are great and others like this are little gems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 Yup. Maybe we don't bring up these little gems as near as often as we should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 True words. This is a good example of something that's been common knowledge all my life, early "20 Mule Team Borax" commercials and ads touted keeping some by the kitchen stove or applying a solution to your kitchen apron. One as a retardant on your apron, pot holders, etc. the other to extinguish grease fires. It's too easy to forget it isn't common knowledge, probably hasn't been for decades. Agreed, we should share old gems more often. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 Funny how often my "hobby" got used when I was supporting several million US dollars of computer equipment in a major software lab. When the dotcom bust happened I was one of the last laid off because of my "do it on the cheap" skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeHene Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 Hey guys, quick update: I was thinking about trying to build a different burner design, possibly a blown burner. I ran across some older posts from around 2015 - 2018 on different burner topics. Long story short, I read about how critical smooth transitions with an NA burner. Looked at the burner in mine... Uhhh, I mean my son's. The end was cut off partially lopsided with a large burr inside at the exit. The intake holes were also rough and had burrs on the inside. I smoothed out the burrs, sanded the end of the burner flat, then carefully ground a small gentle taper at the end. The flame seems a little smoother but I still can't throttle it back to idle quite as low as I'd like. Pretty sure it would take a .030" or smaller mig tip to do that. It came with a .035". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 The smaller the propane jet the higher the PSI required to supply a neutral flame so the FASTER the flame and reduced ability to turn it down. In other words, a 0.030" jet will have less turn down range than 0.035" jet. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeHene Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 Really? I figured the higher velocity would make it fast enough to still draw air with less volume of propane. I do trust your input on it though. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey98118 Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 You can end up with too much of a good thing. The smaller the gas orifice the higher the gas pressure can be turned up, drawing in a greater volume of air to fuel gas; fine and dandy, right? Only up to a point, for the higher the gas pressure is turned up the faster the gas molecules blast out of the orifice. At some point a lot of those gas molecules start outstripping the induced air molecules, which is very back for fuel/air mixing Balance is the best thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 I'm re-reading what I wrote and it doesn't add up as an explanation, it's more of an observation. I think I need to let Mike take it from here, he has a lot more experience with 0.030 jets in 3/4" burners. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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