Ohio Posted December 31, 2023 Author Share Posted December 31, 2023 The sandblaster is in a cabinet in a shelter behind JTs shop. It works okay. I'm pretty much done with all that for now. The mineral oil is the stuff you get from the pharmacy or grocery store. I use it on cutting boards and it works very well. I've also wiped it on hot steel and it's beautiful and surprisingly tough. I've also polished it into steel work surfaces and it keeps the rust off pretty dang well, which is a big concern for me. The Wonder Hut is insulated (including the floor) and I have a fan blowing in there all the time (old one I used in a greenhouse) because dang, man, it's wet here, especially with El Nino making things el damp-o. Most of the coatings have gotten pretty good, so I'm feeling fairly confident the paint will work fine and my beeswax mix will work fine and all that. Now all I can see are each and every thing I messed up during the build. And designing a stand. And wondering if I could design and build some sort of fume/chip extractor so the dust is under control as the Wonder Hut is small. Next project (after sorting out the Wonder Hut) will probably be the bender trailer hitch stand. Or melting things. I miss melting things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Posted January 3 Author Share Posted January 3 So I angle-ground some cuts and drilled some holes and then MIG welded the arm to the platen assembly. I took this before cleaning anything up. Next, I need to weld on these tiny little spacers. I'll probably glue them and do some tiny tacks. Got a bit cold in JT's shop. I always quit before I get tired—I learned this when skiing (which I don't do anymore because strapping my old butt to a couple of sticks and getting shoved downhill just isn't fun anymore): The minutes you say, "just one more run," it's time to stop before making a mistake or getting hurt. So I have a bunch of parts ready when I have this platen and assembly done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 It's wet in Monroe?! Noooooo! You'd have to put a sprinkler in the Hut to get rust if you lived on the other side of the Cascades you know. While expensive I've had great luck preventing rust with LPS 3, it's a great product. Pretty exciting to start welding a new piece of equipment together isn't it? Competent looking weld. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 Well, at least my welds hold, as ugly as they are. It is exciting to make something and see it sort of looks the way it's supposed to. The platen assembly looks right and appears to work. I need to clean up the welds on the back of the platen—there are two bolt lengths on the back for attaching to the rest of the assembly. I don't need to do much, probably a bit of filing, and then use spacers to make sure the face of the platen is on the same plane as the assembly wheels. I mean, it really does look like what it is, so yay me. Next is the arm with the assembly for holding the tables. All the parts are cut and prepped but I have to bend some of the bits once I have most of it in place. I'll try to get more pictures but I keep forgetting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 We have different criteria for good welds, mine comes from the pro side. Within limits "pretty vs "ugly" has little meaning or HECK the terms don't necessarily refer to the same thing. Competent means a weld that will do what it's supposed to and do it well. If I'd said it was ugly it would have meant it was NOT competent, grind it out and do a better job. "Pretty" welds are a cosmetic observation and not necessarily a valid thing. You aren't tig welding stainless steel so pretty doesn't count. Sure your bead is a bit uneven, width and height wise but well within acceptable range and the edges are wetted well. The HAZ is wider on the side it should be and about the right width. It's a competent weld. They'll look better the more you weld, your movement speed changed, you were probably concerned you weren't getting penetration on the corner of the tubing so you slowed down a bit and flagged towards the corner. Next time keep the wire more on the corner near the low edge of the cut pipe and let the puddle fill into the thin edge of the cut pipe. Let the filler flow to the thin section. It makes a consistent travel speed much easier and beads more consistent. That was NOT an ugly bead. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 10 hours ago, Ohio said: so yay me. Don't ya love it when a plan comes together. Your welds look just fine, much better than a lot of mine and I've been welding for around 60 years. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s. Semper Paratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 It is fun when something suddenly starts looking like what it's supposed to be for sure. Going over now to weld more of the assemblies. I organized all the parts, made cuts, and prepped for welding all the bits, so I think today will be all about fire. Then I'll grind as necessary. Normally I'd do one at a time, but they all use the same material for the arms and I know that material works as it's supposed to. Maybe this will speed things up. Maybe not. And maybe I'll change my mind once I get there. It is fun, though my neck and shoulders are feeling it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 Sorry for no posts or photos. The basic grinder and flat table are built and painted. I have a couple more accessories to put together, but I was at a good place to stop and change up. I've moved the project back to my shop, the Wonder Hut, for the last parts. I also got the steel pegboard up on the last bench and need to replace the lighting before working on this or any other project. I had a set of scaffolding I was using as a fabrication table, but I think I'm going to change that out to a small fixture table with a top from Fireball Tool. Whew, my aching wallet. Regardless, I still have to weed out some tools and build rolling stands for others. I'm also going to build a Japanese-style forge on a rolling cart with a super sucker hood so I can move it to the door and send the smoke outside. I was going to have a permanent installation, and I still might at some point, but I have a small shop and move from project to project a lot. Anyway, I'll try to be in touch more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 My what a brief status report after 3 months! I know you haven't been around in a while but you know how we are about believing wild claims without photographic evidence don't you? Don't be such a stranger will, we miss you here. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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