Anything welding

yeah, knowing someone that can bend DOM is what i keep looking for.. i think there's a few places that will custom bend...

i'll save you a little time on the youtube stuff.

nate on dirt lifestyle did a brutally honest video on one of the hf welders. look specifically at the section at 4:58-7:00, where he directly compares the hf to his miller in an otherwise extreme scenario.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2LPNRDHOK8

one of the things i really love about hf as a retailer is that they consistently send stuff to vloggers like nate, and instead of specifically asking for only promotionally-positive videos like most retailers, they just ask reviews to be honest. many videos by a number of other people will show similar traits. in my book, there's massive points for any company that has a desire to be upfront on the negative qualities of their product, and every product has some. just watched another video where the guy reviewed their new tool box, and made it clear one of the reasons hf sent him one for the video was because he was honest and called their pliers 'garbage, DO NOT BUY' in the past.

i ran 2 full spools of wire through a titanium easy-flux 125. the goal at the time was what you wanted-- to learn how to weld. i sold it last year to my brother in law, and then changed to an eastwood mig90.

while nates video clearly shows the limitations/differences between a discount welder and a quality welder, i've never gotten close to using either of these low power welders at more than 1/2-power. i mostly stick to metals around 1/32"-1/16" for most of my projects. there's also nothing saying one can't make multiple passes with a lesser welder...

imo, definitely start with a minimum of a mig-capable welder. my hindsight, i should've never gotten the flux-only welder. it was an easy way to get into welding for extremely cheap. i was overall happy with the easy-flux 125, but it left little room for self-improvement. with a mig welder, it allows me to run flux core for what i already know, but i'm only a wire change and gas tank away from an entirely different set of rules with a different and better finish quality.

that's not really fair. i've taught myself to weld, built my own circuit boards, create odd custom stereo systems, and repair small engines for fun, with nothing more than an internet connection, many times using nothing but text descriptions of highly technical portions of those subjects. i've straightened metal with rocks and a tree!

i wouldn't say any of their projects are beyond my skill level, but all of the projects they showcased were 100% beyond my level of finances. most of them still are. my scrap pile still doesn't have metal strong enough to make go-cart frame rails, and there's also not any engines in it!

 

Thanks for the support!

I especially love how Firecontrol easily allows you to scale items without having to go into Fusion again and generating new g code



16 gauge, 85 ipm, 30 amp, 50psi

 

I have two hours into these and still not done. Need to weld the long sides on the tops of all of them. That includes fit up and tacking together. Sure takes longer than mig but im using these as practice for tig while making a little bit of money. My torch gets super hot and I have to take some breaks for it to cool down too. Would probablt shave some time off with a water cooled torch.

 

My only question is, are you cutting and grinding those top and bottom plates yourself?

 

I get them laser cut. I do cut the rectangle tube myself. I didn't include the rust/millscale removal in that time lol

 

Well aware of the mill scale removal lol I got spoiled with the stainless steel I would weld at my old shop

It came laser cut but with that plastic coating on it so you'd just peel it back and it was all weld-ready

You making money at least? Can't imagine buying that stuff cut for me

 

Yeah im selling these to mini truck dudes on instagram. Offer them in their custom requested specs. Making about a $40 profit per set. Nothing crazy.

 

I won't tell you how to make money, but keep in mind not to sell yourself short.

It's ok if the profit is say...$25 or so...as long as that is separate from your hourly wage you pay yourself.

Since you're learning or practicing, you'd just quote a flat rate job (to be fair to customers and remain competitive since you'll take longer than an experienced fabricator). But once you're doing other jobs, your profits should consist of anything made after you've exceeded the cost of material, consumables if you need to add that, as well as your labor. I still do flat rates on cutting stuff for the most part but I charge 150% on material and do so by the square foot.

 

Yeah this was a i had extra material, make some money back situation. I'm charging a flat rate for these. If I charged hourly they'd sit in my garage for an eternity lol.

 

The recent conversations got me thinking out loud: I’m a self-taught welder. Funny enough, I mostly learned to weld by reading tech articles in HotRod and Car Craft, along with a few other Petersen rags. I started because I was restoring muscle cars and was shopping around some of the sheet metal/body repair and just figured I’d rather throw that money at a welder than pay a shop for the work. That must have been almost 20 years ago and I’m still using the same Miller welder I bought back then. Those magazine articles make it look easy sure, but I think of it more as a catalyst for someone that already has the ability to tinker on things if they had a few more tools on hand. When I look at my shop now, it almost resembles what I saw in the magazines with all the tools I’ve amassed since I started collecting when I was a kid. My skills and my shop aren’t something I built overnight and it’s going to be an ongoing journey as long as I’m young enough to pick up a wrench.

 

Picking up the wrench is the easy part.

When your body has problems using the wrench it is not good.

Having Knees and Hips beyond repair every thing is completely different sad a few hour simple job now stretches out to a few days.

I can still get things done just takes much longer.

 

Went to a Dodgers game, came back home and finished the job.

 

Same for me. Bought a Miller 180 15 years ago mainly from the influence on forums such as TTORA and IH8MUD. That thing has paid for itself many times over, having used it to build my front and rear bumpers, multiple racks, and a lot of other things I refused to pay for that I could make myself for a fraction of the price.

I started in carpentry at 18, now 46, so many, many years or professional experience working with wood, so figured I’d buy the welder because at the time it was $1000 for the machine, a bottle of gas and some consumables, already had a hood and gloves from using my dad’s oxy ace.

I have a serious tool addiction. I sat down and listed all of the power tools I have purchased over the last 28 years, pretty much like going down the tool aisle at Home Depot, all Bosch, Milwaukee, Dewalt, Makita, Hitachi and some other brands, everything on the higher end of the quality scale because I used to depend on them daily for my job, now as a paper contractor, they get used pretty infrequently.

Now I can’t stop with the tool obsession, just bought a 9” Fein Slugger, because it’s a little cleaner/easier setup than rolling out the plasma cutter

https://fein.com/en_us/tools/dividi...s/9-in-slugger-metal-cutting-saw-69908120001/

 

Man...did I feel this one.

22 years ago I was happily wrenching to get a 7MGE out of my Cressida in place for a 7MGTE out of a Supra.

Spent two whole weekends doing that, day and night, while being jackasses with my friends while doing so.

Rewind to two weeks ago and I replaced three brake lines on my Land Cruiser. I had to take a week off for my back to fully recover before I went in their to diagnose an aerating issue and get my brakes bled.

Permanent injuries are no joke.

 

Even more so when you know it is coming just quite not so soon.

I really wish I could still be working !!

 

Why do you think I enjoy cutting on the table so much!

Hardest part of the job is loading and unloading the 4' x 4' sheet and that's it.

 

Posting today's fuck up.

Before I actually make my mini-TIG cart, I wanted to get the 'accessories' out of the way.

Drew this up earlier and was really liking the layout.



After seeing a 3D version of it, I modified it a bit and the end result was this.



It'll be for cable management, specifically my TIG torch cable.

Well I had drawn that up on the PC, shut it off, and came to the garage to cut it out. My dumbass didn't save the file

Found a half-ass freebie and said fuck it I don't want to draw it again so here it is.



Cable management will be on one side, and TIG consumables with holder and whatnot will be on the other side.

 

You have the picture, why didn't you screen shoot it and make a canvass with it? Once it's drawn up, the dimensions aren't needed. You scale it with the controller software.

 

Because I was at my laptop, and I don't do well to even manage a touchpad so I quickly downloaded one and modified it slightly.

Was way quicker than even what you're suggesting, mainly cause of the touchpad thing

 

I understand. There is no way I could do cad work with a touchpad, either.