Welders: Masters Of Manning Machines That Make Metal Melty
May 10th, 2014 at 1:05:50 AM permalink | |
beachbumbabs Member since: Sep 3, 2013 Threads: 6 Posts: 1600 |
I dated a welder about 20 years ago for a couple of years. He was also a skydiver for hire; 6-6 Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Thanksgiving Turkey; would parachute into the park with goodies. Mmmm....good memories! Hey, Face; remember that goPro rig I drew up for you? Now that you can weld, you can put that rig together in a snap! What a cool skill. Never doubt a small group of concerned citizens can change the world; it's the only thing ever has |
June 10th, 2014 at 9:44:12 PM permalink | |
Face Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 61 Posts: 3941 |
Oh man >< With Paco's math assistance, I went to try to get some camber in my race car. 3 hours of struggling with 25 years of corrosion later, I had the lower control arms pulled off the car. Since several parts connect to it, I had to cut at the very end, right before the bung where the knuckle connects. Did a little measuring, mentally envisioned how it was going to go together, foresaw issues that may crop up, made adjustments... and then started cutting. The funny part was that while cutting I actually set my shirt on fire. Like, on fire. It wasn't until I stopped cutting and noticed it was still bright that I realized I was on fire. It burned a 3" hole into my shirt at the stomach, and I have no idea how I didn't feel it. Anyways... I cut out the chunk to make the left shorter, and saved the chunk to make the right longer. I got both arms and the chunk all beveled and ready to go for tomorrow. But now, I can't help but ask myself "wtf are you doing?!" I don't know what kind of steel this LCA is. I wasn't even sure it was steel until I removed it and felt the weight. My palate is not yet refined enough to be able to taste and identify it like I can with automotive fluids =p My 7018 rods are a year old and have been stored in an open box outside, as I obviously have no oven to keep them in. I dunno the carbon content of the steel, dunno how much moisture the flux has absorbed, and really ain't that versed in stick, yet I have to stick these few small pieces together efficiently. And this ain't no dumb canoe cart. It's a control arm for a freaking race car. I'm gonna pile 2,000lbs into a corner at 75mph, and the only thing keeping my safety and my lifelong dream from piling into a concrete wall will be my uneducated weld. If I manage it, I'll have camber. If I blow it, I'll have a disaster (and a hell of a crash) To the gods of SMAW we pray. Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it. |
June 10th, 2014 at 10:40:57 PM permalink | |
Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25010 | You crazy welders, always setting yourselves ablaze. That's why all the hot chicks love ya.. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
June 11th, 2014 at 2:25:13 AM permalink | |
Fleastiff Member since: Oct 27, 2012 Threads: 62 Posts: 7831 | Crazy welders are a necessity. One young guy and three young girls sailing in a boat one step up from derelict were out of food, out of water and out of money. Two days later just as they were making landfall, their chainplate broke and the forestay started flopping about. Despite their poverty, they found a welder on the island who did a new chain plate for them. |
June 11th, 2014 at 11:21:12 AM permalink | |
Face Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 61 Posts: 3941 |
Burn scars are in. I think I read that in Maxim XD
If I could go back, I'd pursue it as a career. It's a lot like construction in that it's dangerous and dirty and physically exhausting, but you get so caught up in the project you don't notice any of it. Plus when you're done, you can step back, see the results, and say "I did that". It feels good =) Plus it's recession resistant. The field doesn't matter. Everyone needs a welder. But that fact means travel and constant relocation. I'm in that position of having to choose family or wealth, and that choice is obvious Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it. |
June 11th, 2014 at 11:24:41 AM permalink | |
AZDuffman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 135 Posts: 18136 |
Pursue it now, learn to weld or inspect pipelines. Talking six figures. Need a rig and a truck, though. Real truck, not a little half ton. Six figures and some guys get to rest for half that time still getting paid. The President is a fink. |
June 11th, 2014 at 11:35:40 AM permalink | |
Face Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 61 Posts: 3941 | I am done. Right now, I am very pleased with the results. I really put extra time in for prep, since my ass is on the line with this little project. I didn't get any pitting to speak of, and had so little spatter I actually did the first quarter of the job sleeveless and in shorts =p I did end up changing eventually because I wanted to focus on a good weld, and it's hard to do so while dancing the Charleston. The "easy one", the one sans chunk, was gorgeous. I'm not sure I could lay a better bead with a MIG. This isn't the finished product, obviously. I did fill in those voids and brought it up to the width of the arm. The chunk one was a lot more interesting, trying to keep the X, Y, and Z all straight and at the appropriate angles. It's not like I could use a C clamp on this, and of course, I have no help. But a little bit of ugly here and a little bit of gross there turned into an epic finished product. So one way or the other, I'm happy. It's all done, I don't have any pit or void worries, and I got the exact thing I was looking for. They're currently cooling so I can toss them on the car. If it works and I get camber, I'll be really happy. If I hit the track and my wheels don't fall off, well, that'll beat all =) Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it. |
June 11th, 2014 at 1:04:09 PM permalink | |
Fleastiff Member since: Oct 27, 2012 Threads: 62 Posts: 7831 | Ain't never too late. Marine welders are often in demand. Some welder/party-boat combinations exist in the tropics but that can be a cash-tight economy. Its a great skill to have in a rural area. Unfortunately, one welder after spending several years partying in the tropics headed home and he took only first timers with him. Transiting the North Atlantic you do not want to be asleep at night with a first timer being the only person awake. Not a good idea. |
June 11th, 2014 at 1:20:00 PM permalink | |
Fleastiff Member since: Oct 27, 2012 Threads: 62 Posts: 7831 | Yes, it is. Choose wealth!! |
June 11th, 2014 at 5:45:12 PM permalink | |
Face Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 61 Posts: 3941 |
I am. I don't know the exact dollar value of raising a kid to be a proper man, but it's gotta be more than I'll ever see in a paycheck. Well, this project went exactly as it went in my head without a single hiccup. Once it cooled it took but a half hour to put it all back together. I have camber =D Negative on the right, positive on the left, and both will only increase in degree as the suspension loads and unloads in the corners. I have half a mind to load it up and go practice tomorrow, just to see what I did =) I'm certainly within the rules. If I had to do it again, I would have went slightly more extreme. But now that everything has been broken apart, I could probably re-do this job in about 5 hours. I'll give it a whirl, check the tires, and go from there. Ahhh. Feels good =) Be bold and risk defeat, or be cautious and encourage it. |