Thanks for the mention for weldingweb.

What's an 8vs?

I didn't know such a thing as you mention existed. Can you list a source for where I could purchase a Y with back flow prevention? If this exists, then it exists for a reason - namely to mix gases from two sources. I can't think of any other possible reason and therefore my idea must have merit. A d...

I wondered about back flow. I have no idea if these regulators have back flow prevention, but common sense tells me they wouldn't. They are expecting flow only in one direction, so why engineer another 99.99999% useless valve into the device. I suppose I could get some electronic valves and tap into...

If I have a cylinder of Argon and a cylinder of CO2 can I use the flow meters to mix them for MIG? e.g. 9 Ar + 1 CO2 = 10 mixed gas. If I drill completely through a 1" block of metal then drill another hole perpendicular to the first but stop as soon as I hit the other hole, I form a T inside t...

I have several stainless steel bowls to repair. They all developed the same failure - the registration supports that align the bowl on the mixer were spot welded on and the spot welds fail after about a year of use. These bowls are $400 each. I repaired one using purge gas on the inside. The outside...

Anyone know of a gas supplier other than Airgas around the Medley / Miami Florida area that understands what service is and might have these higher pressure capacity cylinders? My one and only Airgas order a few months ago was such a poor experience that I'd jump at the chance to find a different su...

There's almost a monopoly on who sells gas. There's no reason to upgrade their "service" since there's nowhere else for people to go. I phoned the US from Roatan to speak to my Airgas sales person. I was told I couldn't speak to her and just send her an email about what I wanted, I asked t...

Poleframer: The 125's are large and heavy enough. I have two of them on the back of my welding cart. Don't want to go to larger cylinders. Otto Nobedder: Are you saying that the CO2 cylinder is full (nearly) of liquid CO2? If that's the case I can understand why no more would fit. As for the Argon, ...

I'm trying to order a 125 for CO2 and another 125 for Argon as backup cylinders but the sales person at Airgas can't answer my question. Question: Is it possible to increase the amount of gas in a 125 to some permissible maximum per gas type? The cylinders can take pressures much higher than the 100...

Some old movies showed pilots wearing skull caps with goggles. Football "helmets" from decades ago were just padded leather skull caps. Why do I have to have this bulky gadget on my head to weld? What I'd want is a skull cap with today's electronic auto darkening goggles on a hinge that wo...

I was hoping to TIG weld the metal back in place after the repairs in the upper container are completed (plumbing). Cutting out 4 corners adds an extra level of clean up I'd rather avoid if possible. Also, cutting with a disk means that at some point, the disk is 1" (at least) deep into the cor...

Any cutting on a shipping container compromises it's structural integrity. To limit the damage, one should NOT cut sharp corners as that's where stress cracks will appear. Even cutting a doorway or window opening should involve rounded corners of a minimum (IMHO) of about 2" radius. Therefore, ...

I don't own a plasma cutter (yet). What are the issues if one needs to use a plasma torch with the business end pointing up? This is a question regarding cutting a hole in the ceiling of a 20 ft shipping container when there's another container already on top of it. No choice but to cut from below. ...

I posted this as a comment on the Harbor Freight site for their paddle switch angle grinder. It was meant to be whimsical, but I do like their grinder. I wanted to solve the cord problem. I now own 9 of them, so I NEVER change what's on the spindle unless it's used up. I have spares as I'm on an isl...

If anyone wants to vacation on Roatan, let me know and I'll provide some local expertise for where to stay and where NOT to stay, where to eat and where NOT to eat, etc.

Glad someone is thinking about better visuals than with these bulky helmets. The prototype in the video can probably be brought down to a pair of sunglasses in size with miniaturization. In that video, the contrasts are much better than thru even an expensive helmet.

I've never seen a plasma cutter, except on videos. I get the impression it's for gross cutting but have also seen it used on CNC plasma tables for detail work, but that's aided by the CNC's ability to move at set speeds and near absolute accuracy. When the cutter is in human hands, how does that aff...

Yes, I thought of trying gasoline. I immediately also remembered my father-in-law going up in a huge flame after he washed paint off his hands with gasoline and the fumes went over to the gas hot water heater and in a flash all hell broke loose. I was on a ladder painting around the corner of the ho...

Thanks to all that responded. It appears my situation is a bit unique and I'll have to experiment to find something to EASILY dissolve this muck. In general, I find I spend most of my time in metal prep and the actual welding time is almost not worth mentioning. Given the always hot and humid climat...

Poland308 wrote:You only need to clean an inch or two around your weld zone.

But to prime and paint it you have to clean everything and to have it stick to it, it has to be REAL clean.

When I started this thread, I was sure other people had experienced this issue and had come up with a chemical solution to this problem. Apparently, my guess was incorrect. Burning it off requires a large torch and possibly warps the metal in the process which I can't chance. I'm curious - when purc...

Yesterday, I spent 3 hours cleaning 16 1x1 tubes ranging in length from 28 to 43 inches. It took me a whole lot less time welding them up than it did to clean them. This black stuff is horrible. I'm going to soak some scrap pieces in TSP over night to see if that helps on how much time it takes to g...

I had some TSP (Tri Sodium Phosphate) lying around and tried it on the square tubing. It did a much better job than anything else, but its still an awful lot of work. I found a distributor for Viper Brite in Florida near my freight forwarder, so I'll try a gallon of that . Thanks for the lead.

Around here all we have is sunshine and high humidity. Everything else gets shipped in and anything exotic like TIG supplies, solvents, etc are nowhere to be found.

BTW - is there a glossary around here? What is RHS?

I've tried Acetone, Mineral Spirits and Naptha as chemical agents and they don't work. Each takes away a bit of the gunk, but certainly not enough to weld the metal + remaining gunk even with MIG wire or TIG filler metal like ER70S-6. Priming and painter thereafter would be an issue. It's the primin...