Just looked it up, I don't know why I didn't think to look up picket twisters. The HF adapter is for 1/2" pickets, I could make something that would attach my slug to it instead. I'll see if I can come up with something first though. The jeep I wouldn't call "rust free", floor pans ha...

Well, it did actually bend/curve slightly, I just leaned on it before I unclamped it, and it straightened out. While yanking on the end of the cheater bar, I had my other hand pressing forward on the head of the wrench, to try and keep it in place. Without doing that, It might have just folded over ...

Here it is! I used the bumper of my jeep to mount the little bench vice. And a 4 foot piece of fence post (my cheater bar) as leverage on my large crescent wrench. I put clamps on both sides of the tube to keep it from wanting to go round, as my square slugs weren't exactly a tight fit. Now that I k...

Ok, well, it works! I'll post a photo in a bit. But yes, me yanking on a big breaker bar, it's difficult to keep the axis straight up and down. Even dispite that, it's actually a pretty even twist! It's weighted a little bit towards one side, but that's probably because I couldn't keep the axis stra...

the metal shop was already closed today, so I'm making two solid pieces that fit in the insides.

Yea I suspect the ends may not be pretty where the dies are in either end.

This is a representation of a 3 foot long piece of 1x1" steel square tubing with .065 (1/16") wall thickness, with a gradual 90 degree twist along the length. Assuming a sturdy jig that holds both ends tight on the inside of the tube and twisting with proper leverage, would the tube just k...

Seems you've answered your own question doesn't it? I'm not an electrical expert either but it stands to reason. :) So I take it that it's normal for stick welding to take more amps than other types of welding? When I got the TIG/Stick machine, I thought the machine itself just took a bit more powe...

Thanks fellas


I'll see if I can find out what gauge wire is going to the breaker, and to the outlet.

I'll admit, I don't know much about electricity :lol: I'm running 110 power through a 15 amp breaker (Ugh... I know, it's not enough! I'm working on getting permission to have it upgraded!) I have two welders, a lincoln 180 dual voltage MIG welder, and an Everlast 200DX dual voltage TIG/Stick welder...

Not sure if this is more market research or a genuine question - but it's not as daft as it first reads - for all of us that have only air cooled torches there is a need for more heat protection at the expense of dexterity for the torch hand - the filler wire hand glove however really needs to be t...

It ain't pretty like alot of what I see here, but I'm slowly learning and getting seat time TIGing :D Adding a brace to a skid plate bracket, and making a base for a tube bender. http://404photography.net/wip/tig_15.jpg http://404photography.net/wip/tig_16.jpg http://404photography.net/wip/tig_17.jpg

Charles_Karl wrote: My eyesight isn't like it was 20 years ago, so a larger lens would come in handy anyway.

try the flashlight trick I've got good eyes, and it helps me still

I've got a cheap auto dimming northern tools helmet with flames on it. Seems to have been working pretty good for the passed few years. Though I guess at some point I should change the batteries? I do always hit the "test" button and make sure it dims before I start welding the first time ...

frederick flintstone wrote:when I lived in metro Detroit suburbs it was a different story. I upgraded my shop equipment all the time. but around here I seldom find used tools at a good price.

Do you still know someone over there? Maybe they could find something for you

A project you'll actually use will teach you much, as you see how, in fact, it works, and how you could improve it. That's kind of how I work I guess. I don't like practicing just for the sake of practicing, I don't have a whole lot of free time from work, if I'm not working on something practical ...

Daniel, I think it is looking good. Cant wait to see more pics. As far as starting on the end of a weld try lighting up on your last ripple and when it melts add your filler and go. When you end on the beginning of a weld, melt the weld at the beginning and add one more dip, presto you won't know w...

I finished the first one tonight (accept for drilling the mounting holes), I did better tonight I think! My individual welds turn out looking not 1/2 bad. I'm pleased with them. But I'm having trouble when I start at the end of an existing weld, or finish at an existing weld. And since I can't seem ...

Well, instead of starting a new thread, I'll just continue on this one. Starting my first useful project with TIG. A set of adjustable rear bumpstops for my old willys jeep from some 3/4" nuts and bolts and washers. Welded two washers flat to each other (thicker, stronger), and welded a nut to ...

Your gonna pop the roll pins out and work it over on your bench, right? Oh yes, most definitely. I'll isolate the lever before I do anything. The roll pins though, I've never had to replace them before, any idea how do you insert new ones? are they kind of like a pop-revit? I was planning on just p...

So, I've got this small clutch lever off of an old Warn Winch that has broken in two places. It's cast aluminum from what I can tell, and very porous. Now, it's a simple lever, I think I could easilly make a new one out of steel or non-cast aluminum. However, since now I have a TIG welder, I'd like ...

So I'm probably getting ahead of myself here, but I just had to. So I grabbed some scrap aluminum and switched the machine over to AC, and ran a few lines with no filler. I think I actually like how aluminum feels better. It seems to take longer to melt, and solidifies quicker than steel. or maybe t...

so while practicing feeding the filler rod, It's pretty easy without gloves on, but with gloves it's alot more challenging, haha! I'll be working on that! So until I'm good at feeding the rod, if I need to pause for a second to get the rod into position again, would it be best to completely stop the...

I *usually* put the last bit in "just" before I begin taperin off. Here, though, you're at the edge of the metal, and the heat has no more "ahead" to go, so you'd likely need to back off some "as" you're adding the last bit, then taper off. Steve S Do you normally leav...

I think that looks great! And I'd agree, you had a good travel speed. You'll get a better analysis if you take a pic before you wire-brush the weld... The colors and bands of color say a lot about heat input. One tip: Make a habit of filling that crater where you finish. It's the weak point in the ...

Ran a few more lines without filler rod, then decided to try a butt weld while adding filler. I think I probably could have used a bit more filler but I'm completely stoked at the results, much nicer than I anticipated! I think since the rings/ripples in the weld aren't arrow shaped, that indicates ...