Show us your welding projects

[rockinacummins]

Yeah, there's only like 4 parts to those. I always liked a bit more insulation, but to each their own. Any chance the braid or the block has come loose? The only other thing that could do that is high amperage, like way over 200. That might drag it down to 50% duty cycle. Are you smoking the filters, AKA short stubbing, burning the rods really short? That could get you a hot hand, especially on a vertical face.

It’s possible the braid is frayed or loose, it didn’t look or feel like it but that’s not to say that there isn’t an issue. I had the T300 on my shorthood when I was welding full time. I kept the leads when I sold the shorthood and ended up putting it on my Ranger 8 when my Tweco fell to pieces. I need to get another Tweco, but no more than I weld any more it really doesn’t matter. I’m running a Ranger 8 on the 125 range and #8 on the fine adjustment. 1/8” 6010 and 3/32” 7018, smoking most of the filters

 

[rockinacummins]

Try one of these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HSJ1A2M/?tag=atomicindus08-20
I've been using the same disc for 5 years now.

That’s what I need! I wondered how they held up. Do they snag or bind up any more than an abrasive wheel?

 

[WoodsTruck]

Seldom if ever. A transmission guy put me on to them as he used them to cut off pucks from the front of torque converters. He can flex the blade while its cutting and it never skips a beat. Try that with a fiber wheel...

 

[kaymccampbell]

It’s possible the braid is frayed or loose, it didn’t look or feel like it but that’s not to say that there isn’t an issue. I had the T300 on my shorthood when I was welding full time. I kept the leads when I sold the shorthood and ended up putting it on my Ranger 8 when my Tweco fell to pieces. I need to get another Tweco, but no more than I weld any more it really doesn’t matter. I’m running a Ranger 8 on the 125 range and #8 on the fine adjustment. 1/8” 6010 and 3/32” 7018, smoking most of the filters

I had a Tweco twist lock stinger. It held your hand just a little bit further off the heat when I was in business for myself and smoking the filters to get every nickel out of the rods. Nowadays, I just grab the metal squirter and go.

 

[f150skidoo]

Built a couple of weld on mini ex thumbs. They are mostly made from 1/2" mild steel plate except for the outer curved jaw plates which are AR400.

 

[XJSuperman]

Trailer-mounted winch receiver bracket.

 

[rockinacummins]

Tonight’s project was a set of trailer ramps for a buddy of mine. I’ve had the steel sitting here for several weeks and just never took the time to put them together. I had a pretty stressful afternoon, so I wanted something to do to clear my head. Just some 2x2x3/16 angle, 5’ long and 15” wide. I also have the steel to build brackets underneath the trailer to store them. I’ll try to get that done this week.

 

[ez-duzit]

Offset tiller arm of stainless steel for a sailboat auto pilot. For scale, the bore fits a 40mm (~1-9/16") diameter rudder shaft. Arm itself is bent from 1/2" plate. I did the design, machining and fabrication; my helper did the tig welding.

 

[f150skidoo]

This was one of my weekend projects, making a window guard for a 6 ton mini ex.

 

[PugetDude]

3-piece security fence to close up a hole in our community wall. We’ve had trespassing issues recently, wanted something a bit more decorative than chain link and less imposing than a prison fence. Incorporated our community logo into the design (We adjoin a regional hiking park); this secures a 4’ high x 15’ wide drainage gap under a stucco perimeter wall. Had to go 10” on center to allow wildlife (javelinas, coyotes, etc. ) to pass through.
Used 1/2” Grade 60 rebar; (local steel supplier had a bunch of 8' drops for under $3.00/stick) Used my plasma to freehand cut the letters out of 3/16” diamond plate. Sections bolt together with 7/16” bolts, bottom bar is staked down with 18” long rebar stakes. Weld tabs on top for mounting to the block wall.

Fun little project; total cost was $67 for rebar; the rest (diamond plate, fasteners, etc) was stuff I had laying around)



Here’s an installed photo:

 

[BlueBomber]

Not exactly a welding project, but related.

I projected an image onto the side of an old, rusted fuel tank, traced it with a Sharpie, and then cut it out with the plasma torch. It turned out so well, I've postponed my scrap metal run, perhaps indefinitely!

 

[Old Man Roger]

Hope it doesn’t stain your wall with rust.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Hope it doesn’t stain your wall with rust.

Who cares? It'd be worth it.

 

[BlueBomber]

Hope it doesn’t stain your wall with rust.

I sprayed it with matte-finish clear coat to control for that. Plus, it now lives in a flowerbed elsewhere on the property, backlit by a solar lamp at night.

 

[Old Man Roger]

I sprayed it with matte-finish clear coat to control for that. Plus, it now lives in a flowerbed elsewhere on the property, backlit by a solar lamp at night.

Nice.

 

[Terra Nova]

Borrowed an idea from Toro

 

[larry4406]

Borrowed an idea from Toro

Brilliant!

 

[XJSuperman]

Figure these are welding thread worthy...

 

[Beelzeboss]

Tested out a new (not great) way to bend RHS tube









I think it may work better for larger radius bends, but it's definitely not suitable for anything structural. I think next time for a bend like this I'll fab it up from 4 pieces of sheet steel.

 

[mv213]

Figure these are welding thread worthy...

Man, that winch mount is beautiful!!!

 

[WoodsTruck]

Man, that winch mount is beautiful!!!

I was waiting to see if the mount needed additional handles, or if the cross bars on the winch would be enough. Thinking about making one for my Bronco.

 

[XJSuperman]

I was waiting to see if the mount needed additional handles, or if the cross bars on the winch would be enough. Thinking about making one for my Bronco.

It seems to handle well by the fairlead, by the bars on the winch, or by the receiver tube stub. I dont have room for handles inside the toolbox.

 

[Monza Harry]

Tested out a new (not great) way to bend RHS tube ...

I think it may work better for larger radius bends, but it's definitely not suitable for anything structural. I think next time for a bend like this I'll fab it up from 4 pieces of sheet steel.

I have used that technique many times with results I was [VERY] happy with [square tube and angle iron], as for structural strength a curved corner is compromised to start with. You could leave extra gap along the inside radius (cuts) and put an extra piece of flat stock inside [I know easy said, harder to do]. Then weld all the pieces together together. that will be harder to hit an exact radius but a little post heat shrink/annealing you could win and the second one would be closer too boot. Your inner brace is an elegant solution to your concerns though! Harry

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

Still brazing not welding but latest bike frame. Sort of a city bike layout, but takes mountain tires, disc brakes of course, and a dropper post. Also with extra low bottom bracket for 150mm cranks.

 

[ez-duzit]

Anchor chain guards for a 46' sailboat. Made of 3/16" thick 316 stainless. My helper did the tig welding and I did the design and both did the fabrication fabrication.

 

[ez-duzit]

Follow-up on above with both parts installed. Better shows how these are used, to prevent the anchor chain from knockering up the paint on the boat. The trick is building them so they are well fitted to the odd angles of the boat.

For anyone interested, to create the large-radius bend I made an accessory for my hydraulic press/brake. This was a length of 1" diameter bronze bar stock into which I milled a deep V-groove to match the upper bending die.

 

[PugetDude]

In true GJ fashion you should’ve showed us the cardboard models first… Then the finished product.

Nice work, compound angles are always fun.

 

[ez-duzit]

In true GJ fashion you should’ve showed us the cardboard models first… Then the finished product.

Nice work, compound angles are always fun.

Thanks.

Of course, while I was doing the job, I was focused on the challenge and getting it done. Only after the fact did it occur to me that the process might be interesting to others. The attached photo shows how, using some door-skin strips and hot glue, I was able to transfer a mirror image of the mating surfaces to my shop, where I then used 5-minute epoxy, hot glue and plywood to create a fixture upon which to build these parts.

My 50-ton hydraulic press, that I adapted for bending, is also shown.

 

[LXCam]

Nice job Ez, just wondering how come you didn’t do a nose guard on the center portion.

 

[ez-duzit]

Nice job Ez, just wondering how come you didn’t do a nose guard on the center portion.

Thanks. This job was secured because there was existing damage to the port side, which you can see has still not been painted. The center portion is very low and has so far escaped damage. This vessel has already circumnavigated, so has lots of experience.

 

[ez-duzit]

Not sure if this has been posted before, but I'll take a chance just to illustrate a point.

This Bimini top frame/solar panel support was the first project I did using my tube bender. It was built in my shop using a somewhat similar method to the above project. IE I took careful dimensions and patterns of the boat, and then made a building fixture at the shop to duplicate deck crown and existing pushpit (aft rail) mounting hole locations. While the welding is very important, it is the design approach that is critical to its success, particularly insofar as it simply bolted into place once delivered to the boat.

For scale, it is ~13' wide.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Besides ticky-tacky on the kid's rotten exhaust, I splattered together this little cutoff jig for shepherd's crooks wire.

 

[jblnut]

This morning the wheel barrow I use to feed the steers got some much needed TLC.


I reinforced the corners that have been broken for a few years now ....


I did some of my best welding on them !!!


The wear pipes on the feet were almost worn through so I put a junk bolt on one and a busted drill bit on the other. Perfect.

 

[welder4956]

Not sure if this has been posted before, but I'll take a chance just to illustrate a point.

This Bimini top frame/solar panel support was the first project I did using my tube bender. It was built in my shop using a somewhat similar method to the above project. IE I took careful dimensions and patterns of the boat, and then made a building fixture at the shop to duplicate deck crown and existing pushpit (aft rail) mounting hole locations. While the welding is very important, it is the design approach that is critical to its success, particularly insofar as it simply bolted into place once delivered to the boat.

For scale, it is ~13' wide.

We used a similar method to replace sections of bent piping on submarines when I was in the Navy. We called the fixture a "target". We would cut out a section of pipe with multiple bends, bring it back to the shop, slip a coupling on each end, then tack weld the couplings to the work table and make angle iron spacers where needed to preserve the original routing. Once we fabbed up the new pipe to fit the target it would fit perfectly where the old section was removed.

 

[BD55]

Added a bottom rack to our hitch mount bike rack so our small kayaks are more useable rather than trying to strap to the roof which is a huge pain and not very secure. Also makes it easier on my wife since she takes the kiddos to the reservoir while I’m at work during the summer. MIG welded 16 ga 1” galvanized square tube with some 5/16” offset drops so that the rack can still pivot down so the rear hatch can still be opened. Just need to wire wheel and paint and add some caps to the open tube ends.

 

[imagineer]

Added a bottom rack to our hitch mount bike rack so our small kayaks are more useable rather than trying to strap to the roof which is a huge pain and not very secure. Also makes it easier on my wife since she takes the kiddos to the reservoir while I’m at work during the summer. MIG welded 16 ga 1” galvanized square tube with some 5/16” offset drops so that the rack can still pivot down so the rear hatch can still be opened. Just need to wire wheel and paint and add some caps to the open tube ends.

Nice idea. Maybe add some pipe insulation, or split pool noodles on the bottom to protect the kayak's noses?

 

[cherokee]

You guys are amazing, I really wish I could weld. I can stick metal together and it will stay but that is not saying much.

I am working on an exhaust for a lawn mower, the entire thing just busted in half. Not even welding anything yet, just cutting out the parts.

I am going to make it thicker and have an anchor to the mower itself. I think it is my bumpy yard that did it in.

 

[BD55]

Nice idea. Maybe add some pipe insulation, or split pool noodles on the bottom to protect the kayak's noses?

Yes! I forgot to add that intended remaining detail. I'm thinking pool noodle with some kind of tape spiraled on to keep it in place. I haven't looked on pricing but I'd like something longer-wearing like rubber grip tape or something. I just don't want it to look too janky with pool noodles slapped on but I also don't want stuff turning to goo due to UV exposure.

 

[ez-duzit]

Donkey **** pipe insulation works well, is cheap and durable.

 

[BD55]

I sure hope that's not the real product name - I'm concerned what my targeted ads will start showing if I search that!