My little Lincoln Arc

From the Manufacturer

Interested in welding? Ready to try your hand at wire welding? Have we got the welder for you - the Handy MIG from Lincoln Electric! This compact, portable and lightweight wire feed welder plugs into a 115V, 20 amp outlet and is user friendly. Four voltage settings and continuous wire feed speed adjustment allow you to weld mild steel from 24 gauge to 1/8" thick. And, it's easy to get started since practically everything you'll need to MIG weld is in the box - gun and cable assembly, work cable and clamp, gas nozzle, gas regulator and hose, spool of solid wire, contact tips and hand shield with filter plate and lens. Just add a cylinder of shielding gas. But that's not all - there's also a spool of self-shielded, flux-cored wire, contact tips and chipping hammer/brush so you can use your Handy MIG to weld with gasless, flux-cored wire too.
 
Hmm... This one is newer than mine but... my older model has the same features, same output, just a few less scratches too.
 
Mine works great with a 5000 watt generator, at the bottom of my home made welding cart.
Don't let those stats in the Lincoln Arc description fool ya! This combo has welded upto 3/8" flat stock at my local butchershop!
 
I was asked to install a hanging weight scale in the rail system, and I needed to splice it into a section that was not near the support hangers.
 
Knowing this unit does have limitations, I simply ground a double bevel on both sides of the seams. I left a 1/16" flat on both edges with a root gap approximately the same. I figure that equals a 3/16" champher. Who measures that close when your standing on a ladder anyways?
 
Good strong tacs on both top and bottom of the rail end held everything in place while welding. My first pass was a single verticle up on both ends, and then on the opposite side of both ends. The rest was a series of virticle up lap welds and Wha -la!
 
A little touch up with a small Milwaukee grinder and paint from a matching spray bomb!

This Week's Project, Tool Cart

This is one of those projects where you may have to bend some 14 or 16 gauge sheet metal, but don't let that scare you away from a custom tool cart!

6 - 90 degree bends required so far,...

                                                                   This beefy 1/8 x 1" x 2" frame will feature 2 sturdy full length pull out tool drawers to keep your assortment of fixtures organized and easy to access.

Who among us hasn"t plotted out our bend lines and set out to pick up a hammer & commenced on our best attempt to beat that steel into submission?

Some call it the art of cold forming like the caveman, because the process tends to lend itself to brute force thinking, versus controlling the hammer with care to avoid stretching and distorting the surface.

Some have successfully scored the brake line with a wide concrete chisel, to focus the impact by pinching the steel to a weaker thickness, allowing it to fold along the intended fault line in the grain of the steel. My experience has been when you create micro cracks in folding the steel you greatly reduce its strength.

I am fortunate to have a heavy 3/4" X 24" X 48" table top from which could build a simple press to bend steel up to 14 gauge. I had been contemplating it for a while now. The picture shows the results. click to enlarge it and you can see there is still more radius than I wanted but then again this is a proto-type I threw together to get this job done over the week end.

I made the bending press by hinging a length of 3" X 3" angle iron over the edge of the table top. There's too much to describe tonight without a reference picture to go with that project story. I couldn't believe I pulled out the hold down bolts! I'll get a post up as soon as possible, it is an easy project for "make your own'ers" like us!

Phoenix day 3, Mission accomplished!

Note the tabs were some nice laser cut left overs from some other job in my past.

They were drilled, and then counter sunk with a 9/16 " drill bit and then I bolted the nuts in place prior to welding them.

By doing this you are assured nothing is going to warp or move off of center in the hole.

Note the top plates extensions are now only 1/8 " from the frame . No way can a 5/8" board get in under the arm of the springloaded top plate now!r>< span>r>


Meanwhile on the other end of the phoenix the virtacle support needed to be offset.

A horizontal cut at 3/16 " all the way around the top to remove the inserted tube cap leaves me at the same hight as the origional height.

The same procedure was used for the 1/2" 16 tpi nuts on the 2 X 3.5 canteleeverd cap.




Unfortunately the grey touch up paint did not exactly match but that was considered to be insignificant as the customer was extrememly happy with the final product.

The feed back so far is all accolades for a job well done.

March will bring a new challenge when they install a new all in one Sheeter from K-Mec located in Spain.

I have already placed a bid on another project for the trim cutter platform.

While this may have been one of my more complicated projects at first glace, you can see how I broke it down to basic processes and steps to keep it simple.

My best advice is to double check every thing twice and tack once! here's wishin ya good reviews on your projects and ya'll come back now, y'hear?

I've recently added a facebook link widget to my blog if you should like to offer me a poser of a question or just suggest a subject you are interested in concerning my passion for Welding.

Stainless Steel Divider Board Cart (how to tips)

OK I'm sorry the pictures are indexed from the very beginning, I am assuming you already know about cutting and layout and the project needed to be submitted before I had learned my way around last years Christmas Camera.

Actually I was also working on modifying those 14 tables to a heigth of 39" which is in fact, when I got the idea of documenting some "Hillbilly Handy Man Tips".

Let catch you up to where these photos begin.

• A local company was about to be audited by the American Baker's Institution, to become certified vendors for "food labels". The label printers thought some stainless steel would seal the deal if I could manage the price to work within the company's budget.


• I drew up some plans and priced the stainless steel on the condition they were providing casters required, 2 swivel, and 2 fixed. We sat down and discussed the project with a company Representative, a dept. head and myself, the contractor.


• I offered my estimate of the cost and what I expected to get paid for my time and we all agreed.


• I purchased the steel, cut and miter cut the steel and began welding away. In order to replicate 6 identical carts I set up a simple fixture on a steel table top, that allows me to "Tac" weld the base and the rails that support the divider boards. In this series It has been welded inside and outside, then ground flush. Before I weld the caster pad in place, I will weld and grind flush again after I drill the bolt clearance holes in the bottom so there are no burrs.
  

Last month I posted a few pictures of the second of three in Stainless Steel.

The first picture, is another type of template that you can use if you want to transfer dimensions accurately. This series of photos will show you how it works.

The caster pad is 3/8" thick X 3" wide flat stock 4" long. In this case you need 4 per cart. So, step one, cut 5 to the same length knowing that the first will be the template for the rest.
By clamping the template in place you can then use your transfer punch to nail the exact center of each hole. Then simply drill a pilot hole or use a carbide step drill bit for a large enough hole to allow clearance for a bolt to clear the thickness of the flat stock (3/8")

Here I will use a 1/2" drill because the bolts are 5/16 X 18 tpi (threads per inch) x 3/4".

The pads are pre-drilled and taped, so now just tac and weld in place.


While was working on this project the company called and we discussed some work in the label factory's warehouse, repairing the damaged shelving supports to enhance structural integrity and safety. During these talks I was asked to search for my own caster vendor because the new 3 million dollar do it all in one machine is expected to take up most of their time and resources for a while this spring.

Its a shame that here in paper country just south of Green Bay and the fox valley they buy a machine from Spain! But I digress! I can't say enough for E.R. Wagner Manufacturing Co. They make every conceivable kind of caster you may ever want! They are local for me, and beside I have welded their casters for another subcontractor like myself. While I was learning my way around their web page I found these caster on the "$ Hot Deals $" page and by golly I got immediate assistance and next day delivery right to my front door! I can't say thank you enough for that kind of service, seriously! here is a link just in case you may need some casters yourself. http://www.erwagner.com/casterswheels/

As I had made my choice because the hole patters were identical between the swivel and the fixed casters I was so pleased to find little details I liked. The best idea I saw was to make one set of holes in the caster slightly larger than the other in case you or your drill drift off the proverbial mark they've got you covered! Look a little closer look at picture below, if you click on the picture Blogger will enlarge it to full screen . Yes they did provide the first set for trial purposes, and I believe I'll be buying 48 more soon!

Welder World?

I gotta tell ya about a pretty cool welding website that I found late last night. I was twittering my usual political views and got on the subject of a local corporation up in Oshkosh, WI who got a big government contract for building a new and improved version of a military vehicle used for transporting troops in a combat zone.
Now I'm pretty sure everyone knows that with a government contract come government standards in the process and the pay standards. The US government mandates pay standards to a union scale, but what happens when the contracting company farms out work? The company that wins the bid for the work is not mentioned in the government contract, therefore they are not tied to the pay standards, only the quality standards.
What this means to an unemployed welder with 25 years of experience like myself is that I get a call from a temp agency who has one of my resumes on file, calls me and asks if I am interested in working a job that should pay union scale wages for a whole lot less and with out any benefits either. I've worked for Oshkosh truck sub-contractors before, and it is not for the novice welder, especially when you consider our soldiers lives depend on your skills as a welder to help protect them on the battlefield. It seems to me this practice is purely profit driven.
A short time later I looked at my email, and found a follower's message that led me to Welder World.com at this link, http://welderworld.com/
As I explored the site reading a few articles I decided to share this site with my readers as well. Why? Because there is tons of good information here.
I am currently working with stainless steal on one of my jobs and I found a tips article about the use of heat sinks to help prevent the warpage that is often encountered when working with stainless steel. Good information guys.
So I would suggest that, if you have questions about the processes of welding you take a short visit to Welder World.com.

It's Your Business.

You may know by now my business is centered around my home based welding services. Welding is my passion. For 25 years I dreamed of my own welding business. This year I decided to make my dream a reality.
Many years ago I realized I would need undisputed provable skills and certifications to earn my little niche in the local market. So I studied, took advanced courses, practiced and applied what I learned to my work in the manufacturing field until I had the big chip on my shoulder.
The next thing I needed were the right tools. Little by little I acquired the basics, like grinders for finishing, drills, hammers, and chisels of all sizes...etc. Then one summer about a decade ago I bought a Lincoln Arc Welder with the intention of making it pay for itself in a couple of years. One of my first projects saved me $150.00 in parts cost when the transmission linkage broke on my vehicle. A few lawn mower repairs for neighbors who knew I had a welder paid back the initial investment by the 2nd summer. Flux core welding is ok,but next came the MIG kit so I could include stainless steel as a friend's butcher shop utilizes a lot of stainless in meat packing industry. I've worked many a project for my friend's business at pretty cheap prices to gain extra curricular projects like cattle gates, corral panels, a deer skinner, and other repairs as needed.
As my reputation grew, so did my connections. It seems everybody sooner or later needs someone to weld something for them, but what are their options? Take the broken pieces to a shop and hope not to get charged the standard $75.00/hr. labor fee? yea right! That fee is there for a reason, most likely the hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in equipment and overhead. Sometimes if you know someone who welds for a living you can get them to invest their time for a favor or a 12 pack and a $20.00 bill, but they will use the boss's electricity and wire under the table and that's just not right unless you have an agreement or permission to work after hours with the employer in advance. I've done that myself on larger projects that weren't related to work. I built my 7' X 12' wagon over 3 weekends this way, off the boss man's ol' time clock if you know what I mean. It can make you a few extra dollars on the side that you can then use to purchase your own equipment.
Of coarse I welded my own tables and benches out of re purposed steel, not much investment there. It's kind of funny how worth lees me tel objects can become something totally different when you become the master of metal. For instance an old metal security door turns into a nice bench top simply by removing the hardware and plugging the hole with a small circular patch welded in place and ground flush. My point is when you want to you can always find something to weld, who hasn't dreamed of creating a project that reflects your efforts and skill? My buddy built his stereo boom box into his toolbox and of coarse I had to build a bigger one into mine! I even had to build two extra cabinets onto my toolbox for the tower speakers, just so I could drown out his polka music when I wanted to hear rock'n'roll.
I'm going to share with you everything I can think of as I grow my business from a hobby to a legitimate income producing venture.
I'm going to take this moment to tell you about a free business resource that has helped me to find my way around network marketing, which is something I've been doing all along and didn't even think of it. Network marketing is Not the same as MLM (multi-Level marketing)! Networking is relationship building, not selling to friends and family! It is Not recruiting, or calling leads! It's about knowing someone who can help you when you have a specific question. someone you can trust, not because they are in your e-commerce company, but because they are part of a bigger organization looking to help you succeed in your own endeavors, no matter what they are. Mentoring For Free offers this link for Powerful Networking Secrets, http://LHW.powerfulnetworkingsecrets.com/?mad=40127. You really need this invaluable information, but I'm also going to give you a link for the Free e-book, Success in 10 Steps, so you can get a glimpse of the bigger picture of our proven duplicatible system. You can get it right now for free at http://LHW.successin10steps.com/?mad=38910 no strings attached.
No matter what your business might be, you can benefit, from Mentoring For Free!
Coming soon, more pictures of projects,more welding tips, and how to information, so ya'll come back now, y'hear?

To recycle or not?

The original table stood 32" tall. The customer requests a 39" table height. The legs of the table must be lengthened by 10" to allow for the 1 & 1/2" thickness of the lower pan and table top. 10" - 3" = 7" / 39" - 32" = 7"

The alignment guide above, insures the leg extension doesn't lean like the tower of pizza when you tack it in place.

With all four legs lengthened, clamp at 1 &1/2" down from the end of the leg for stops to support the lower pan of the table.

Make sure to align the swivel casters with the handle end of the table before welding. I won't use a level on this project because the floor is sloped in this garage. I measured from the top of the table to the bottom of the lower pan while it is up side down, knowing the casters are 6"





Double check the ol' tape measure, just to make sure something didn't move on me! hmm... lookin' good enough to burn!




There you have it, a little bit of degrease'r soap with the pressure wash and paint with primer. The steel used for the 10" length came from this very same project. Some of the tables had the same size angle iron in the add on roller saddles. In this case one table provided enough angle iron to modify 8 tables. With a little skill and technique you can make the legs appear to be seamless, as I did with a little bit of 36 grit fiber back pads on the 4 1/2" Milwaukee grinder before welding the bottom in place.

I figure at roughly $27.00 for a 20 ft. length, for new stock, this project will come in three sticks in my favor just in 3/16" 1&1/2" angle alone. Something like that just fuels my little eco-flames to think that over the course of 14 tables, 76 feet of steel didn't have to go to the landfill. My customer details a simple plan during the consultation and any questions are best handled with a phone call to the project coordinator, and we're good to go.

In recycling these tables I will also yield plenty of 3" x 3" angle, always handy in 4' lengths, 4"x4" square tube, heavy wall perfect for that body lift on my man-child's 4x4 monster mudd'r project, and a couple of ice cream buckets of nuts and bolts to be sorted at a later date. I guarantee someone in the neighbor hood will have a use for when the hardware store is closed on Sundays.

In an upcoming blog I'll show you the paint cart turned Band saw bench, another point of this project that I needed to finish this last weekend. I will need it for the next project, a stainless steel cart that I designed and was rewarded with an order for six more.

Take a good look around you when you encounter a problem, A wise man once told me, the answer is always within 25 feet of where you're standing. This job was an easy way to earn a dollar or two from the ol' man cave.