Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Larry, That's a really nice welder and well worth $2,000. The one we made the forks with is one size down from that. Here's its Grandpa http://weldingweb.com/showthre…..hp?t=46549
That's a picture of one just like the one I bought at age 16. It's in the garage at home with no 220
Not so great with thin sheetmetal, but great with anything else and makes a fine arc welder
Sears used to sell a Lincoln TIG hi frequency box to mount on top, anyone know where a fella can get his hands on one of those?
No Mike, I own an Autobody Paint and Supply Store, http://www.Tinbenderssupplies.com I was a Bodyman and Painter for 29 years. I have no secrets, and since I'm no longer using my knowledge might as well share it to help my customers
Click on my picture and it will go to my profile.Every manufacture has written procedures for where to splice, how to splice, the type, spacing and size of welds, etc.
The main problem is unlike any other profession besides medical the insurance companies dictate labor rates and therefore technician pay. When I started out body shops and mechanic shops charged the same rate, now body shops charge half as much, dictated by insurance companies. My pay per hour was far more 30 years ago than a body tech can expect today! So now you have low paid parts changers and a few dedicated souls.
Say you're a technician and you need to spend twenty minutes researching procedures for the task at hand. You will do that for free, just try to charge an insurance company a line item for that, good luck. Now that same technician is doing structural repairs on a Dodge Viper. Their procedures specifically state using strait Co2 instead of the usual Argon Co2 as the former gives a deeper, narrower weld. Do you think the average tech is going to research and learn this on his own time? His pay is low to begin with.
The newer Corvettes have their bodies bonded (glued) to the frame. You need to splice only the damaged section of body and frame. When I took the 3 day class for Corvette certification we were supplied actual frame sections to splice and spent a full day on how and where to splice them and final dimensions. Out of 30+ techs in the class not one other tech bothered to dial in his welder before starting! Most of these “Techs” could not weld to save their lives and blamed the machines (really sweet Miller welders) for their incompetence. They spliced in the wrong place or did not make the required joint, and could not produce the finished dimensions. That's over thirty $50,000 cars that would have been ruined during repair! Unfortunately this sort of thing plays out in shops across the US every day. I try to educate my customers (body shops) every chance I get as I'm one of the dedicated souls.
I'll get off my Soapbox now.
A 2300 Ford 4 banger, T bucket W/ some sort of trailer for a bed, assorted pieces. There's a group of 3 or 4 of these that drive them 365 no matter the weather. I feel sorry for the ones with no top, but they don't seem to mind.
Now that the whole picture thing's figured out I'll put some up in the photo album as time allows.
You've got that right Rich, I cant count how many cars I've worked on where the last guy thought he had welded a panel on, only to have it fly off while trying to make a pull. Now you have a real mess, you were counting on pulling on that outer panel to straighten the inner structure, now you're screwed. The car companies require MIG welds where a spot welder won't work and I hate to say there are a lot of bodymen with poor welding skills.
Some of the new cars have side panels made of hi boron steel to meet side impact requirements, the factories want those replaced with plug welds using silicone bronze wire to keep the heat down. If I owned a shop now I wouldn't hire a bodyman who was not a certified welder.
I learned by both, 28 years as a bodyman. I bought my first welder, the Lincoln SP 200 when I was 16. I watched a film in school of the 1968 Camaro/Firebird sub frame assembly line, one of those welders at every station as far as the eye could see.
When the Corvette C5 body came out in 1997 for a time I was the only person in Oregon certified by GM to splice the frame after an accident. Those were the first hydro-formed frame rails on a production vehicle, common place now. That was quite an honor at the time, doesn't mean much now. Wonder how many miles of wire have been ran in those 28 years
I'd like to see Jack call Northern tools to find out who makes that welder and plasma cutter. If it's Hobart that would be good, I'd just hate to see anyone get stuck with Harbor Freight quality in welding equipment.
Jack, if it doesn't say Lincoln or Miller I don't want it. The exception is my Dan Mig, no longer sold on this continent. Sweet hi frequency welder for thin stuff
The welder I”m using is the grandchild of my Lincoln SP 200 Power Source /W Mig guts installed. According to the book that came with it a fella can make 12 passes with 1/8″ inner shield wire to weld 3″ plate
I wouldn't know, nobody ever came into a shop I worked at with a battleship 
It was “welded” all the way around. I'm glad I was in front of the house in close quarters. I had a front tire jambed against a rock unknowingly and instead of climbing over the rock it highlighted a defect. I would have to change my shorts if I was actually going somewhere. It's not going anywhere now
