Container Weld Shop build -

[dragoneggs]

Steve, I think the hot weather is getting to you.

 

[BukitCase]

Nah, I'm ALWAYS this way; I just don't always "over-share" :laughing:

In fact, now that I finally quit stalling and actually USED the "little green machine", I found ANOTHER way to help "beat the heat" - I used a couple of those swivel pad vise grips and hung one of the 20" floor fans upside down from my "mini-jib" (pics later) - with that aimed down at my head, I (1) stay cooler, (2) 99% of grinding sparks/dust go "somewhere ELSE", later to be swept up with the magnetic "broom", and (3) I don't hafta turn the fan OFF to weld...

I probably have at least 15# of that old 7014, so I can set up both the MM252 and the iTig (for stick), then do the tacks with wire and weld out with stick. To quote an old Hawaiian saying (lived there for a couple years), "cool head main ting, brah" :thumbsup::thumbsup:

The ventilation thang - cheapest way I know to get the containers survivable til "mo money" happens - once I have full roofs over all 4 (2 different locations) the heat'll be a non-issue - the 20' container has full shade all day, and it's the same temp INSIDE as OUT, within a degree or two, ALWAYS...

Breakfast's here, and (Beatles quote) "Here comes the sun" - Later... Steve

 

[BukitCase]

OK, as promised - my "cool head" solution;
16 down - - And 4 more to go -

And yeah, there WAS a plan (sorta) -

If it doesn't get much warmer out I might get the last 4 covers ready to weld this afternoon, that fan makes a SERIOUS difference... Steve

 

[Oldpath05]

With 5/32-7014 you must have that little green mean machine nearly maxed out, although I guess if you want to weld razor blades with it there's plenty of heat for that.
The trouble with todays inverter welding machines is there's to much clicking, push this arrow for this push the arrow for that, arc force, set that, push the arrow again for hot start and set that, push the arrow push the arrow.............click click click.....why dont they just put a knob on there for all these clickings and turn the knob, done.
What I do like is when setting the amperage's on these new inverters say at 120, the the screen reads 120 as opposed to my 40 year old Miller Dialarc that I bought off someone last year. A person almost needs to be a mathematician to set the amperage on it, I never seen anything so complicated. I like the levers and amperage knob but but dont like having to figure out the six different amperage percentages, I had to ask a guy at work today, again how to figure out the amp settings, showed him these pictures.

I was welding with 3/16, 6011 this past weekend, the first lever is set on DC-r, Sec lever set all up at 125-310, the dial is at 60 and this is where it gets complexi, he said to figure the amps take 310 subtract 125=185, devide 185 by 10= 18.5% so to add up the heat on the dial each number is 18.5 amps so it's 18.5 x 6= 111<<< add that to>>>125, Soooooo>>>125+111=236 AMPS,,,WOW are kidding me........And there's 5 more amp settings to figure out...............The good part is DC sure was easier to weld with, easier stop and starts, smoother arc.

 

[Oldpath05]

I got all 20 of the 1/4" cap pieces cut today, and 8 of 'em de-glazed, beveled and ready to weld on - my plasma View attachment 563712 cuts 1/4" steel at 60 IPM, which makes it real handy to just lay a ruler along the back edge of the 1" angle I use for a guide - View attachment 563713 ever since my military time I can count seconds accurate within about 1 second per minute, so I just hold the torch against the guide and move it past the inch marks at one per second - works pretty good - View attachment 563714 View attachment 563715 - The ones standing up against the pyramids are the finished ones...

We had a couple cooler days (low 80's) which was nice; but the next week (starting tomorrow) is supposed to be mid to upper 90's - it'll get too warm for playin' with HOT things by around 11am, so I'll probably start fabbing 2 templates for cutting 16-1/2" square and 24-1/2" square holes in container walls - the first of 4 of these
Greenhouse Ventilation Package - Greenhouse Exhaust Fans | Greenhouse Megastore

will be here Monday (I'm getting the 1620 packages; they'll exchange the air in a 40' container once every two minutes) - I'm gettin' tired of making rounds morning (open containers, turn on fans) and nite (turn OFF fans, close containers) - some of the things stored in 'em do NOT like 130-140 degree temps, so the 16" exhaust fan will go on the leeward side opposite the door ends, and the 24" motorized louvers will go on the leeward side just inside the doors. The included controller can then get set to maybe 90 degrees, so I can goof off another hour before I gotta pretend I'm doin' sumthin USEFUL

The templates (which I can make in the wood shop (already HAS a 24" gable exhaust fan and 2 other fans, yay) will let me cut the holes with the plasma from INSIDE, MUCH less of a PITA than tryin' to do it with a zip disk :thumbsup: - I checked and all 4 containers have exactly the same corrugation spacing (even tho they're two different manufacturers), so I'll only need to make one of each size template (yay) to do all 4 containers -

Time to hang it up for the night, need to get going fairly early to beat the heat... Steve

Man you must reallyyyyy be tied of turning on off fans, getting 4 of those fans are is not cheap, the price I saw was almost $400.00 ea. I had a 12" one in my old shop, got a good buy off someone for around $100.00, that fan would clear out the smokest smoke in ten minutes, sure was nice when doing carbon arc gouging in the winter time.

 

[Oldpath05]

One of these (minus the "U" bracket jig) - View attachment 563606 - In my case, it's a 20 ton press - the tubing in question is 3" wide, - 1/2" for 2 quarter-inch walls leaves 2-1/2" for the 2-1/2" tubing that I pushed inside - as you probably found out, the electrically welded SEAM gets in your way. My need was just to beef up the wide tubes so they wouldn't crush, so I used a zip disk and did a small "furrow" down the side of the small tube (it's still1/4" wall, so no biggie) - then I ground a short bevel across the end of the small tube on 2 sides so it'd START a little easier, I lined up my "furrow" with the weld seam on the bigger tube, couple taps with a small (32 oz) hammer, set the whole thing on the press, used that "Tee" pusher in the pic, and held the air on the air/hydraulic jack til it looked halfway there...
No welding necessary, there's enough tension to keep it from moving since any force is only gonna be trying to squeeze things closer together, NOT push the small tube back out sideways......Steve

This square tube into square tube is more like a square tube into a rectangle tube as in POST 410> 4th picture? yup should've had that picture of that dramatic episode, what was you thinking, now dont blame it on the heat............

 

[BukitCase]

I'll try to cover these somewhat in order, maybe you should check in more than once a week

"With 5/32-7014 you must have that little green mean machine nearly maxed out"

Nope, my leftover 7014 ise 3/32 and 1/8, I was running the 1/8 at 125-130 amps, with a little hot start (doesn't stick as much on starts) and some "arc force" - pretty sure that just adds some inductance, seems to run a little smoother...

"The trouble with todays inverter welding machines is there's to much clicking, push this arrow for this push the arrow for that, arc force, set that, push the arrow again for hot start and set that, push the arrow push the arrow.............click click click"

Maybe so, but your 40 yr old Dialarc confuses me more - maybe it's 'cause I've been workin' with/on computers since only corporations had 'em, and hard drives were the same size as your washing machine - it's all in what you're USED TO. This little Everlast is actually very easy, especially for all the things you can customize (stick is definitely easier than the TIG, but you don't HAVE to use all the bells and whistles on that either -

"I was welding with 3/16, 6011"

OK, for THAT much rod I just drag out "big red" - - It's 250 AC or DC, can't remember the last time I had the leads on anything but DC Reverse...

"DC sure was easier to weld with, easier stop and starts, smoother arc."

Yup, first arc I ever struck was a friend's SA200 - PURE DC generator, that's why I waited til I could find an AC/DC machine (big red) - Even on DC, mine's not as smooth as that old Lincoln, but it's 'WAY better than AC - the little inverter reminds me of that lincoln, that's ANOTHER advantage of the newer technology - VERY smooth arc for sure.

"Man you must reallyyyyy be tied of turning on off fans, getting 4 of those fans are is not cheap, the price I saw was almost $400.00 ea."

These are the only ones I've seen halfway reasonable that actually WORK -
Amazon.com: TPI 737-F-18-TE 1/8 hp Power, 115V Industrial Floor Mounting Fan: Home & Kitchen

First two I got I paid $104 each, they've gone up - third one was about $112, last one was $114, I see they've gone up another $2-3 bucks... Yer right about all the switching crap; next time I'm in HF I'm gonna grab one of these

Power Maintained Foot Switch
And just step on it when I start a MIG weld...

I have one of the "dead man" versions, I try to use that one any time I have a slicer disk on a grinder that's a SLIDE switch.

"This square tube into square tube is more like a square tube into a rectangle tube as in POST 410> 4th picture? yup should've had that picture of that dramatic episode, what was you thinking,"

Yup, that's the one - and it wasn't all that dramatic, just lined it up and pushed it in, so SUE me :laughing:

Well, today reminded me just how much I HATE chipping slag, even WITH a needle gun - stick seemed like a good idea 'cause of the fans, but I made the mistake of NOT "re-rembering" that 7014 doesn't really LIKE OOP, so all but one of the vertical ups looked like "fido wuz here" - - Just as I did the last tack on this yesterday The 252 ran out of wire - by that time it was 90 in the shade, so I put things away - so everything I did today was with stick, that was a GREAT reminder why I like MIG whenever there's no WIND - Manana I'll put a new roll of L56 in the 252, then it's back to just a wire brush before/after welds.

Next 7 days are lookin' like carbon copies of today, down to 60 at nite and up to 95+ by around 2pm - hopefully I can talk "mrs. Bukit" into a run in to HF early, that'd let me weld while she grabs one of those foot switches I linked, then I'll just plug BOTH of the "Local" fans into that and stomp when I wanna weld.

The greenhouse fan kit showed up today, so if I get too tired of welding I can play with the table saw/pocket holes/jigsaw til I make a couple plasma templates for the fan and louvers - that shop's at least a couple degrees cooler with the 24" gable fan sucking "shady air" in while it's gettin' rid of the hot stuff (PLUS, I don't hafta wear leathers and a hood to play with wood ) ... Steve

 

[BukitCase]

By the time I got home from HF with the foot switch, it was already too warm to interest me in puttin' on leathers, hood, gloves, etc; plus, that big green Hitachi grinder in some of the pics is a 9", weighs about 16 pounds, and my back's ALREADY decided I'm demented for usin' it for ALL the de-glaze/bevel ops on those cover plates

Sooo, time for a "NON-day", at least til evening. Then I'll most likely put a new roll of L56 wire in the MM252, and get back at it manana, EARLIER (that's my story, an' I'm stickin' TO it along with everything I TOUCH ) ...Steve

 

[Oldpath05]

That weld look terrible, a complete failure need and with slag intrusion beyond acceptable levels, Navy requires that you gouge it out and do it over. I think 7014 welds better on AC as it helps disperse slage better. To me DC acts as a penetrating range whereas 7014 is not a penetrating rod, it's been awhile since I used them, guess I'll have to get some 7014 rods again and retest my theory of relativity, then I';; sue ya for false dramatic tube in tube dramatisation. roposetoast:

"Next 7 days are lookin' like carbon copies of today, down to 60 at nite and up to 95+ by around 2pm"<<<The heck with the fans, get 4 of these>>
Amazon.com: DELLA 1, BTU Window Air Conditioner Room Up to 45 Sq Feet 115V Energy Star Mini Compact w/Remote Control, White: Home & Kitchen

 

[Oldpath05]

Well I made an attempt at some 3/32- 7014 welding this weekend, been 5 years since I used it and I can definitely see how easily it is to get slag entrapment. This Miller is so hard to figure out amperage but near as I can tell I ended up with 133.75 amps on AC, way more than my old Century welder use to set that on 100 at the most. Had to have my son help with the math, decimal points always kunfuses me, my son keeps telling me to figure it like money so he says it's like $133.75.

7014 seems to run the best when the rod starts turning red 2" from the stinger, hold the rod in the puddle, a slight drag and weave will help keep slag out of the weld, the rods sure do start easy and if done right dont look half bad. Didn't have that much to weld just a stiffener on top of my stove, the top sagging down in the middle bout 3/8", jack it back up and welded that piece on, that piece might be a little to high not sure yet but might trim some off..

 

[Oldpath05]

I heard it's only going to be in the 90s this week for you so might be a good time to make sure there's no beavers making a Dam on your land or you could be held responsible for any water damage......................if there is you might have time to smoke your pipe, the Redneck way.

Read This Guy’s Hilarious Response To The State Environmental Agency - YouTube What would Phil do if he was in Trump's shoes in Helsinki? - YouTube

 

[BukitCase]

Yeah, I figured out what MOST of my problem wuz with the 7014; the first couple welds were just simple "light it off, let it weld itself", no weave, and ABSOLUTELY no backing up - found out a little weave is OK too, but you just bury the previous slag if you try to back up 'cause you went too fast in one area...

Oh, and you can KEEP the Dialarc (altho you musta got close, welds look fine); and while yer at it, I'd recommend keepin yer KID happy too :laughing: And I'll keep my "complicated" little green machine, where if I want 130 amps I just twist this little knob til the display says "130"

Temps - it hasn't been below 90 for over a week, last 4 days been over 100, up to 104 one day :thumbdown:
So I took 25% of your suggestion, and bought ONE new AC (12000 BTU) - mounted it temporarily on a rollaround rack a buddy GAVE me, puts it just about right to aim at the back of my neck - - I'm pretty sure I can even get away with leaving the AC on to MIG, it's not a LOT of air and it'll be BEHIND me - we'll see.
Notice the black foot pedal by the fan on the floor, it turns BOTH fans on or off like I mentioned earlier -

It was 101 degrees when I put the AC up, soon as I knew it worked I shut it off and went inside, decided even WITH the A/C blowin' on me it was too dang hot to weld. It's 'sposed to get down to the 80's by Thursday and might even get a sprinkle or two next Monday or Tuesday, here's hoping... Steve

 

[Oldpath05]

"It was 101 degrees when I put the AC up, soon as I knew it worked I shut it off and went inside, decided even WITH the A/C blowin' on me it was too dang hot to weld. It's 'sposed to get down to the 80's by Thursday and might even get a sprinkle or two next Monday or Tuesday, here's hoping... Steve"

Triple digits, that is on the warm side but least it's a dry heat. It's been down in the 40s here, think I might have hurry up and get my wood stove going. :cold:

Next time you run 3/32-7014 tell me what your amps are on when the rod starts to turn a dull red 2" from the stinger, should be easy when all you have to do is read the numbers.............

 

[BukitCase]

"Next time you run 3/32-7014 tell me what your amps are on when the rod starts to turn a dull red 2" from the stinger"

I can probably do that, it's supposed to get down to 80 by Thursday; I've got the 3 27"x32" 3/4 plates my "pyramids" will sit on, plenty of room around the edges to run some stringers.

I've also got a DC clamp-on amp meter, as easy as the 7014 runs I'll probably clamp that around the stinger lead just to check accuracy of the greenie's digital readout - shouldn't take more than one hand to run the stinger with that rod... Steve

 

[BukitCase]

I haven't got around to playin' with 7014 stick yet, but DID get all but a few minor "touchup" welds done on the last 4 pyramid support blocks for the (hopefully soon to be moved) containers - - also primed the first two - They're sitting on 3 of the 180# base plates that'll be under them -

Got tired of tryin' not to catch my "helper" glove (and body parts inside it) on fire - it's not good to have to lean on what you're welding when some of the welds are 16" long @ 200 amps, so I re-purposed a few of the "light duty" tinker toys for a support/guide that is NOT attached to the weldments - - as you can see, there's height adjustment; and, by re-arranging the 90's I can move it in from the table edge if necessary.

Works really well and just sits in that gray receiver that's clamped to the table - so for grinding, I can just lift the support out of its receiver for easier access.

Next couple days will be more grind and paint; at least it's cooled down to mid 80's, MUCH less painful :thumbsup:... Steve

 

[BukitCase]

Finished up grinding/blending all the welds that need to be flat (and a few extras ) - Some of 'em even look like I almost knew what I wuz doin' (others, ALMOST as good :laughing

The 4 blocks furthest away will need flipped and other side primed manana, closest two are primed both sides -

'Sposed to be back in the 90's manana, up to 100 Friday; think I'll hide in the big (wood) shop (with the 24" exhaust fan, a 30" pedestal fan and the 36" drum fan) and see if I can hang on to pencil and paper long enough to sketch out the two "uber-sneaky" (I hope) plasma templates for the container vent fans and inlet louvers... Steve

 

[Oldpath05]

Got tired of tryin' not to catch my "helper" glove (and body parts inside it) on fire - it's not good to have to lean on what you're welding when some of the welds are 16" long @ 200 amps, so I re-purposed a few of the "light duty" tinker toys for a support/guide that is NOT attached to the weldments - View attachment 565382 - as you can see, there's height adjustment; and, by re-arranging the 90's I can move it in from the table edge if necessary.

Works really well and just sits in that gray receiver that's clamped to the table - so for grinding, I can just lift the support out of its receiver for easier access.

Next couple days will be more grind and paint; at least it's cooled down to mid 80's, MUCH less painful :thumbsup:... Steve

That's a real slick idea, I can see how that will help with steadiness, back support and fire retardent against those wondering hands in search of something to hang on to without first looking what your hanging on to, I done that many times, weld on one side of something than reach around with my hand and ouch, even with a leather glove on, that heat goes right through and all at once to, then get the glove ASP.
And what's with the red primer, does that color help cool the air down when spraying? The primer I usually see is either grey-ish or brown-ish, not red-ish.

 

[Oldpath05]

Finished up grinding/blending all the welds that need to be flat (and a few extras ) - View attachment 565511 Some of 'em even look like I almost knew what I wuz doin' View attachment 565512View attachment 565513View attachment 565514View attachment 565515 (others, ALMOST as good :laughing Steve

Now your up to navy ship quality there.....:thumbsup: Assuming that's 70s, what gas are you welding with 75/25? that's what I use at home but at the shipyard it's 95/5. Next time I get welding gas I might see if my new dealer can get 95/5, get less spatter with that mixtures and runs a little hotter, 75/25 runs cooler so then the heat has to be turned up.

 

[Oldpath05]

Now I've been around welding all my life but this is the first I've heard of this, very few good info video's on it but this one shows what's going on fairly good. It's called Spray Powder welding, never seen anything like it, I happen on it while checking out some old cast iron threads on TBN. I was looking for foundry shops that make cast iron parts, haven't found that yet, but take a look at this and see what you know about it, like is this welding process for flat only?
Cast iron spray powder welding - YouTube