One thing I found very handy for set screw bolts as in your stand is to use "flair nuts" with the built in washer. Lots of meat to weld even down to 1/4 in. Less chance of blowing thru to the threads in the smaller sizes.

Must haves for me in a shop are a ceiling paddle fan to help heating in the winter and summer cooling. A ventilation fan with an inlet at the opposite end and if it gets hot and humid a dehumidifier to make it more comfortable and control the rust on projects and tools. Just fasten a furnace filter,...

I bought a Pro Point large view helmet with the exterior controls from Princess Auto and it flashed every time on mig. Batteries checked out fine. No questions asked exchange and the next one is fine. Assumed a defective sensor somewhere.

Glowzinki : One of the tells that sold me on the Evolution is that years ago they did have specific problems reported which by following the reviews over time were corrected and it shows. Dewalt on the other hand seemed to sit on their hands and depend on reputation alone and never fixed an obvious,...

Ok, next month will be an expensive one. haha I will get the Suitcase X-Treme 12 vs feeder, with the 30a spoolgun. Also, I have a Dewalt multi cutter saw. I cut some 45s, to make a bench I saw on Arc magazines site. I mean, off like a son of a bitch. haha It makes no sense to me. Unless, the blade ...

The stuff l use costs CDN $6,00 a can at TSC. It's light, almost like water. Just dampen the area and after you are done welding it's pretty much disappeared. When using Flux Core I give every weld a quick spray and almost no spatter cleanup. Spray the mig gas nozzell once in a while and nothing muc...

I considered Dual Shield also. One issue was to find.035 wire and then in the 8in rolls which I wanted. All I found were the larger rolls which would require a spool gun which was overkill for all the welding I do. If you are going to a longer work lead the flux core might give feeding problems. I h...

If you are thinking of building one, a tip I picked up from a video is to use a 3/4in id sleeve for the die end guides and 3/4 octagon shaft for the vertical end posts. That way you can just dress the outer points of the octagon shaft for a final free sliding fit. The fiddly part is the die end guid...

Holding the die open so you can insert the metal to be bent springs to mind. Yes. The die slides on the end vertical rods and the springs force it to follow the press travel. There is no retainer bolt on the top of the die to hold it to the plunger itself, just a 3/4in deep collar to hold it center...

Something that works well for rubber tips for various things are rubber crutch or cane tips or table/chair leg tips. Cheap, tough and lots of different sizes.

A36 wrote:A professional build. Wish I had one too.

I didn't build the press itself, just assembled the hydraulic/air conversion and the dies. The press and air jack came on 1/2 price sale at TSC and the foot control from Princess Auto. Sold the stock 20 ton pump jack still in the plastic bag.

Re: Hydraulic Press Break This is a real simple way I converted my 20 ton pump jack press to an air jack. Some presses might not be quite as simple but well worth the effort. Dies had working edges ground down and built up with hard surface and dressed with zerconium flap disc. Air jacks have their...

Coldman wrote:Pics. we want pics.

Trying to post pics but have new phone and not working out. My sons coming over tomorrow to try to straighten it out.

A handy upgrade is to swap out the pump jack with a 20 ton air jack with a foot pedal control. With my Big Red floor model the jack just slips into the guides and done other than a bit of plumbing for the control. Much easier with 2 hands lining up the stock.

ljdm1956 wrote:C'mon now, for those of up here in this continent, ya gotta translate "Dunny Door"

Protector of privacy for Loo, can, crapper, john or outhouse.

For cleaning smaller areas and joints like you are referring to I just use a 3-4in fairly course wire wheel in a high speed reversable drill. As the wire wheel starts to get a set just reverse it and it's always like new. Mine runs 3200 RPM. Throws wires a bit but nothing like a grinder at 10,000 -1...

I also did a lot of research before buying a saw and the main complaint with the Dewalt was the vice. I got an Evolution 380 and really like it. The vice is heavy duty and holds well. Even though the angle scale is decent I always use an angle finder to fine tune the settings. A handy tool for makin...

From what little I have heard about the state of the electric grid in Puerto Rico I am wondering if 110 might be much more available than 220. In that case a decent 110 machine on flux core will do a fair bit. I did quite a lot of projects with a Lincoln 100. Ok as long as you know the limitations a...

I do cut some wood and 5/8 arbour wood blade works fine. Can do some pretty funky angles in metal with the compound angle feature. Definitely not a production saw but with a bit of care it works well for the hobiest, like many of us.

Very nice. I have a large oak live edge slab, router planed, that at some point I need to build the table undercarriage for. I was thinking of something along the line of yours and now I see how good it looks. The "rivet" look is distinctive and I wondered if you epoxied on short carrage b...

My son has a little wood shop in his furnace room aprox. 10x15ft. He built a downdraft dust collector work table sealed box with a slatted top. A furnace fan inside enclosed in filters catches the dust. He also has an aprox. 16in blade exhaust fan sealed in a window in the room. The inlet air is jus...

When I was looking for a wire welder in Nov. the Vulcan was brand new and hardly stock in the stores yet. I really liked it but shied away because it was so new and very few reviews out. Now there is lots of reviews dominated by 5 stars. I am happy with what I got but if I was looking now it would p...

Nice little saw. When I got mine the original blade, a 20 something tooth proved to be as bad as the reviews suggested. I got the 62 tooth blue Evolution blade which is much better. A vice would be nice but probably pretty hard to do on a sliding compound miter type saws. I just make sure the work i...

I just picked up an Eastwood L6700 Large View True Colour Technology AD welding hood. Only had time for a few welds but really liked it. No green tint just a light blue colour and a much clearer view of the weld than my standard fairly decent green tint auto dark. It has all the adjustments, shade 5...

Good idea. Never tried the headlite trick. Because I just use mild steel I use a little swiveling led with a magnetic base that I can usually make work.