you're in for a long hard road trying to get it perfectly flat again. 80-grit sandpaper on something you know is flat will get you there. you would've been better off with that from the start, though.

something else that helps with this is only move a few 'dimes' then stop and let it cool. that way you can weld good and hot and move at a good clip, but not get out of position and overheat the work. also, as Jody is fond of reminding us, doing a dry run of your weld helps a BUNCH in getting your p...

with that big of a hole, I'd probably start stacking stringers on the top and the bottom until they meet in the center. I've done this kind of thing as a quickie pipe cap for non-critical things many times, and the problem with just going around in a circle is twofold. a) you get the part too hot an...

these aren't super cheap, but they should work: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Vis ... Sfq3oes%3d

300a, 600v. $31

I've never done anything that long, but I'd say as close as you can stand. at least every 2 inches, but don't weld those 2" spaces up all in one go. aluminum moves a bunch when it's hot, so it will close the gap on you hard if you don't tack it off well and take it easy welding it. .050 should ...

I think you might have some issues using the rotating section of the engine stand for welding. they don't rotate all that well. you'd be better of welding the head tube and part of the fork from a bicycle to the stand and welding a plate to the top of the fork where the handlebars would go. they hav...

for a reference, the most common thing you'll see cast in zinc is a carburetor. now, I've never broken a carburetor, so I don't know what a cracked edge looks like, but the zinc castings get a lot darker than Al or Mg as they oxidize, similar to tin. I've never tried, but it was my understanding tha...

if it were me, I'd give a shot heating it up red and trying to run a drill through it while it's hot. if that didn't work, I'd probably just eat the cost of the torch tips, because I don't see much of a way around it.

I'm a big fan of 6011 for repairs. it penetrates like no ones business. I recently used it to weld through what looked like a mig weld that was done without the gas on ( ! ) that had been painted (!!). I ground the weld back, no porosity. if you turn the amps up on an AC machine, you can gouge down ...

not green(pure). red(thoriated), gold(lanthanated) or orange(ceriated) are your best bets. I like the lanth the best, it seems to last longer. I never had starting issues with any of them as long as the tungsten was clean and well-sharpened. if you're on a modern tig machine (either square wave tran...

nice! I'm from up north by traverse city, there's a local version of the festival of the trees up there. to be honest, I forgot about it until you mentioned this, I haven't been since I was like 12. I'm sure the one in detroit is more impressive, though. I'll have to ask my fiance if she ever went (...

if it's galvanized, you'll want to grind back the galvanizing at least 1/2" from your weld areas, if not a full inch. you'll see a noticeable color change when you grind through the zinc. make sure you clean both sides of the sheet, too. also, 16ga (1/16", 0.063") should be fine aroun...

nice, sometimes it's more fun to make things with a hammer and some post dollies than a more modern approach. I have some beads to put in a floor pan, perhaps I'll do a few by hand. I haven't done any repousse in a while.

just make an offer. I got my I-MIG200 for $675 shipped (650+$25 shipping). also, they do big deals on pre-orders. contrary to what GWD said, I wasn't offered any discount for already owning an everlast welder when I called for a price check on a 250ex. and, FWIW, I wouldn't ever buy a transformer st...

if you've got the coin, +1 on speedglas. my dad bought the cat's ass version with the belt respirator and the side windows a few years ago and it's really, really nice. the autodark lens flips up out of the way and there's a 4x6 clear plate behind it for grinding. the respirator keeps you cool, too,...

yup, they're junk. I have a mid-range helmet (forget brand, pops bought it for me for my birthday, I'll look at it tomorrow at work) that's pretty good. 2-sensor, 9-12 shades, 20-200ms delay, '20-200A' sensitivity. unfortunately, there's no grinding mode, but that's about the only downside. inside c...

right, there's no full schematic on the manual, but the only circuit board I see in the parts list is a bridge rectifier, but I don't know what it's for. from what you're saying, you're missing the 10A circuit breaker on the rear panel and the card that's attached to it? I could fix it if I could pu...

sometimes you just have to have the guard off. I have a few grinders, the main one always has the guard on it. flap wheels, in my experience, are a whole lot more dangerous without a guard and they don't fit in most guards. the back edge of those things are vicious.

I dunno. the old steel schwinns were furnace brazed, all the joints at the same time.

to the OP, just go buy a new seat post. they're not that expensive. it's really not worth the trouble.

nice. a little stick lubricant or a spray grinding oil will keep the paper from loading. I've never stopped there, but I've semi-polished (up to 600 grit, then scuff over it with 1500) or 'ghetto engine turned' (sanded perfect to 320, then a coarse scotch brite abrasive disc) a bunch of stuff. I'll ...

the only way I've found I could get a HAZ that doesn't taper AND full penetration on small pieces (things that heat up before you're done welding) is to use pulse. I don't remember what machine you've got, but if you've got an inverter, a high amperage and low background current would be where I'd s...

I'd never heard of them, that's why I asked. 'the beast' is a damn well designed tool. I dunno if I can justify spending $500 on a tubing notcher, but jeez... it sure looks nice. I'll probably just go with a notchmaster. thanks for the link

where do you get those at, Jim? I could use a good tubing notcher here in a few months. gunna be building a space frame from sub-frame under a morris minor PU

I'd really like to know how much air movement you can have before you lose your shielding. I can't find a published number and I don't have a way to measure airspeed. you might be able to get away with running an exhaust fan ducted to a plenum box overhead. that way you're not exchanging everything,...

I'm looking at this machine right now, too. baker's has it online: http://www.bakersgas.com/LINK2915-1.html

I'm going to see if I can try one out from the LWS in the next few months.