Setting up Shop Questions - from an NZ learner

[joco-nz]

James, you may want to think about using a seperate switch rather than the NVR on/off switch for the auto-off. If something goes awry it might not be a good idea trying to press the red button and have the saw drop on your finger. A heavy duty roller micro-switch in series with the NVR would I think be the way to go and put the NVR somewhere that you can reach in an emergency.
John

John - at the moment I'm avoiding doing things that required new holes or the cutting/redoing of wiring as that will void my warranty. This saw came with a 36 month warranty. Really don't want to do anything that could stuff that.

Anyway, I have a plan to put a hydraulic cylinder on the down feed so, in theory, I shouldn't get into a situation where pinched fingers is the risk due to the saw dropping.

However, in the future a cleaner wiring setup would be desirable and your idea would come into play at that point.

Cheers,
James.

 

[joco-nz]

A little bit of a mixed update on the bandsaw cart.

Just a little show of utilising some clamps and the toolmakers clamps in a way to get around clamping limitations of the saw vice. At least until I can get some stock cut to make jaw extensions and the separation rod to keep the clamping jaw from pivoting.


I embarked on a bit of work with the brown stuff today getting some shelf boards made. This is the one for the cart bottom and I also did one on the lathe stand while I was on a roll and managed to neatly use up the last of a sheet of plywood. This base will ultimately have some draws and cupboards added to provide a little more storage space and to keep all the bits relating to the bandsaw in one location.


This is the delivery end of the bandsaw coolant. The steel block (I would have preferred Aluminium but I just do not have the stock) will be the basis for the mounting block for the flexi spout and for a hose barb to be screwed into. I'll have to model this idea up and will try and remember to post the render/plans for what I come up with.

 

[joco-nz]

So I have the BOC 175 multifunction setup for lift-TIG. Got a little D size argon bottle on rental to trial this process before committing to anything more.

So I'm learning and practicing and watching lots of educational videos. So I thought I would share the work after having the setup functional, the results from Day #3 of my TIG journey.

It's not "great" but I don't think its complete rubbish. The material being worked on is 35mm SHS with a 3mm wall. Its hot rolled but with the mill scale scrubbed off. All joints done using the dab method on the filler rod. No lay-wire method.
First TIG tacks. Seriously, only got to trying tacking things tonight.


A single joint to get warmed up. Not too bad and a heck of an improvement on Day 1 and 2.


The results of welding 3 sections together all the way around. All I have done is buff the welds up. No other post grinding work. All in all having a lot of fun and starting to see why many people love this welding system. The temptation to get a nice little 200amp AC/DC TIG machine is definitely growing.

 

[joco-nz]

Trying to keep multiple projects going at the moment but thought this use of the cut-off table might be of interest.

Essentially I needed to cut some 60 degree angles and I didn't want to muck up the main fence which I have nicely set to an accurate 90 degrees to the blade. Using a protractor to clamp a fence I was able to hold the steel sections securely and reputably at 60 deg to the blade. Worked pretty well for the 8 parts that I needed to cut.

 

[joco-nz]

Another small change which was suggested to me by bruedney.

Such a simple thing and its like I have a new saw. What is this change you might ask? A new M20 classic V belt. I still had the original Chinese supplied belt. Looked ok, but in all honesty I wouldn't know a good belt from a bad one. Anyway bruedney suggested a new belt might be a good idea, I sourced one from a local supplier (actually from Tauranga: https://www.bayengineerssupplies.co.nz) for a mere $3.40 (plus GST and $8 shipping so I got a whole bunch of screws to make it all worth while). Anyway previously I had really bad vibration, to the point I was wondering if the wheels the blade ran on where not very concentric. However put this new belt on tonight and the saw is better than new. It's rock solid and much quieter.

WIN! woohoo1

 

[ShopShoe]

James,

My 4x6 bandsaw has aluminum cone pulleys for the V-belt. I have reduced vibration due to them being unbalanced and non-concentric.

Here is what I did:

1. Removed both pulleys and made a mandrel for mounting them in the lathe.

2. Carefully checked for "Roundness" with simple pointer, then dial indicator.

3. Gently bent them into roundness with various lever setups and by squeezing in my 6-in. vise. ( I needed jigs made from wood to help with this.) (I also admit that I have a little experience with metal-forming, so was able to do this successfully.)

4. After I got them round, carefully skimmed V-belt notch sides in the lathe and checked with indicator.

5. Used Mower-Blade balancing cone device to determine if one side was heavier and relieved same (found casting flash on backside that could come off.)

6. After remounting pulleys, removed bade from saw and ran at different speeds while searching for vibration.

7. Made sure that not undue force would be put on pulleys while changing speeds. Tweaked motor mount and tension adjuster to make sure that speed-changing would not stress the pulleys.

8. Vow not to use the lowest speed, where the belt has to run on the outermost, largest part of the gearbox-driver pulley.

Best of luck with your projects. I am following your progress and your projects.

Thanks for posting,

--ShopShoe

 

[joco-nz]

Shopshoe - that sounds like quite an adventure. Thanks very much for sharing. The pulleys on my saw are cast iron, so some constructive bending/persuasion probably isn't viable. However things seem to be running rather well now. Fingers crossed it continues.

Cheers.

 

[joco-nz]

I needed to make some tubes to hold TIG filler rod. I had left over electrical ducting tube which is 32mm OD. The problem with this is there is no standard plastic end caps for electrical ducting and its not a standard size for water pipe. So how to solve it? 3D print my own end caps.

I also wanted to have a good way of mounting the tubes to the welding cart. So I had a think and came up with a mounting frame that will hold the tubes and allow the frames to be clamped to the cart with some strong cable ties.

Pic #1 and Pic #2: Are renders of the two parts that have have been printed.



Pic #3: Is an over view of the final result with the end caps on the bottom of the tubes with the tubes mounted in the clamping frames and those frames cable tied to the cart.


Pic 4: Is a close up to a clamping frame. You can see the black cable tie used to hold things to the cart.


Pic 5: Is a close up to the end caps which have been superglued to the ends of the tubes.


Cheers,
James.

 

[joco-nz]

A little more printing and a "splitter" cap that allows me to separate the 1.6mm Mild Steel filler from the 1.6mm Stainless Steel filler.

This was done a while ago but needed a little dremel work to clean out stubborn support plastic and smooth out some nobbles from heat fluctuations.

Cheers,
J.

 

[DJP]

Just curious how you retrieve partially used (short) rods? I have a drawer for flat storage of welding rods that became the default when first setting up my shop and like most of my shop the initial set up never changes.

Perhaps I need and time and motion study but I fear that changes will just make it harder to remember where things are stored in the future.

 

[joco-nz]

Just curious how you retrieve partially used (short) rods? I have a drawer for flat storage of welding rods that became the default when first setting up my shop and like most of my shop the initial set up never changes.

Perhaps I need and time and motion study but I fear that changes will just make it harder to remember where things are stored in the future.

That's usually only a couple of rods in use so they just sit on the top of the welding cart. When I start using a rod I cut it in half else its just too long and unwieldy.

J.

 

[joco-nz]

Today was a 200A AC/DC TIG unit install and play day. Only problem was once I got the unit all unpacked I realised I didn't have matching hoses/regulator connectors. Blasted BOC had decided to do stuff just a little too clever so the hoses and connectors for the BOC 175i were all slightly different to this units. Net effect is I had to make a temporary hose joiner while I wait for the proper solution to get delivered next week. So as to not waste my very limited brass I made a mild steel joiner to see me through the weekend. Started out as 10mm round bar 50mm long then got, drilled 3mm all the way through and turned into a joiner for 8mm ID to 6mm ID hoses. Used some screwed hose clamps and this works a treat.


The next pic shows my very first aluminium bead attempts. Below the red line was a bit of a screw up until I read the manual some more and realised that the "clean width" mean the amount of DCEP I had v's DCEN. I had set the % at 65 which actually meant 65% DCEP and that was butchering my tungsten. The last two beads had 35% DCEP set but the amps were still way to high.

I next unplugged the torches switch and moved to the peddle. Wow what a different that made to be able to control what was happening. Even though I can't limit the max amps on the peddle (it varies from 10A to 200A) its still much more dynamic. Given Aluminium is very very sensitive to the heat going in being able to change amps on the fly seems like a must. At least for newbies like me.

Anyway the beads above the line are using the peddle and while not flash are clear improving as I come to grips with the peddle control, dipping the filler into the leading edge of the pool and keeping a steady rhythm. But most of all I'm welding ALUMINIUM! :thumbup:


All in all a good Saturday and starting to extend my welding capabilities beyond mild steel.

Cheers,
J.

 

[bruedney]

Maybe we can make Ali fittings for the printer - we could construct from separate pieces and you could weld them

 

[joco-nz]

Maybe we can make Ali fittings for the printer - we could construct from separate pieces and you could weld them

Yeah in like another 5 years when I might just be starting to get consistent.

I tried making a simple bracket this morning out of 19mm ali square tube with a 1mm wall. I got there but dammit the welds look like a druken snail made them using worm poo. Tungsten too big, torch too big and hard to manoeuvre in my newbies hands, and 1mm wall ali is super super sensitive to the heat going in.

BUT I got there. :thumbup:

 

[rodw]

I don't know anything about TIG but I thought that on some machines you could set the maximum amps at the peddle. Can you do that?

 

[joco-nz]

I don't know anything about TIG but I thought that on some machines you could set the maximum amps at the peddle. Can you do that?

Not on this unit. Its not that clever. Mind you setting the max amps at the peddle won't help the cause if that is still too hot. It's just practice and the more I do the better I am at getting the control on the peddle.

After some more trials today I think a big chunk of my challenge is that the filler rods I have are way way to thick for the sized joints/material I am working on . I have 3.2mm rods and I need to get some 1.6mm or even thinner stuff.

Cheers,
J.

 

[ShopShoe]

joco-nz,

It looks like welding is becoming a big part of what you are interested in. Just in case you haven't heard of this source, I am posting a link to the Welding Tips and Tricks YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/weldingtipsandtricks

I have no connection to them, but find a lot to learn everytime I visit that site.

My apologies if you already know.

Keep Posting your projects. I'm enjoying them.

--ShopShoe

 

[bazmak]

Rule of thumb is the rod dia = the wall thickness

 

[rodw]

Not on this unit. Its not that clever. Mind you setting the max amps at the peddle won't help the cause if that is still too hot. It's just practice and the more I do the better I am at getting the control on the peddle.

After some more trials today I think a big chunk of my challenge is that the filler rods I have are way way to thick for the sized joints/material I am working on . I have 3.2mm rods and I need to get some 1.6mm or even thinner stuff.

Cheers,
J.

Some of the pedals I've seen have additional control knobs on the pedal itself. You'd probably get something for <$100

 

[XD351]

Just curious how you retrieve partially used (short) rods?

Simple - bend the last 1-2 inches of the rod over so you can hang it off the top of the tube that way it can't fall down inside .