Good news - Bad news

[cactusjack]

It sounds like you're on the right track here Bud. I like welding - maybe not if I had to do it all day, though. Back in high school a couple of buddies and I had a little enterprise going. We would fabricate grill guards and roll bars in metal shop and then install them on people's 4x4's in vocational auto mechanics class. Made a few bucks, enough to buy beer at least.

[ringadingh]

I new a fella that would mail his idea to himself in an envelope and leave it sealed. That way he had the dated post mark as proof of when his copywright was submitted. This would be opened by a lawyer or Judge if there was ever a dispute.
Im not sure how good this would stand up, but in theary its proof of when you submitted your idea.

[Idaho]

Here is an update on the adapter project.

My new Clarke MIG welder from Cal Ranch farm supply had a 4mm gas supply tube plumbed in but no suitable gas connector. I lost a couple of hundred pounds of argon/co2 before I discovered that mess. So I ditched the cheap connector and bought a short piece of 1/4 inch tube and a package of heat shrink tubing. I replaced the connector on my flow regulator with a 1/4 inch barbed fitting and pushed the tubing on and secured it with a hose clamp. Then I cut several successively larger diameter pieces of heat shrink and built up the 4mm tube until it fit snug in the 1/4 inch tube. I shoved it inside the tube and stopped short of pushing it all the way in until I could brush on some crazy glue then I shoved that in and it made a very tight seal. Secured it with another hose clamp and it is tight. When I turned off the gas three days ago I left a little pressure in the line and it is still there. That's tight!

I bought a chop saw at Harbor Freight that turned out to be a noisy POC. Needing 48 feet of 1 inch square steel tube cut up I had to wait until Tuesday to contact my machinist. He gave me a great deal on cutting it up and I picked it up this afternoon. This evening I ran a file over all of the ends inside and out to remove burrs and sharp edges. They are now ready to be welded together. ( I am going to return the chop saw and pick up a nice band saw )

My drill press, that I have had for 20 years, suffered a failure of the on/off switch while I was fabricating my welding table. I rigged up a house light switch and was able to continue with production. (A new switch arrived in the mail today from Utah so my drill press is whole again) Yesterday I got the holes all drilled in the steel blocks that Joe (Chuckster) machined for me. Boy, does he do nice work!!

Oh, the welding table went together a good as I hoped it would. Steady as a rock 3x4 feet 1/4 inch steel plate that is just the right height for me to stand and work comfortably. Also, it is easilly torn down and stowed away.

So, I have everything ready to start welding kits together tomorrow afternoon when I get home from work. Then, they will go to powdercoat and should be ready early next week. I will let you all know.

Several fits and starts but all in all it has been fun.

[Cajunrider]

Sounds like it's steadily coming together. Good luck Bud.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by Idaho (High Plains Drifter)

Here is an update on the adapter project.

My new Clarke MIG welder from Cal Ranch farm supply had a 4mm gas supply tube plumbed in but no suitable gas connector. I lost a couple of hundred pounds of argon/co2 before I discovered that mess. So I ditched the cheap connector and bought a short piece of 1/4 inch tube and a package of heat shrink tubing. I replaced the connector on my flow regulator with a 1/4 inch barbed fitting and pushed the tubing on and secured it with a hose clamp. Then I cut several successively larger diameter pieces of heat shrink and built up the 4mm tube until it fit snug in the 1/4 inch tube. I shoved it inside the tube and stopped short of pushing it all the way in until I could brush on some crazy glue then I shoved that in and it made a very tight seal. Secured it with another hose clamp and it is tight. When I turned off the gas three days ago I left a little pressure in the line and it is still there. That's tight!

I bought a chop saw at Harbor Freight that turned out to be a noisy POC. Needing 48 feet of 1 inch square steel tube cut up I had to wait until Tuesday to contact my machinist. He gave me a great deal on cutting it up and I picked it up this afternoon. This evening I ran a file over all of the ends inside and out to remove burrs and sharp edges. They are now ready to be welded together. ( I am going to return the chop saw and pick up a nice band saw )

My drill press, that I have had for 20 years, suffered a failure of the on/off switch while I was fabricating my welding table. I rigged up a house light switch and was able to continue with production. (A new switch arrived in the mail today from Utah so my drill press is whole again) Yesterday I got the holes all drilled in the steel blocks that Joe (Chuckster) machined for me. Boy, does he do nice work!!

Oh, the welding table went together a good as I hoped it would. Steady as a rock 3x4 feet 1/4 inch steel plate that is just the right height for me to stand and work comfortably. Also, it is easilly torn down and stowed away.

So, I have everything ready to start welding kits together tomorrow afternoon when I get home from work. Then, they will go to powdercoat and should be ready early next week. I will let you all know.

Several fits and starts but all in all it has been fun.

This place is a life saver: http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/nnsrhm

They used to have an outlet on LI when I lived there. Once I broke a tap in a block and needed a tap extractor. They were the only place that had one.

[Idaho]

Thanks Ponch. My collection of short cuts is getting rather long now. This is a good thing.

I will have to spend some time on that site.

[ringadingh]

It sounds like your almost there Bud, Its amazing at how many gremlins appear on some projects.
I have a cheap Harbour Freight 14" chop saw, and I bought it for one large project I was doing a few years ago. While its not as good as the Milwaukee saw we had a t work, it did the job and is still running today.

[billmac]

I have bought a several items from Idaho. I knew he was an active Kawanow member and would probably be supportive. The price always seemed very fair to me.

Honestly, I was shocked at the fine quality of the Idaho adapter. It looked like it needed to be hung on the wall, not touching the dirty underside of my Nomad. :) I certainly was not expecting such precise welds and classy paint job. I just wanted something to help raise the Nomad.

The sets of risers, the intake parts, have also been of the highest quality too. I was glad they looked so nice.

I hope there is sufficient profit in these sales that Idaho will continue to provide products and consider more. I doubt his profit would justify all the costs associated with patents and lawyers.

I like good service and support. That's worth something. I have heard stories about Ebay and I just got through an ordeal with Harbour Freight customer service. What a joke that is.

However it all turns out, I would rather do business with a Nomad rider and Kawanow member, if possible.

[macmac]

Bud I don't undersatand what was wrong..... The bottle you have does have a regulator on it right? There should be a regulator that can go on and off the welder. You should not have to make this stuff up, unless someone took it or broke it.

If this were oxy actelen about now i would be going thru the roof in fear you would kill yourself.

You can't get very dead if you screw the pooch here though..... just make sure there is air to breath.

[Idaho]

yea Mac. No worry about air to breathe. I crack open the doors and windows to let fresh air in. Not enough to blow away the shield gas, just enough to keep my lungs happy. I'm not worried about the gas connection. The fix that I came up with is absolutely tight and cheap. I love it.

billmac, thanks for the kind words. My welds on the adapters will not be as pretty as before. That guy was/is an artist and I have some learnin' to do. They are strong though.

I am getting close here. Going to drop off seven kits tomorrow for powdercoat. still have not put pencil to paper to figure out the final price. That will be up very soon.

[Top Cat]

Originally Posted by Idaho (High Plains Drifter)

yea
I am getting close here. Going to drop off seven kits tomorrow for powdercoat. still have not put pencil to paper to figure out the final price. That will be up very soon.

Just make sure you get enough to make all this effort worth while. I know you want to under cut the rat bastard but your quality is worth what ever you feel a fair price.

[Idaho]

[quote=Top Cat (TC) ]

Originally Posted by "Idaho (High Plains Drifter)":tqk7st6d

yea
I am getting close here. Going to drop off seven kits tomorrow for powdercoat. still have not put pencil to paper to figure out the final price. That will be up very soon.

Just make sure you get enough to make all this effort worth while. I know you want to under cut the rat bastard but your quality is worth what ever you feel a fair price. [/quote:tqk7st6d]

Thanks Tim. There is a lot of expense in getting to this point. I just need to figure on re-cooping those dollars over a long period of time. Otherwise the first 20 or so of these will be $150 each. HA. Can't sell quality if the price is too high.

[macmac]

Bud got any weld doodleing pics? Can you drag the pool of molten steel yet, and not have porous welds?

Is this welding on a bench? Have you had hot slag in yer boots yet?

My wife laffs at me when I do the 'dance' hot watusii LOL

Tip: use the back of a hand NOT the palm to check for heat. You can burn the back of a hand and still work.

I wish I had a nickel for everytime I picked up a hunk of steel around 600 hundred degrees in my hand. It's the worst on a forge when i think I am in a hurry. Gloves are a sin as I see things. Man when you pick up hot steel in gloves the sweat turns to a scalding steam burn.

Do as i say not as I do

[Idaho]

You are tough Mac. I've worked for an electric utility for over 24 years now and they always stress safety and personal protective equipment. I wear leather gloves and an apron and have an electronic welding helmet. I'm looking for a leather welding jacket. High boots that are covered over by my jeans, no hot watusii for me. To move hot steel I keep a set of channel lock pliers on the table. Luckily these adapters are welded at the ends so there is plenty of cool steel to grab hold of to move them around in the middle.

I'm getting better at moving that puddle. Getting dialed in on wire speed and gas fow rates. No porous welds and I'm using thick enough tube steel that I don't have any issues with burning through. It seems to work better for me to push the puddle rather than pull it around. I need to adjust my torch because the nozzle sticks out about 1/4 inch beyond the end of the tip. I think I could get better results if the contact tip was either flush with or sticks out just beyond the nozzle. there is good gas flow rates so moving the contact tip out will still put the puddle inside the shield gas. I also need to improve the ground clamp. I grind off a clean spot on the welding table to clamp onto but still get popping every once in a while like I have a bad ground.

My machinist inspected my welds and declared them acceptable so that makes me feel good.

This has been quite a project to say the least. Gave me something to do this winter that's for sure.

[cactusjack]

My dad thought it was a good idea that I learned to weld. He always said "if you can weld, you can always make money." I worked at a Midas Muffler location for a couple of years, did a lot of oxy-acetylene welding which was the standard 30 years ago.