Good news - Bad news

[ringadingh]

Good boots are important Bud, just like Mac Ive done a hot dance a few times. Usually its from not having them laced up and a molten piece of metal goes down inside the top.
another time I was doing a quick job in my sneakers and stepped on a molten lump, it burned through in a hurry and had me dancing.

[radco]

Originally Posted by Idaho (High Plains Drifter)

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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.

Bud in Gas Welding the popping from the molten metal was from rust,, I assume it is the same with Mig/Tig? Try cleaning the joints with a wire brush first to remove any rust see if that helps! Just my 1.5 cents on welding :) ,, Powder coating can ne done in your shed or basemnt(Note wife wont like it in house :) ) a used eletric oven and you can powder coat your own...Kits are fairily cheap. BUT if your getting a good price on coating now a few extra $$ and someone else doing the work is worth it LOL...
Rich

[redjay]

About 25 years ago I was wearing a pair of nylon coveralls while welding. The bottom of the pant leg caught fire from spatter. I reached down to put out the fire and the nylon stuck to my hand. My ankle never got burned but my hand sure did. Also over the years I have had heavy objects fall on my feet. Both times the objects fell on the laces area and not on the steel toe cap. I now always buy the welders safety boots with the plate over the laces even though I rarely weld these days.

[redjay]

Bud, try to get the ground as close to the piece being welded. Better still put the ground on the frame being welded. Also its better (for me) to push the molten puddle rather than pull it.
Also make sure the steel is clean before you start welding.
Mig welding does not take kindly to oil and paint.

Also you might want to think about taking a welding exam to get a welding ticket ? If one of the frames ever fails it might be a liability issue ?

[Idaho]

Great news!! The adapters will be powdercoated, green for this bunch, and ready by Tuesday. They will be $60 each plus shipping. Most of the time the average for the lower 48 will be about 15 to 20 bux to ship UPS ground. Shipping to Canada is a challenge. UPS is too expensive and the last two kits that I shipped there cost a whopping 30 bux. So there you have it. With shipping the cost will be $75 to $80 to the lower 48 and about $90 to Canada. I used to charge $85 to the US and $95 to Canada so I have been able to shave a few bucks off of the cost.

These kits are now made of heavier steel tube than they were before. The attachment point to the bike frame tabs are made milled steed blocks by Joe Norris (Chuckster) and are very nice with no sharp edges. Very nice.

[Idaho]

The tube steel that I'm using is brand new shiny with a light coat of oil. I assume that oil is rubbed off by the time I start to weld but maybe not. I'll use a rag to wipe everything down from now on.

I put the frame right next to the ground on the table and have ground off the table top to clean steel for better conductivity. I really think the ground clamp is part of the problem. I may try to get some copper plate and bolt it to the table for a better ground.

Thanks for the horror stories. I will try to learn from them.

Redjay, that is a great idea. I will look into it.

[macmac]

Yeah i don't get to stand or sit at a bench much, I tend to have to squat welding or lay on my back and weld over head. No Fun.

I have had hot slag enter a burn hole in and out a few times as the wrinkles are and then enter to get in a boot. I wear slip on boots so i can slip them off fast.

I wear cotton jeans for pants and did as a car tech too. That caused problems a few times me refusing the polyester unifoms. I have burned both hands peeling other techs out of their melting plastic unifoms more than once too.

My welding jacket is a coated fire resistant cotton. I never wore aprons, but then I don't get to stand up.

I own torches suitable to gas weld too. I got lots of practice doing that on MBenz cars which were supposed to be welded in the first place, and others that came by Greyhound Bus all cut up to fit the cargo bays on such busses. That was pre mig as Cj mentioned.

The last major gas welding project i got into was after having a new head pipe made up by a guy that got a brand new pipe bender. His mig welding skills were far from good.

Rather than fill his welds with my mig, I chose to gas weld over his welds.

Bud if you use gloves take extra care, as steam burns are really bad, and getting off gloves is hard to do fast enough. A steam burn will cover more area faster than a burn with out gloves.

Like I said I get into most of my troubles at the forge, which I haven't done in a while.

The steel will go black and I forget which parts I worked last. Red hot steel in low light is no problem I can see that stuff is still hot. The problem comes from making many of the same thing. An example is pot hooks, where I make around 10 of the same thing, that gets hot on both ends.

My pot hooks are traditional of course but mine are far lighter in weight than most, but can hold a 5 gallon cast iron pot filled with stew. Mine are designed to be carried in a pack for a primitive treck, and 3 of them won't weigh a pound combined, not even close.

These are all cutesy with dainty rolled eyes at the tips, in the reverse roll of the hook itself.

I make knives with that same idea closing the larger hook eye up some to be a grip for the last 2 fingers.

Pushing the puddle works good, no problems there. When I can use a steel bench, I will clean the ground clamp, the bench and a "C" clamp to clamp the part.

I will use a bllock of wood to steady my hand too. Might be a 4 inch long hunk of 2x4, I can rest my hand on, and slide the block with the heel of my hand with.

[ringadingh]

Bud if you ever ship to Canada, don't use UPS or any other courier service, they will tack on a $38.00 brokerage charge, plus 13% sales tax when it arrives at the door. Whereas USPS just arrives with no additional fees 99% of the time. Anytime I order from the states I make absolutely sure of the shipping method. If the vendor insists on UPS it usually not worth us buying it here because of the extra charges.

[Idaho]

Ya, Steve, that is what I found so far. But the last two kits that I shipped to Canada still cost me $30.

By the way, good news for you Canadians. You dollar is now worth more than ours. Last I looked it was 1.4444 cents more.

[ringadingh]

Originally Posted by Idaho (High Plains Drifter)

Ya, Steve, that is what I found so far. But the last two kits that I shipped to Canada still cost me $30.

By the way, good news for you Canadians. You dollar is now worth more than ours. Last I looked it was 1.4444 cents more.

Its about time our buck went up, I remember about 10-12 years ago when our dollar was only worth .65, that sure made going or ordering from the states expensive. On the other hand a lot of americans bought there ATV's bikes and snowmobiles up here and saved a ton of cash.

[redjay]

Even with the dollar at par or better motorcycles are still much cheaper in the U.S than Canada. Remember when a new Nomad was $13,000 in the U.S and $18,000 here (2007 ?).
Even now a fuel pump is $420 in the U.S and $700 here. WTF. Are you listening Kawasaki ????

[Idaho]

redjay, the problem my not be Kawasaki, it may be import duties.

[rickyboy]

Originally Posted by Idaho (High Plains Drifter)

redjay, the problem my not be Kawasaki, it may be import duties.

I guess because the product { in this case a fuel pump} is made "off shore" it's not covered under the FREE TRADE act. What a joke that is for Canadians.

I'm lucky to have a US address to ship to. But if you live close to th border you can always pic the item up at the crossing. But if I'm over for the weekend I don't pay duty coming across.

Oh and about the Canadian "loonie" being worth more Steve,.... it always has been IMO..... we just didn't "get it". It has always been kept lower for political reasons and for trade reasons between us and our U.S. brothers and sisters. .....again, IMO

[ringadingh]

Your right Rick, they keep saying its good for our exports. The thing is the fat cat that exports his products and is living high doesn't worry about the rest of the people here. Personally Id rather see them suffer, and us regular joes get a fair shake.

[glwilson]

Originally Posted by redjay

Even with the dollar at par or better motorcycles are still much cheaper in the U.S than Canada. Remember when a new Nomad was $13,000 in the U.S and $18,000 here (2007 ?).
Even now a fuel pump is $420 in the U.S and $700 here. WTF. Are you listening Kawasaki ????

Ah Redjay... that would be your government... not Kawasaki. Speak to them about it.