@lhovo Those small oxy\gas sets are for working with copper pipes, and while they are plenty for soldering\braising joints they won’t be a economic nor functional tool for working on steel. Other than the difference in the fuel gas, the key difference is the size of the unit, with the kit you linked being 400g tanks, and a D sized cylinder being 1 cubic meter and still probably as small as you’d ever consider getting for oxy cutting of ferrous metals. Most of the time for site work you’d opt for a single larger E or G sized cylinder (G is the same height as E but fatter), while use metal shops use manifold systems which are comprised of multiple large cylinders linked together on a metal frame that are handled as a single unit by the company you buy gas from.
While I certainly think the latter is overkill for us, I think if we actually start trying to teach Acetylene cutting we will probably end up with a larger cylinder than a D. But given what @Dynamite has said about the bunnings refund system, there does not seem to be any disadvantage to swap sizes later on. Or for that matter return the bunnings cylinder entirely and swap to renting from somebody like BOC if it works out cheaper down the track.
@rut4ger I fully support teaching oxy cutting, its a great skill that I think more people should learn, and for newcomers can also be a little fun due to the sheer destructive potential of the system. On the other hand out of interest why are you aiming to teach oxy welding? I was under the impression that it was pretty much redundant since TIG machines became portable\affordable as it puts far more heat into the workpiece and often the cylinders are actually more cumbersome than a generator. As such I have honestly never seen oxy welding used in any workplace that is not simply trying to recreate historic methods, but then again I only really work around industrial plant and process so I may be missing its utility an entirely separate field.
Only place oxy has much place these days is welding ally were the weld needs to be rolled/hammered/finished afterwards. Something like repairing an old car with aluminium panels.
TIG welds on ally can’t be post shaped as well as oxy/acetelene welds can.
Personally I have a TIG which is as light as an average boxed set of oxy torches/leads and can’t imagine why I would want to waste money renting another two bottles a year.
Oxy welding is fun. We have the gear. The gas we should have around even just for the cutting, brazing and general heating. Why would we not do Oxy Welding/cutting/brazing as a part of the class? Its a class to dick around with welding stuff and have some fun while learning to lay a semi decent weld. If you’re looking for a perfectly up to date, information loaded class with all the latest shiny equipment, you are going to be sorely disappointed haha. One day we’ll get there, but its not anywhere near there yet. Hell, I haven’t even run a legit one in like a month because I’ve been so busy, but I’m going to make a greater effort to make the class happen as its really fun and rewarding for me.
How much did your TIG gear cost @andrew1973? I’ll bet it was just a little more than we have in our kitty currently haha.
I also got some gouging nozzles in that donation the other day, so I’d like to show some people how to turn a piece of steel into a pool of liquid shit on the floor, it’d just make me happy.
Would also be nice to show people how easy it is to slice up that 40mm plate.
I checked on this and the plate for the bandsaw to use it vertically seems to be AWOL. Someone want to make up a new one out of the scrap alu we have?
Also, I came in on Sunday and the metal shop was closed up when I got in and there was swarf everywhere. Please make sure to clean the machines before you leave.
Beau and I were doing some stuff today. We started making a steel rack, we got all the steel cut up and ready to go. We grabbed the big MIG welder and we were about to start tacking stuff up and… contact tip is missing from the hand piece. I can think of precisely 0 legitimate reasons why this should ever be removed. I even went and bought about 5-6 spares and left them in the tray that used to live on top of the big MIG, they’re gone too, so we now have none left.
Luckily I was able to make something work from some odd tips I got in that big donation the other day.
Whoever did this, you’re a jerkoff and the reason we need to go out and spend thousands of our limited dollars on security cameras.
Ive seen the tray around somewhere, it just got moved, which isn’t that big of a deal. The spare tips I had just got lost along the way Im sure, we can pretty easily get more from Aitkens down the road as they’re a common semi-consumable part. But someone had to expressly go and take the tip that was in there, then refit the gas shroud afterward. The most annoying thing is, had I not notice it was missing, it would have melted the thread in the gun itself and cost us, at best a bunch of time repairing it if parts can even be found and at worst set us back $3-400 to get a new torch. I cant imagine what anyone would even use it for or want with it in the first place.
On another topic, I broke the vice the other day, the front part of the base cracked off, I suspect someone at some stage has left the vice clamped up overnight as I cannot fathom how anyone would have broken it in the way it is just by using the handle. I took it over to Hare & Forbes today to see if I could get it replaced under warranty but its well past that now. But now that I know it wont be replaced, I’m 90% sure i can repair it to a more than satisfactory level soon enough gladly, so long as @Sven2 is ok with me pinching a small piece of his 20mm steel plate. Its going to be a total prick of a job, but it should be doable.
Metal shrinks when cold. If a bench vice is clamped up real tight during the day when it’s warmer, and then shrinks when it cools during the night the forces involved can be so large it can break a cast iron vice like a twig.
Day and night has nothing really to do with it except that it’s a close approximation to hot and cold .
The person who was responsible stepped forward and told the cause leader.
So the fact that it broke is not cool, but they did do the correct thing and reported it.
Found the on/off switch on the band saw was in bad shape, the self tappers holding the case together had sheared. Has been fixed, but the saw no longer has an auto off feature.
In what way was it in bad shape? It was fine a day or so ago when I last used it. Where is all the hardware that used to be there to make the auto off work? It seems to have all disappeared.
In other news, I found the tip for the big mig, its sitting on the roll of aluminium wire @Bean_flickers bought to do his cart. If you’re going to change shit, you have to reverse it when you’re done. I know you got tips specifically for aluminium, which is probably why you decided to take it out and keep it with the roll, but there was a tip in the machine before you changed it and there isn’t one now or rather wasn’t until I made one.
One of the two screw posts holding the case down had been broken, the rear of the case was cracked. Moved the switch gear up and out of the water path.
The auto off screw and bracket is is still there, now holding the switch box.
