New Welding Talbe... Finished!

[MilwaukeeMike]

Wasn't trying to be an @ss; sorry if I offended anyone.

Was out riding and everyone seemed angry over the weekend and it was beautiful out (38 again now )

[tasslehawf]

Do you have a wesite for Walker Industries? I googled them and didnt come up with anything.

Thanks

Nope. But you can get them here:

http://www.ramweldingsupply.com/prod...ist.mcic?m=187

[tasslehawf]

I was curious to see if any of the professionals had anything to say about my tack/welding technique, since I have no formal fabrication training.

[chrisgay@sbcglo]

Hi Tasslehawf,

Good looking table. I like the sliding bar design and I like the way your final product looks exactly like your rendering. Your pics and commentary are great for this forum and are really what it's all about.

For what it's worth, here are my $00 .02:

Do you have any shielding gas coverage issues when you're welding outside? I realize you don't have a MIG, and those are pretty raw-dog materials to be TIGging... why don't you burn it all in with some stick rods? Your Maxstar is an outstanding SMAW machine. You could have just blasted the castors right to the plates (or just right across the tube frame) and avoided the stud/flat bar debaucle. Are you really planning on removing the castors any time soon? My assumption is that you're more proficient with GTAW than SMAW, but it could be good practice to develop another technique, especially one that is better suited for outdoor/windy conditions and "dirty" material.

As far as keeping the frame square, it sounds like you're on the right track. My experience has been to jig and clamp where you can, tack it up, and weld it up. You can't stop the metal from moving, you can only find the best ways to control it. With time, you'll learn how to pull frames back into square by welding in the right places at the right times.

Looks good, man. Most of what I've mentioned is hind-sight 20/20, or just an opinion. Thanks for sharing.

I also own a Maxstar 200dx. I love it and switch back and forth between stick and TIG welding quite often. The 110V option is a dream for mobile work.

Good luck.

[tasslehawf]

Do you have any shielding gas coverage issues when you're welding outside? I realize you don't have a MIG, and those are pretty raw-dog materials to be TIGging... why don't you burn it all in with some stick rods? Your Maxstar is an outstanding SMAW machine. You could have just blasted the castors right to the plates (or just right across the tube frame) and avoided the stud/flat bar debaucle. Are you really planning on removing the castors any time soon? My assumption is that you're more proficient with GTAW than SMAW, but it could be good practice to develop another technique, especially one that is better suited for outdoor/windy conditions and "dirty" material.

I had another guy who made tables like this before me and he welded the casters on (mig). Now we were casting concrete on these tables, but eventually the caster plates broke off.

Heh. I guess stick is too messy for my nature. I am very good at welding rebar with stick, but I haven't yet used it for anything else. I haven't tried it yet on my maxstar.

As far as keeping the frame square, it sounds like you're on the right track. My experience has been to jig and clamp where you can, tack it up, and weld it up. You can't stop the metal from moving, you can only find the best ways to control it. With time, you'll learn how to pull frames back into square by welding in the right places at the right times.

Yeah. What I do is a variation on this. I have found when I do my normal technique and something is torqued, I know where to weld to untorque it. I've found that welding everywhere is unnecessary even on these tables that are designed to hold 1000+ lbs of concrete.

Looks good, man. Most of what I've mentioned is hind-sight 20/20, or just an opinion. Thanks for sharing.

I also own a Maxstar 200dx. I love it and switch back and forth between stick and TIG welding quite often. The 110V option is a dream for mobile work.

Good luck.

Thanks. I really appreciate all the feedback.

[chrisgay@sbcglo]

I had another guy who made tables like this before me and he welded the casters on (mig). Now we were casting concrete on these tables, but eventually the caster plates broke off.

[I]Sounds like either a caster, weldor, and/or design issue. [/I]

Heh. I guess stick is too messy for my nature.

[I]I use mostly GTAW and GMAW for my projects, but many of the cleanest welds I've seen were done by accomplished stick weldors.


Thanks. I really appreciate all the feedback.

You betcha.

[tasslehawf]

Chris,

I really haven't done any Stick that wasn't just rebar. People keep telling my machine is a great stick machine. Once I get my free time back (My current class is over with on Weds.), and I get my current welding project finished (due in a couple weeks), I'll have to play with the stick a little more.

The caster we've been using have a chrome coating on the plates. Would this tend to contaminate the welds enough to keep them from being strong enough? Would stick yield a better weld in this case than mig?

[Broccoli1]

All things being equal- each process yields the same strength

[Broccoli1]

Chris,

I really haven't done any Stick that wasn't just rebar. People keep telling my machine is a great stick machine. Once I get my free time back (My current class is over with on Weds.), and I get my current welding project finished (due in a couple weeks), I'll have to play with the stick a little more.

The caster we've been using have a chrome coating on the plates. Would this tend to contaminate the welds enough to keep them from being strong enough? Would stick yield a better weld in this case than mig?

Did the Weld fail? or did the Steel on the caster rip away- the steel on the casters looks thin.

[Broccoli1]

He could just be a crappy Mig welder