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  1. B

    Tungsten spitting ac aluminum

    Grind your taper, but put a small flat on it before you get it completely sharp. Then set your machine's AC balance to "BALL" or whatever the highest DC+ balance will allow. Now slowly increase your amps, just until the tip of the tungsten melts over. You should be left with the original ground...
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    Aluminum welding repair info advice and tips needed. Lots of questions.

    Welding 5052 with 4043 is a bad idea. It makes a very weak and brittle weld. Go read everything you can on the Alcotec website. Get an old file and grind a blunt, but very sharp bevel on the end and use it as a scraper for prep. It's like a one tooth file, and will make quick work of nasty...
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    Price of 1045 more like nickel?

    I haven't priced any steel in a while, but I just got a quote for 1" square bar, hot rolled 1045 at over $16/lb. $55 per foot. That's over 4x what I could get it for from Speedy Metals. I had to stop doing business with the only steel yard within a reasonable drive because they were just...
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    Cambria Iron Works

    It's time to resurrect this thread. The Center for Metal Arts moved their operations here several years ago, and they have been gradually restoring some of the old hammers. The #3000 Chambersburg will be featured in a demo this fall. I've taken a few classes there and have toured the dusty...
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    Choosing a metal shear

    I purchased a B2 just last month. They are now manufactured by Mittler Bros. Any of the hand powered shears are going to have significant distortion that will need to be corrected. A stomp shear would be my first pick.
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    OT - opening up as best we can. AKA - is it still just the seasonal flu?

    "These are the sites the Center For Countering Digital Hate is trying to defund in order to make them and their stories that conflict with "official" narrative disappear." Wow thanks for the list. It only took me a few links to get to a news site with a whole section called "Hitler was a great...
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    Welding “Kinda-Aluminum”

    I used to work at a die casting place that made GM valve covers, and they always used the same alloy, so I wouldn't worry about the composition too much. 4043 covers most cast alloys, but it's going to be a chore dealing with the filth. Pay attention to your cross section and adjust the amps...
  8. B

    radius of a given chord question

    Mr. Stretch, if you ever want to take the plunge. Python for Kids
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    radius of a given chord question

    My Grandpa worked for GE over at Nela Park in Cleveland. He left me some of his old books and one of them had a bunch of useful formulas, including finding a chord of a circle given a known radius. I suck at algebra so I turned it into a Python script. It will ask if you want the chord, height...
  10. B

    Drill bit question

    Image didn't upload
  11. B

    Help with welding table build and design

    Don't use anything besides tube for the legs. Open sections (angle, channel)are weak in torsion, and even though they will keep the table top from collapsing to the floor, they will make the table wiggle every time you bump it with your hip or drop a piece of steel on it. Tubes are ideal for a...
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    Fixing snapped nail gun part (weld/braze? what should I do)

    If you presume it is hardened, why not take a file to it and see? There is an extremely low probability of any type of repair lasting more than a few cycles, but given your lack of experience and enthusiasm for trying to fix it, why not go for it? Or you could go to ebay and find a part for 30...
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    Disc Grinder or Belt Grinder?

    Call Burr King and have a rep bring a 760 to your shop. They will set it up with a couple of different contact wheels and you can decide for yourself. As they say "One test is worth a thousand opinions". You can also put scotchbrite wheels on a Burr King, something a disk sander can't offer. If...
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    Disc Grinder or Belt Grinder?

    I gave away my Gr*zzly disc/belt sander to make room for a Burr King 760. Unless you have a certain compelling need for what a disc grinder has to offer, get the 760. Get it now. Right now.
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    RFQ for milled aluminum parts

    So you are interested in providing a quote? Because I find it irritating when folks join in a thread just to complain but add nothing of value.
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    RFQ for milled aluminum parts

    I am in need of 8 aluminum milled logos for a local business. I had some made a couple years ago by another PM member, but I have been unable to get in touch with him. I have the stl file ready, and would like to get them made within 4 weeks.
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    vendor supplied wrong material and won't compensate for lost time, now what?

    A588. It was a special order as they don't deal with A588, but the guy running the shear just pulled some flat bar off the rack, and no one noticed for another 3 weeks, and by that time my work was done and the order was shipped. Once they realized their mistake, they delivered the correct...
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    vendor supplied wrong material and won't compensate for lost time, now what?

    The backstory is my main supplier for the past 10 years went out of business back in February. There are only two alternatives in my area, and after this episode I gave them one more chance figuring I should stay a "happy" customer until they paid up. In the time it took them to respond to my...
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    vendor supplied wrong material and won't compensate for lost time, now what?

    Oh my God just stop typing already.
  20. B

    vendor supplied wrong material and won't compensate for lost time, now what?

    I had a steel supplier sell me what I thought was 600 lbs of A588 steel plate, sheared to size. I welded up my parts and shipped them to my customer, and that very same day the vendor called and said they sent me A36 instead. They sent a truck down the next day with the proper material, but then...

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