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G'day everyone
My name is David and I've been married for about 8 years and have three children (2,4,6years old )
I started working as a sheetmetal apprentice building computer furniture/ hardware
Then moved to building and painting Electrical switch boards (Big ones,like twenty metres long )
I moved away from Canberra to Nowra and started a new job building Front end loaders for tractors for five years then I changed again to a Structural steel factory as workshop Foreman till the company went into liquidation and I was looking for a job
And now I work on a Turf farm and look after not only the turfgrass but also in charge of vehicle maintenance, Oval and Golf course planting jobs as well as any welding that needs doing
So there is never a dull day
I also get to travel around Australia with work and soon to see the US of A with work also
Life is good!
The only thing missing is a project of which I hope to start in the near future!!!


David

It seems all too familiar doesn't it.
They promise the world and will do anything for you and then the minute they have your money............well, sorry,but who are you??

David

VERY NICE!!!
Betcha can't wait to get it together now and go cruzin

David

[

quote="enjenjo"]First, make sure everything is clean, clean, clean!! Second, make sure you have a good fit, grind the edges as needed to make it fit. Third, clamp the joint good to keep the edges from moving. Now we;re ready to start.

To get good penetration, you have to heat the metal all the way through to a molten state. But on thin material, if you hold it too long, a hole will magically appear. So the process you use is called stitch welding. A stitch weld is just a bit more than a tack weld, then stop. One method that works for most people is to tack a weld every inch or so all along the seam. Then go back, and do another short weld along side the first all along the seam. You keep this up until the seam is welded solid. Done right, this will look like a TIG weld with many overlapping welds.

One cause of many problems, a lot of novice welders think it has to be a continous process, it doesn't. If you blow a hole, stop. If the edges become misaligned, stop. I like to do tacks all round the piece, hammering and dollying as needed. Then I go all round again with a hammer and dolly to stretch the welds slightly, before doing the whole process over again. If you blow a hole in it, hammer the metal back flat, this will help close up the hole, and grind both sides back to near the original surface before starting to weld again. this not only allows the metal to cool, it gives you a chance to evaluate how to fix the hole without making it worse. If the hole is large, and sometimes they are, back the hole with a copper chill to allow you to fill the hole. Stitch, cool, stitch, cool, until the hole is filled. A chill can be made from 3/4" soft copper pipe flattend on one end. and bent into a curve if needed.

One mistake we all make is to make the patches too small, trying to save as much original metal as possible. Evaluate the repair honestly, and if the original metal is thin, cut it out and replace it, you will be better off in the long run.

[/quote]
Good advice
Also would be a good idea to get some offcuts of similar material from your local sheetmetal shop (even if they have to make some scrap pieces ) and try different settings.
Start by setting your amps on the lowest setting and your wire speed low as well and then give it a go.
If that doesn't work try increasing the wire speed a setting at a time and have another go.
If you run out of wire speed settings then increase your amps to the next setting and your wire speed down low and try again.
Keep repeating this until you get a setting that you are happy with.
The best thing about this is you don't make a mess of your good work.
Good luck
David

It is probably easier to remember to drive on the wrong side
of the road,when all the cars have the steering wheels on
the wrong side as well.

Hey!, my next problem will be getting in to the wrong side of the car to drive and hey no steering wheel!!
David

If you are in Utah, want to see some scenery, yosemite and rods then I would think about hiring a car and krozin home through California and fly out of LAX

Should be some rod and kustom stuff happening in CA in late July

Mark

That's not a bad idea as I've been told the flight home can be flexible and I'd like to see some of Colorado as well ( maybe get to Pikes Peak )
David

Sorry I might have misled you - the car racing I was refering to is just the straight line timed stuff on the salt (Bonneville) - no roundy roundy stuff - but I bet you end going around the pits a few times to see all the cars.  Wendover has the casinos, food and accomodation.
Steve

As long as the fumes burn your eyes and the sounds deafen you It'll be fine. I'll have to buy more memory cards for our camera!
Actually HotRodLadyCrusr tells me I'll miss the big meet at Bonneville by a couple of weeks, so we're looking at how long we can stretch this trip out for!!
Could make it last a while if I keep hanging around for the next event, heh

Correction, David...we drive on the RIGHT side of the road; you drive on the wrong side.

That might have something to do with us being "down under"!!

If you are interested in car racing go to Bonneville - it is amazing and so is Wendover (the nearest comfortable accomodation - you can camp near the salt but it looked rough if you did not have a winnebago) with all of its glitz.  Some of the guys on this board can help with accomodation etc.

Thanks Steve I do like car racing also. Do they race Nascar at Boneville and Wendover?

Don't sweat it. The first mile is a bit hairy, but after that it's a breeze. Just jump in and remember to keep right, keep righ, keep right....

A breeze heh ?  I can see myself driving down a straight bit of road no problems then I come across an intersection with like 38 lanes of traffic and I freeze !!!!!!!!  Oh * !
Seriously though am I allowed to use my licence or do I need to apply for a temporary one ??

David

( Where's Utah ? )

http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?ed=M7tNO.p_0TqT&csz=utah&country=us&new=1&name=&qty=

If you don't mind driving,your not too far from some of the most beautiful scenery in the US.

Thanks for the link. I'd also like to see Yellowstone national park and Yosemite
I also love to drive but not sure if I could  trust myself on the wrong side of the road. It would be a challenge not to revert back to habit!!

David

Turf Conference ?

this is interesting.  marking your territory a requirement?

Yeah, something like that
I think americans call turf "sod"
So it's a sod convention then ? :?

Bummer it's not a week or so later.  The largest hot rod event in the whole world, Speed Week, on the Salt Flats in B'ville, UT, starts Saturday August 13th.  There will be a wole mess of us RRTers there.

Well I was asked how long I wanted to go for!!!!!!!!!!!

Hmmmm, might have to break open the piggy bank and stay a wee bit longer

David

How good is this
My boss today tells me I'm going to the States for a Turf Conference in Utah ( Where's Utah ? )
Any ideas on what to see like Hot rod shows or where to go would be grateful
Coming over in mid to late July for about ten days
Can't wait !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah I've been told if you say " bugger me " in yank land it takes on a whole new meaning !!!
I also saw an American van with " The best rooter in the state " on the side (He's a plumber)
Must take a bit of gettin used to hey !!

David