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Learning how to build Lotus Seven replicas...together!
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PostPosted: December 20, 2017, 5:05 pm 
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Joined: July 29, 2006, 9:10 pm
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Location: Oregon, usually
Interesting. Thanks for that. I'll start spending a few more bucks on wire.

So what do you suppose the problems are? Probably not inconsistent diameter 'cause that's pretty easy to get right.

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PostPosted: December 20, 2017, 5:24 pm 
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Joined: September 22, 2005, 8:12 am
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Location: 4AGE in S.E. Michigan
Yupper!! Any one who has been around welding, for a while, will tell you that a high percentage of the equipment problems is actually the Wire. The first thing you should do if trouble shooting a problem is to just run the wire between your fringers. If you can feel the slightest change in the surface/diameter, the wire it is $hit. You will end up with erratic wire feed even when using a 4 roller drive. I have seen a lot of these problems with well known top band name wire. The problem is cause by lube and drawing the wire down to size to quickly. I've returned whole truck loads of 900lbs spools, so some other sucker gets to use it. I was lucky enough that we alway had 2 or 3 wire suppliers. Wire suppliers was 2nd on my list next to steel suppliers.
And YES you can tell even 50 feet way if a welder is set up correctly just by the sound!
Dave W


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PostPosted: December 21, 2017, 4:55 am 
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Joined: February 9, 2016, 8:46 am
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Location: New Jersey
davew, we have obviously traveled part of the same highway!...
Jack, it's not just wire diameter, but he core metallurgy and chemistry that goes into making the wire.
Sorry Omterry for the hijack!
Jack, maybe this discussion should be moved to it's own place. It's a good discussion, so long as it stays about information / learning and doesn't degrade to "I like Miller, he likes Lincoln" sort of thread.

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PostPosted: December 21, 2017, 3:42 pm 
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Joined: March 30, 2011, 7:18 am
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Location: central Arkansas
The main brand around here is "Forney", which seems to work OK. I used to be able to get something called "EZ-Grind", which could be drilled and tapped, but now everything is marked "ER70-S6" and is hard enough to bugger good HSS drills.

It's humid here, and therefore humid in my shop. I've often noticed that a new spool of wire, fresh from the store, will always work MUCH better than the end of the spool. I'm guessing there's some amount of not-visible corrosion on the wire.


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PostPosted: December 22, 2017, 11:24 am 
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Joined: September 15, 2014, 8:13 pm
Posts: 162
Sorry for being disconnected. Life happened.

A few things: Thread hijack is always welcome here, so long as nobody is throwing bricks. That said, the welding wire bit ought to have a little bit on its own, maybe in building a frame? I don't remember if there is a welding thread, but this is, imho, worthy of its own thread because...

When I bought my name-brand blue welder, it worked pretty well right out of the box. Ran through a second spool I got at the time of purchase, and that went OK as well. There were some bad welds and at the end of a relatively short bead, would spit a little randomly, which I thought was pretty much me.

Then, when that spool was used up, and I had a day's welding to do on the frame, I called Dismantalus, because he said to buy good wire and I did not know where to get it. He was unavailable, the welding shop was not open, and I decided to go to the orange big box lumber/hardware store. Place only sold the Lincoln stuff.

Back in the lab, my welds were suddenly beautiful. Smooth, even, low spitting, great sound. All the minor issues I thought were me ended up being the wire. The big issues were still mine, but welding was suddenly way easier. Beginners take note.

Best,
Terry

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Build log: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=18224


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PostPosted: February 6, 2018, 9:41 pm 
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Joined: September 15, 2014, 8:13 pm
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Life continues to happen. While finalizing the suspension design, domestic bliss dictated less garage time. I've got the dimensions nailed down, but of course, figuring how to fit it is another tale. More on that when I resume cutting steel.

Meanwhile, daughter decided to do a wind tunnel for her science fair project. Given how painful it was to get these same two girls to fold paper airplanes for last year's fair, I insisted on a one-day-doable back up plan. I predict they will be extracting DNA, but on the plus side, I will have fun with aero designing the Bauhaus body.

Life is strange.

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Build log: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=18224


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PostPosted: February 7, 2018, 9:08 pm 
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Joined: February 9, 2016, 8:46 am
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Location: New Jersey
You're gonna do it full scale, right? Go big, or go home.... :wink:

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PostPosted: February 8, 2018, 3:09 pm 
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LOL, yep. 80" across and tall, moving bed, the works. Williams already said they'd buy time to prep for the 2019 season.

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Build log: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=18224


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