Shop pedestal idea...

[komelika]

Yeah, but how much fun would that be?

[komelika]

Made some progress today. All in all, not bad for a newbie I guess.



I have a total of 5 rosette welds. It should stay pretty rigid when the bender is on it.


Not real impressed with my welding here. I still need to run a dedicated 30A circuit for my welder. I had it set to 4/40 since the plate is 1/4" and I could get about 20 seconds in before the breaker would trip (and that is with the lights off). I think I got in a bit of a hurry because of that. Still having a tough time figuring out wire speed. I know I need to turn it up for the thicker material, but it seems like it just doesn't penetrate before it starts pooling up. So then it looks like bubble gum sitting on top of the metal instead of melting into it.




I'm going to go with half inch bolts. It works out because I already have a 3/4" mason bit. I don't think this thing is going anywhere. I have some epoxy left over from my patio project so I may epoxy the shields in and use lock washers to keep everything in place when I'm using my grinder.


Next, I need to cap the inner square to give it a little more strength. I will probably close in the top of the outer square as well. Might as well box it all in. It may be overkill, but that should help with any possibility of deflection.


The mounting tab for my bender is ready to weld on to the attachment tubing.

[Nutz4sand]

 I know I need to turn it up for the thicker material, but it seems like it just doesn't penetrate before it starts pooling up. So then it looks like bubble gum sitting on top of the metal instead of melting into it.

If you are talking at the start of a bigger weld when you are welding thick materail with a small welder (at its outer limits) I have found it can many times help to heat the metal where you are gonna start with a propane torch (or better torch if you have it) till its real hot where you are gonna start. Makes it take to the weld better.

EDIT: For that matter heat the entire area some so its all warm if its only a shortish distance.

[komelika]

I thought of that. My torch is in the back of my truck and my wife is bringing it home as we speak, but I was too impatient to wait for it. I had a couple of hours to myself and I wanted to get something done! LOL

I still have one more pedestal to build that will be permanently mounted next to my work bench so I plan to pre-heat that one. I may end up using that one for the bender if I get better penetration on it.

[komelika]

Made a little more progress today. Got a chance to use the torch my F-I-L gave me. That is going to take some practice! The cuts looked like complete crap! My welds are getting better though. I just have to stop forgetting to turn on my shielding gas!

[komelika]

More progress! This is really coming along now.

The biggest problem I have is that I get excited when I get busy and have to concentrate on slowing down and taking my time. That is the biggest problem I have and some of my welds show it. The good news is that I am gaining confidence in my abilities and that should help when I start my build! This is the best practice I could have asked for before diving in on the cuda.

I know this is very basic stuff here, but I am completely new to this so forgive my excitement! 

[fabr]

Lookin' good.

[komelika]

Thanks brushfire! 

I think I am going to go with your idea on boxing in the joint to keep it from deflecting. I don't think it needs cinch bolts if I do that. It should be pretty snug without them. It'll give me a reason to use my cutting torch some more. I just need to go buy a tip to cut the 1/4". I think the tip I have is rated for thinner metal.

[Reidy02]

Gees mate for a newbie those welds look pretty Damn good!! Well done..

[komelika]

Thanks man! They're getting better, just hope they can hold up to a high speed roll (in theory of course)!

[SPEC]

Looks good Tommy,
I think I would weld some gussets on the bottom plate to the upright...You'd be suprised how much stress will be there when you got a 3 foot pipe on the bender and pulling 3 feet above the mounting poit at the floor

[komelika]

I've been thinking about that. Probably worth the time to do it. The inner square is also welded to the bottom plate so that should make it a little stronger than it looks. I've also been contemplating filling the tubing up with sand to eliminate any vibration. 

[Reidy02]

Yeah like Spec said! I assumed that you hadn't quite finished yet, but ya know the problem with that!!

[Wyattboche]

Komelika. When you weld do you make a u weld or side to side? Just wondering how you got the roll of dime look. Mine for sure do not look like that. :-[

[komelika]

I use the Half moon (CCCCCCC) technique. So far it is hit or miss. I think it mostly depends on getting the wire speed dialed in just right before it looks neat like that.