Big Time Rig Welder

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It doggone sure won't be educational, but it might be entertainingHave to hang a gate today  I don't like pipe, I can't do pipe, and it doesn't like me eitherLuckily, nobody can hear me out here   I estimate the dog will head for the house after the first 15minOoomph"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Nice looking skid Sam good luck brother
Reply:That looks like a handy welding skid you have there. Any dog that isn't used to profanity ,must have belong to a preacher. gxbxc
Reply:Well......................  Some progress, sortaFired up the welder last evening to make sure it would run.  After about 20 primes with raw gas, it hummed to life.  OK!  We got juice  Been sitting for about half a year without use.Got to the JOB SITE (), fired it up to start the day..........ran for about 30 seconds, then it puked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Water in the gas I figure.  Another round of priming, and it finally quit pumping water to the carb (you could actually see the water bead up on the inside of the throttle bore)So now we're cookin' Little cut and fit, AND THE FIRST PIPE DISASTER OF THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I can't fit pipe for crap.Me bein' a master welder 'n all......I figured I'd slap a coupla filler passes in to close the Grand CanyonNuuuuuuumber OneNuuuuuuuuuuumber Two  We're gettin' there.........Three, and Four (happened so fast ya missed it if ya blinked)So, like I said........I can't do pipe, but pipe sure does me.   Oooooooooooomph"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Oh yeah, the all important settings etc....................3/32 Excalibur at max on the 80ish amp range.If it ain't eeducational, it at least ought to make ya laugh"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Looks like a root and double cover pass. Nice job as always, Sam!GravelThe difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
Reply:Look on the bright side, you got some extra running time on the lincoln, that it's been sorely missing. Don't let it go for so long between runs times from now on. Get some 1/8" 6011, and you won't have to run as many passes to fill up the next canyon you come to. Then you can up the amps, and make the engine grunt a little harder.Where's the gate, anyway?
Reply:"Not bad for a blind white boy"  Benson's Mobile Welding - Dayton, OH metro area - AWS Certified Welding Inspector
Reply:Why grind the point and not the rust ?
Reply:Does it have a foldy down ramp for the torch cart to roll out ?
Reply:I guess he uses the bale spear to lift the torch cart off!!
Reply:Before I toddle off to bed, thought I'd put up a pic of what wroughtin_harv was talking about in his gate thread.Finished up the pipe work just as I ran out of 02, and took a pic of the pipe That thing hanging out of the end is a nice PVC liner.  Burns with heavy black to multi colored smoke, and will darn near kill you.Been almost 2yrs since I've worked with any kind of pipe, and I'd forgotten how to cut this lined crap.  Trick is to lay the torch on it's side while cutting,  and blow the metal in front of the Oxygen stream.  This keeps the bulk of the stream, and heat, out of the plastic, and makes for nice cuts.  Fitup went a lot better after this  Early Alzheimers????????????????????????????????NO MORE PIPE LEFT TO DO ON THIS DEAL!!!!!"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammBefore I toddle off to bed, thought I'd put up a pic of what wroughtin_harv was talking about in his gate thread.Finished up the pipe work just as I ran out of 02, and took a pic of the pipe That thing hanging out of the end is a nice PVC liner.  Burns with heavy black to multi colored smoke, and will darn near kill you.Been almost 2yrs since I've worked with any kind of pipe, and I'd forgotten how to cut this lined crap.  Trick is to lay the torch on it's side while cutting,  and blow the metal in front of the Oxygen stream.  This keeps the bulk of the stream, and heat, out of the plastic, and makes for nice cuts.  Fitup went a lot better after this  Early Alzheimers????????????????????????????????NO MORE PIPE LEFT TO DO ON THIS DEAL!!!!!
Reply:Lined pipe SUCKS... That being said, get some 1/8 and 5/32 6010.  5P+.  The grey rods, not the red 5 P.  run it downhill on pipe.  With your skill, I think you would get the hang of it pretty quick.  Beats the he11 out of trying to run 7018 uphill on rusty, poorly fit pipe.  Not putting down how you fit it at all.  Most things you show, the fit is perfect.  But I know from experience working on pipe fences, it is what it is sometimes...  I've got corner posts and gate posts at my shop, (8") that were put in in 1980 by one of our laborers at the time, who learned how to weld in prison... He learned a lot more about welding than he did fitting... Some of the gaps were so bad he used 3/8" rebar to "mexican heliarc" it.  Really didnt' turn out looking bad.  34 years later, even after being bumped into by mowing, grading yard, or being hit by a pickup in one case, still standing, still welded and still holding fence up.-------------------------Chemetron AC/DC 300 HFSnap-On MM300L Lincoln SP140 Lincoln AC/DC 225g Lincoln SA200 Lincoln SA200 Miller Bobcat 225GVictor torchesH&M and Mathey beveling machinesMcElroy Plastic pipe fusion
Reply:I did a pipe fence job about a year ago, that some of the pipe had something in it, that when I would cut it FLAMES would shoot out of it... Looked like I was doing a tie in on a gas line with a bad shutoff or something. lol... My fiancee got some pics of it, with the beveling machine on it cutting, with flames shooting out about a foot.  Smelled like the old cold tar enamal coating that used to be on pipelines, but it was on the inside.  After I cut it, I would stick the torch tip up inside and burn it out for a ways from the end, so I didn't have smoke from it while welding...  I'm not a fan of using old oilfield pipe anyway, but I realize it's a lot more economical than new pipe or tubing.-------------------------Chemetron AC/DC 300 HFSnap-On MM300L Lincoln SP140 Lincoln AC/DC 225g Lincoln SA200 Lincoln SA200 Miller Bobcat 225GVictor torchesH&M and Mathey beveling machinesMcElroy Plastic pipe fusion
Reply:yikes samm! never came across that lined pipe before and i hope i never do. i wouldn't want a snootful of those fumes. good job working with crappy material.i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:Pipe welding essentialsAttachment 868721www.FirehouseFabricators.comZachLincoln 210mpLincoln SW200Hypertherm Powermax 45xp2x4 CNC Plasma Table.
Reply:FINALLY FINISHEDThis hasn't been one of my favorite projects.  Was like pulling teeth to finally finish it between rain storms this weekend.The ground is a bit uneven, probably 1 1/2 feet difference between posts, so the high side was hung first.  By doing the high side first, it allows me to establish a level line for the second half of the gate.  This side is restricted as to where it's mounted, it has to be at the right level.  The other side can be adjusted to match.  Second side in, it's a done deal at this point.Everything matched very nicelyHinge details next, AND WHY I'M SO PLEASED IT TURNED OUT PRETTY GOOD"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:The main reason I was so pleased is because of  the way I do my hinges.The hinges are built to .010 tolerance, so everything else has to be right.  Extreme care has to be exercised to set the posts absolutely perfectly.  Plumb, exact distances.................I do a different kind of hinge.A piece of angle iron is welded to the post, then the tabs are welded to the angle iron.The angle iron establishes an absolutely true axis for the hinge pins and barrels, and it spreads the gate load over the entire post, instead of concentrating it at 2 points.The tabs are attached with two very reliable fillets.  Less fatigue over time, as opposed to piercing the post and running a pin thru the post.BUT IT ALL HAS TO BE PRETTY DOGGONE PERFECT TO COME TOGETHER.  I have about maybe 2-3 degrees adjustment capability, and that's about it.I really don't look forward to doing these at any time, any place, or on any given day  But I'm old, and can't change my ways.  If it works good.....stick with it"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Rain again today, so trimming the posts, and capping them, has to wait.  Add the grease zerks, and it's off to the racesMax has already found that he can just squeeze under the gate, and that too will have to wait.  Need to build the road up under the gate to make a nice even 6" gap all the way acrossAnother thing to be done is capping the brace posts.  I do them a bit different to save me some fitup headaches (remember I can't do pipe very good)  You can see that I only cope the top portion of the brace, the bottom portion simply rests in a notch in the brace post.  This simplifies fitup.  Then the post is filled with dirt/trash/etc. and you put a concrete cap on the opening.  Saw a guy do this years ago, and have always used this method ever since.  It's nice and simple.Also of note.......the braces don't form a 90 degree angle to the gatepost on the inside of the gate, they're offset to the outside of the gate swing to allow the gate to open (inwards) past 90 degrees to make sure they're fully out of the way when moving wide equipment thru the gate"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:nice work samm. most of my gates hinge to square but on rare occasion i have a similar condition. idea stolen and filed.i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:Originally Posted by 12345678910Does it have a foldy down ramp for the torch cart to roll out ?
Reply:Very cool farmersamm, your Grand Canyon joke got me a good honest out loud laugh (best medicine we can get).  Thanks!   I'm not expert on gates or fence posts but I think yours came out great and I really like the hinge setup you show.  All of your points describing your reasons for doing it that way make a whole lot of sense!  Thanks for sharing and good luck with it.
Reply:Originally Posted by handtpipelineLined pipe SUCKS... That being said, get some 1/8 and 5/32 6010.  5P+.  The grey rods, not the red 5 P.  run it downhill on pipe.  With your skill, I think you would get the hang of it pretty quick.  Beats the he11 out of trying to run 7018 uphill on rusty, poorly fit pipe.  Not putting down how you fit it at all.  Most things you show, the fit is perfect.  But I know from experience working on pipe fences, it is what it is sometimes...  I've got corner posts and gate posts at my shop, (8") that were put in in 1980 by one of our laborers at the time, who learned how to weld in prison... He learned a lot more about welding than he did fitting... Some of the gaps were so bad he used 3/8" rebar to "mexican heliarc" it.  Really didnt' turn out looking bad.  34 years later, even after being bumped into by mowing, grading yard, or being hit by a pickup in one case, still standing, still welded and still holding fence up.