Tool/machine cleaning tips - beyond the norm

admin

Looking for Tool/machine cleaning tips - beyond the normal operating manual stuff.  Several years ago I attended a welding class at a local community tech college.  It had some really good welding equipment, Miller and Lincoln trade quality mig and tig welders and plasma cutters, Victor and Harris torches, etc.  One day the instructor suggested we clean the nozzles and tips of the mig torches but didn't give us any tips on how.  Just that they periodically needed cleaning.  Well  I tried to get the built up spatter out of a couple of nozzles by  scraping and prying but it had built up for so long in was almost impossible to clean.  (I suspect they hadn't been cleaned in weeks if ever!).When I got my own mig welder I vowed not to let this happen.  After ever use I scrape off the spatter on/in the nozzle and then (and here's my first TIP) I use steel wool wrapped around a 3/8" drill bit in my drill press and buff out the inside of the nozzle.   Works great - looks like new when done.Any tips?
Reply:When running flux-core I will blow the liner out while I am changing a spool.I also blow out the drive roll area.Also when I change a spool I take a quick look at the very end of the wire that came off the spool, especially with this cheap Korean SS Dual shield we are being supplied with for our current project. The guys try to pull the wire out from the gun end, but there is a kink and a really rough end on the wire and its gets stuck in the liner.As far as keeping the con and tip clean, do you have a pair of these? Attached ImagesYup
Reply:Tip dip works great, I think it's a type of parrafin or something similar. Only thing is run a dummy bead for a half minute of so to get rid of the excess, cleanings a breeze after that with a set of mig pliers like Burnit posted. An occasional redip and you're good to go.....Mike
Reply:I was told the dip, and spray stuff, is mostly animal fat.  I know it gets pretty funky if you leave it on something for a long time.The product label doesn't give much info on the stuff I use.  It says modified organic oil 22.5%.  I suppose that could be veggy oil, or lard.  Who knowsThe can says non hazardous, non exlposive, non..., non....non....  But it sure don't say non expensive, around 12 bucks a canAnybody know?????If it's relabeled Pam cookin' spray, I'm gonna be"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammI was told the dip, and spray stuff, is mostly animal fat.  I know it gets pretty funky if you leave it on something for a long time.The product label doesn't give much info on the stuff I use.  It says modified organic oil 22.5%.  I suppose that could be veggy oil, or lard.  Who knowsThe can says non hazardous, non exlposive, non..., non....non....  But it sure don't say non expensive, around 12 bucks a canAnybody know?????If it's relabeled Pam cookin' spray, I'm gonna be
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammI was told the dip, and spray stuff, is mostly animal fat.  I know it gets pretty funky if you leave it on something for a long time.The product label doesn't give much info on the stuff I use.  It says modified organic oil 22.5%.  I suppose that could be veggy oil, or lard.  Who knowsThe can says non hazardous, non exlposive, non..., non....non....  But it sure don't say non expensive, around 12 bucks a canAnybody know?????If it's relabeled Pam cookin' spray, I'm gonna be
Reply:I think I bought some of that spray junk the other day. From Airgas: Radnor.  Most probably, these things are soy or veggie based.  Animal fat might cause other problems.Of course,  one could always save their bacon drippings.I prefer the dip.  One tub has lasted me a couple of years, of course,  I use it mostly in out of angle/postition welds to keep the gun from stopping up.  I forget to use it mostly.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:Rojo, Burnit............  Is it this stuff?????? Attached Images"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:PAM:  brand name for spray lube for the fry pan.  Contents: Canola Oil.So what the heck is canola oil?  CANadian Oil Low Acid content.  A vegatable oil extracted from hybrids of rapeseed.  Rapeseed oil has been used throughout history in cooking, and since the advent of the steam engine as a machine lubricant.  Widely used in WWII as a general machine lubricant it wsas easily identified by it's greenish hue.  In the 1970's two horticulturalists in Canada developed hybrids of the rapeseed plants which produced a better quality oil which became known as CANOLA oil.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canola-MondoMember, AWSLincoln ProMIG 140Lincoln AC TombstoneCraftsman Lathe 12 x 24 c1935Atlas MFC Horizontal MillCraftsman Commercial Lathe 12 x 36 c1970- - - I'll just keep on keepin' on.
Reply:It sounds like you know not to let that build up occur in the first place, but when it does, somebody gets to clean it out or replace the nozzle!  BTDT! (Been there, done that!)City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:That's what I'm talking about!  Yesterday I was welding a small tool holder on my welding bench and got some spatter on my new top.   I spent 15 minutes with a wire cup getting it off and wondered what  I could do to prevent spatter adhering t the surface in the future.  An hour or so later I was welding a little bracket and decided to cover the bench top with a piece of scrap wood to keep the splatter off.  Not the best idea but it worked and I didn't catch it on fire (this time!).  The Pam idea sounds like just the ticket.  I can't wait to try it out.
Reply:Originally Posted by reefera4mThat's what I'm talking about!  Yesterday I was welding a small tool holder on my welding bench and got some spatter on my new top.   I spent 15 minutes with a wire cup getting it off and wondered what  I could do to prevent spatter adhering t the surface in the future.  An hour or so later I was welding a little bracket and decided to cover the bench top with a piece of scrap wood to keep the splatter off.  Not the best idea but it worked and I didn't catch it on fire (this time!).  The Pam idea sounds like just the ticket.  I can't wait to try it out.
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammRojo, Burnit............  Is it this stuff??????
Reply:Originally Posted by RojodiabloNope- I meant the real thing-PAM like Mondo said.And thanks for the Wikipedia Mondo. I was actually thinking to call "How it's made" and ask them to do a special on Pam, just to find out!!!
Reply:You guys are just to much!
Reply:After much on-line research I've come to the conclusion that the ‘PAM’ lead has far more fact than fiction. The only brand I could find that acknowledged their main ingredient was LPS Laboratories.  The little literature on the other products such as Spatter Spatter would suggest the same basic ingredients."LPS Anti-Spatter spray is a non-silicone, water-based material which casts a liquid film. It is a non-flammable, water-based emulsion containing a vegetable-derived agent designed for releasing welding spatter."  More precisely a "fatty ester in an aqueous base" (oil and water).Fatty ester, as I learned from my son, the Biodiesel EXPERT, in this case is almost certainly vegetable oil. Common fats and oils are mixtures of various esters. Vegetable oil, or fatty ester is converted into Biodiesel through a process of transesterification, where a catylyst, such as Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) (or Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH))  and methanol, converts the fatty esters into Fatty Acid Methyl Ester, or Biodiesel (goes by the name FAME in Europe).   I'm going to try PAM and if that doesn't work - oil and water mixture!