Welded a plug on water pump.

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Someone locally wanted a water pump plug welded for a lemons car he is building and he is using an inline water pump. He is a machinist and made a few plugs and asked me to weld these in for him. So before he came over I heated up the powder coating oven to 400 and when he got there I let it bake for 10minutes, took it out and wire brushed it for a bit, turned off the oven and threw it back in there. It probably got down to 300* or so and I let it sit in there for 30-45minutes. Got side tracked chasing my 2 year old around.Took it out and wire brushed it again. Had to wait for it to cool so the acetone wouldn't just evaporate. Went around the area with 3/32 red, 15cfh, and 100amps and no filler. Then wire brush again. Then did the weld and used filler. I forgot to take a pic so I asked the guy to send me a pic and this is what he took of before and after. Thoughts? What would you guys of charged for this?Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:I'm wondering what a "lemons car" is? I've never heard of that term. Is it a demolition derby car that he didn't want to have a rad in? I confused, what was the point of this?Miller thunderbolt 250Decastar 135ERecovering tool-o-holic ESAB OAI have been interested or involved in Electrical, Fire Alarm, Auto, Marine, Welding, Electronics ETC to name a just a few. So YES you can own too many tools.
Reply:its like a lemans car, but basically just a pos. Think of the 24 hours of Daytona ran with run down beat up chevy luminas..hahaESAB MigMaster 275Miller Econotwin HFMiller Syncrowave 250
Reply:Lemons car is an endurance car race for 24 hours but you can't buy the car for more than $500.Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:Its called the 24 Hour of Lemons, a play on the Lemans race. It is quite possibly the coolest thing in the world. Basically you take a car for a few $$$, make it race worthy and drive it until it dies.I recommend reading the rules to see just how awesome of a race it is. Some of the highlights include:"there are 4 classes, A, B, C, and modified - basically we can class it however we want""at any time we can buy your car for $500. anytime, anywhere, any condition" - that is to stop guys from bringing in good cars.Things like that make this a great race, but you do have to pass full tech specs and they even have a section that states something along the lines of "if you have to ask what the criteria for tech spec welds, you should not be making your own welds"I know I'm grossly exaggerating what they say, but it is bad ***. Some of the engineers I work with are thinking about building a car in the next year or two.http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/I break things for a living...
Reply:Guy up the street runs a Fiat 128 in Lemons up at Summit Point, WV.  I think it's really one of the ones that was built by Zastava (can you say YUGO?).  Too funny.  My son helps with some of the wrenching and welding since we have a better selection of toys in our shop.  He was offered a spot as a co-driver this year but declined due to the cost and having to start work at 5 a.m. on Monday.  He had a blast at last year's race.I don't think the $500. applies to anything safety related.Typical cars ..."USMCPOP" First-born son: KIA  Iraq 1/26/05Syncrowave 250 w/ Coolmate 3Dialarc 250, Idealarc 250SP-175 +Firepower TIG 160S (gave the TA 161 STL to the son)Lincwelder AC180C (1952)Victor & Smith O/A torchesMiller spot welder
Reply:I charged the guy $80 to weld that big piece and 2 small ones. Think that was a fair price? After all he said he needed an invoice and his boss was going to pay him back.Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:sounds fair to me, about an hours work-NateMiller Trailblazer 302gMiller Spoolmatic 30aLN-25 x 2Idealarc SP200Hypertherm Powermax 600
Reply:Personally, I would've probably just brake cleaned it, stainless brush it, brake clean again, hit with the air hose, then crank it up and weld away. 15 min job and have him back out the door in 15 min. I probably also wouldn't have wasted so much rod...was that aluminum block off plate in it real thin? Looks like 5356? I usually use 4043 or 4047 on castings if you can find the stuff. It's a high silicon "brazing" rod.
Reply:Originally Posted by BCTimberwolfPersonally, I would've probably just brake cleaned it, stainless brush it, brake clean again, hit with the air hose, then crank it up and weld away. 15 min job and have him back out the door in 15 min. I probably also wouldn't have wasted so much rod...was that aluminum block off plate in it real thin? Looks like 5356? I usually use 4043 or 4047 on castings if you can find the stuff. It's a high silicon "brazing" rod.
Reply:Here we go - again. Ever read the MSDS on acetone?MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:Originally Posted by turbocad6ummm, isn't brake cleaner DEADLY if welded over????
Reply:yeah, just did some reading on this, I just remember the thought from few years ago of myself welding with brake cleaner and finding out after it could have been deadly, so it just right away raised a big red flag to me, but now I see the whole chlorinated phosgene stuff  also just learned how deadly welding with freon contamination can be... didn't know that one...miller 330a bp TIGmiller dynasty 200DX TIGmillermatic 185 MIGthermal dynamics cutmaster 101 plasma cuttersnap-on YA5550 plasma cutterhypertherm powermax 30 plasma cutterbaileigh CS225 cold sawetc....
Reply:Damn, why so many passes?$80 sounds about rightBuy American, or don't whine when you end up on the bread line.
Reply:Originally Posted by duaneb55Here we go - again. Ever read the MSDS on acetone?
Reply:Yup, what other have said. No..you aren't welding over any of these chemicals. That's why you blow it off with air to be sure it's evaporated. Even if you didn't clean it off, you would still be welding over oil and other chemicals. As always, use proper PPE and exhaust fan systems along with a little common sense and you can't go wrong.
Reply:Originally Posted by turbocad6yeah, just did some reading on this, I just remember the thought from few years ago of myself welding with brake cleaner and finding out after it could have been deadly, so it just right away raised a big red flag to me, but now I see the whole chlorinated phosgene stuff  also just learned how deadly welding with freon contamination can be... didn't know that one...
Reply:Originally Posted by KelvinIs it bad to use acetone to clean before welding?
Reply:I should add that all saftey equipment and mods are exempt from the $500 limit.Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250