Final choice of welder

[pajoube]

Boondox,
What is happening with your new welder? Have you decided to keep it? Have you had a chance to use whatever you kept?
PJ

 

[Boondox]

PJ -- You sound very anxious. Would you like to come over and play with it? /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Seriously, I've been coming home from work so late I only have time to exercise the dogs and do my homework. Holiday season. Ugghh! The welder is still in the box.

Pete

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

<font color=blue>"The welder is still in the box."</font color=blue>

Pete, I had to laugh when I read that because mine is still in it's box, too. I acquired a Hobart MIG welder a while back and haven't even broken the seal to take a look at it. I'm not sure I'd know what to do with it if I did open the box so I'm not too worried about it yet. I might look at it a little differently once I take the MIG welding class, though. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Boondox]

I hope things slow down after the holidays. We just ramped up and thru a superhuman effort managed to set up and stock a new customer with coffee -- all 72 stores! That was two weeks ago. We stocked them with a six week supply and are now ramping up for another huge push because the majority of those 72 stores have sold out of our coffee!!! Yikes, but better than the alternative!

Welding? Maybe next January!

Pete

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

I can appreciate what you're experiencing. We expanded our semi tractor leasing business into the Chicago and Detroit markets within a 30 day period and I've been buried, too. A guy who works for me made the rather astute observation that we never have anything ready to go just sitting around waiting for a customer "like a normal business."

"Oh, no," he says, "we have to have a deadline for delivery before we even have the thing." The part that bothered me was how absolutely on point he was. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

No matter how busy you get, just make sure you take the time to enjoy your pups. Now more than ever you need the therapy that wrestling on the floor with them and tossing the tennis ball "just one more time" can provide. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[pajoube]

I feel for you, there sits that new welder and your unable to get it unpacked. As I am also looking at welders I am very interested in your comments when you do get it going and a few hours under your belt.
Good luck in the balancing act.
PJ

 

[Boondox]

PJ -- I never even got the thing unpacked. Took it back to the Borg this evening for a full refund. Will be picking up a Millermatic 135 this week. $150 more, but includes a cart and an hour's hands on instruction at the local welding shop. Figured it would be worth it just to be able to make mistakes out of reach of my wife. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

Pete

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Morning Pete and Gary,

That buried feeling is something I've learned to live with I guess.

Gary, the fire fighting syndrome for me comes from my always replying "we'll make it work". What has happened over the years I've become caught in the double bind of me believing I can make it happen cause one way or another I always have /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif and there is a group of friends and customers who have now become dependent upon that ability.

One of these days I'll fall on my face and there goes a lifetime's reputation.

Everyday I hear about competent people out of work cause the project they were on finished up and there's nothing new on board. Some of these folks I thought would never ever be out of work cause they are so good.

It does give one pause............

 

[RichC]

The idea about obtaining an hour's instruction from a local welding shop is sharp. I too have been thinking about getting a welder but don't know diddley about welding.
Now, I'm going to check out a few welder shops and see if anyone would sell me an hours time in the form of instruction.
Thanks!
-Rich

 

[Boondox]

Okay, the saga continues! Over the weekend I took the little Lincoln 3200HD back to Home Depot. Then I went to my local welding shop and bought a Millermatic 135 with a nice cart and hands on instruction included. Spent about an hour practicing MIG welds on sheetmetal and mild steel. WOW! My very first weld looked pretty good...by the fifth practice weld they looked absolutely professional! This little wire feed unit makes me look like a pro! I was pleasantly surprised at how little spatter there was with the gas. No slag, either! Sweet!

Pete