Had to head out to the farm.

[Nick220]

4shorts, All I could figure was he was thinking of stresses caused from weld shrinkage if ends were welded. Crack went lengthwise and needed longer patch than yours. I was out there on job site until about 1 in morning, working in poor lighting running 7018 with a portable welder that took a while to kick in after striking arc. Not a whole lot of fun, but at least it wasn't raining or snowing.

Just noticed you're down in Newfoundland. Years ago I used to do a fair amount of work for smaller commercial fishing boats. Winches, net reels, etc. One night on radio I heard that Newfoundland cod fishery had been closed and when I told people down on the shore here they found it hard to believe. But it was true. Later I heard somewhere around 25,000 people were out of work as a result. And, last I heard, cod hadn't come back. Got any idea of how those folks are doing these days?

 

[Nick220]

SA - Agree that 4shorts must be putting us on about being a part-timer. I've been at it going on 40 years and wish I'd had a shop like his, and I don't think I ever made prettier welds than his.

So far as fish plates, where the crack is on boom or stick would have something to do with shape of plate and where to weld. Like crack in middle of stick, like I was dealing with, probably more critical than if closer to ends. A lot of stress on stick if operator is using bucket sideways, like backfilling. Also, no matter what it is, I always drill holes at ends of crack before doing anything else. Agree that fish plate should never be thicker than what it's being welded to. That's just asking for trouble later on if thicker.

 

[Shield Arc]

SA - Agree that 4shorts must be putting us on about being a part-timer.

Oh yeah he is a fantastic weldor. What impresses me the most is his fabrication skills! Nothing short of first class!:cool2:

 

[4shorts]

4shorts, All I could figure was he was thinking of stresses caused from weld shrinkage if ends were welded. Crack went lengthwise and needed longer patch than yours. I was out there on job site until about 1 in morning, working in poor lighting running 7018 with a portable welder that took a while to kick in after striking arc. Not a whole lot of fun, but at least it wasn't raining or snowing.

Just noticed you're down in Newfoundland. Years ago I used to do a fair amount of work for smaller commercial fishing boats. Winches, net reels, etc. One night on radio I heard that Newfoundland cod fishery had been closed and when I told people down on the shore here they found it hard to believe. But it was true. Later I heard somewhere around 25,000 people were out of work as a result. And, last I heard, cod hadn't come back. Got any idea of how those folks are doing these days?

You and Shield Arc are to kind. We're really an automotive shop but to make ends meet I had to take on machining and welding then on to restoring. To keep busy I need to do this stuff. A repair shop is like a corner store, the more that's on the shelf the more you can sell.

Man the 1990's was a bad decade for us. The federal government shut down our cod fishery due to cod becoming an endangered species. It put thousands out of work but through retraining and some folks even leaving the Provence things settled down. Today Newfoundland is in an economic boom with more jobs available than we can find workers for. Oil is being discovered almost every day and guys like me are giving up their business's to go work for the oil companies. To tell the truth I'm even considering it.
Newfoundland right now is the fastest growing Provence in Canada but I'm not so sure if that's a good thing.

 

[madmax12]

Oh it was hot today and no wind but its supposed to cool down tomorrow with periods of rain so its back in the shop for me. It's alright because I'm a little behind in that department

Thanks. I bought mine new and undercoated myself every year since 1993. It gets washed, waxed and detailed on a regular basis (by me). I really should get a new truck but this old feller has been so reliable it's just hard to let it go. I think I'll just hang onto it for 20 more years and see how I feel about it then lol.
It was working with me again today and got the job done :thumbsup:

4shorts, would you mind giving a brief rundown of what you did to undercoat your truck yourself? Do you remember what product you used? TIA

 

[4shorts]

4shorts, would you mind giving a brief rundown of what you did to undercoat your truck yourself? Do you remember what product you used? TIA

I used to use Fluid Film. Good stuff but didn't like to spray it inside of doors because after awhile I found it solidified and caused latches to stick. For the last three years I've been using the product shown. It cost $100. for 5 gallons but it goes a long way and it really smells nice which is cool. I also included some photo's of the undercoating gun and it's attachments I use. With the attachments no place on the vehicles gets left out. I like that product because it creeps then stops.

 

[BleedingOrange]

I,ve been using Fluid Film for the last 5 years or so, but always willing to find something better. Kinda like car waxes. LOL.
Where do you buy the Pro Form stuff ?

 

[madmax12]

I used to use Fluid Film. Good stuff but didn't like to spray it inside of doors because after awhile I found it solidified and caused latches to stick. For the last three years I've been using the product shown. It cost $100. for 5 gallons but it goes a long way and it really smells nice which is cool. I also included some photo's of the undercoating gun and it's attachments I use. With the attachments no place on the vehicles gets left out. I like that product because it creeps then stops.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/4shorts/media/Undercoating/u1_zps1838847b.jpg.html

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/4shorts/media/Undercoating/u4_zps6fa4eb01.jpg.html

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/4shorts/media/Undercoating/u2_zpsdfbd251e.jpg.html

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/4shorts/media/Undercoating/u3_zpsf6d1c0cf.jpg.html

Thanks 4shorts!

Fluid film comes off thru power washing IIRC, which made me think I couldn't underbody wash the car all winter.

They use salt and calcium chloride here all winter, so I get the car washed often. How does your rustproofing handle car washes? Do you wash your car underneath during the winter? Thanks for the explaination and pics :thumbsup:

 

[4shorts]

I,ve been using Fluid Film for the last 5 years or so, but always willing to find something better. Kinda like car waxes. LOL.
Where do you buy the Pro Form stuff ?

Fluid Film is a great product but its expensive here. I like the stuff I'm using now. I get mine from NAPA.

Thanks 4shorts!

Fluid film comes off thru power washing IIRC, which made me think I couldn't underbody wash the car all winter.

They use salt and calcium chloride here all winter, so I get the car washed often. How does your rustproofing handle car washes? Do you wash your car underneath during the winter? Thanks for the explaination and pics :thumbsup:

In the winter months I use the local car washes from time to time. They wash under the vehicle as well. I'm sure some of it comes off because I redo it each October but there's still no rust but being a 1993 model I wouldn't expect any yet :laughing:
Oh our roads are pickled with road salt to. That's why I use this stuff. Your kindly welcome

 

[Nick220]

..... Today Newfoundland is in an economic boom with more jobs available than we can find workers for. Oil is being discovered almost every day and guys like me are giving up their business's to go work for the oil companies. To tell the truth I'm even considering it.
Newfoundland right now is the fastest growing Provence in Canada but I'm not so sure if that's a good thing.

I'm not sure it's a good idea either. People might get used to a lot of money that may not last long, and old ways will get lost. Also,probably ought to think twice before giving up what you have now to go to work in oil. Went to your great website and it looks like you're already doing pretty good. Why give that up to go into heavy industry - maybe offshore?

Around 1980 a friend who had been in marine work all his life (from Saudi Arabia to Alaska) was working the Jay Robertson jack-up barge and wanted me to come work with him. At the time it was in port, jacked up at the Portsmouth naval shipyard, and I went down, spent a night on it, got a tour of everything on it. It didn't take me long to realize that was nothing I wanted to get into. Could have made a lot more money than I was making in my shop - but a whole different scene. Not least of which is keeping an eye on everything that's going on. That stuff is heavy and between cranes swinging stuff around, and air and hydraulics at high pressure all over the place, and noise, I decided I'd be better off staying in my little shop in North Waldoboro Maine. I've never regretted that decision.

Here's link to some outfit that owns Jay Robertson now. Click on small pic to make bigger. It's thirty years older than when I was on it and doesn't look so good now, but gives an idea of what all the heavy stuff looks like. Those Cat excavators we've worked on are just tinker toys in comparison.

Archirodon - Equipment

Sorry for the sermon...