Welding Bucket Hooks!

PILOON · Dec 11, 2007

xlr82v2 said:
aaah, yes... Burning flesh.

When I was about 12 or 13 or so, I was helping Dad with some welding projects... Anyway, to make a long story short, somehow one of those big ol' slagballs made it's way down the front of my pants and settled onto a part of my anatomy that I never wanted it to take up residence at.... at first I didn't know what was going on... and neither did my Dad... He couldn't figure out why I was jumping around and yelling...

Then Dad started laughing his rear end off... I didnt' think it was quite so funny, at least at the time I didn't. Mom didn't think it was so funny either, having just burned a big hole right in the front of a fairly new pair of pants!

I can laugh about it now...

If you weld, it's not if, but when Although, I have to admit, I get burned much much less now than when I was younger...

OUCH:-

Been there, done that!

It hurts all over again!

I was once welding a flat surface that sloped towards me and those 'splatters' found the same part of anatomy that 'makes you dance'.

(Dances with wolves comes to mind)

PILOON · Dec 11, 2007

RE BREATHABLE AIR SOURCE

Old style diaphram type compressors are a good source for breathable air.
Essentially a 5-6 inch rubber disk that is pushed up and down and breathes via thin spring steel blades for valves in the head.
Absolutly no oil present.

The foam insulation guys use them around here with a dedicated line to a face mask and actually the mask need not fit tightly as you have a positive air displacement due to the pressurisation.

Some of the newer woodworking 'oil less' compressures now being sold would also work as the piston is basically a teflon ring or sleeve that displaces air.

weldingisfun · Dec 11, 2007

MUDONTHETIRES said:
Brian,

Let me start by saying those are mighty fine welds! Your video is great too!
As a beginner welder (purchased 1st welder 2 weeks ago) I have a silly question. Why did you elect to use 7018's over 6011's? After I learn how to strike an arc without having it stick to the metal, I plan on welding hooks on my bucket. I have a Lincoln AC225. I'm welding 3/8" hooks on a 1/4" plate. In your opinion, should I use 7018's?

Thanks for reading,
Mud

I would recommend that you use the 6011. I'm a beginner too and have read that the 6011 is the most versatile and commonly used of all the rods.

chh · Dec 11, 2007

Unless things have changed or I am mistaken 7018 is usually run DC. Your welder is AC only, but 6010/6011's would work very well for what your wanting to do. Practice is the only way to learn to make nice welds.

So keep working at it and good luck.

patrick_g · Dec 11, 2007

bx24 said:
I have not figured out what to do about filtering the air. Having the unit on the floor should help grab air where things are cooler (assuming the bad air is warmer and will rise). The other option would be to hook up a remote source of air ... who knows.

To Patrick_G's point about exhausting all of the "conditioned air", there is no way around this other than to try and filter the air. I have a wood shop with a cyclone dust collector .... If any of you have a wood shop and have problems with dust, get one because they are AWESOME ... you won't regret it.

BX, Particulate filtration is easy with your setup but the better the filter (you want HEPA which can be had as parts for some vacuum cleaners) the more flow resistance you have and computer fans might not move enough air through a good filter. That was the good news. Now the bad... Some of the stuff you don't want to breathe is not particulate but is gaseous and even HEPA filter won't git 'er done. It just might be easier for you to run an intake hose to a source of clean air and then a computer type (electronic enclosure ventilation fan) might do a good job since yo wouldn't need a filter of maybe just a furnace type filter.

I have had a cyclonic dust collection system as part of my shop design from day one and 3 years later haven't got it installed... but real soon now!!! Did you buy or build? Oneida or brand x or...? Hopefully I will get one installed this winter.

I would think with proper precautions regarding sparks the suction capability of the cyclonic system could be used to evacuate welding fumes. My plan is to install it in my metal shop so I don't listen to it when I am in the wood shop (several feet of common wall.) The filtered air is to be returned to the shop. If I use the suction in the metal shop for fume extraction I will have to have an alternate air outlet so as to not "pump" fumes into the wood shop. That would be a bad idea since the wood shop shares a heat pump with the upstairs shop (wife's cerramics and stuff) and the sun porch.

I intend to use the cyclone to "pump" pelletized feed from bulk (dump trailer) to storage drums too, making it even more cost effective and multi-use.

Pat

bx24 · Dec 11, 2007

Pat I have an Oneida setup with the blower mounted on top of the cyclone. From there the exhaust goes into a "box" with holes cut in it where the air exits vertically (in the down direction) through 5-gallon buckets with the bottoms cut out (mounted upside down). From there, each bucket has a 6' filter sock zip tied onto the buckets with another bucket at the bottom to close off the end of the sock.

After emptying the wood chip drum a couple of dozen times, the the only thing that was in the filter socks (at the bottom of the bucket) was about a 1/4" of dust so fine that it could pass for flour. Essentially all of the dust swirled out and much less than 1% made it to the filters. I bought the cyclone can and the filters from Oneida and the blower from HF.

If you do a lot of wood working, drop everything else and finish it now, you won't regret it.

I agree about the cyclone not doing anything for the fumes. I would definitely come up with a way to exhaust your fumes to the outside rather than to your wood shop. For me, the 200 CFM fan hood should get rid of most of my problems (I hope!)

flusher · Dec 11, 2007

patrick_g said:
When I lived on my sailboat in San Diego, my next hatch neighbor was a weldor. He got a spark in his ear and it perforated his ear drum. They cut his outer ear mostly off, folded it back, and repaired the ear drum and sewed his outer ear back in place, He had to avoid getting his ear wet for quite a while. He was hard surfacing a rock crusher when it happened, just a freak accident but he put a little cotton or foam plugs in his ears after that to avoid a repeat.

Pat

Cotton, earplugs--OK.

I prefer a balaclava, a tight fitting hood like race car drivers wear. It protects your head (other than the face which is protected by the helmet), ears, neck. Just be sure to tighten the balaclava so it fits snugly around your head and face. Welding supply stores sell them and there're pretty cheap protection.

xlr82v2 · Dec 11, 2007

MUDONTHETIRES said:
Brian,

Let me start by saying those are mighty fine welds! Your video is great too!
As a beginner welder (purchased 1st welder 2 weeks ago) I have a silly question. Why did you elect to use 7018's over 6011's? After I learn how to strike an arc without having it stick to the metal, I plan on welding hooks on my bucket. I have a Lincoln AC225. I'm welding 3/8" hooks on a 1/4" plate. In your opinion, should I use 7018's?

Thanks for reading,
Mud

For me, the only time I use 6011 is on very dirty, rusty steel. 6011 has a very harsh, aggressive, "digging" arc. Penetration is very high. If you want to lay nice, attractive looking beads, 6011 is NOT the rod to use. Don't get me wrong, it will hold and be strong, but it's just the nature of the beast... they don't lay very pretty beads, and the spatter level is quite high with 6011 as well.

7018 on the other hand, compared to 6011, has an almost "buttery" smooth arc that leaves behind a fairly attractive bead. 7018 is a "low hydrogen" rod (that, due to the way 99% of us store it, no longer meets the "low hydrogen" spec) that is used for making very strong, x-ray quality welds. But despite this improper storage that we all do to it, it still works very well as a general purpose rod. I think 7014 lays even nicer beads, but it isn't as forgiving of a little dirt on your material as 7018. 7024 lays the nicest beads of all, but it's for flat position only, so it is somewhat limited in it's usefulness as a general purpose rod.

7018 is normally for DC machines, it just won't run properly on an AC machine. For those with AC machines, they make 7018AC, which I've heard works very well. The difference is in the ingredients in the coatings on the rod.

I'd recommend using 7018... I think it's the rod best suited for the job.

If you're wanting to keep a minimum of different types of rod, I'd recommend keeping some 1/8" 6011 and 7018AC on hand. Use the 6011 for the dirty rusty stuff that you just can't get cleaned properly, and the 7018AC for everything else. You'll be loaded for bear with those 2 rods.

thatguy · Dec 11, 2007

Patrick_G - What is 'hard surfacing" you mentioned in the thread about your neighbor..

I would love a couple hooks on my bucket and since I dont weld I would have to rely on someone else for that.. Is there a science or art of where to place the hooks?

Brian

MUDONTHETIRES · Dec 12, 2007

xlr82v2 said:
For me, the only time I use 6011 is on very dirty, rusty steel. 6011 has a very harsh, aggressive, "digging" arc. Penetration is very high. If you want to lay nice, attractive looking beads, 6011 is NOT the rod to use. Don't get me wrong, it will hold and be strong, but it's just the nature of the beast... they don't lay very pretty beads, and the spatter level is quite high with 6011 as well.

7018 on the other hand, compared to 6011, has an almost "buttery" smooth arc that leaves behind a fairly attractive bead. 7018 is a "low hydrogen" rod (that, due to the way 99% of us store it, no longer meets the "low hydrogen" spec) that is used for making very strong, x-ray quality welds. But despite this improper storage that we all do to it, it still works very well as a general purpose rod. I think 7014 lays even nicer beads, but it isn't as forgiving of a little dirt on your material as 7018. 7024 lays the nicest beads of all, but it's for flat position only, so it is somewhat limited in it's usefulness as a general purpose rod.

7018 is normally for DC machines, it just won't run properly on an AC machine. For those with AC machines, they make 7018AC, which I've heard works very well. The difference is in the ingredients in the coatings on the rod.

I'd recommend using 7018... I think it's the rod best suited for the job.

If you're wanting to keep a minimum of different types of rod, I'd recommend keeping some 1/8" 6011 and 7018AC on hand. Use the 6011 for the dirty rusty stuff that you just can't get cleaned properly, and the 7018AC for everything else. You'll be loaded for bear with those 2 rods.