Third-World Welding

[seattle smitty]

A motorcycle does not work like a car, and an ultra-low c/g, even if you could achieve such a thing, would not be at all desireable, as it is in a car. And not that it counts for much, but besides being prone to dragging, I thought the low-mounted factory pipes on my old '76 RD400C Yamaha looked dorky,...

[seattle smitty]

I advise you to buy low and sell high.



(that's what I need to do so I can get some cool new gear including a Dynasty)

(Neat bike, even if it is a 4-stroke).

[seattle smitty]

When I started looking for welding work (moonlighting while doing non-welding mechanical work elsewhere), I parked my '66 Econoline in the shopping district of the local suburb I live in, and walked from door to door, asking if they needed anything welded. As with any selling, you get a lot of no before...

[seattle smitty]

It helps if you state the thickness along with the other dims of the steel angle, tube, etc., that you're working with.
Sounds like what you have MIGHT be sort of light-duty for a table that really gets whaled-on. So, instead of trying to use the lightweight bracing under 1/2" plate, maybe...

[seattle smitty]

Bravo, Rig Hand, exactly the answer!

Elaine, your son maybe should look on Craigslist and BUY HIMSELF an old used "buzz-box" (an A-C stick welder, simple and tough)(might cost $50-$125) and start bulding little things, and studying, as Rig Hand suggests, while he lines up a...

[seattle smitty]

Amen.

[seattle smitty]

Shut up?!! If you ask questions, you obviously can follow them or not, but they really are well-intended and meant to help, not to give you a hard time. If you can't accept them politely then shut up yourself.

What is it with guys like this? I feel very lucky that there is a place like...

[seattle smitty]

For a hole you can't, or don't want to, or shouldn't, fill with rod, one remedy is to make a good-fitting filler-patch out of the same tube you're working with.

But the thing people wonder about is whether some or many of rest of the joints were poorly fitted . . . and were they poorly...

[seattle smitty]

[QUOTE=smatsushima1;253589]Thanks for everything guys. I don't need any more replies, as I have more than enough answers to keep me going for years. I appreciate all the help.[/QUOTE



Anybody else wondering if he is a serious grownup . . . ?

[seattle smitty]

As for cleaning fuel tanks, one of the hot rodding magazines had an interesting short article recently on flexible fuel lines and how much more quickly they deteriorate in these days of ethanol and other additives to pump gas. The article talks about the better grade of racing fuel line, and the top-grade...

[seattle smitty]

Lotsa good replies; here are some random riffs:

Matt, a liberal arts bachelor's degree qualifies you for a job in the post office, plus you can cream everybody in the aptly-named game of "Trivial Pursuit"!!

But, interestingly, I've run into a few other guys in...

[seattle smitty]

Got a question, Pap. Maybe I was misled a long time ago, but I thought the way to handle that crack would have been (after grooving it out) to stop-drill the ends of the cracks, and then make the short welds starting from the stop-drilled ends, not from the open end of the crack as you did (if I am...

[seattle smitty]

Don't spray silicone into the joint if there's any possibility that you will want to paint it later . . . .

[seattle smitty]

Interesting. As to Mike's concern about getting sick or hurt, a mitigating factor is that at least in touristy places like Egypt (as opposed to your basic tropical h***-hole) our embassy can usually give you names of competant English-speaking medical providers, frequently American or European expatriates....

[seattle smitty]

I've been getting an urge to see some different sights in my old age, while I still am physically able, and wondering about shipping myself and a mobile welding outfit to some place that is building up but lacks skilled tradespeople. "The Economist" magazine states that India has a howling...