Silicon Bronze for Sheet Metal

[Auto_Tech]

Over the years I've tried "leading", oxy/A bronzing on vehicles (at seams) and for the past couple of months have been experimenting with Silicon Bronze process/wire and really like it for sheet metal work.

Pros:

Low heat, minimal impacts like panel warpage
...

[Auto_Tech]

There are close to 10,000 cryptocurrencies already and more are coming every day -- field is saturated and while they may act as a "store of value" they have no central authority, nor readily available ACCESS for the vast majority of people to use, plus they suck up an enormous amount of electricity...

[Auto_Tech]

16G - 22G Sheet Metal predominantly and it's typical "cut and butt" type welding -- also some rosette, plug welding but I'm not aware of any reasonably priced spot welders that actually behave like the factory tools --- with the resistance based, "clamping" force those tools use....

[Auto_Tech]

I've done a little oxy/A brazing over the years on sheet metal lap joints, cast iron (worked surprisingly), other projects, but would not trust it on butt welds (seems like it would be impossible to pull off) or anything structural. I'm seeing more and more automotive manufacturers recommending MIG...

[Auto_Tech]

Ground clamps are a continuing "surveillance" item for me as I do a fair amount of sheet metal restoration. I pay special attention to the "interconnect" between the two sides of the clamp and often upgrade with heavier braided copper interconnecting both sides of the clamp. I...

[Auto_Tech]

Man that one's unusable.

As for cab on / cab off -- it's a wash (time wise), I've done a few 5Rs "out the bottom" (on a lift using trans jack). The bigger problem long term with those highly corroded bell housings is many modern "electronic" (for lack of a better...

[Auto_Tech]

Have rebuilt several 5R110Ws and they're pretty stout (other than some solenoid issues) plus I always upgrade the pans to higher capacity / use the bigger filters (out of 6.4L diesels). The engine to bell housing bolts take less "strain" then many realize as quite a bit of the holding power...

[Auto_Tech]

Sorry to hear about that "throw away" main board -- I'm sure Miller realizes many of the new multi layered cards aren't fixable "out in the field", by owners and certainly one of the reasons they keep the schematics "proprietary" (competitive considerations also).
...

[Auto_Tech]

Welding Inspector is another (tougher) level altogether -- go for it and I sincerely hope you get there. In the meantime, run the argon overtime to cool your TIG welds, prevent overheating.

[Auto_Tech]

Totally agree....

[Auto_Tech]

I'm seeing welders (many working at 110/120V with 23-24 gauge wire) on youtube doing sheet metal work wearing just the clear polycarbonate safety glasses with so-called UV Protection from the known names (e.g. 3M). Aren't these folks at risk of corneal burns?

[Auto_Tech]

My 211 is doing just fine -- around 2 hours of total usage, no problems, BUT I would say the ground clamp supplied with the machine isn't all that great (no internal copper braided cross tie for example), could contribute to issues with the main board. I changed mine out as a precautionary measure and...

[Auto_Tech]

I'm an average welder (pretty good with TIG, oxy/A, brazing, MIG and definitely so so with stick (some days my beads are World of Clowns Factory Original, some days Miss Universe), but those welds IMO are some of the worst I've ever seen -- my clown factory originals are better.

[Auto_Tech]

Did some (1/8" - 1/4") testing yesterday with my (very forgiving) MM 211 (luv that machine BTW) and noticed that the Inner Shield / Flux Core wires/welds produced considerably more splatter, tons more smoke, weren't as "pretty" (I use combination of cursive Vs, Es, Us -- push and...

[Auto_Tech]

Unfortunately these plasma cutters (along with those from manufacturers like LE -- I have a 625 also) are Electro-magnetic Interference / Electro-magnetic Compatibility (EMI/EMC) trouble makers -- the products, harmonics, etc coming off these boxes are very dirty, broad spectrum based and will take...