Box of 3.2`s burned and still not warm!

[Debs.]

Working on a new project today; heavy gauge stuff......I`ve burned a whole 5Kg. box of 3.2 mm. electrodes 'back-to-back' and my big-old 1960`s Quasi-Arc static set was still not even warm!

I had expected it to be 'toasty' after all that work.....they certainly built`em tough back then.

 

[Bigjoe]

thats just showing off Debs!!

 

[weldingscotty803]

lets see the welds then debs, no good telling us you've been doing all this welding and not show us

 

[Debs.]

lets see the welds then debs, no good telling us you've been doing all this welding and not show us

To be honest, I needed the practice and by the 'half box stage' my weave-fillets had improved dramatically!.....`took me ages to sweep up the monster layer of today`s chipped-off slag though.

 

[shenion]

Heh, you should see my Airco 300A/BP. Buddy said "That thing can use rebar rods". 300A at 100% duty cycle. By today's standards, it is a 475 amp beast. Even Miller called it a 330A machine back in the old days when they took over sold the same unit.

Has the same fan/motor my 2 ton AC has.

Don't know what I'd ever do with over 200A, but it is there
37 years young and still going strong. The old stuff just keeps on going.

 

[malcolm]

What are you making? Sounds like a big project judging by the consumption of rods.

 

[Debs.]

What are you making? Sounds like a big project judging by the consumption of rods.

It`s an hydraulic/drop-impact fence post driver with a quick-hitch head for a 5 T. digger mount......I`ve cut and machined all the parts and 'dry' fitted them previously, so it`s going to be a few days yet of welding/assembly; but, I did find cumulative expansion/distortion to be more of an issue with some components than I`d thought about......'amateurs' eh!

 

[clem dog]

hi debs sounds good. I would love tm see pictures of that!
Do you have a set of plans or such like? I fancy a crack at making one myself!
Clem

 

[MrFluffy]

Id like to see pics too if possible! My neighbor is on about making a post fence driver from a hydraulic breaker on his little 2t digger, but the price of breakers here has put a damper on the project, so it'd be something to show him see if it sparks him off in a different direction.
I cheat and sharpen them then push them in with the bucket on mine, but if you hit something really hard the fence post buckles and then splinters...

 

[pidgeon chit welder]

I helped my pal Paul put in 2,000 grape vines and all associated support & straining wires and posts.


For the support posts and perimeter posts we used a pecker with a scaffold pole chopped and welded to a point. It was then fixed on with some hefty clamps , so all we had to do was use the pecker to push a full depth hole slightly smaller than the post diameters give it a wiggle , extract it ,then use the boom to press the post 2 foot six down the premade hole .

We laid the vinyard out with lots of lines and marked each post position with a can of sawdust.

 

[pidgeon chit welder]

Heh, you should see my Airco 300A/BP. Buddy said "That thing can use rebar rods". 300A at 100% duty cycle. By today's standards, it is a 475 amp beast. Even Miller called it a 330A machine back in the old days when they took over sold the same unit.

Has the same fan/motor my 2 ton AC has.

Don't know what I'd ever do with over 200A, but it is there
37 years young and still going strong. The old stuff just keeps on going.

Use the welder with rebar down a bit of hose pipe to stud weld onto broken halfshaft splines still left in the differential and then pull them out the end of the axle tube .
It worked well on 4 1/2 inch sheared halfshafts on the Thorneycroft Mighty Antar tank transporter vehicles ( petrol version )

 

[MrFluffy]

I helped my pal Paul put in 2,000 grape vines and all associated support & straining wires and posts.


For the support posts and perimeter posts we used a pecker with a scaffold pole chopped and welded to a point. It was then fixed on with some hefty clamps , so all we had to do was use the pecker to push a full depth hole slightly smaller than the post diameters give it a wiggle , extract it ,then use the boom to press the post 2 foot six down the premade hole .

We laid the vinyard out with lots of lines and marked each post position with a can of sawdust.

They were talking about modifying the hammer to actually drive the post in itself by substitution of the bit for some sort of guide tube and plate arrangement to let it hammer in the post direct so less handling, just load the post in horizontally, curl it vertical then hammer it in. Theres a local enterprise with such a homebrewed arrangement that goes round fencing and charges quite a hefty amount per post but they dont encourage you to actually see how theyve modified it
I may make something simple up just to hold the post upright while its driven for myself one day. Hence the interest in deb's design

 

[Debs.]

They were talking about modifying the hammer to actually drive the post in itself by substitution of the bit for some sort of guide tube and plate arrangement to let it hammer in the post direct so less handling, just load the post in horizontally, curl it vertical then hammer it in. Theres a local enterprise with such a homebrewed arrangement that goes round fencing and charges quite a hefty amount per post but they dont encourage you to actually see how theyve modified it
I may make something simple up just to hold the post upright while its driven for myself one day. Hence the interest in deb's design

I`m essentially using a design similar to this: http://www.vectorpowerdrive.com/post-driver-mini/

I found a very large forging-mill roller (to be the hammer), a quick acting ram and steel-sheaves in blocks at the scrapyard.....the difficult thing has been to get the geometry correct; I used fibre-board and timber as working templates to test the theoretical-mechanism.....now, we will soon see if I got it right!

Heavy gauge scrap steel girders/angle/channel (in lengths shorter than 6ft.) were cheap(ish) at the scrapyard, so I`ve 'well' over-engineered it and the frame is already very heavy!....but, with the HUGE hammer, I would never be able to move it about by hand anyway.

The chaps at the scrapyard are very kind and if I need anything rough-cutting to size/shape; they`ll oxy-propane cut to my chalk lines.....`amazing what sharing a bag of custard donuts, a flask of coffee and an appreciative smile can accomplish.