10 pound welding reel on HF 90 amp

[Bluethunder3320]

im really tired paying $13 per pound of wire.

1 pound= $13
10 pound= $60

if i go through 10 1 pound reels, its going to cost $130.

if i get a 10 pound reel upfront, i can save $70 in welding wire! WOW!

so i decided to dump that $60 into a 10 pound reel of .035 lincoln flux cored wire.

ive been trying to figure out the best way to mount the reel so that it is still PORTABLE. i really like the 90 amp flux because it has a handle, and you just can pick it up and carry it where ever you need.

many people have mounted the reel on a stand in back of the machine. if i did this, my machine would no longer be portable.

the least profile way to mount the reel, i figured, would be to keep a 1 pound reel on the original spot, and feed the 10 pound reel off the side of the machine and bend it around the 1 pound.

my machine is no longer under warranty so ive got nothing to loose hacking up the panels. i COULD always take off the panels i have hacked up and weld them back if i need to.

heres some pics... drilled a hole and bolted a electric scooter axle to the side panel to mount the spool. i might cut it shorter but for now i have another small reel on there to keep it spaced out.

so far in my machine's lifetime, i have about 10 pounds through it. i have spent more money on wire in one year than the machine costs brand new.

this setup works. not flawlessly. it bends at an angle but i havent had any feed problems.

ill see how it goes. i still want to make it better.... but now, it welds.

also, especially because the whole reel is exposed (and may be for an entire year) i added a cotton wad and zip tie to clean off the dust a little.

 

[T-man]

cool, good idea.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

thanks t-man, i have a better idea though. i will make a welding cart out of scrap metal i pulled off a scrapped riding lawn mower.

if i cut the frame pieces down, ill have alot of angle!

 

[r97]

interesting setup, just started my welding kart today! hopefully i can finish it and make a thread tomorrow.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

heres my welding cart! well not so much of cart. just some riding mower frame, machine bolts to that, and a mini moto front forks for the spool.

 

[r97]

LOL, looks pretty good!

just noticed you have the same drill as me! LOL

 

[Bluethunder3320]

LOL, looks pretty good!

just noticed you have the same drill as me! LOL

and the same drill press too? well i think mines not the exact same though at least it works (no wobble)

hopefully i can use it tonight.

 

[r97]

mines bigger! LOL

my drill press is really strange, when i measure the run-out (wobble), i get very bad results, when i look at the bit you can see it is wobbling a ton, but.... when you drill holes, they are perfect circles, exactly the correct DIA, and are drilled quickly and easily with long curlicue shavings. it drills perfectly, but looks, and seems like it's way out of whack.

IDK, don't fix what ain't broken? it works so i'm not going to mess with it. maybe my eyes are just going! LOL

 

[Bluethunder3320]

well does the actual drill bit wobble? the center will catch so i can see it not moving and making a weird hole... but you might be bending the bits.

 

[r97]

from my measurements, and just looking at it, yes the actual bit wobbles. i would think that drilling a hole with a wobbling bit would bend the bit, and create either an out of round hole, or an oversize hole, but it doesn't seem to do that. drilling a 1/8" hole in 5/8" rod took maybe 10 seconds actual drilling time.

my plan as of now is to just keep using it until i either start bending/breaking a ton of bits for no good reason, or start getting crappy holes.

worked on the welding kart all day and its still not done! LOL only a few more tacs and i can get to work on fully welding. still need to make the gas cylinder clamps too. at-least i finished the bottom section, i had all 4 wheels bolted on and i was riding it around my basement, LOL!

off to camp for a week next Sunday, i want to finish the cart by then, and get to work on my kart, and maybe a welding table and bench grinder stand depending on how much they charge me for metal (steel plate = $$$....).

after that i still have more ideas for projects than i can count! lol, remember that video of a homemade inline twin briggs i posted? i really want to make one of those and put it on a drift trike or something (2 5hp engines = 10hp! muahahaha, tires would spin all the time!

 

[redsox985]

I just hope you always center punch metal before you drill. I believe they are supposed to have a little wiggle room so that there is some room for error before something breaks. But once the hole is started, it should stay dead on as it has something to follow now.

 

[r97]

of course i always center punch! then i spend a minute getting the metal clamped directly centered below the bit.

from my measurements i have 0.008" of run-out (doesn't seem like much, but it is) the tolerable run-out for wood work is 0.005" - 0.002", metal work requires closer tolerances.

i have done all suggested tests i found. first was bringing the table all the way up, clamping it firmly, turning on the press, and slowly moving a fine tip sharpie towards the rotating arbor until it just touches, and leaves a mark on the high spot. Next, i measured run-out by clamping my digital caliper to the table, pressing the depth gauge against the 6" mark on a straight rod, then rotated the drill by hand, then did the same thing on the arbor.

IDk, my measurements show the drill bit is wobbling, my eyes tell me its wobbling, i can feel with my hand that it is wobbling, but, it drills perfectly round holes exactly the same dia as the bit, very quckly and easily, making curlicue shavings. as long as the press does its job I'm not going to mess with it.

 

[redsox985]

Unless you're drilling a gun barrel or something of that tolerance, I'm sure it's just fine. Even then, I believe that gun barrels are drilled on a lathe.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

Hang on.. Whats a center punch? Lol

 

[redsox985]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_(tool)#Center

 

[r97]

Unless you're drilling a gun barrel or something of that tolerance, I'm sure it's just fine. Even then, I believe that gun barrels are drilled on a lathe.

no gun barrels, but it seems to wobble so much more than i feel it should, at the same time for some reason beyond me it drills perfect holes.

blue, get you self a center punch!!!!!! the bit will not wander a mm away from where you want it to go.

 

[machinist@large]

no gun barrels, but it seems to wobble so much more than i feel it should, at the same time for some reason beyond me it drills perfect holes.

blue, get you self a center punch!!!!!! the bit will not wander a mm away from where you want it to go.

HF has an automatic center punch on sale right now; item #621 for $3.99. You can usually find regular prick and center punches in the hammer section at a good hardware store. The better ones are made by Dasco here in the States; if memory serves me true, I think the last one I bought was less than $10.00. It's been a while; I usually lose them (or they grow legs:toetap05 long before they are worn out. And that is in a shop environment!

 

[machinist@large]

im really tired paying $13 per pound of wire.

1 pound= $13
10 pound= $60



also, especially because the whole reel is exposed (and may be for an entire year) i added a cotton wad and zip tie to clean off the dust a little.

I'm still surprised that HF didn't keep that in mind when they designed this unit; it's roughly the same size as my Lincoln which came with the necessary adapter with the machine. From the pic's you posted, it looks like all the space was used for the wire drive. Looks like a good start with the adaptation; I know a lot of the others on this site are thinking the same way you are. Maybe this question needs it's own dedicated thread? this seems to come up a lot.


Cotton ball. The only problem with it is that loose cotton (i.e. balls) snags on imperfections on the wire (#1-Rust) and will have fibers dragged along with the wire. The biggest problem is that they tend to build up where the wire enters the liner tube in the gun, backing up toward the drive rollers. get enough of them and they can start causing the feed drive to slip (lack of feed). It's just a nuisance.

Most of the shops I've worked in buy the little felt pads to wrap around the wire, retaining it with a spring clip from the office supply cabinet. Home use- got an old t-shirt that's seen better days? cut a couple of 1in x 2in pcs out of it. Fold into 1in square then fold around the wire. Keep it in place with an old cloths pin or a big paper clip. Best if your matl. is all cotton; nylon melts/ dissolves to easily and might get drawn into places it doesn't belong

To keep the worst of the potential crud off your spool, just cover you machine when you're not using it (maybe throw your welding jacket over it?). I don't think you need to get to paranoid about it; most industrial units have the spool exposed all the time; just put a wiper pad on it and call it good.

 

[redsox985]

I usually lose them (or they grow legs:toetap05 long before they are worn out.

How do you wear yours out? When they get dull, just go at them with a file or very light taps on a bench grinder as not to over heat it and ruin the temper.

 

[machinist@large]

How do you wear yours out? When they get dull, just go at them with a file or very light taps on a bench grinder as not to over heat it and ruin the temper.

When you work with a lot of different materials, the end will slowly get rolled over/ rounded off. To sharpen I just take it to the bench grinder, hold it WITH THE POINT DOWN, match up the angle by eye, and lightly dust the point while spinning it with my fingers. You don't want to get the tip any hotter than you can hold in your hand; if you get it to hot' it ruins the temper of the metal.

I've never had the chance to wear one out- I've lost a few (where I know it was my fault)- the others just seem to wander off. The worn out ones I've used belonged to others. It's interesting, 2 of the punches that went AWAL came home before I even asked if anyone had seen them.(HHHMMMMM:toetap05 The rest just never came back.

If it's $5.00 or less and you can't find it within a day or two, you just break out your spare and add it to the hardware store list for a new one- it's a consumable tool; the shop buys those. (Same with drill bits, files, and grinding/ sanding supplies)