As much as I admire your welding skills, I am actually just as, if not more impressed, with your fabrication skills. They are inspiring. It didn’t surprise me that you played guitar. As someone who also plays and teaches it, I think the hand eye coordination and sense of rhythm definitely helps with bead consistency. I would love to have you weld up some pedal enclosures and/or a pedal board. Your welds are so nice it would look great. What guitar player wouldn’t want the look of tig welded aluminum guitar pedals? I’m surprised no one has done that before. Appreciate all your videos.
I’m gonna go ahead and let everyone who may be wondering know. I bought the page subscription a year or two ago and it literally had everything I needed to learn how to weld aluminum and I mean EVERYTHING! If that’s something you’re interested in learning I very highly recommend just paying the one time fee. Mine payed for itself in the first month.
Tig button has been a lifesaver. Welding on outer steam jackets on tanks in awkward positons has been a game changer. Its better than all the other brands out there, and ive tried them all.
Howdy! Lifer here, coulda seen this on the website but thought I'd leave you a comment for algorithms sake. My "nice" caliper is a dial of mid-level value but my "layout" caliper is also a dial, came from Harbor Freight and was marked down to $11.95, two years ago. Six bucks a year, and I use them all the time. Interesting instance of path of least resistance, I've only cooked a welding rod that way, I had pulled out a 1/16 then decided to go 3/32, and the sixteenth melted and fell through the holes on my table.
Mysterious Masked Welder, has anybody asked where were you trained to learn these welding and fabrication skills? I went to welding school for 9 months in 2011. I was #1 in my class and I have 10 certifications verified by x-ray and I'm still not as good as you. Great videos💪🏆
From a lifelong Caliper abuser and likewise a life long Mitutoyo owner. I have a Mitutoyo from the 70s it is a normal non digital 150 mm one and it has the 20:1 vernier. I can still reliably take measurements of 0.025 accuracy (when checked by a mircometer or subitomer afterwards). I scribe all things imaginable with it! Steel, non-ferrous metals - everything. Only drawback from scribing is dulling - you will dull the edge after a while so scribing will stop to work as effortless. Do note: 1. I never use the outer edge for scribing only the outer tips - it has two on each side on the "outer" jaws (we call it "beak" native in non English...) 2. I ever use only moderate force - it's scribing not carving! 3. scribing on a colored surface (felt pen, sharpie, marking fluid) is so much easier to see 4. No other caliper stands up to an original Mitutoyo - it goes: Mututoyo on place #1, two empty places, everything else follows beneath. 5. Great tips tho (not sure what the question was for the rocket in the end?)
I've fried a few electronics with my Dynasty..one was a variable speed motor control. This is explained in the Miller documentation. The controller was isolated from the workpiece so this was damage from radio frequency inductance. Good calipers are made from hardened stainless tool steel. Using the tips as scribes will take years to wear.
Was going to say the same thing, carbide tips are an option... I guess my contribution here will be: I have never had to replace the batteries in any of my dial calipers...
I started with the cheap digitals. Used them for years. Never found them less accurate than my mitu’s- only that the mitu’s didn’t require zeroing before every use.
Get yourself a few dividers in various lengths, e.g., 6", 8", and 12". These are simple, rugged and inexpensive layout tools that can be used and abused, re-sharpened hundreds (thousands?) of times, and still maintain their precision. Stainless steel versions are harder than the plain steel types. Give 'em a try and see how you like 'em.
I'm not too worried about the tips of my callipers, I usually only use the flats for measuring anyway. Anyway, there are special callipers for scribing, they have a replacable tip instead of the outer jaw and a roller on the inner jaw. Really useful for scribing like that.
Lol as soon as you said “I had my calipers hanging off the end like this”,I knew where you were going with that…..could be from personal experience,who knows.
I'd be interested in those non working Mitutoyo if you want to part with them. I can use them for parts, or use them as a base to make custom calipers with. I have had to grind and machine calipers for specialty use more than one time. Let me know if you want to sell them.
I’m curious to know where you learned or are you self taught? I’ve never been an aluminum fabricator but I know high caliber when I see it. The best thing for me over the years was working with pipe welders and fabricators all over the country, picked up stuff every where I worked.
Kudos for the skill and love your sense of humor but my learning from is, next time keep your measuring equipment away from welding, Note: a bit too much "This Old Tony"
Less versatile. I don't always scribe with the same side. Having a wheel limits the way you can use them. And I prefer to not have unnecessary tools when something I already have does the job great.
I will be honest; I cringe every time that I see someone use their calipers as a scribe. Just because you can doesn't mean that you should. For doing layout, I spread some Dykem and then scribe with a scribe after I have measured carefully. I learned to do this before DROs existed and you needed to be mindful of the backlash on your lead screws. When you use Dykem, your marks are much easier to see. If you don't want to mess with Dykem, use a blue marking pen but be careful as it is not as permanent as Dykem and easily rubs off.
