We completely rebuild the bucket on my cheap skid steer. Merch: watchweswork.com @snowballengineering Send us a postcard: Watch Wes Work P.O. Box 106 Fulton, IL 61252 Send us an email: mail@watchweswork.com
I have zip in common with Wes. Don't weld, don't own any kind of forklift or skid steer or loader, don't live in rural Illinois. And yet, for some reason known only to the universe, I just can't get enough of watching Wes work. It might be the dry sense of humor, or maybe the way the errors stay in the final cut, but his channel is my hands-down favorite.
I’m a know-nothing, near-retirement IT geek, a Brit, but Wes is right on the money. Watch every one, all the way through. I think I enjoy the humour and cold, hard competency, the stuff he does with probes and waveform analysis? Mind, blown. And yes, it’s very British to be self-deprecating and acknowledge your weaknesses. Very un-American. Maybe that’s why?
I am a fabricator by profession but without any tools or equipment of my own. I really enjoyed this video. And thank you Wes for the shout out to Snowball Engineering in UK. He really a good fabricator but without your humor 😄
well he used to work and have a machine shop, you can't work on those without having the proper good hand skill, at least in the older days when cad was more rudimentary
I just ordered the hexagon from the merch shop. I just wanted to say that I really like the new direction your channel is going in. I can get my car repair fixes with Eric O, Mortske, and Rainman Ray. I'm still waiting for Matt at Diesel Creek to run over his camera. I've been watching since you were in the corner shop and have learned many things from you. The best thing I learned was from the Pontiac Vibe episode where you showed me that we are all just human and we are not infallible. You picked up the pieces and kept right on going. You are a class act, Wes, and I'm looking forward to learning all kinds of new things from you. Keep those videos coming! Chris from Brown Deer, Wisconsin.
Wes this is finally something I can talk about. Stargon came out in the mid 80s. It was supposed to be for high penetration and high depositions. You have to run the machine in spray arc mode and this tears up the tip and nozzle. That’s why you keep getting bird nest at the roller. Stargon is not your friend. The high heat input will cause more distortion and it had a tendency to crack at the welds due to the high heat and quick cool down. I recommend using a C25 a mixture of 75 argon and 25CO2 and run your machine in short circuit mode. You will get higher quality better looking welds although a little slower progress. Also I used to get severe arc burns even through my clothing when running Stargon.Thanks for the content.
@austinxonxfire1621 yeah. I agree, I wanted to know why for myself. I'm quite green to the welding world. Sounds like vital info. Thank you @elevator! 👍🏻
@elevator9592 What is "spray arc mode" vs "short circuit mode"? Are those settings on "high end" machines? I don't recall seeing either on cheaper mig welders. Hope you or someone explains this.
@KStewart-th4sk I've seen where there are no external switches but internally there are wires that must be switched around or some units have slide switches for things like input voltage used. 110, 220v, etc That's a possibility. I can't wait to see what elevator says...
This might help with your sticking wire feed, it sounds like your right on the border of spray transfer which has a high heat input and a consequence is the contact tip overheats and becomes sticky making the wire bunch up just after the pinch rollers, back off on the pinch pressure and up the feed speed a little until you get the sound of sizzling bacon 😉
I wanted to say something but how do you say it without being attacked. Been mig welding a long time and set my wire speed by ear. Maybe his mic picked up wrong but the only welding that sounded right was at 26:00 . Another thing that might affect it is maybe a worn tip. But then I've had times where the tip was double the wire size and it kept welding just fine!
"Build it and they will come" said a wise man a while back. As they say now "Content is King". Really appreciate the change in gear and direction. On a slightly different note the plasma lens shot is one of the best I've seen.
Another strong vote for the Snowball Engineering channel on RU-vid. That kid in the UK does great work and has enjoyable videos. He's a younger version of Kurtis of RU-vid's Cutting Edge Machinery. The young man works hard and deserves lots more subscribers!
The best wire for production runs like this is a 0.9/1.2mm flux cored mild steel one which is low hydrogen - an EG71 or ER71T-GS will do the job neatly. The gas you’re using doesn’t play well unless it’s at a higher amperage (spray transfer) which frags contact tips for a pass time hence why you get a birds nest at your feed rollers. With a flux cored wire, you save on gas and time and the weld is equally as good as solid wire with a gas shield. Your technique is good, the construction exemplary. I love the new profile cutter too. Great content as always. Thank you.
Your enthusiasm is incredible. Your attention to detail is impeccable. I love the variety in both topic and video techniques. PLEASE don't burn out! You're a needed talent!
thanks for plugging Oliver's channel. He is a really talented guy. He should have way more subs then he has now. I am loving seeing your side projects Wes. Keep up the awesome work,
I am pretty sure he has done a video at least in part with his history. That was before the recent transition away from auto/truck/tractor/equipment/etal repair work. I may need to go back and search for it again as Wes and I have a bit in common. Would be nice to refresh on his history. But he has quite the experience in various lines. Maybe Wes will chime in an put a link to the video where he covered why and how his career path has changed. It would be good to watch again.
I've been a professional welder for over 20 years,I can appreciate the sense of accomplishment in building it yourself! maybe not cheaper,but way more satisfying
@@user-ul3vu4ks2p It kind of seemed slow to me. He wasn't entirely showing what was happening when he complained but the last time the wire was welded to the tip i think---around 26-minute mark. After that it seemed to be welding better---i left a comment asking him if he increased the feed but too early to see if he responds. Like the other guy i am not a pro either but it seems to me if the feed was too slow that you would be more apt to have wire sticking problems with it welded to the tip. In our shop we had our own welding pros BUT as a mechanic did some too rather than go get a pro to come do it. Major work, yeah one of them would be assigned to the machine.
@@vg3430 I see what you are saying but you will also not get the "bacon sizzle" sound if the feed isn't set right. Too fast and you are driving the wire into the piece you are welding and too slow you would be having a start/stop problem (if i am wording the last part properly). I thought the speed was too slow. But like all welders know, if you don't have the amperage and feed right.......
You are quite the fabricator, Wes. If you care to, I, personally, would like to see more videos using the welding table and the plasma cutter. THANK YOU for you time to produce great videos.
I have to comment on this - I typically am not a fan of music in videos, BUT… Wes - you make it work beautifully!! Just the right amount at just the right times, and still plenty of just watching and hearing you work without extraneous music. AND… your choice in music somehow always fits just perfectly! Way to go!!! I’m not a mechanic, nor a machinist, but I have a shop with a good lathe and love to get things back to rights. I really enjoy not only watching your videos, but always appreciate the humorously honest comments we all have at such moments. GREAT JOB as always!!!
Time for a new liner. ESAB is the only wire I use. Looks like you managed your distortion really well especially on the cutting edge. I literally laughed twice at your stamped stands. First when you brought them out, again when they collapsed. Snowball Engineering is good. Been watching him for a good bit. IC Weld is top shelf. Issac and his torch (and now plasma) skills is simply beautiful. Real humble guy.
As the CNC fired up for the first time I was expecting to see a complete Watch Wes Work logo. This machine and the 3D printer are total game changers. Together with your lathe you can now pretty much build every tool you’ll ever want. 🔧🔧🔧
I always appreciate and admire the effort you put into these videos Wes. Especially the hand drawn blueprints! 🙂👍 I really dig the "go away" sign! I think you done a phenomenal job with the bucket rebuild. I was scared for you when I seen the saw horses start to buckle *but* I got a good laugh when you chucked them into the scrap bin!!! 🤣 Enjoyed the video my friend. Stay safe and happy wrenching 🔧🔩
I have a tip for ya wes.. as for your MIG torch bunching up...as I'm sure you know but the bending of your grommet boots on each end looked way over 30°. If you bend your mig line more than 30° you run the risk of distorting the liner and / or your weld wire. I'm pretty sure the heat at the mounting plug at your machine is bending over its threshold, and it's probably why your having issues. I can't remember if that was a genuine Miller torch you bought but I'm sure it's compromised. Try building a sleeve of sorts to keep it from bending down so much and I think your results may be better. And your carbon arc problem is 2 things, dirt and not enough amperage. 80 psi air min. And I use 300+amps on anything over 1/4" or rods bigger than 3/16. More amps blows the slag out fast before it can carbon up. Good luck
Wes unless you just have to have solid metal along your bends on something like your laptop stand, then use slots to take some of the strength outta the bend, and if you need it solid you can always weld them back solid again. Saves you from having to fight the metal so much that it becomes unsafe on your light weight equipment your using to make your bends. As far as wrapping your cutting edge around the bucket edges, just cut the pieces off the bottom edge, and weld them in place, because the weld is stronger than even harden steel is. To help with deflection, plug weld it into place first by making holes in the skin then weld them closed to the outer edges your adding to stiffen the the bucket. Great job, and I knew that you weren't about to buy what you are capable of fabricating yourself. Take care, and y'all be well
Wes you might try an oil wiper between your spool and the roller on your mig it might help with the sticking problem. My welding store recommended them. They are supposed to increase the life of your liner. Keep up the good work.
NO....petroleum attracts dust and debris from wire, REPLACE THE LINER if compressed air doesn't clear symptoms , remove liner and clear that tube as well. I have seen the debris from those felt 'wipers' accumulated behind the contact tip.... We had dolts in the weld-shop that thought WD-40 would fix the feed problem..... ONLY A TEMPORARY fix... When you drop steel on the gun hose it distorts the liner, if not actually ruining the tube the liner it runs in... Better to step up to the bar and buy needed parts than waste production time... BTW NEVER use WD-40 ON ANY cable housing. When the light distillate evaporates the gummy 'lubricant' is left behind.... You will apply more and eventually it stops cable travel....
Our mig welders at the shop i worked at all had felt wipers on the wire feed just after the spool BUT i doubt they were oil impregnated. As far as i knew they were just to clean the wire, not lube it. Makes me wonder if your welding store knew what they were talking about. We had pro ticketed welders at our shop, i was a mechanic but did do some welding.
Hi Wes! I just wanted to reach out and say you’re a fantastic light during my week and have been for years. I turn 21 this month and am a full time undergrad/grad student through my colleges accelerated MBA program. With employment law and other midterms breathing down my neck it’s marvelous that I can take a 30 minute break and watch someone as genuinely engaging and inspiring as you for FREE. People like you and Matt (Diesel Creek) sure make staring down the barrel of corporate America difficult but I’ll always look forward to your videos. Just snagged myself a rather heavy coaster too! And to Ms. Wes, my mom teaches 8th grade and it takes a special sort to teach these rascals. All power to you! Can’t wait to see where the channel goes!
Gawd I love this channel and all of your content. I congratulate you on separating yourself and your content from all of the other automotive repair channels. With you there’s always a sardonic twist.
Awesome video and build. I can’t believe that you mentioned bucket rebuilds without mentioning Isaac and his ICWelds channel. Right there in the good ole U S of A. He does some great videos as well. Right up there with Kurtis from CEE
Fantastic series of episodes on the skid steer. A lot more fun for everyone with this approach to a bucket. I can empathize with the amount of welding that goes into one. I built a 5' loader bucket maybe 15 years ago and by the end I was pretty much "welded out".
Came out good. Somehow found Snowball engineering when he posted his first video. Watched everything ever since. Talented guy. Also does a variety of jobs like you. Two of my favourite channels.
I'd say your plasma cut stenciled logo is a success! Completely sold out of both painted & unpainted pieces in under 4 hrs of this video being published!!! Fantastic job on the bucket too. Those welds look phenomenal, and even more importantly, it appears to be ultra solid now. Great job Wes!
@@WatchWesWork nope. A message pops up stating to choose another option. I went back to confirm. Hopefully you can fix that portion on the website to allow pre-orders. Thank you sir! 👍🏻
Wes, I think the company that makes your plasma cutting table, offers a laptop stand/bracket for about $80 bucks….., “but then, where’s the fun in that”. hahaha. This was an excellent video (as per your usual), and the bucket is a piece of artwork, and will last forever. Thank you sir.
That is an awesome plasma cutter, Wes. It's great to see you got new shop equipment. Those metal stands fell apart like sticks. The expression on Wes was like, "Well, thoes are cheap. They can't hold the weight they said it would. Hmmmm 🤔
Plasma stuff looks great Wes! Cutting Edge Engineering out of Australia does some cool rebuilds, hydraulic work, grader blades, do-all re teeth and some cool lathe work. Fixes components for a lot of heavy mining machinery.
Best part of the vid @ 26:42 may have been a little hidden Wes humor if I'm not mistaken, LOL. If it wasn't? I guess it was my sick humor that picked up on it. Great vid Wes! Loving the channel as usual. Fabrication like that is some of my favorite work. And, I don't do it for a living because I do not want to spoil the fun! And, I hear you on the "burnout". I am currently there!
You went with the water table... great choice. It's cuts down on warpage and fumes significantly. They are not fun to clean out, but is an option well worth it. Hopefully your machine has arc voltage height control (AVHC), its a great option when your material does not sit perfectly flat. It keeps the torch from dragging, or cutting too high off the material, makes a nice consistent cut. Love the content and humor (or lack thereof....lol)
Depends on the insert. For an M6 or so then I went to at least 2.5mm. It also helps to get the soldering iron tip designed for that insert as it is easier to guide it properly. Temperature is another factor. You only need what the printer uses to melt the filament. Let the plastic around the hole soften then push the insert home with decent force. Do not use high temperatures and let it melt it’s way in because it will wander big time.
@@WatchWesWork If I'm heat setting them, I put at least 3mm around all sides so that the inserts have something to bite into and to have enough melted plastic to flow back into the grooves... I'd also increase the wall thickness and infill density for any serious parts. Does take longer to print and uses more filament, but if you want parts that can stand up to some abuse, a bit of time and filament is well worth it..
In addition, I found extra success setting the soldering iron just a bit above the melting point of the plastic, rather than wayyyy above normally. If it’s too hot, it melts the whole print
@@WatchWesWorktry tapering the hole 2 or 3 degrees too (they make tapered inserts as well, in my experience the straight ones work in a tapered hole)
Wes, you just have a natural way about you, your explanations of what and how you do it is very calming even if you’re getting frustrated it really doesn’t show. Maybe it’s because you’re the opposite of me. I do admire your abilities and am happy I found this channel a long time ago. I was self employed in contracting for 46 years.
Wes, pleasant surprise of your fabrication skills. Check out Cutting Edge Engineering, I.C. Weld and Fireball Welding to add to your library. Like you, they are great channels. Also, don't forget your buddy Matt from Diesel Creek. I'm sure he'd be interested in your Plasma table.
@Watch Wes Work, I have to apologise, but the moment the yellow saw horses started calapasing and then you sealed thier demise along with the old bucket - I properly laughed out loud for a good 30 seconds. You sir and a little gem :-)
Hello Wes! I am happy to hear you enjoyed this project as much as i enjoyed watching it. I don't know what your soil type or other materials you might be planning on moving with the skid steer, however if more than the soil you tested the reconditioned bucket on, it would be interesting to see what you would design and build for a clamp style tooth bar for your bucket. Maybe that isn't needed for your usage, and that would be perfectly understandable.
Missed ya wes I had a really bad week. Just when my prostate treatment ends october. My kidney got infected, i ended on floor.. Got intubated etc.. heart zapped.. The works.. But i forget it all watching you.. Thanks for the great content
Thanks! I like watching Wes work! I like work in general! I could sit around all day watching work! LOL I want the sign over your door! I NEED one of those! lol Thanks again for entertaining nan old guy for awile.
Definitely like the new format and focus. Hopefully it's better for you, as well. Great content, and I really enjoy seeing you put your skill to work, doing things you enjoy.
We run a crossfire xr at our shop, I put it together and its kinda been my baby. Getting all the tools built out in sheetcam has been fun, and I highly recommend getting some fluid to keep your water table decent longer in between changes. If you have any questions the forums are super helpful! So far the only real issue has been thc not playing well with the limit switches. Enjoy your new table!
The biggest crime on RU-vid is Watch Wes Work isn’t over 1K in subscribers. I truly enjoy every second of the videos Wes producers. His dry sarcastic humor can’t be beat. As it turns out I really don’t care what he is working on as long as we’re treated to his narration. I think Wes could be one of the character voices in one of those animation films. Maybe Wes should get a Hollywood agent to look into it?
@@WatchWesWork I bet every ordinary person who hit it big said the same thing. You are just as funny as any of those old time sitcoms were and they had writers, directors and other support staff helping them. Anyway... I really like what you do.
I have been waiting for awhile for your older stickers to get back in stock and now you have even more to choose from! Your skills and talent are bottomless. I love all of your content. Your videos are getting better and better but the older stuff is great too! Thanks Wes!
Wes, Awesome engineering and fabrication you did there. Bucket came out great. I did not notice any warping in the final result. Thank you for sharing... Dan 😊
Pretty nice job, it came out looking pretty nice and looks like it works well also. I like the fact you made some of brackets and stands to go with the plaz table, good place to practice with the new table. Looked like a fun project to me Wes, glad to hear you enjoyed the process, thanks for the video.
FWIW, those straight-milled heat insets are meant for other uses. To heatset with an iron, look for the ones that have diaginal/herringbone knurling, and put them in with the same sort of temps you use for your filament. A cheap $10 soldering iron with temp readout as dedicated tool and a turned stub for a tip works great. There's also printable baby drillpress-type iron holders to keep things square. Good luck! Having fun watching, am a new viewer.
I am excited about this development. RE: the inserts. I've never had trouble using a soldering iron to sink inserts into printed parts. Were you perhaps at too low a temperature and used more force?
If you make the Metal Hex Logo file available for your overseas followers for a dollar or 2, then they can make it themselves and you don't have to ship it. Great content as always.
Carbon arching! You don't see that every day. I had to replace the gun and liner on my Millermatic. It was doing the same thing. Thanks for bringing us along on the bucket build Wes!
