Hi Hol,
that's a really neat welder! If you want to tune it up and make it work
better, you might want to replace the tube that the wire gets pushed
through. When it develops friction, the drive wheel can't push the wire
through reliably.
Fortunately the tube can be replaced with bicycle brake cable! Just get
some of the good stuff (teflon lined) from a bike shop, and razor off the
rubber coating so it fits in place of the original hose. The welder will
work better than new!
As for the flux-core wire, it is very dangerous to use that indoors,
because the flux is for preventing oxidation - and our lungs need to
oxidize! So it should never be used indoors (and using it outdoors will
require a shield so passersby don't see the arc)
At some point we should talk about making a ventilated corner of sudoroom,
where welding and other fume-producing tasks can take place. Hell, maybe
the Robot will be welding by then.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osErRS4m4S8#t=55
-jake
Hol wrote:
i brought in a small wirefeed welder. it uses fluxcore wire so doesn't
require a shield gas, just turn it on, clamp the ground to your work,
point and click. the wheel that drives the wire from the box through the
cable to the gun doesn't have very good traction, so check there if the
wire doesn't feed. the welder uses 17 amps so only use directly plugged
into an outlet (!!!)
bring steel! the antique saw actually works really well for cutting
stock down to size