YAWC (yet another welding cart)

[Rodsmachineshop]

welding stuff like in picture is why i have a aluminum mig spool gun

[scootarida1]

I recently purchased a I-Mig 200 and I was surprised how smoothly it welded. Even if the settings weren't perfect, it welded nicely.

For the 1" to 1/8" you will want to preheat the 1" or else you will run into a problem of melting the 1/8" before the 1".
Another tip for the boxes you are making is you can get a much cleaner/flatter weld if you cut the metal slightly shorter so the edges are not flush. You can see some pictures on what I am talking about in my thread:

http://www.everlastgenerators.com/fo...-Oil-Catch-Can

This is somewhat harder on 1/8" aluminum but it can be done if you take your time cutting the metal.

[Ray C]

Nice looking job there! Was that done with the PowerPro or the I-Mig? I'm not familiar enough with the styles to identify what process was used.

Cutting the metal... I have a 6" bandsaw so cuts are limited. -Could always trim things down in the mill but that's painful. I'm half-tempted to adapt a cutting blade to the surface grinder so I could at least cut sheet up to about 20 inches. Most of the pieces of the box were drops that weren't perfectly square and I used the best ones out of the pile. It's all good though, nobody's grading me on this but myself and the whole purpose was a simple project to learn how to TIG. At the end of the day, I'll have a good welding cart and in time, I'll go over some of the ugly welds and pretty them up a bit.

Does anyone know of a circular blade that does a reasonable job of cutting aluminum?

I recently purchased a I-Mig 200 and I was surprised how smoothly it welded. Even if the settings weren't perfect, it welded nicely.

For the 1" to 1/8" you will want to preheat the 1" or else you will run into a problem of melting the 1/8" before the 1".
Another tip for the boxes you are making is you can get a much cleaner/flatter weld if you cut the metal slightly shorter so the edges are not flush. You can see some pictures on what I am talking about in my thread:

http://www.everlastgenerators.com/fo...-Oil-Catch-Can

This is somewhat harder on 1/8" aluminum but it can be done if you take your time cutting the metal.

[Rambozo]

Does anyone know of a circular blade that does a reasonable job of cutting aluminum?

Virtually any woodworking tools can be employed on aluminum. A table saw is great for slicing up sheets, and even a Skillsaw does fine. A miter saw can cut small stock to length. As with wood, carbide blades will have a longer life. A coolant/lubricant will also help. WD-40 or ATF work well. The old timers love kerosene mixed with lard oil for aluminum. I've found nothing better than Tap Magic for aluminum.

[Ray C]

I'll give that a try with rough cuts done with plasma (as the sheets are 4' x 4') and finish with a table saw. -Am not really fond of using the surface grinder for this purpose as, it's a 1940's Brown & Sharpe #2 that's been completely rebuilt. It holds ten thou across the entire table and want to keep it that way.

Over the years, I've found WD-40 to be suitable for most purposes and usually buy it by the gallon (Much Cheaper that way). In my area there's a discount store called "Ollies" that sells something called PRO-10 -basically identical to WD-40 and cost a $1.50 for 16oz aerosol cans. For milling aluminum, WD works fine for me. I rarely use coolant on the lathe or mill because my production is so low and, since all my work is one-off stuff, I need to see the piece which you cant really do with coolant running.

BTW: I once saw a chemical analysis of WD-40 published by a trade magazine that sent it to a lab... LOL, it's rougly (from memory) 40% kerosene, 40% light mineral oil and 20% surficants and silicone.

Virtually any woodworking tools can be employed on aluminum. A table saw is great for slicing up sheets, and even a Skillsaw does fine. A miter saw can cut small stock to length. As with wood, carbide blades will have a longer life. A coolant/lubricant will also help. WD-40 or ATF work well. The old timers love kerosene mixed with lard oil for aluminum. I've found nothing better than Tap Magic for aluminum.

[Rodsmachineshop]

http://www.lowes.com/pd_349243-29990...la&cagpspn=pla

[everlastsupport]

http://www.lowes.com/pd_349243-29990...la&cagpspn=pla

I might have to try one of those myself, always wanted the rage saw but all the bad press kept me away.. It says 3900PRM, will have to check the speed on mine. I have a variac (18 amp at 110vac) I could try it wit that too.

I was once told put the blade on backwards for aluminum. Never tried it. Don'r recall who told me either.

We use WD-40 for all cutting and drilling. Sometime Blast when it is closer to grab. I know old school types liked ATF and acetone mix for a lube/rusted parts, not sure acetone and sparks (steels) are a good idea though.

[Ray C]

Honestly Mike, I'd be a little worried about running carbide backward. Those little tips are silver soldered on and I can see one busting loose and coming at you at around 1200 f/s. I accidentally ran a 5 point carbide indexed surface mill backward once. Within a split second, two of the inserts snapped off. Thank heavens they went into a wall and not in my guts. First thing I did was pull up my shirt to look for an entry wound.

I'm not sure what RPM most wood table saws run. I know my chop saw is much faster at some even or odd multiple of 3600. That blade has a max of 3900 which indicates its setup for a standard 3600 RPM motor so, if the table saw runs at 7200 (which is darn fast) you'll need that variac for sure. Pretty sure I have a spare VFD laying around so I might need to do the same thing.

I might have to try one of those myself, always wanted the rage saw but all the bad press kept me away.. It says 3900PRM, will have to check the speed on mine. I have a variac (18 amp at 110vac) I could try it wit that too.

I was once told put the blade on backwards for aluminum. Never tried it. Don'r recall who told me either.

We use WD-40 for all cutting and drilling. Sometime Blast when it is closer to grab. I know old school types liked ATF and acetone mix for a lube/rusted parts, not sure acetone and sparks (steels) are a good idea though.

[Rambozo]

I'm not sure what RPM most wood table saws run. I know my chop saw is much faster at some even or odd multiple of 3600. That blade has a max of 3900 which indicates its setup for a standard 3600 RPM motor so, if the table saw runs at 7200 (which is darn fast) you'll need that variac for sure. Pretty sure I have a spare VFD laying around so I might need to do the same thing.

Most 10" tables saws run around 4000 - 5000 RPM which is fine for aluminum. That Rage blade Rod linked to needs to run slower because it can also cut steel. For aluminum you can just use a standard carbide blade made for wood. Blades with more teeth spread the cutting forces out and work best. I like the older Black & Decker Piranha blades with the curved carbide inserts. I don't think they make them that way anymore, but you might still find some around. Smaller saws run a little faster while bigger run slower to keep the same SFM. It helps to have a zero clearance insert on your table saw, for thin material. For smaller pieces you can also use a slitting saw in a mill, since you mentioned you had one.

As you figured out, never run a cutting tool backwards, or feed the stock backwards into the blade.

[Ray C]

And just for completeness, here's the latest pic of the welding cart with some front hooks and boxes mounted and a tie-down for the Green Hulk. I knew I'd find a purpose for that piece of coated cable that's been in the shop for the last 5 years...

Just as I feared, the cart "over-runneth" with stuff. Need to put some boxes on the back and a filler-rod rack under the top shelf... Probably 1-2 years from now, I'll be done with it