The Home Machinist!

I'd say you have to get the thicker bracket hot enough to melt/weld. Also sounds like the ground was on the fender rather than the thicker bracket. It has to all be clean, back side of fender too, with no airspace between the fender and the bracket. The fender has to be firmly held to the thicker br...

Do any of these schools/courses have deals with companies like Starrett to get deep discounts for first time orders for students. In some of the better automotive courses places like Mac, Snap-on, offered 50% off on a first time order through the school. For a newbie doing automotive work that was a...

I got one of those small 3 jaw chucks with a 5C neck on the back. Then got one of those cheap 5C block sets, the one with the hex and square blocks for about $30-40. Put the 5c chuck in the hex block and clamp the whole messin the big chuck. Can't tell you the accuracy or runout because usually I'm ...

5$ cheap plastic tarps and a couple of bungee cords.

Another way is to flop the V block sideways and clamp it and the work up in the mill vise.

You haven't lived until you try to build/maintain a single purpose off road vehicle that has all kinds of truck/car HD parts mixed and matched. 95% of the parts places can't cope, or find a part unless you have that make/model/year info. Part numbers by themselves are completely foreign to them.

I'm with Russ. Electric powered water heaters get you into 80-100 amp circuit to ever get a decent flow.Did extensive looking for my son. That was in the 4 GPM area. A friend just had the local gas co come out (for free) and educate him. The decent sized gas ones can typically hit 7 to 9 gallons a m...

Tip turning black and then getting spatter means to me you are losing the shielding gas. Where do you have the pressure set? Should be in the 15-20 CFH range.

Sorry, thought your 'small welding was in the range of 22 gauge or so and thinner down to 10 thou or so. That's what thin means to me. As far as migging 14 gauge I wouldn't bevel it. That's probably why it looks like you are welding too hot. Bet you are blowing holes in it. I don't think about bevel...

Look into the Smith AW1A or the Meco Midget torches. Be aware that will lead you to small, light weight hoses and gauges specifically for the lower gas pressures. I have a Henrob 2000, same as a Cobra 2000, and I think it's way to heavy and clunky to do fine work. Gets real heavy and cumbersome fast...

To the OP, as a hobbiest, I have tried jamming a cheap die on a 1/4" rod and, for me anyway, the rod was too big in diameter to proceed past getting the die started about one turn. As a matter of fact I broke the cheap handle(s) off the die holder using too much force. My conclusion was I had t...

I'm not going to look up the video but it seems to me that you would pick a convenient dimension, easily divisible for the number in question and use that for the long horizontal leg of a right angle triangle. Then draw the 90 degree leg of the triangle. Take your circumference piece of paper and ma...