Why we don't fix stuff

[Mad Professor]

Not a lot of folks even know how to anymore, which is sad since it is so useful and easy to do.

Brazing is my favorite way to keep the end of a cut cable/wire rope from unraveling

I spent 4 years in HS metal shop/power mechanics. I learned to use torches: brazing welding and cutting. Stick welding I got good at too. They didn't have MIG/TIG.

Learned some machinist skills: manual bridgeport, lathe, ........

It's a shame schools don't have that anymore.

 

[wildwes]

I spent 4 years in HS metal shop/power mechanics. I learned to use torches: brazing welding and cutting. Stick welding I got good at too. They didn't have MIG/TIG.

Learned some machinist skills: manual bridgeport, lathe, ........

It's a shame schools don't have that anymore.

I teach welding, mostly stick and a little MIG. I don't do much with torches anymore simply because I can't do it on the shoestring budget I am given each year. We also have masonry, carpentry, machine shop, animal science, and horticulture. There are still schools teaching it, just not as many as there used to be.

 

[hotshot]

Mike,

Here ya go $2

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...brazing-rod/fir0/14400434?q=brazing+rod&pos=2

O’Reillys also sells the single 14400432 rods for mufflers, but you got to call your local store to buy, & then they will receive it into that closest store for pick up. Takes 3 or 4 days sometimes

 

[pdqdl]

It was an example, they have a selection.........guess that slipped by ya.

As for price $0.69 I do not think that "sucks"

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...eel-brazing-rod/fir0/14400433?q=brazing&pos=8

Ok. You demonstrated that you weren't paying attention. Let's not turn your mistake into yet another fight, ok?

Besides, at 69 cents per teensy mild steel rod, coat-hangers are just as good and a whole lot cheaper. By the pound, you can also gas-weld some 6013 rod and get a stronger weld for much less.

 

[Bill G]

O’Reillys also sells the single rods for mufflers, but you got to call your local store to buy, & then they will receive it into that closest store for pick up. Takes 3 or 4 days sometimes

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...car-2006-chevrolet-impala?q=brazing+rod&pos=3

They can generally get what I need in a day but not always..........................

 

[Bill G]

Ok. You demonstrated that you weren't paying attention. Let's not turn your mistake into yet another fight, ok?

Besides, at 69 cents per teensy mild steel rod, coat-hangers are just as good and a whole lot cheaper. By the pound, you can also gas-weld some 6013 rod and get a stronger weld for much less.

Hey @rupedoggy see above post the boss has spoken

How is the desert air treating ya?

By the way one of the first saws I ever bought from you just might be heading bacl my way

 

[rupedoggy]

Things are good. Hot August Nights is going on now (classic cars by the thousands). I have ordered the rod and it is here. I just need to pick it up.

 

[Bill G]

Things are good. Hot August Nights is going on now (classic cars by the thousands). I have ordered the rod and it is here. I just need to pick it up.

You can keep the heat. I ran my AC two days so far. Last year I never ran it at all.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Amazon has TIG rod too, delivered to your door.

I've been running the AC constantly, in the vehicles, at work, and at home, for a couple months now. Heat and I don't get along either.

 

[Bill G]

Amazon has TIG rod too, delivered to your door.

I've been running the AC constantly, in the vehicles, at work, and at home, for a couple months now. Heat and I don't get along either.

I rarely need AC. I work in the heat all day so I get used to it but 120 in the desert, nope

 

[OM617YOTA]

I rarely need AC. I work in the heat all day so I get used to it but 120 in the desert, nope

Make sure you fully appreciate that ability. Heat just shatters me, and acclimatization isn't possible.

 

[Bill G]

We got to 100 or so last week and that was a bit rough but this week is beautiful. Last week we had a guy call in to work Thursday and Friday saying it was to hot. Well he knew we were working Saturday also but did not show claiming he did not know we were working. Then Monday he said his car was broke down. Tuesday he showed but we could not work due to lack of parts. I gave him some grief about not being here Thursday and Friday because that makes it harder on everyone else. I did not see him Wednesday or today. I have a feeling he will be the third guy fired from this position in less than 5 months

 

[kanga kuta]

Ok. You demonstrated that you weren't paying attention. Let's not turn your mistake into yet another fight, ok?

Besides, at 69 cents per teensy mild steel rod, coat-hangers are just as good and a whole lot cheaper. By the pound, you can also gas-weld some 6013 rod and get a stronger weld for much less.

Coat hangers in a pinch but they don't have the same chemical composition as a manufactured rod & therefore not "as good".

 

[Bill G]

Coat hangers in a pinch but they don't have the same chemical composition as a manufactured rod & therefore not "as good".

They are not even close as they are made of the lowest quality possible.

 

[HumBurner]

Why we don't fix stuff.....?

Cause greed and corporate interests trump all.

When planned obsolescence became our reality.......

 

[pdqdl]

Coat hangers in a pinch but they don't have the same chemical composition as a manufactured rod & therefore not "as good".

They are not even close as they are made of the lowest quality possible.

I'd like to see someone demonstrate a high quality weld done with steel rods under an acetylene flame. I think it's pretty well established that there are much better ways to get a good weld. You can call it a "reducing flame" until you are blue in the face, but that cannot compare with MIG, TIG, and flux shielded welding.

That being said, many of the early battleships were constructed with gas-welded steel, using sophisticated acetylene generators and a regulated water drip falling on "carbide" (calcium carbide). Still, the strength of the welds simply wasn't as good as arc welding, nor as fast. That technique was abandoned long ago.

 

[Mad Professor]

I'd like to see someone demonstrate a high quality weld done with steel rods under an acetylene flame. I think it's pretty well established that there are much better ways to get a good weld. You can call it a "reducing flame" until you are blue in the face, but that cannot compare with MIG, TIG, and flux shielded welding.

That being said, many of the early battleships were constructed with gas-welded steel, using sophisticated acetylene generators and a regulated water drip falling on "carbide" (calcium carbide). Still, the strength of the welds simply wasn't as good as arc welding, nor as fast. That technique was abandoned long ago.

My HS shop teacher was old school and he could truley do fine gas welds with ox/acet. Sure the chemistry is not there as in MIG/TIG but if you have the talent it can be done in an acceptable manner.

A set of torches are a lot more versatile as you can heat, cut, braze, weld, solder with them. With smaller tanks they are very portable and no need for electric service. I've had my set for many years now, shortly after I left HS. Was smart enough to buy the tanks rather than rent them.

You won't get welds like MIG/TIG or cuts like a plasma cutter.

 

[pdqdl]

My HS shop teacher was old school and he could truley do fine gas welds with ox/acet. Sure the chemistry is not there as in MIG/TIG but if you have the talent it can be done in an acceptable manner.

A set of torches are a lot more versatile as you can heat, cut, braze, weld, solder with them. With smaller tanks they are very portable and no need for electric service. I've had my set for many years now, shortly after I left HS. Was smart enough to buy the tanks rather than rent them.

You won't get welds like MIG/TIG or cuts like a plasma cutter.

I am as good at welding ox-acetylene as anyone I have met, and I have used the coat hangers and the purchased rods, side by side. I like coat hangers better. The fancy rust resistant plating on the rods doesn't help fuse the metals, in my opinion. Plus, it kinda sparkles up a bit when heated. I don't use that method except where I cannot do arc welding, though. Arc welding sucks on rusty gas tanks and exhause systems. Yes. I have welded up lots of gas tanks with pinhole leaks and rusty spots. It's a specialized skill that most welders won't touch.

I have yet to see a plasma cutter that can match the capacity and versatility of my cutting torch. Plasma cutters are great for manufacturing processes. The cuts are remarkably clean and don't contract as much, they gnaw right through any metal they come to, even stainless. They are totally worthless down the square hole from a two-speed shifter in a differential, cutting off a stripped axle that cannot be pulled out. Ohhhh yes! That was a fiery, smoky mess. I even had to by a new torch handle, so as to accommodate a new straight-cut torch tip. Almost all of 'em are set at 90°.

Plasma cutters are not worth a crap on a 2" diameter bolt holding a blade carrier on the bottom of a brush mower on a tractor, either, and pretty useless for anything more than 1/2" thick, too. I'm sure there is a plasma cutter for nearly any situation, but the average guy doesn't have the means for lots of fancy welding stuff.

BTW: acetylene is a bad plan for soldering, too. It's much too hot.

 

[TN Cattleman]

A set of torches are not used as much anymore, with mig, tig and plasma cutters available. I still have a set but mostly cut and heat with them, haven't brazed anything in over a decade. If you can't fix it yourself or by friend, on the small parts, it is usually more cost effective to buy new, if still available.
Seens getting anything fixed is expensive these days.

 

[wildwes]

I am as good at welding ox-acetylene as anyone I have met, and I have used the coat hangers and the purchased rods, side by side. I like coat hangers better. The fancy rust resistant plating on the rods doesn't help fuse the metals, in my opinion. Plus, it kinda sparkles up a bit when heated. I don't use that method except where I cannot do arc welding, though. Arc welding sucks on rusty gas tanks and exhause systems. Yes. I have welded up lots of gas tanks with pinhole leaks and rusty spots. It's a specialized skill that most welders won't touch.

I have yet to see a plasma cutter that can match the capacity and versatility of my cutting torch. Plasma cutters are great for manufacturing processes. The cuts are remarkably clean and don't contract as much, they gnaw right through any metal they come to, even stainless. They are totally worthless down the square hole from a two-speed shifter in a differential, cutting off a stripped axle that cannot be pulled out. Ohhhh yes! That was a fiery, smoky mess. I even had to by a new torch handle, so as to accommodate a new straight-cut torch tip. Almost all of 'em are set at 90°.

Plasma cutters are not worth a crap on a 2" diameter bolt holding a blade carrier on the bottom of a brush mower on a tractor, either, and pretty useless for anything more than 1/2" thick, too. I'm sure there is a plasma cutter for nearly any situation, but the average guy doesn't have the means for lots of fancy welding stuff.

BTW: acetylene is a bad plan for soldering, too. It's much too hot.

I agree.
Overall I prefer oxyacetylene, but plasma is really nice for cutting sheet metal and expanded metal. It will outperform oxyacetylene there with someone who knows how to use it, but that is about the only place it offers advantages with handheld rigs in my experience.