From Lincoln Electric A Guide to Aluminum Welding Reprinted courtesy of Welding Design and Fabrication magazine. Equipment Selection, Material Prep, Welding Technique... A Guide to Aluminum Welding Reprinted courtesy of Welding Design and Fabrication magazine. Follow the rules of thumb offered here for selecting welding equipment, preparing base materials, applying proper technique, and visually inspecting weldments to ensure high-quality gas-metal-and gas tungsten-arc welds on aluminum alloys. Even for those experienced in welding steels, welding aluminum alloys can present quite a challenge. Higher thermal conductivity and low melting point of aluminum alloys can easily lead to burnthrough unless welders follow prescribed procedures. Also, feeding aluminum welding wire during gas-metal-arc-welding (GMAW) presents a challenge because the wire is softer than steel, has a lower column strength, and tends to tangle at the drive roll. To overcome these challenges, operators need to follow the rules of thumb and equipment-selection guidelines offered here... Gas-metal-arc-welding: Base-metal preparation: To weld aluminum, operators must take care to clean the base material and remove any aluminum oxide and hydrocarbon contamination from oils or cutting solvents. Aluminum oxide on the surface of the material melts at 3,700 F...

Written by Craig Pike Once in a while, some new car technology comes by that’s worth knowing about. The first time I saw that “Around View Monitor” or AVM in the 2008 Infiniti EX35, I was blown away. Before I go much farther, here’s where Infiniti started, with their Infiniti-marquee concept sketch: The car’s well designed on the outside, but I’m writing about what’s inside. In a natural progression, parking safety or near car "visualization" has moved from rear sonar to front & rear sonar to back-up camera. From their, we make the giant leap to AVM or Bird’s Eye camera as I’ve been calling it. Check out this video: How’d they do that? The EX35’s got 4 cameras now, mounted as show in front, rear and each side view mirror. The end result is a computer enhanced, 360 degree view around the car as if looking from above. It makes parallel parking a breeze and you’ll never have to worry about backing over something unseen from the driver’s seat. I think with a view like this, my wife might not park too close to my hot rod in...

Some how while trying to make this website and taking care of my family, I'm also working on my Pinto Powered 27 Ford Roadster, "Bonnie". I thought I'd update everyone on the progress. I'm doing this so that all of the 230 users of My Ride is Me will do the same! We're talking to our web designer about how to show EVERYONE's blogs all in one place. That way, we can all keep up with what's new. First off, here's the car... if you haven't seen it yet, I haven't done enough self promotion! (hardly possible) This is what it looked like before the 2006 Goodguy's show. That red paint you see on the header is GONE (as soon as it got hot!) and the car hasn't been that clean since! Plus, the paint (primer really) had faded here and there unevenly, so here's what I'm trying to finish before the show: 1) Custom dual Weber 44 IDF carbs. Here's a few pics: The idea here is best said by the guys at Inglese: Weber-carbureted engine to idle smoother, have a slicker "feel" to it a low speeds...

Welding to Win with Joe Gibbs Racing® Courtesy of Lincoln Electric Hidden along a tree-lined parkway of unmarked office buildings in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, lies a brand new steel-and-glass white structure that could be home to any number of corporations in any industry. But through the main door it becomes clear that this is something more than an insurance agency or software firm. It's home to Joe Gibbs Racing®, bejeweled in trophies, racing jackets and display cases literally filled with artifacts from the nation's fastest growing sport. Past the receptionist, across the main lobby, an observation deck overlooks one of the most advanced auto shops in the world. Through a panel of high windows is a conspicuous absence of grease stained floors and stray tools. Instead, the vast open space of more than 150,000 square feet shines in pristine white and better resembles an operating room than a fabrication shop. It's a virtual racecar laboratory, where engineers work side-by-side with master fabricators to create the fastest machines possible within the guidelines established by their sport. Those team fabricators, in turn, rely on the welding experts at Lincoln Electric®...

Ever wondered what it looked like inside the cylinder of your favorite hot rod or sport bike? Check out this video: High Speed Video of 4 Stroke engine   SORRY! The video was made private....

Courtesy of Lincoln Electric TIG WELD 4130! The Lincoln Electric Company, Welding Services. June 2000 Yes, you can TIG weld 4130 tubing up to .120" wall thickness easily with the techniques and procedures described in this bulletin. Answered are the top ten most frequently asked questions about TIG welding 4130 Chrome-Moly. These attached procedures apply to typical sporting applications such as experimental airplanes, racing car frames, roll cages, go-carts, bicycles, and motorcycle frames. The suitability of these techniques and procedures must be evaluated for your specific application. Q. Can I weld 4130 using the TIG process? A. Yes, 4130 Chrome-Moly has been TIG welded in the aerospace and aircraft industries for years. As with all welding, proper procedures and techniques must be followed. Q. Do I need to pre-heat? A. Thin wall tubing (< 0.120" wall) applications do not typically require the normal 300ºF to 400ºF pre-heat to obtain acceptable results. However, tubing should be at room temperature (70ºF) or above before welding. Q. What filler material do I use? A. Although there are several good filler materials, ER80S-D2, is one you should consider. This filler material is capable...

Plasma Cutting: Determining if it's Right for You and What to Look for in a Machine Introduction Do you need a cutting tool for occasional repair and maintenance work? Have you recently embarked on a new project that requires higher cutting volumes? Or, are you looking for a new alternative to your current mechanical saw? All of these scenarios provide great reasons to investigate plasma cutting. With the cost of machines on the decline, smaller-sized, portable machines flooding the market and technology offering increased benefits and easier usage -- it may be time to take a serious look at plasma for your cutting applications. The benefits of plasma cutting include ease of use, higher quality cuts and faster travel speeds. What is Plasma Cutting Technology? In simplest terms, plasma cutting is a process that uses a high velocity jet of ionized gas that is delivered from a constricting orifice. The high velocity ionized gas, that is, the plasma, conducts electricity from the torch of the plasma cutter to the work piece. The plasma heats the workpiece, melting the material. The high velocity stream of ionized gas mechanically blows the...

How To Successfully Weld Aluminum with a Compact MIG Welder from Lincoln Electric By Jim Harris®, Product Manager, The Lincoln Electric Company and Frank Armao, Group Leader, Non Ferrous Applications, The Lincoln Electric Company When it comes to welding aluminum items around the home or garage, there are a few misconceptions we hope to clear up: 1) That you need to invest in a $4,000 welding machine and be highly skilled to have success; 2) With no practice you can make excellent welds the first time the wire feed welder is taken out of the box; and 3) You need an expensive spool gun suited for aluminum. The truth is that with practice, the right equipment and proper set-up, a compact MIG welder will be able to tackle occasional aluminum welding jobs. Using your MIG welder, you will be able to work on a variety of items around your home and yard, such as grills, railings, backyard furniture, boat docks and even decorative elements. Compact MIG welders, such as the SP, Weld-Pak or Pro models from Lincoln Electric, are available at distributors and retail outlets. A Word About Aluminum...

Dig these custom shift knobs a buddy's making. Using bronze casting skills on aluminum items for his interior shop helped build his sculpting skills until it was obviously time to make a custom cast shifter knob for his car. Over a dozen original design skull shifter knobs later, his car never got one! Since becoming a professional caster my buddy has earned praise from several hot rodders he respects and is proud to say that the artwork can be found in 31 states and 6 foreign countries. The skulls have a certain level of artistic quality to them. Aside from their historical accuracy, they are set apart from some of the "cartoony" skulls out there, by avoiding excessive exaggeration and including some subtle emotion or energy into each one. However, wanting to grow as an artist, an idea from an early brainstorming session came to life... a pinup girl knob! The goal: Make a piece that not only would look attractive in a car, but would also stand on its own above the “lo-brow” genre as a piece of art. Here it is: They say a gentleman never tells,...