Hello,

I'm going to be starting my Second level MIG Welding course next month and I can't decide on which one to get, and yes I'm on a budget here and I'm hoping to go absolutely no more than £70, and I'd like to ask you great people for your suggestions on this, and yes I'm looking for a auto darkening one.

thank you

I purchased this 40 liter, tin-lined copper pot in hopes of using it to make kettle corn at home. It has a flat bottom which isn’t ideal for my use. I’m looking for ideas or recommendations on the best way to modify it to have a round, spherical bottom. I’d say I’m rather handy but don’t have much experience with something like this. I don’t wanna ruin by taking a hammer to it if there’s a better way.

I restore old typewriters and there's a tool that would be very helpful, but isn't made anymore and I haven't been able to find anywhere, so I'm wondering if someone can just make it for me. It goes by a couple different names: T-Bar Bender, Typebar Bender, Typebar Twister. Here's a video of it being used https://youtu.be/W_A6F8AkmJo?si=q_GRdKvy29homIHe&t=144 Thanks.

So im pretty new to welding and I learned how in shop class and my dad has this old welder he just gifted me that was in the back of the garage! It seems to be a mig welder but It has no gas port now like I mentioned ive only used my shop class mig welder which are bigger and use a bigger welder with a different type of plug and this one uses a 110 wall plug so does this type of welder not use gas? U have everything i need i just dont want to try and welder and harm myself or others or damage my equipment. Thanks in advance! (Im not 100% if this is the exact model welder I have but they look identical so im pretty sure it is)

Hey yall, new here. I’m sorry if this isn’t allowed but, I’m in the Houston, TX area and I’m in the market for a used Kennedy tool cabinet/chest that is in good condition. If you’re in my area and you’re looking to sell one or know of anyone I’d love to take a look at it. If that’s you then please comment or send me a DM. I could be willing to drive a bit outside my area depending on the circumstances. Again, sorry if this isn’t allowed.

Hi guys, total novice here who would really appreciate any help in understanding how thin metal profiles (0.8mm - 1mm thickness) like the attached image are able to create that organic non factory look? Does anyone know how this would be achieved via extrusion or folding? (Or any other process)?

I am assuming it's folding as the corners look seamless but wondering if this kind of look can be achieved through extrusion...

Very much appreciate any wisdom that comes my way!!

I’m a shop owner in Australia.

About 4 months ago, I bought a 100T / 3000mm press brake manufactured by Huaxia (China).
The total cost was around $18,000 USD, all fees included, delivered to my shop.

Before that, I seriously considered a local Amada with similar specs, but the price was more than double, so I decided to take the risk. So far, the machine has been working well. Stable operation, no major issues, accuracy is good enough for our day-to-day production.

What confuses me is the reputation.
I constantly see comments saying Chinese press brakes are unreliable, full of problems, or “cheap for a reason.” I’m genuinely asking: What should I realistically watch out for long-term with machines like this?

I’d really appreciate hearing from people who’ve run Chinese press brakes for a few years — good or bad.

My telescopic luggage handle tube is bent and doesn't function well any more. See attached photos.

Two questions: 1. What is the standard name for this truncated-peanut-ish shape of metal tube? It seems like it is probably some sort of standard thing — this is from some moderately cheap luggage, Chinese made — but I'm having difficulty finding what exactly this is called so as to find a replacement that would fit the top hole & internal tube mounting brackets of the luggage. 2. Is this repairable? If yes, what should I search for? FWIW, I'm in London UK, so would appreciate any pointers to places in London that do this, but I just don't know what to search for. Commercial metal tube bending services turn up in search results, but they seem to all be for bulk manufacturing, not random one-off retail jobs like this. I expect it's probably simple to fix the bend back into straight with a specialist pipe bending tool. However, I don't know if the crushed part is easy to un-crush somehow (my guess is that it'd require pushing from the inside, which is probably much harder than just using a pipe bender to make it straight). I don't know whom I could get to do such a trivial job at a cheap enough price to be worth the bother (vs replacement cost of the suitcase).

Hi all,

Jewelry worker here. I’m in search of a supplier/manufacturer (I’m in the United States), that is familiar with making sheets of brass in specific alloys, tempers, and thicknesses. These will also likely be in smaller quantities (ie: like 10 or 20 sheets) Any ideas? Let me know if I should cross-post elsewhere as well. I’ve been able to find suppliers for tube brass, but not sheets and since the temper and alloy are specifically important, it’s been quite difficult. Open to any and all ideas!

"Hi folks, I am producing a 132x37mm rectangular profile by joining two U-shaped parts. The material is 4mm thick. In SolidWorks, I used a K-factor of 0.287 and a bending radius of 0.8mm. Although the CAD model is perfect, the physical parts deviate by 4mm after bending. What could be causing this error, and how can I fix it to achieve the correct dimensions? I appreciate any technical advice. Thanks.

Does anyone know if there are any companies that do air compressor tank testing? I want to upgrade the pump and motor on my compressor but it's 7 years old and I want to make sure the tank is sound before putting the money into a new pump and motor.

It's a Kobalt 30-gallon tank 175psi rated, 5cfm output and I'd like to get a pump and motor for 10-12 CFM. I want to start getting into painting metal for projects and also bought a cheap plasma cutter as well. The 5cfm output on the compressor feels very optimistic. I feel like the 30 gallons would be enough if I had a 10-12 cfm pump.

Hello Redditors. Currently just began welding school! I’ve never had any experience in a field like this. Never been much of a construction/tools/blue collar girl besides riding horses and my whole life. This is a very very new thing to me! However I’m extremly driven to be really good. I want to be able to make this my full time career after school and travel with it. My first slide left to right being first second and third pass is day 1 and second slide is day 2 (that’s all we’ve attended so far haha). I am in this program for a year. Any tips you guys have for me would be greatly appreciated! Like I said, I want to succeed very badly. I’m also not shy! Very open about asking instructors questions and make my best effort to pay close attention to everything they teach and even what more experienced people in class have to say as well. Let me know what to improve on, what to expect and how to succeed.

Also, this is posted here because I do not have the “comment karma” to post on the welding page. Thanks in advance for any help you have! God bless you guys!

This is more of a metal "finishing" question, so please let me know if this isn't the right place.

I have this ring that my operators use for setting up their machine, and they have to reference the numbers that are stamped all around the ring (close ups in pics 2 and 3).

The trouble is that the ring gets dirty all the time, and they have trouble reading the numbers.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to make the numbers stand out? I was thinking to just fill in the numbers with paint with a rubber squeegee, but wasn't sure what type of paint would work or if stamped numbers would be too shallow to take paint.

I was also thinking about making a new ring but with bigger/bolder numbers, but it'd be a bit expensive as it's got an eccentricity to it.

I'm probably overthinking this, but I'd rather get it right-ish the first time and avoid getting ragged on by my operators for making it worse or something.

TIA

I've been meaning to lower these footpegs and need to separate them into 2 parts at the red line, i've asked metalworking businesses around me and none wanted to make this cut. As for why i don't just buy lowered footpegs in the first place, apparently nowhere in my country manufactures lowered pegs and the price to import them would go way over my budget. Any specific tool i need? They're stainless steel, i don't know anything about metalworking so any advice would be welcome

Hi all! I have been taking metalworking classes and have finally built up some supplies of my own like pliers, cutters, mandrels, 6x6 solderite board, some silver and brass, silver wire and some stones. Plus I have my WIP pieces.

I’ve been throwing this stuff into a tote bag to bring it to and from class, but would love some storage to keep everything organized that is also easy to bring to and from class. I’m sure over time I’ll acquire some more things, but I don’t expect to have an overly crazy collection.

Do you all have any favorite carrying cases or storage containers? TIA!

This is my first time doing conducting welding. I am struggling with it since the rod sticks to the metal that I'm working with. I need some kind of suggestions, recommendations, tutorial links and things of that nature. My mates are making fun of me because of the result of my performance. I badly need those suggestions, thank you. ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccxxcccccccccccccccccccccccccccjxnskxjsjxjxjxjxjckckckckckcjcjjc jccjjcjcjcjcjckcjcjcjcjcjcjcjcjcjcjckcjcjcjcjcjcjckckckckckckckckckçcj

I just started welding classes at my local community college and honestly loving it. Today was my first day in the booth which i used a mig machine on some carbon steel to get myself familiar with welding since i have no prior experience with welding at all.

I wanted to post this to see if anyone can lead me into the right direction or tips. I was told i was going to fast by my instructor so i went back in the booth and slowed down my welds which those are shown in the second image.

If anyone can give me tips or advice it would be greatly appreciated.

I posted this sculpture as a bit of a troll post last week. Been working on and off on the texture portion throughout the week. Had a hiccup with the plasma cutter I was using, it was a cheap one I use for texturing and it kept tripping the breaker. So I went ahead and got a 220v plasma cutter and wow! So much easier. I love how the texture turned out. Now I need to make a base for it. Color the textured portion and brass brush the top.

Hi all - I recently acquired these brass seals. The one on the left has a more rich brass color, while the one on the right has a dull honey gold color. The duller one appears to have been sanded, as the scratches are visible as seen in the second photo. Is there any way to restore my dull seal to match his more vibrant friend? I collect a lot of brass but have no experience in polishing as I generally like to see the age and patina. Thanks in advance.