Collet chuck done, new lights in shop and trying some TIG welding

ER32 Collet chuck done

The socket head bolts came in so I installed them and cut them to length.  The collets also came in this week so I chucked a couple in and gave the new chuck a spin!  Works great!  I much prefer the ER collets to the 5C's (and 5V's on the mill) that I have.  

New metric (M8-1.25x40) socket head bolts installed (and cut to fit lengthwise)

ER32 Collet in the chuck - fits nice!

Video of Chuck construction and running for first time!

Shop lights

I finally got around to putting up some of the LED shop lights that I have had for about a year now!  I dearly needed more light around the lathe and the mill!  Now I have it.

Wow!  Such a difference! I can SEE!

Its like a new shop!  Except now I can see how bad the walls look!

Also, now I can see how dusty everything is!

TIG welding!

I managed to stop by Roberts Oxygen in Frederick Maryland on the way up to the farm.   I got some E70S2 filler rod and a small tank of argon.  the filler rod I had ordered off ebay didn't get to me yet.  But I didn't feel bad about buying it at Roberts since I will always need more!

"consumables" that came with TIG.  3 different size collets, a collet closer, and 3 different diffuser cups - I think 4, 5 and 6

This is still setup with the plasma cutter - but the connections are very similar

Just a front shot of the combo unit

They don't get great reviews - but so far its done everything I need it for!  

Here is the TIG torch with a "red" tungsten tip in it.  I sharpened it myself on the grinder.

Its a "New Century" WP-26.  New Century is a Chinese brand and WP-26 is the size designation.  This is air cooled torch.  WP26 is a larger torch from what i have read.  But by no means the largest.  Size actually isn't necessarily a good thing - it makes it hard to reach into places!

See the "New Cent" logo?

Here is the cute lil argon cylinder connected up!  I had to get a hose clamp to connect it to the welding hose - the little clip they sent let it leak!

Notice that this flow meter is calibrated in L/min?  I didn't at first - I was assuming it was cfh!  I was blowing holes in my work!

Connected up and ready to go!  I wasn't sure how much Argon I would be using so I got this small unit.  I figure if I need more I can always trade up.  Small cylinder is easy to move around!

TIG welding requires very clean metal and close-in work so I set up this table in the shop.

I put a chair in the - it helps a lot!  but can't see the work that well - even with the halogen lights I set up nearby (you can see the glare from the lights in the picture)

The torch, in between tip sharpenings!  I went through about 1 inch of a tungsten electrode during the weekend.  I am not sure how much argon.  So far though, I am not alarmed at materials usage.

Some of my first tries at drawing a bead!  Yes, the metal was clean when i started!  

I tried left and right handed.  There is a surprising amount to keep track of when you are doing this!  Besides the settings for argon flow and amps there is the torch angle and filler rod feed rate and tip "extension" from the cup.

I got tired of cleaning metal so i just used some old bolts

Some of these beads aren't as bad as they look - I hammered on some afterwards to see if that black was scale of just dirty metal.

On the right there you can see that I actually welded these two bolts together.  The welds are surprisingly strong!

Bottom line:  I need MUCH more practice!  I am watching youtube videos like crazy and learning a lot.  However, nothing but practice will get the hand steadiness that I will need to get good welds.

More orchard care

I got out the pole-trimming tool and went to work on the orchard.  I did all of the high cuts and some of the low cuts on a few trees I didn't get to last time.  Actually, I didn't get to the peaches at all last time - and peaches take a lot of trimming!   I finally got to the spraying of the dormant oil and realized I needed to remove the plastic protectors to spray the trunks.  Worked out fine though as a way of marking which trees I had sprayed.  I would remove the protector just as I sprayed the tree. When I was done spraying the trees and grapevines I went back and gathered up all the protectors. The next day I sprayed the cherry trees and removed their protectors.  

I was in a rush of sorts to get this done since the weather report says we are going to have a warm week and the trees might take damage if I do this too late this year!

Septic field concerns

While looking for some papers earlier this week, I found the septic field layout that the original inspectors drew up for us when we bought the farm!   

The drawing shows some interesting things. 

I tried to layout some markers on the ground to get a better Idea which trees I would need to move.

See the little white "baton" in the upper left of this picture?  On the ground.  That's about where the distribution box is for the septic drain lines.

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out where the individual lines were  - I think that this is close to where one of them is. (the yellow measuring tape on the ground)

Overall, it looks like I really only need to move the lower 2 sweet cherry trees!  I will move them all - the lower two are the biggest anyway - the upper ones should be an easier move.  I am considering moving some of the sour cherry trees too - but from my understanding - sour cherry trees are all "dwarf" and maybe wont send roots so far...  I will do more thinking about this.