On Mon, 11 Dec 2017 18:49:30 -0600, Terry Coombs
wrote:

* Well , today it's because I was welding with flux core wire on an
older yard trailer . This thing was a gift , and you know what they say
... anyway , I've used this thing hard , it's primary task is hauling
firewood out of the woods . Tires get green-briar thorns , and metal
fatigues . Well , it's going to be a couple of days until the new tires
arrive , so today I welded up all those fatigue cracks . Also added an
angle iron reinforcement across the front at the top . And most of the
welds had a lot of smut on the top . Because they were burned thru rust
and paint/powder-coat . I don't care what they look like , as long as
this thing holds together long enough to make that 25 bucks I spent on
tires a reasonably decent investment .

* --

* Snag


Im sure somebody will drag open old wounds and pour salt in
em...(grin).....so Ill beat em to it.

I made up a really..really nice spare tire carrier for my old utility
trailer. Milled, lathed, measured to 3 digits..and couldnt get it
close enough to my big stick welder to weld it to the trailer. BUT!
Id just aquired a brand new Lincoln Weldpack 125 mig welder!! And by
Crom Ive good enough good extension cords to use the welder right
there at the trailer!! Im golden!!

So I weld the spare tire carrier on with perfect alignment, making
beautiful welds...beads were looking really really good! Voila! A
masterpiece of the craft!

I hung a Brand NEW D rated 14" trailer tire and Chrome! wheel on that
beautiful spare tire carrier..and headed for LA.

About 3 miles from home..while looking in the rear view mirror...I
noticed the beautiful and properly constructed spare tire carrier and
spare tire..was gone. I froze in shock! Then I noticed a black blob
on the pavement behind me..getting bigger and bigger and my brand new
masterpiece spare tire carrier appeared in the rear view mirror...tire
firmly attached...and it hit the pavement...hard...and bounced
upwards..like a pheasant on the rise...up..up..upwards and out of my
view in the rear view mirror. I never saw it again...though I spent
hours trecking through the sage brush and
tumbleweeds..searching..searching...in vain. It may have reached low
earth orbit on its rise.

Inspecting the weldment...showed that my brand new Lincoln Weldpack
125..had not penetrated the foundation element on the trailer..and the
perfect beads Id laid so carefuly and lovingly..were beautiful pecker
tracks that I knocked off with a chipping hammer. Zero penetration.
Nada. Hardly had even smoked the paint.

So I went back home..beat a new spare tire holder out of junk steel
and rebar, welded it with 6010 rod at full amperage and straight
polarity...then beat the **** out of it with a 4 lb sledge hammer,
trying to get the welds to fail. It held..and has held for at least 18
yrs so far..carrying for all that time...a series of second hand tires
I picked up for $10 off the Used Tire rack at the local mexican tire
shop.

I dream of that beautiful spare tire mount..sparkling in the
sunlight..that georgious brand new D range tire and the brightly
polished nuts that held it to that carrier...still..to this day. My
screaming NO! NO! NO! wakes up my dear wife..who pats my hand and
murmmers sympathy, before rolling over and going back to sleep.