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Metalworking (rec.crafts.metalworking) Discuss various aspects of working with metal, such as machining, welding, metal joining, screwing, casting, hardening/tempering, blacksmithing/forging, spinning and hammer work, sheet metal work. |
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#1
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that
hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. Ivan Vegvary |
#2
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
On 2010-06-29, Ivan Vegvary wrote:
I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. It is just one touch per joint with 3/32" 6013 electrode. Get an arc welder. i |
#3
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
Ivan Vegvary wrote:
I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. Ivan Vegvary sounds like a good fix- it's not hard, expensive or time consuming. the new ones are probably complete garbage too. |
#4
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
"Ignoramus8895" wrote in message ... On 2010-06-29, Ivan Vegvary wrote: I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. It is just one touch per joint with 3/32" 6013 electrode. Get an arc welder. i Hi Iggy! I do have a large MIG and TIG. My experience with OA is much broader, ergo my preference. BUT, taking your suggestion, this time around I will try the MIG. Thanks, Ivan |
#5
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message ... "Ignoramus8895" wrote in message ... On 2010-06-29, Ivan Vegvary wrote: I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. It is just one touch per joint with 3/32" 6013 electrode. Get an arc welder. i Hi Iggy! I do have a large MIG and TIG. My experience with OA is much broader, ergo my preference. BUT, taking your suggestion, this time around I will try the MIG. Thanks, Ivan FWIW, I have two grill baskets made of mild steel wire, each over 40 years old, on which I've used O/A to braze broken spot welds back together about a half-dozen times in total. They've held up now for perhaps 10 years since the last brazing job. However, they're floppy as rabbit ears, now that I've taken the work hardening out of them for maybe an inch in each direction from the braze points. That hasn't hurt their performance. Having arc-welded a bunch of concrete reinforcing mesh using the method Iggy describes, my experience is that there is much less of that softening that results from a quick hit with an arc welder. -- Ed Huntress |
#6
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
On 06/29/2010 10:02 AM, Ivan Vegvary wrote:
I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. If you get $1.79 + materials worth of entertainment out of welding up a basket, then you've hit break-even. -- Tim Wescott Wescott Design Services http://www.wescottdesign.com Do you need to implement control loops in software? "Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" was written for you. See details at http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html |
#7
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
On 2010-06-29, Ivan Vegvary wrote:
"Ignoramus8895" wrote in message ... On 2010-06-29, Ivan Vegvary wrote: I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. It is just one touch per joint with 3/32" 6013 electrode. Get an arc welder. i Hi Iggy! I do have a large MIG and TIG. My experience with OA is much broader, ergo my preference. BUT, taking your suggestion, this time around I will try the MIG. With 6013/stick, it is just a litle bzzz... and you are done. i |
#8
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
Ivan Vegvary wrote:
I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. Ivan Vegvary Concrete reinforcing wire makes great cages . Any size you want . -- Snag Got Guns ? |
#9
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
Ivan Vegvary wrote: I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. Ivan Vegvary Nothing at all "el-cheapo" about maintaining the items you already own and not joining the wasteful disposable mindset. Your welds are also unlikely to ever break again. |
#10
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
On 2010-06-29, Ed Huntress wrote:
"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message ... "Ignoramus8895" wrote in message ... On 2010-06-29, Ivan Vegvary wrote: I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. It is just one touch per joint with 3/32" 6013 electrode. Get an arc welder. i Hi Iggy! I do have a large MIG and TIG. My experience with OA is much broader, ergo my preference. BUT, taking your suggestion, this time around I will try the MIG. Thanks, Ivan FWIW, I have two grill baskets made of mild steel wire, each over 40 years old, on which I've used O/A to braze broken spot welds back together about a half-dozen times in total. They've held up now for perhaps 10 years since the last brazing job. However, they're floppy as rabbit ears, now that I've taken the work hardening out of them for maybe an inch in each direction from the braze points. That hasn't hurt their performance. Having arc-welded a bunch of concrete reinforcing mesh using the method Iggy describes, my experience is that there is much less of that softening that results from a quick hit with an arc welder. Thanks. It is also soo easy. I love 6013. i |
#11
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
On 06/29/2010 10:37 AM, Tim Wescott wrote:
On 06/29/2010 10:02 AM, Ivan Vegvary wrote: I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. If you get $1.79 + materials worth of entertainment out of welding up a basket, then you've hit break-even. Besides, you're saving the environment, you hippie-dippie leftist, you. -- Tim Wescott Wescott Design Services http://www.wescottdesign.com Do you need to implement control loops in software? "Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" was written for you. See details at http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html |
#12
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
Ivan Vegvary wrote:
I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. Ivan Vegvary Why, yes, you are a cheapskate! But you are in good company. I'd weld my tomato cages if I weren't so lazy |
#13
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
On Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:02:39 -0700
"Ivan Vegvary" wrote: I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. I bought the heaviest ones I could find, using four verticals, three hoops and probably nine gauge wire. Still need to pound in a 6 ft T-post and wire it to the cage to keep the wimpy things from falling over towards the end of the season. Huge mess when one goes over... I've had much better luck with 2" x 4" square four foot tall wire fence. Cut to length so you end up with maybe a three foot diameter circle when wired together. Set them over the tomato plant, pound in adjacent six foot T-post, wire to post. Cut tomato "extraction holes" here and there as needed. This has handled 60mph winds without any significant damage. -- Leon Fisk Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b Remove no.spam for email |
#14
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
By the way, I do not use any tomato cages because they all
underperform and make a mess in the yard in the off season. I welded some 6 ft tall supports that I pounded into the ground, put 2x4s on them along the length of the garden, and tie little vertical 1x2s to the 2x4s. I tie tomato plants to the 1x2s with insulation tape. Works really great. i |
#15
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
Ignoramus8895 wrote: By the way, I do not use any tomato cages because they all underperform and make a mess in the yard in the off season. I welded some 6 ft tall supports that I pounded into the ground, put 2x4s on them along the length of the garden, and tie little vertical 1x2s to the 2x4s. I tie tomato plants to the 1x2s with insulation tape. Works really great. i Take it the next step and replace the wood 2x4s and 1x2s with some 4" square welded wire mesh (concrete reinforcing), or go all out and get some grid wall panels from a store closing sale. |
#16
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
On 2010-06-29, Pete C. wrote:
Ignoramus8895 wrote: By the way, I do not use any tomato cages because they all underperform and make a mess in the yard in the off season. I welded some 6 ft tall supports that I pounded into the ground, put 2x4s on them along the length of the garden, and tie little vertical 1x2s to the 2x4s. I tie tomato plants to the 1x2s with insulation tape. Works really great. i Take it the next step and replace the wood 2x4s and 1x2s with some 4" square welded wire mesh (concrete reinforcing), or go all out and get some grid wall panels from a store closing sale. that is disgusting |
#17
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
Ivan Vegvary wrote:
I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. Ivan Vegvary I had the same problem here. Most of the store bought ones are light cheap steel. I found some made out of REAL steel (1/4" stainless) these were mig/TIG? welded and then powder coated as well. They were about 20 bucks each but when you look at the cheap ones and how they bend and rot over the years this is a better use of money. If I had a ring roller and the stainless I would have made my own. -- Steve W. (\___/) (='.'=) (")_(") |
#18
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message ... I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. Ivan Vegvary I bet the new ones have wire that's only half the size of the old ones. Best thing to say to SWMBO is, "I'll take that under advisement, honey. What's for dinner?" Steve visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com watch for the book A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult. |
#19
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
"Ivan Vegvary" wrote:
I own about 80 tomato baskets. These are the conical wire supports that hold up the plants as they hopefully grow. Every year about a dozen baskets experience failure by having one of their welds break. I segragate them and eventually they meet with my OA welding torch and get a new lease on life. SWMBO says I should simply buy new baskets. Most of them are at least 20 years old, back when you could buy them for $ 0.50 each. I refuse to pay $1.79 and up for new ones. Cheap? I would rather spend the money on welding gas. You have tools. You need to justify having them. Did you have better things to do? Now if you are a rich investment banker that could just buy a gross of baskets with what you tip your masseuse, I'd still tell you to use your tools, obviously you need diversions. Wes -- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller |
#20
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
On 2010-06-29, Wes wrote:
You have tools. You need to justify having them. Did you have better things to do? Now if you are a rich investment banker that could just buy a gross of baskets with what you tip your masseuse, I'd still tell you to use your tools, obviously you need diversions. What better way to justify having welders, than welding a garden accessory. I have put in a bunch of welded stuff into the garden, partly for utility reasons, and partly to prove usefulness of welding. i |
#21
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
Ignoramus8895 wrote:
On 2010-06-29, Wes wrote: You have tools. You need to justify having them. Did you have better things to do? Now if you are a rich investment banker that could just buy a gross of baskets with what you tip your masseuse, I'd still tell you to use your tools, obviously you need diversions. What better way to justify having welders, than welding a garden accessory. I have put in a bunch of welded stuff into the garden, partly for utility reasons, and partly to prove usefulness of welding. I love using my many tools, it proves I am not a tool collector but a tool user. If I was still married, I'd be able to say, "See honey, I really needed this tool, look what I did with it". Wes |
#22
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
Ignoramus8895 wrote: On 2010-06-29, Wes wrote: You have tools. You need to justify having them. Did you have better things to do? Now if you are a rich investment banker that could just buy a gross of baskets with what you tip your masseuse, I'd still tell you to use your tools, obviously you need diversions. What better way to justify having welders, than welding a garden accessory. I have put in a bunch of welded stuff into the garden, partly for utility reasons, and partly to prove usefulness of welding. i There are not that many items in and around a typical home that do not have some welded component. |
#23
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Am I being 'el-cheapo'? (metal related)
On 06/29/2010 03:27 PM, Pete C. wrote:
Ignoramus8895 wrote: On 2010-06-29, wrote: You have tools. You need to justify having them. Did you have better things to do? Now if you are a rich investment banker that could just buy a gross of baskets with what you tip your masseuse, I'd still tell you to use your tools, obviously you need diversions. What better way to justify having welders, than welding a garden accessory. I have put in a bunch of welded stuff into the garden, partly for utility reasons, and partly to prove usefulness of welding. i There are not that many items in and around a typical home that do not have some welded component. I think our house has more socks than welds -- and that's not even taking underwear, shirts and pants into account! -- Tim Wescott Wescott Design Services http://www.wescottdesign.com Do you need to implement control loops in software? "Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" was written for you. See details at http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html |
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