Yeah, I can totally see why wood framed homes are a good cheap solution for pioneers and settlers, but it's kinda become a bad habit. Over here wood is scarce and expensive so it only gets used for joists and ceiling frames. Straw/cobb houses used to be popular back three generations ago but only hippies build them now. They're excellent technology and can last for centuries, but they do require a lot of care to keep the foundations and roof dry. Stone has it's ups and downs, it looks beautiful, but it's expensive and can be draughty (depending on the mortar, stone houses need to breathe).
Dang. These guys are selling so cheap I may jump on this one just because it's so cheap. I can't help myself. I know what it's really worth so, what's up? It's minutes away and I can get a ride there and pick it up. Resell it for a profit or sell the one I have. Maybe just try it out to compare performance.
Grandad died and the kids are emptying the garage :P
When you wake up tomorrow morning, have a cup of coffee and some breakfast then go online to look for a machine. Don't stop until you are driving home with your new machine, some gloves and a welding hood. Stop by your neighbors and beg them for scrap steel then start having fun. You can start practicing by burning rods on any bit of steel until you can lay down a nice weld bead, straight and even. Practice on at least 1/4 inch steel plate. When one side is full, turn it over. When that's full weld across your old beads. When that plate is an inch thick, by then you will be doing ok.
You're a bad influence sir! I live in a single room apartment full of all kinds of tools. I keep buying more even though I really should be lightening my load to move country. Some deals are hard to pass up.
For your welding hood running stick welding, I strongly suggest at least a number 11 lens. I go with number 12 and that provides better eye protection. People who use number 10 tend to have a short career as their eyes go bad. Sucks to be them cause it's a joy to see the pretty ladies. I'd miss all that.
Hmmm, good advice. My eyes aren't great to begin with and my ears are awful, so I can't afford to play around with that stuff.
The filter lens I prefer is the plastic gold lens. It's the best. You get nice color representation and can see the heat of the metal as you weld. You can even make out the flux cooling on the surface of your bead.
That's interesting, is it literally gold foil laminated onto the plastic? I would've thought that would make everything blue.
Something odd about the gold cover lens. I left one on my dash for months as I didn't need it. The sun some how eroded all the gold. I have no idea how that might be. Mystery to be solved.
That is curious. It can't be UV surely: I'd imagine the arc is emitting way harder frequencies than sunlight.
Happy welding to you, cheers.
Thanks
I want to revisit the phenomenon of wood framed houses in USA, particularly in California and other south west US states and how the trend swept across the USA.
Wood framed homes were already a thing back in early 1900s so it's not like it's something new. However, when I was in Philadelphia and other states on the east coast and south eastern USA, in old neighborhoods brick and mortar homes were quite common, in fact, were or seemed to be the norm. Not to say the gulf states didn't have wooden mansions, etc. They did.
During the Gold Rush and later expansions to California economy and quick rise in population at first it was just cheap shoddy wood framed homes with no particular codes either regionally or state wide.
In my home town there are some houses along one old street that are completely stone with mortar. Built back in the early 1900s. Small single family homes. So that was a thing also.
But, during the 60s of the last century began a massive growth of population and the boom of tract homes. Cookie cutter homes slapped together with wood frames on slabs and stucco plastered over tar paper and chicken wire.
These homes are a maintenance headache. The sewer lines are cast iron and some of the later homes are even worse in regards to sewer lines as the cast iron sewers are made of cheap imported trash steel. The composition is brittle so even trying to repair them is a problem. Cutting out a section frequently leaves a cracked sewer line that allows more roots to invade and crack the pipes. Then people want to plant trees in their yards which soon invade the lines through seams and cracks and cause blockages. Problems that occur under the slab must be cut and dug out.
Then you have the termites that are infesting almost every tract home of that era. I can basically tell you the time frame these cheap homes were built in by looking at them and then confirm it when doing work inside and around the house because I never find coins dated much earlier than the 60's. When stripping out old carpet or linoleum that's what we find under the baseboards. Loose pennies from around 1960 and once carpeting gets installed and coins can't go under the baseboards you don't find any coins later than the 70's. Of course there are records and sometimes stamps on city sidewalks that tell you when a tract home neighborhood went in.
They are all cheap and all have shoddy construction. Popcorn ceilings in every tract home. Why the popcorn textured ceilings? Because ceiling rafters are uneven. The texture is to hide the defects.
Almost all of these homes need the wiring upgraded, termite exterminated, plumbing replaced, etc.
None, zero, nada had the lumber used pretreated for termites.
Back in the 90s I believe California passed a law requiring a home built with straw bales to be granted a permit. Something about conserving our forests. But, developers setting up tract homes are not going to be doing this so the law meant nothing.
It's my theory that the trend to wood frame homes in the USA spread east from the west coast as developers realized how quick these homes could be set up and sold for a quick profit.
The home on a slab to me is another example of the lack of concern for the health and welfare of the new homeowners.
The house I am in now is one such home. The hot water pipes under the slab rotted out years ago and the home owner never realized and not being in plumbing at the time I didn't understand the significance of a comment she made to me at the time back in 2004 when I visited. She said she loved her slab home with it's hot water pipes under the slab because in the bathroom the floor was always warm.
For years she poured hundreds of dollars under that slab in hot water bills for gas and water until her slab cracked and hot water flooded her house one night. Emergency repairs ran to $8,000.00 as her water system was rerouted through the attic using PEX piping. They didn't insulate the new piping so cold water in summer is hot until you run all the hot water out of the pipes. You can go outside and water a plant without checking the water temp and the plant will just cook in the hot water. Believe me, I test the water before using it. In summer the faucets are hot/hot rather than cold/hot water.
I never addressed ear protection. For down hand welding it's not really an issue as sparks won't reach your ears and with your head in normal upright position your eardrums are out of reach.
However, if you are welding on something where you have to wriggle in on your side or something or overhead, ear plugs are a must. Vital. I've had red hot spatter pop past my hood and land in my ear canal. I could hear it sizzle in there. Imagine the damage if it rolls onto your ear drum.
As a matter of habit professionally, I always wear ear plugs but for home welding I don't as I can pick and choose how I weld stuff. Small stuff I can turn as needed.
For using an angle grinder you should use ear plugs and safety glasses. You can pick up a box of nice safety glasses at Home Depot. The code Z87 is printed on the frame so you know it's safety glasses. ALWAYS wear safety glasses when grinding even if you have your welding hood and are looking through your flip up lens view port.
The gold welding lens I mentioned having lost all it's gold had never been used. I had it in reserve. So, it surprised the hell out of me that all the gold vanished over the time it sat in the sun. I can't say how the gold is applied to the plastic since I have no idea. When I have the gold lens in my helmet or in it's plastic sleeve this has never happened. Of note is that the gold coating is just atoms thick.
The gold filter lens gives you close to true color red . Cobalt lens gives a blue color while the common green lens makes everything green.
I live with a friend at his house since I lost my condo and travel frequently. I don't keep tools I am not using or plan to use, I just don't have space.
You can always work with a good friend to set up a garage shop. If it's got a concrete floor that is best.
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