Seeing For Themselves.

 Our Location today is Windsor, Ontario.

Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Today started out nearly a repeat of yesterday, repairing the Flight on a Rebuild then getting started on the PTA. There was a change of which Feedscrew was going to be done first however.

I’ve mentioned how critical it is with some of these Hard-Surfacing Powders not to go too wide on the welds because when they get to the Mill the tooling gets destroyed. With the way that the Plasma Transfer Arc will not follow the numerical instructions lately, that were used on the CNC Mill, it has become almost impossible to do a decent job. The alternative, is to weld Screws that even if the weld looks messy, when the machining is completed it will look perfect, without wasting the Cutters.

That’s what happen as far as the big Fifteen Foot job went today, but there is a bright side in more than one way. The first is that it was One of Five Identical Feedscrews. That means by adjusting the numbers on the first one the others will be easier to do.

Of course, as I was about to start the welding process, Pat the Consultant came around spouting more of his words of wisdom. He told Mile that he had to better insulate the Torch and keep the Burners going, Six Inches from the Torch. I asked how he was going to insulate me before walking away from the conversation.

Before he left the Licensed Plumber was there with another modification to the New Burner. It’s an improvement but there’s a lot to be done.

I figured that I did not want another late evening so I got down to business. The moment everyone saw the Plasma Arc they all disappeared outside of the Welding Curtains.

Getting back to the PTA doing its own thing, I was again stuck making constant Centering Adjustments as well as changing the Input Numbers. There were Five Zones on the One Flight and by the time I finished the First Zone I had to stop the process and reset the Oscillator. Even though the Torch kept wandering, by adding Twenty Thousandths of an Inch to the width, the edges were perfect. Mile said it was too wide and insisted I take the extra off. I would later have to repair those missed edges.

When the Torch reached the Third Zone it started to wander in the opposite direction then the First Zone. Again there was another stop required for resetting the Oscillator but when it was restarted, something was wrong, it was actually following the path it was supposed to.

When Vinnie the Engineer and Mile the Owner showed up again, I handed them the Blueprint and asked what the Lead-In Values should be. When I showed them the Values that were Three Inches less, that I was using to make the PTA work, they finally agreed to get it serviced.

That was also around the time the Carriage Speed kept changing. They said I had made the change so I reset it and had them hit the “Begin to Weld” button. When it did the same to them, it was just another reason to get it serviced. Vinnie has been charged with being my shadow tomorrow and listing all the problems that will be sent to the Machine’s Manufacturer.

It was nearly 6:00 when I punched out, but instead of going straight home I had to take the Truck on the Expressway when it started cleaning the Diesel Particulate Filter. The cars behind me on the Parkway didn’t appreciate the Blue Cloud I was leaving them in.

It was nearly 6:30 when I walked into the Apartment and Kathy immediately started serving supper she had cooked in the Crock Pot. We had Potatoes, Peas and Chicken for a hardy meal along with a slice of Lemon Meringue Pie for dessert.

The weather was brisk but is starting to look more Springlike.

Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment, unless it personally attacks someone for their opinion, or is Spam.

Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

You Might Be a Redneck If

You wonder how service stations keep their restrooms so clean.