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Posted: 6/28/2004 8:30:24 AM EDT
| How long is the barrel on an AMD65? If I made the compensator permanent would the barrel be long enough? |
| As I recall, the barrel is almost exactly 12.6 inches. the factory compensator adds about two inches, leaving you about an inch and a half short of legal. The Tapco extensions really don't look that bad (at least to me), and I have decided that it is time I learned how to use a Mig welder (actually flux core, wire feed), and I figure Tac welding these will be the perfect first project! Does anybody have any advice on teh cheapo welders they sell at Harbor Freight, I know that they will not compare well with a Lincoln or whatever, but should they be sufficient for my leightweight needs around the house, about the most heavy duty welding I would do is welding in floorpans in an old car. |
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P38, I got one of the HF 85amp gas/no gas MIg welders what i got from them on sale @ $175. I'm quite satisfied with it. But i sugest you to call them and check if they have them on hand. It took over a month to get mine due to backorder... Their customer service also #1. When i got the welder it wouldn't work on 2nd setting (just made electical breaker noise inside the box) so i called them and next day UPS came to pick it up. When the 2nd one came some bozo that was packinging the box forgot to put in the bag with all the small parts and accessories. Again another call and I had it ordered on the way to me. No back talk, no question, or rude comments like you are use to dealing with Joeken, Vulcan/Hesse, etc... halik |
| I learned welding on a little Century 80 gasless MIG. They're decent for doing moderately thick metals and thick metals, but be careful of gasless MIGs on thin metal. If you want thin metal welded, a gas MIG is the only way to go (besides a TIG). The gasless will burn a hole right through thin metal, but will weld thicker metal than gas (with the same amp welder). The cheap little gasless welders are good, I built a couple of bicycles with that little 80 and they still hold up today. I would recommend practicing on something other than a barrel for your first project. Build a cart for it first, then weld on the barrel. Be sure to turn it up pretty high when tacking on the extension, both are pretty thick metal for a little MIG. |
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I plan on doing lot's of practice welding before taking it to anything I plan to keep. So a gasless should be OK on the barrell? I plan on getting a better/more expensive welder once I have gotten good enough at it to have an idea what it is I am doing, and with the gasless sets being less than eighty bucks at HF, I figure it will not break the bank if I discover I just can't get the hang of it, plus I won't feel so bad if I do get good at it, spending several hundred on a good set, being I will already know how to use it. My Dad has a wealthy neighbor who has a side business as a bail bondsman, he gets lots of toys, in lieu of payment from his clients. One day a flat bed truck is blocking the road, so my dad can't get to his driveway, he gets out to find out whats wrong. He finds that the flatbed is hauling a helicopter, and they can't get the helicopter laden faltbed down the Driveway to the wealthy neighbors yard to the spot he wants the helicopter parked. So my Pop asks the neighbor what the problem is, he explains that he had just bought a new helicopter, and couldn't get it down the hill. Well my Pop being a retired (yep you guessed it, retired helicopter pilot),asked the neighbor, what he thought, was a simple question, Why don't you fly it down the hill and park it in the huge flat open area you are haveing so much difficulty reaching with the truck? The neighbor answers "Oh, I don't know anybody who knows how to fly one of these things, and they are tricky to get the hang of your first time", trying to impress the (unknown to him), the old warhorde pilot standing in front of him. So my dad goes into smart alec mode, and asks where exactly he wants the thing parked, then points up to the truck, and says I have drove hundreds of those things, you just hired the wrong driver, neighbor tells him where he wants it, says he would owwe him big, if he could help the truck crew get it where he wanted it, then went in to answer the phone. Next hing the neighbor knows he hears the loudest noise he has ever heard and his walls start shaking, he runs outside and finds the blades of his helicopter (sitting exactly where he wanted it) turning down. I don't want to be the guy with a thousand dollar welder, asking a neighbor how to turn it on. |
| Lightning, you lost me there for a sec. I thought you just broke into storytelling (which is a great story btw), but with a very good point. A gasless welder is fine but requires more cleanup and don't forget to get a slag hammer to get that slag off. I don't know what kind of wire harbor freight sells with their (presumably) Chinese welders, but be sure to get good wire. Hobart flux wire is pretty cheap and available everywhere. Get good wire! It's not uncommon to see a cheap little gasless MIG sitting next to a nice Miller or Lincoln in the same garage. Why? Because they bought one to learn with then upgraded. I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow a cheap one for a couple of months before upgrading to my Lincoln. |
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