Paradigm shift

Now that I have a welding machine that can weld aluminum my paradigm has shifted. I see the designs in my head from a whole new perspective. For injectors for instance, typically I went from idea to what seals can I buy to how I can make sure that it all bolts together to making sure there was enough rooms for flanges and a way for me to get a pressure transducer in there...

Now, I have a design in my head and as long as I can nest the components I can weld it in place. If I need a way to mount it to a load cell, I can just tack a bracket on after. There is so much more flexibility in modularity compared to the integrated unit conceptual approach I have grown accustomed to.

While my brain is reprogramming itself, I continue to invest in my capabilities. My milling machine on a rolling cart seemed like a good idea at the time but it turns out the cart is a giant resonance chamber. I had to move the mill so why not build myself a crane! Great welding project to keep honing my skills on. While I was at it I figured I'd build myself a shop press as well.

The boom is 2x2x1/4" square tube with a nested 1.5x1.5x1/4 extensible boom and a 4 ton HF jack to actuate the arm.

The shop press part is a 20 ton low profile jack and 2 3" wide by 1/2" thick steel flat bar pieces 30" long with 1" thick press plates.

Capability Upgrades

A lot has been going on behind the scenes. Since my last post in 2017 I bought my first house. One firm requirement was that I needed a shop space.  Welcome to my fab lab.

My 7x14 lathe and X2D milling machine on rolling carts.

185 lb 1/2" plate top 3" I-beam welding table

 AHP Alpha TIG 201x AC/DC tig welding machine

Learning how to stack dimes

Autogenous Weld Shot

I know nothing about welding outside of my 90 amp HF mig welder. After that fell apart, I converted it to a buzz box that barely burned 3/32 welding rods. Thannk god that is over. The whole setup was failry cheap and the AHP welder is a dream to work with.
Totals were:
AHP 201x = $750
Argon Bottle = $180
Antra Hood = $100
Welding table = ~$300 in materials
Consumables = ~$50
I managed to go from nothing to something for less than $1400 total. I've still got a lot to learn but at least I have the tools to learn with.

I will soon start working on aluminum to expand my tool set for my rocket designs.