Thick. Maybe 1/3" I finished grinding the octo to shape after welding. Tomorrow I'll tig legs on, then grind back welds and give it a sand blast. I need to get a better sanding drum mandrel. The one I have doesn't hold the drum securely. Also need a better dremel tool. The chuck sucks and bits slip every few seconds. Very frustrating. Maybe a foredom?
Good work, that is pretty damn thick! I bet that thing got hot as hell after welding his head on.. (or is it his ass?) Foredoms are nice, but pricey. What I like is having them on a foot pedal. The ones we have in Florida are small and quiet. I wonder if they would have enough balls for bronze work? Polishing a ring shank isn't like traveling the miles over a bronze piece. Might need the big boy for this kind of work. https://www.riogrande.com/product/foredom-txh440-industrial-system/117552 I kinda think a small air angle grinder would be the way to move metal pretty quick on this stuff and cheap too.
Yeah he's a big baby. 18 lbs if I remember right. I don't think it could have been much lighter since most of the weight is in the tentacles and they can't be easily made hollow. So the 1 to 2 lbs saved on the head wouldn't make that much of a difference. The air ones are powerful and are used by foundries for chasing but I can't use a compressor in my apartment. Haha the girlfriend would murder me. I don't mind the dremels, they are decently powerful and reliable, but the chuck sucks ass and just doesn't grip well at all. If I could replace the chuck with one that works well I'd do that.
You ever take a dremel apart? It has some bs plastic hose that connects the end to the motor. Is that would could be slipping in yours?
Hey dude... check this cheapy out... https://www.homedepot.com/p/Professional-Woodworker-1-4-HP-Corded-Combo-Flexible-Shaft-Grinder-Carver-Kit-51984/300227122?cm_mmc=Shopping|G|Base|D25T|25-9_PORTABLE+POWER|NA|PLA|71700000034127218|58700003933021540|92700044083871165&gclid=CMn51s-m2eICFUiewAod50AGJQ&gclsrc=aw.ds OR HF version https://www.harborfreight.com/flexi...d=1654049980&gclid=CNXAx7un2eICFZe6wAodRnoDmw
Nope. The part that slips is the 1/8" shank of the bit in the jaws of the chuck. Everything else works ok. It would be nice if there was a quality chuck like the foredom flex shaft with that cylinder on the end that holds the bit firmly. Yeah I did some reading on those a few years back. Seems they aren't well made (shocker) and tent to over heat to the point where you can't hold the flex shaft.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/0-3-6-5mm-...Grinder-Tool/254009587403?hash=item3b2426b6cb Oooh this one has a key for the dremel. Hmmm. I may get it or something like it.
This is Turing out to be quite difficult to weld. The angles are hard and the wheel is too heavy for the spokes to support so they bend out of shape.
Remember where ever you weld last, It will pull towards that weld. Lots of tacks will be needed to keep it from moving as it cools.
Well that's just great. It already doesn't line up. The 4th tentacle isn't lined up. I can't see why its misaligned. Ugh this is a hard one.
I need to check the other legs when I get back to be sure one of the 3 legs I tacked on didnt warp the entire thing. Maybe shrinkage? I made them slightly bigger than they needed to be to fit over the spokes with some room Update: Yeah it's just the 1 leg that's randomly out of shape? Not sure why but I'll just oxy/acetylene it and bend it into shape. Shouldn't be an issue. You know bronze doesn't seem to warp a lot when welded from what I've seen. Steel is horrific with warping. Maybe it's because of the shapes I weld in steel (flat and easy to see warpage)?
Legs have been tigged on. Just need to grind back welds and sand blast. Then in a few weeks I can polish it up to a high shine. Final weight is 58 lbs.
Sandblasted and ready to be polished to a gloss finish. In a few weeks though. I need to find a polishing wheel tool instead of my bench grinder. Maybe a cotton wheel that fits the angle grinder? Not sure what's out there.
These guys make buffing wheels. http://www.jestcoproducts.com/index.php They made me some 20 ply wheels instead of the normal 40 ply. I use them to get into tight spots. Figure out what you need and give them a call if you can't find it.
There are super fine grain glass beads that will give a satin polish finish, it may be good enough. At least it will reduce the amount of polishing needed by giving a smoother surface.
