Progress is slow, and steady, but over the past week I managed to fire up the welder in my new Brisbane-based workspace. All my tools, powered and not, have been loaded into the tool chest I bought, and it has been placed under the workbench I also bought. From here, the next stage is to fabricate legs, with new baseplates that can bolt-on in place of the casters on the tool chest., so it can be levelled on the floor, a tad lower under the workbench.
It was a tense experience, getting the welder back into service after four of so years idle. However, once I went through the instructions, replaced an o-ring on the regulator, and brought the helmet’s settings under control, things started working out correctly.
My biggest problem is that the gloves are too baggy, they rob me of all my dexterity. Small welding gloves are very rare. I’d also like to scope out a smaller TIG torch. I have a very strong feeling that the tools I’m using are making it hard for me to learn the muscle skills necessary to use them correctly.