Greatest wife in the world!

[FBTRIKE]

Just wanted to share a little something. I've been working on my trike for almost three and a half years now. And due to my disability, it has become progressivly harder to do things and get it finished. One of the hardest things for me to do now is to weld. Because of bouncing vision and my inability to balance, just the smoke and sparks created while welding has made it almost impossible for me to do. The movement of the smoke and sparks makes it hard for me to balance, even when braced and my bouncing vision gets worse due to the strain. Well I came up with this crazy idea that if I purchase a small TIG welder (no smoke, no sparks) and an auto darkening helmet. (Can't balance in my regular helmet, because I need to be able to see to balance) that maybe I can get the trike thing going again. And the point of all this is, that my wife says "GO FOR IT, IT'S WORTH A TRY!" So I have ordered a tig welder and an auto darkening helmet and we shall see what happens. She's amazing in the support she gives me and i just wanted to share how lucky I am!
Oh......and if it doesn't work out and I still can't weld, there may be a good deal on a slightly used TIG.

[Lunchbox1983]

Good story, Good wife, keep it up the reward will be worth the effort

[John Luciano]

We have all that stuff at Lowe's .... Good luck with your project and as the Cable guy would say Geter Done

[Nana]

Freddy, you've got me all choked up! What a great lady you married......you'd better keep her!!!!! And don't forget, my offer to come be your welder still stands! (exactly why is it that you haven't taken me up on the offer yet??????? I am sure I don't understand that! LOL!!!!!)

[ultraboy]

Fred, Congrats! When you get your TIG welder, practice, practice, practice. If you can oxy/acetylene weld, you have a great start on TIG. If pine Colorado wasn't 1090 miles from me, I'd be honored to give you a hand!

UB

[FBTRIKE]

Thanks UB, but Nana might get offeneded if I took you up on your offer, as she has offered many times to come finish up any welding I need done.......:eek: And yes I've done lots of oxcy/acet. and arc welding over the years, so I'll keep you all posted how it goes. Got my fingers crossed.

UB, I enjoyed seeing my shifter extension being made. Can't wait for it to arrive. Thanks again.

[ThirdWheel]

Fred, if it doesn't work out the greatest wife in the world would learn how to weld. Mine would not think of attempting it!! Good Luck, I hope it works.

[Nauga Mok]

You're gonna LOVE that auto hood! I've been using the Jackson auto lenses for about 10 years. The Jackson hoods are pretty pricy, but since I was welding all shift nearly EVERY shift, I felt it was worth the extra $$. Even with the gold lenses my eyes used to get a little "weepy" by the end of a week. The auto lenses stopped that. No more headaches or flashing myself when I inadvertently struck an arc before the hood was all the way down. I especially liked it when welding in confined spaces where I had to have hood down before I stuck my head in like inside the draft tube of a Cat 631 scraper. Only reason to lift the hood was for a smoke break. You'll like TIG too! Didja get a square wave? I'd like to get one of those, but now that I'm retired, can't justify the expense, so am stuck with scratch start DC. The beauty of the Sq wave is it works on steel, stainless & aluminum -- no having to switch to AC & add in the high freq box any more for aluminum. Have you tried MIG welding? Still have some sparks, but much less smoke. Once the machine is set, it's pull the trigger & go. Supportive wives ARE nice to have, huh?? If you still have problems, let me know. I can be there in about a day -- I'm closer than Nana! :yes:

NM

[Nana]

Freddy....... You KNOW you couldn't hurt my feelings if you got NM or UB (or any other of these great guys on here) to help you with the welding! You go for whatever you need to get this trike up and done .

[ultraboy]

Nauga is correcto-mundo. The auto hoods are great. I use a Miller. I wear glasses to read, so I got a 1.75 lens for the hood, so I can actually see what I'm doing, LOL. Love my square wave TIG, but I use the Miller MIG for most quick work. Burned thru two 12 pound spools of solid MIG wire last month, along with a bottle of gas.

[FBTRIKE]

NM and UB, the hood I ordered is a Jackson also. I ordered a Miller Diversion 165, AC/DC, no straight stick function, but I already have an old buzz box for heavier stuff. I can still arc weld good enough to make repairs to my tractor implements etc. but only barely, and don't ask what the beads look like. I have tried mig and although the sparks are not nearly as bad as arc, it still send my head reeling, so after a few minutes I can't even see where the joint is to run the bead. I'm going to try to make an adjustable brace, to kind of lean up against while welding with the tig. Will probably end looking like a monkey trying to do something to a football (if ya know what I mean) but it might work. We shall see!

[Tango]

She sounds like a keeper to me. Tom

[Gorilla]

haa the importance of having a great companion. I hooked mine 47 years ago. We dated for 5 years then got married. I've NEVER regretted it. Congrats you also have a great person to share with.

[Nauga Mok]

5 YEARS?? What took ya so long?? I met 'Pest on the 10th & married her on the 9th! Uh -- 10th of Jan, '74, & 9th of March, same year. Her Feb Birthday present was a diamond -- after, of course, the proper answer to the question that went with it. GEE! Had she said "NO!", I'da been in a fix for present, huh? THOUGHT I'd found a good thing then, KNOW it now!!

NM

[Lil Pest]

5 YEARS?? What took ya so long?? I met 'Pest on the 10th & married her on the 9th! Uh -- 10th of Jan, '74, & 9th of March, same year. Her Feb Birthday present was a diamond -- after, of course, the proper answer to the question that went with it. GEE! Had she said "NO!", I'da been in a fix for present, huh? THOUGHT I'd found a good thing then, KNOW it now!!

NM

AHHHH, ain't that sweet...

[ultraboy]

Lil Pest, get ready, here it comes.....

[Nauga Mok]

:innocent:

NM

[Gorilla]

5 years because 16 was a little young then service, but hey it worked out great.