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Lathe Backsplash

phaxtris

(Ryan)
Premium Member
Premium Member
A little something ive thought about doing for a while now, probably should have been doing my taxes....my version of procrastination i guess

Im not quite as anal as @SomeGuy about a clean shop, but even for me the constant mess behind the lathe has been nagging, so time to fix that....and more enjoyable than taxes!

Ive had 3/4 of of a sheet of 16g sitting behind the lathe for a while now from another project, and some off cuts of .100" from yet another project, the side plates i made from the .100 and the backsplash from the 16g. Sorry no weld porn, I ran out of gas just as i hit my stride, switched to my second bottle only to find out that bottle is contaminated :mad:, i had suspected that was the case, but had been using this bottle for steel/stainless, a contaminated bottle is less problematic with steel/stainless vs aluminum (pretty much un-useable)

The mess...
IMG_20230318_165808_210.jpg

A support bar, drilled and tapped into the castings
IMG_20230318_200519_573.jpg
Side plates, cardboard template, cut by hand, the sheet of 16g
IMG_20230318_171721_206.jpg IMG_20230318_175204_667.jpg IMG_20230318_180939_944.jpg
And the completed backsplash, drilled and tapped into the head casting at the top, and an angle drilled and tapped into one of the legs and the far end, and some holes for tooling as well!
IMG_20230318_204201_692.jpg IMG_20230318_211630_506.jpg
 
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JustaDB

Ultra Member
I have mixed feelings about putting a backsplash on my lathe. I like the "open" feel to it and, while chips do get behind the lathe, the way I have it located, away from the wall, I have a path both in front & behind it. As such, cleanup isn't a big deal.
 

phaxtris

(Ryan)
Premium Member
Premium Member
Gotta love having a brake that can do that size of sheet metal, well done!

Thanks, and to think i almost sold it more that once !

I have mixed feelings about putting a backsplash on my lathe. I like the "open" feel to it and, while chips do get behind the lathe, the way I have it located, away from the wall, I have a path both in front & behind it. As such, cleanup isn't a big deal.

Thats the way to go if you have the space!
 

6.5 Fan

Ultra Member
Premium Member
Damn it man, do your taxes. How will boy blunder carry on if you don't do your part. Hey maybe a refund is in order.o_O
Nice work on the back splash.
 

Hruul

Lee - metalworking novice
Love the backsplash. I recently made one for my lathe, that brake would have been handy.
 

Xyphota

Ultra Member
Wow that looks great! A lathe backsplash is on my list of projects. There might be a request to borrow someone's brake in exchange for some beer in the the next couple of months in the Calgary section, so keep your eye's open ;)
 

JustaDB

Ultra Member
Thats the way to go if you have the space!
It's more a matter of no further wall space. The perimeter is completely taken up and it seemed logical that access to the back of the lathe isn't a bad thing. Better than looking at the back of, say, a toolbox.
 

phaxtris

(Ryan)
Premium Member
Premium Member
Wow that looks great! A lathe backsplash is on my list of projects. There might be a request to borrow someone's brake in exchange for some beer in the the next couple of months in the Calgary section, so keep your eye's open ;)

You can just come by and make the couple bends you need, the one I have is like 1100lbs and quite a pain to move

Also, what does a contaminated bottle mean? Its contaminated with air (oxygen)?

Air, oxygen, I'm unsure, something other than argon in with the argon. I have only ever had a contaminated bottle a few times in 20 years, it can be quite frustrating until you recognize that it is the gas and not some other equipment problem
 

phaxtris

(Ryan)
Premium Member
Premium Member
What symptoms should one look out for that indicate bad gas?

Ive never came across it with mig, i dont think its so much a problem for that, so this only relates to tig. The symptoms are the same as lack of gas coverage. Stainless you wont get the nice colors and will be more burnt looking, the weld on steel isnt as "shiny", and on aluminum it is next to un-useable, you might be able to get a puddle on the base material going, but as soon as you try to add any filler it will act like lack of gas coverage or dirty material, and it cant be overcome.

you turn up the gas, same, close all the doors, same, turn down the gas, same, check all your connections with soap and water, same, clean everything super good, same, only when you get a new bottle of gas and try again do you know for sure....it can be quite frustrating, if someone was inexperienced it would be crushing, chasing your tail thinking your the one doing something wrong

im not sure why aluminum is so sensitive, but im never really convinced until i try to weld some, and then not 100% until a new bottle, as its next to impossible to weld aluminum with contaminated gas

From what i can remember i have only had this problem with trans filled bottles, i believe they were possibly not properly evacuated/vac'd, or maybe the vacuum was broken just a hair before the argon started filling, sucking in some air, that's my theory anyways
 
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