Due to vision problems I can no longer see to do delicate welding.
I am in the need of a Tig welder/micro welder. I need someone that is able to do the work with out destroying small and delicate parts. Welding will consist of repairing small and delicate parts to installing bolt handles.

All recommendations welcome and will be considered. Reply here, PM or e-mail me at bgw(at)wildblue.net with welder in subject box.

Thanks
James

James,
I can send you photos of Dan Armstrongs work and his website. www.accu-tig.com. He turns all bolt handles in 3-4 days.

I have others that I can email to you.
Butch

I'll second that!

Gentlemen

Thank you for your recommendation.
Later

James

James, you might also consider using a professional pipe welder for your small work. I've had good luck using 'instrument welders' from the local nuke plant for such things as bolt handles and adding steel for filling gaps or sculpting profiles. An 'instrument welder' is accustomed to TIG welding small high-pressure instrumentation lines in the range of 1/8"-5/16" OD with VERY small IDs, and having his welds X-rayed afterwards in testing. If you don't know any nukies then the Pipefitters' local union hall might be able to help.

I have used several gunsmiths including a Guild smith for TIG work, even bought my own TIG machine, and unfortunately was often dissatisfied with the result. Not saying that gunsmiths can't weld properly, just saying that, by and large, I've had better results with instrument welders. Good luck.
Regards, Joe

Joe

Thanks for your reply. Over the years I have tried several different welders for work that I thought was beyond my capability with a Tig.
Most could talk the talk but that was where it ended. I had one person that worked for NASA as a welder on the space shuttle. He told me he could weld aluminum gum wrappers together. The first and only job he did for me cost me about $400.00 plus he charged me for his time. He gave me the parts back in pieces that he had burnt up. He told me the metal had unknown components and he could not weld. This is only one of many such experiences.

James

About everything that Dan has done for me was less than $100. including the handle, labor, and insured priority shipping back.
Butch

Butch

Thanks for your update.
Dan and I have made contact by PM and I am in the process of sending him an e-mail to discuss some work.
Price is not the main objective for me, although it does factor in. Quality of work is paramount. Once a welder or whom ever starts a job for me and screws it up, it's not my fault but I feel obligated to my customer to fix it regardless of cost or time.

James

quote:

Originally posted by J Bennett:
Most could talk the talk but that was where it ended. I had one person that worked for NASA as a welder on the space shuttle. This is only one of many such experiences.
James

James, my experiences mirror yours except that I was lucky enough to find 2 fairly good TIGers over a 20-yr period. Most 'professional welders' are either MIGers or stickers, I've seen only about 10-15% who were even reasonably competent TIGers. And out of that 10-15%, only about 1-2% were what I'd call TIG experts. This is my experience from my 25 years in the nuclear business, we even had a weld test shop and welding engineers on-site. The engineers even taught/tutored some of the fellows but still found very few who could pass all the procedures. Like I say, I knew literally hundreds of nuclear-grade welders and found only 2 good TIGers in the bunch.

NASA IMO is mostly a sick joke. NASA in their relatively few & periodic highly-rehearsed operations has killed around 10 times more Americans than US nuclear power has killed in all their 24/7/365 operations since WW2. I'd say the respective safety records should indicate the respective levels of quality....
Regards, Joe

quote:

Originally posted by J.D.Steele:
NASA IMO is mostly a sick joke. NASA in their relatively few & periodic highly-rehearsed operations has killed around 10 times more Americans than US nuclear power has killed in all their 24/7/365 operations since WW2. I'd say the respective safety records should indicate the respective levels of quality....
Regards, Joe

You do understand the difference between the two don't you?

Westpac, I'm not sure what you mean. Yes, I understand that both operations, that is nuclear plant operations and near-space operations, are dangerous and ultimately depend upon high-quality humans as well as high-quality equipment. I also understand that both functions, that is quality control and safety control, also ultimately depend upon the same things but are also mutually interdependent. It's kinda hard to have safety without quality.

NASA hasn't yet solved their shielding problem in several years but I speculate that the nuclear industry could have solved an equivalent nuclear problem in less than 6 months. I also know that most of our craftsmen (read: welders & such) don't think very highly of the equivalent NASA craftsmen.
Regards, Joe