Date:         Wed, 13 Sep 2006 23:16:29 -0400
Reply-To:     David Milo <dellaone@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Milo <dellaone@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Westy Conversion
Comments: To: Rob <becida@comcast.net>
In-Reply-To:  <7.0.1.0.0.20060913184806.01e446e8@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Hi Rob,

The HF welder is actually not a bad unit. Remember that I'm not a welder by
any stretch, but a guy that is and who gave me a bit of pre-installation
instruction, said he liked it just fine. That said, welding in the seat
swivel pans (which I did after) was a whole lot easier than welding the
thinner roof skin.
I've started using it for other things (shortened oil pan), now that I have
become more comfortable with it's operation.  Using the gas back-up (CO2 /
Argon) works much better than flux core wire in this application. If I had
used TIG,  (I have seen TIG used,  dynamite welds), I would have had a lot
less grinding to do.

The Preval units are very nice. I got two uses out of each propellant
canister, refilling the glass container in between. We went through 4 Preval
units (8 refills), and 2 cans of prepackaged clearcoat. For spraybomb, its
not that bad.

Cheers,

Dave

On 9/13/06, Rob <becida@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> At  9/13/2006 05:37 PM, David Milo wrote:
> >Hi Volks,
> >
> >I spent all summer transplanting a Westfalia pop top and interior from a
> >1982 Westy to a 1987 Syncro. We live near Pittsburgh PA.
> >
> >
> >I knew how to weld with an oxygen-acetylene torch, but also knew that
> metal
> >distortion would result. I looked into MIG welding with gas back-up, and
> >decided I could do it / learn it. Would TIG have been better, a
> resounding
> >yes, but I couldn't afford the time or money to learn.
> >
> >So with all that said, have a look at these pictures:
> >http://photos.yahoo.com/jetstar5224
>
> Great pictures & a good job, thanks for sharing that.
> A couple of quick questions.
> How did the HF welder work out & how many of the paint sprayer
> pressure cartridges did you use?
>
>
>
>
> Rob
>
> becida@comcast.net
> Western Washington State, USA
>