Re: [A/S] Wiring and plumbing for A/S restoration

[Jim Dunmyer <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Joy,
 My little 3" "muffler cutoff tool" is my most-used air tool next to the
3/8" drill. It took very little time to cut off the channels and inspect
the inside of the frame from there back. I had already bought a new 2"
hitch assy. from Northern that looked nearly identical to the old one on
the '68 G.T. As that trailer weighed only 4000# ready-to-roll, that's
heavy enough, I think the hitch was rated at 5000#.

Cutting with a torch will generally require a fair bit of work with the
angle grinder (also air-operated, of course) before you're ready to
weld, plus I didn't want to have the heat and spatter around the
aluminum body of the A/S.

All told, my buddy and I cut off the 'A' frame, fabbed the replacement,
and welded it to the trailer in a morning. We taped up some newspaper
for masking and sprayed 'er with a bug bomb and called it "good".

I'm not lucky enough to own a TIG, missed one at an auction that went
for $100.00. TIG would be near-impossible to use outside, MIG is bad
enough. The problem is that any breeze blows the shield gas away. I'll
sometimes set the flowrater up on the MIG if I'm outside, that seems to
help. My MIG is a 400 amp Lincoln power unit with a Miller wire feeder.
I also have a Miller SpoolMate gun that I want to use with that power
unit for aluminum welding. Still need to get a gas bottle of pure Argon
and a couple of electrical plugs to adapt the SpoolMate to the Lincoln
box.

I have no formal schooling in welding, nor even machining (I have a
pretty complete machine shop here), just some time at it and books. My
welding experience started 40 years ago, using a Lincoln BuzzBox, and
I've burned a few 50# boxes of rods. I've been lucky enough to have met
a few guys along the way who have furthered my education in various
aspects of this stuff.

I do have a degree in Electronics, obtained in about 1965. Have done a
LOT of electrical work, everything from electronics up to 480 VAC, no
real high-voltage work. My shop has 480 VAC 3-phase and 240 VAC
single-phase power, all wiring done by yours truly.

Staying on topic: the reason I replaced the 'A' frame was that I
couldn't tap 3/8-24 holes in the side of it for the anti-sway bar, the
metal was too thin at the bottom of the channel iron. It frankly scared
me a bit.

                                     <<Jim>>