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01-03-2020, 02:49 PM
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#261
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 6,995
Year: 2003
Coachwork: International
Chassis: CE 300
Engine: DT466e
Rated Cap: 65C-43A
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Tub tray tacked up
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01-03-2020, 11:04 PM
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#262
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 3,856
Year: 2002
Coachwork: Thomas Built Bus
Chassis: Freightliner FS65
Engine: Caterpillar 3126E Diesel
Rated Cap: 71 Passenger- 30,000 lbs.
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What are the dimensions of the new tub floor? Looks like about 20"x20".
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01-04-2020, 06:04 AM
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#263
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 6,995
Year: 2003
Coachwork: International
Chassis: CE 300
Engine: DT466e
Rated Cap: 65C-43A
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Native
What are the dimensions of the new tub floor? Looks like about 20"x20".
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It's actually a bit bigger, 23" wide and 24" long.
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01-04-2020, 10:33 PM
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#264
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 3,856
Year: 2002
Coachwork: Thomas Built Bus
Chassis: Freightliner FS65
Engine: Caterpillar 3126E Diesel
Rated Cap: 71 Passenger- 30,000 lbs.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by musigenesis
It's actually a bit bigger, 23" wide and 24" long.
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Bigger is good, but man that is a small shower!
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01-04-2020, 10:50 PM
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#265
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 6,995
Year: 2003
Coachwork: International
Chassis: CE 300
Engine: DT466e
Rated Cap: 65C-43A
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Native
Bigger is good, but man that is a small shower!
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The tub itself is even smaller, more like 18" x 16" or so right at the bottom. I've lived in a few places with tiny shower stalls and I never really minded it. It's a good incentive to stay slim.
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01-04-2020, 11:08 PM
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#266
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Bus Nut
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Wamego Ks
Posts: 617
Year: 2007
Chassis: Collins
Engine: 6.6L LMM Duramax
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Wow great progress! I never get out of the shortie section and I need to start doing that more! This is a great build and great motivation for me!! I've gotta chime in on some of the welding conversation... just because I enjoy about every type of welding... and hope I can help someone. These are only my opinions and may not work for everyone.
CO2 is cheaper, but I would stick with C25 if that's what you've been running. Ive always felt it welds much better and penetrates better. To me worth the extra cost. My only comment for flux core is use it if you have to-( outside in the wind like someone mentioned)
If you have thick material with a small welder, change your joint configuration. A good design with light ga material can be very strong. But if you need to weld a 1/4" piece to another 1/4" piece, grind a bevel and make the section where they meet thin. This gives you penetration from the beginning while also preheating the joint to weld the rest. You can also achieve same results with a gap if you can weld from both sides of the material.
You had also mentioned burning through thin material. I'm sure you have turned your welder down to accommodate the thin material and maybe you have tried doing intermittent welds or skipping around. One thing people forget about is a heat sink. Think of your thick section that you can't penetrate very well, part of that is because a thick section pulls heat away from the weld area very quickly. So use that to your advantage on thin material. Clamp a thick piece of iron on the back side of your seam and it can help cool down the material. Have you tried spot welding or tack welding the thin material? Simply place tack after tack after tack on really thin material. Let the tack cool for 1sec or less then hit the next tack...
One other also mentioned a copper tube or plate. I use a brass or bronze piece that I put a piece of allthread in and fashioned a handle. This let's you weld up holes etc. They also make a ceramic tile that has a Foil backing with adhesive on each side. If you get those, you can stick under the hole and weld up the hole with no one holding something on the back side.
One more thing you mentioned about following your seam when welding. A HF hood isn't the best I agree, but if the lens is clean and your glasses are clean, that shouldn't be an issue. Try this: take a piece of chalk/soapstone and draw a line down the seam you want to weld. I've used this in the past helping new welders stay on track. This particular happens with butt welds where it can be hard to see the two different pieces of metal. You now have a white line that shows up well when you pull the trigger and that bright light appears.
One other note on that... What shade are you using or running on? Sometimes people have trouble seeing and end up going to light of a shade and then it makes it very hard to see a seam if you are on too light of a shade and you are getting too much arc flash...
Sorry to ramble on- I hope this helps!
__________________
2007 Collins (Chevy Express 3500)
LMM Duramax Diesel with newly rebuilt 4L85E Transmission!
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01-05-2020, 06:02 AM
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#267
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 6,995
Year: 2003
Coachwork: International
Chassis: CE 300
Engine: DT466e
Rated Cap: 65C-43A
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frochevy
I never get out of the shortie section
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The more I see of shorties, the more I wish I'd gotten one. I actually feel like I have a bit too much space in my layout right now, and could have done with a shorter bus.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frochevy
CO2 is cheaper, but I would stick with C25 if that's what you've been running. Ive always felt it welds much better and penetrates better.
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Yeah, I'm sticking with it ... I don't need to be adding to my difficulties.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frochevy
Have you tried spot welding or tack welding the thin material?
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Yeah, I call this "frankenwelding": http://www.skoolie.net/forums/attach...chmentid=37412
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frochevy
They also make a ceramic tile that has a Foil backing with adhesive on each side. If you get those, you can stick under the hole and weld up the hole with no one holding something on the back side.
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This sounds very interesting, I'm going to see if I can find these.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frochevy
Try this: take a piece of chalk/soapstone and draw a line down the seam you want to weld.
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I'm going to try this as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frochevy
What shade are you using or running on?
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Uh ... whatever shade was in the hood when I bought it? It might have come with replacement shades but I'm not sure where they are right now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frochevy
Sorry to ramble on- I hope this helps!
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It helps a lot, thanks for your tips.
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01-05-2020, 10:00 AM
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#268
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Bus Nut
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Wamego Ks
Posts: 617
Year: 2007
Chassis: Collins
Engine: 6.6L LMM Duramax
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I looked up some ceramic tiles to give you an idea. Here are some like we use at work. (Link below) If you could go to a weld supply store, they might sell you less than a box. I didn't realize they were that expensive!
https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/62140082
Wanted to add you can use them in long length or break them apart at each section and use little pieces.
__________________
2007 Collins (Chevy Express 3500)
LMM Duramax Diesel with newly rebuilt 4L85E Transmission!
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01-05-2020, 10:20 AM
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#269
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 6,995
Year: 2003
Coachwork: International
Chassis: CE 300
Engine: DT466e
Rated Cap: 65C-43A
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frochevy
I looked up some ceramic tiles to give you an idea. Here are some like we use at work. (Link below) If you could go to a weld supply store, they might sell you less than a box. I didn't realize they were that expensive!
https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/62140082
Wanted to add you can use them in long length or break them apart at each section and use little pieces.
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That's a yikes on the price. What kind of material is just the tiles? I'm thinking I could do something simple like wedging a single tile under the hole with a piece of 2x4. I think it would help be weld over the larger holes, since I could cut a patch to fit exactly and not have to worry about the overlap.
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01-05-2020, 10:35 AM
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#270
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Bus Nut
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Wamego Ks
Posts: 617
Year: 2007
Chassis: Collins
Engine: 6.6L LMM Duramax
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Quote:
Originally Posted by musigenesis
That's a yikes on the price. What kind of material is just the tiles? I'm thinking I could do something simple like wedging a single tile under the hole with a piece of 2x4. I think it would help be weld over the larger holes, since I could cut a patch to fit exactly and not have to worry about the overlap.
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It's a ceramic of some sort. They have many different makes. Do some testing? A simple sample ceramic tile from home Depot or the like might work!?!
Depending on hole size, some people will use washers and weld around the outside then weld the hole shut.
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01-05-2020, 11:49 AM
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#271
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 6,995
Year: 2003
Coachwork: International
Chassis: CE 300
Engine: DT466e
Rated Cap: 65C-43A
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Primed and painted tub tray
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01-05-2020, 11:53 AM
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#272
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 6,995
Year: 2003
Coachwork: International
Chassis: CE 300
Engine: DT466e
Rated Cap: 65C-43A
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Random old pics
Non-OSHA approved scaffolding on site:
My front SCHOOL BUS sign replacement, from the inside. This one is sturdier than the rear one because I ran the vertical braces behind the bus skin; also it's 22ga instead of 30ga:
Small bits of square tube I attached to the outer door panel and then screwed the inner wood panel into, to stiffen the whole rear door:
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01-05-2020, 04:47 PM
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#273
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Golden Valley AZ
Posts: 1,036
Year: 1993
Chassis: ThomasBuilt 30'
Engine: need someone to tell me
Rated Cap: me + 1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by musigenesis
That's a yikes on the price. What kind of material is just the tiles? I'm thinking I could do something simple like wedging a single tile under the hole with a piece of 2x4. I think it would help be weld over the larger holes, since I could cut a patch to fit exactly and not have to worry about the overlap.
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I went to the scrap ward years ago and found big pieces of copper about 0.25" thick (electric bus bars from big electric panels) that I use to back thin metal when I weld. Never tried just laying it close by on the metal to act as a heat sink, but it sounds like a good idea. I don't think steel will stick/weld to copper so you could lay it pretty close.
That ceramic may just have powdered copper in it. I know that they sell gel heat sinks for this, I thought about trying to make a home brew with powdered/ground/flakes of copper with some binder or gel (wet clay?) Powdered/ground/flakes of aluminum might work but I would be afraid of it igniting, exploding or setting off some kind of pyro display or thermo welding which would defeat the purpose. Aluminum melts at around 1200 F, so small (not too small) pieces might work, might just make a mess.
Got clay on the brain now. Wondering how well wet clay molded around the weld area would work. The water evaporating off would actually be the heat sink, the clay just keeps it in place. Re-wet the clay and reuse if it didn't turn into a ceramic, Free if you have clay in your soil.
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01-05-2020, 05:50 PM
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#274
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Bus Nut
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Wamego Ks
Posts: 617
Year: 2007
Chassis: Collins
Engine: 6.6L LMM Duramax
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kidharris
I went to the scrap ward years ago and found big pieces of copper about 0.25" thick (electric bus bars from big electric panels) that I use to back thin metal when I weld. Never tried just laying it close by on the metal to act as a heat sink, but it sounds like a good idea. I don't think steel will stick/weld to copper so you could lay it pretty close.
That ceramic may just have powdered copper in it. I know that they sell gel heat sinks for this, I thought about trying to make a home brew with powdered/ground/flakes of copper with some binder or gel (wet clay?) Powdered/ground/flakes of aluminum might work but I would be afraid of it igniting, exploding or setting off some kind of pyro display or thermo welding which would defeat the purpose. Aluminum melts at around 1200 F, so small (not too small) pieces might work, might just make a mess.
Got clay on the brain now. Wondering how well wet clay molded around the weld area would work. The water evaporating off would actually be the heat sink, the clay just keeps it in place. Re-wet the clay and reuse if it didn't turn into a ceramic, Free if you have clay in your soil.
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Sounds like a good experiment!
Just don't use magnesium!!!! Lol would be a good pyro display tho...
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01-05-2020, 07:24 PM
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#275
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Golden Valley AZ
Posts: 1,036
Year: 1993
Chassis: ThomasBuilt 30'
Engine: need someone to tell me
Rated Cap: me + 1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frochevy
I looked up some ceramic tiles to give you an idea. Here are some like we use at work. (Link below) If you could go to a weld supply store, they might sell you less than a box. I didn't realize they were that expensive!
https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/62140082
Wanted to add you can use them in long length or break them apart at each section and use little pieces.
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ESC and Graingers are always way high.
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01-05-2020, 07:42 PM
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#276
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Golden Valley AZ
Posts: 1,036
Year: 1993
Chassis: ThomasBuilt 30'
Engine: need someone to tell me
Rated Cap: me + 1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by musigenesis
The more I see of shorties, the more I wish I'd gotten one. I actually feel like I have a bit too much space in my layout right now, and could have done with a shorter bus.
Yeah, I'm sticking with it ... I don't need to be adding to my difficulties.
Yeah, I call this "frankenwelding": http://www.skoolie.net/forums/attach...chmentid=37412
This sounds very interesting, I'm going to see if I can find these.
I'm going to try this as well.
Uh ... whatever shade was in the hood when I bought it? It might have come with replacement shades but I'm not sure where they are right now.
It helps a lot, thanks for your tips.
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In an earlier post you talked about welders sunburn. Shirts catching on fire has been a bigger problem for me, mainly because I used to wear lightweight "permanent press" no wrinkle western shirts (Eli brand?) made with polyester? 70%? and cotton. Then I found anti arc aka linemans shirts. Expensive new ($130/ shirt? looked it up 10 years ago) but I get mine at the flea market $5 each used uniform shirts. They are fireproof and have a really tight weave to prevent arc burn when power company employees are exposed to electric arcs. All of mine are a gold color and they look sort of like denim or canvas, long sleeves with 2 button down pockets, but they are really soft, cool in the summer, and comfortable. They solve both problems, fire and arc burn.
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01-05-2020, 07:47 PM
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#277
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Savannah GA
Posts: 756
Year: 2003
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: Cummins 5.9 24v
Rated Cap: 54 passenger
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You've opted to go with the yellow undercarriage. That shows up well. I'm seriously thinking of doing the same.
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01-05-2020, 07:50 PM
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#278
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 6,995
Year: 2003
Coachwork: International
Chassis: CE 300
Engine: DT466e
Rated Cap: 65C-43A
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kidharris
In an earlier post you talked about welders sunburn.
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Uh, I think you're thinking of somebody else. I've never had welder's sunburn, I'm always completely buttoned up. I have:
- Sprayed an angle grinder directly into my eyes multiple times
- Scraped a piece of just-cut hot steel across my forearm
- Rolled around in stinging nettle for a stupid pic
But no welder's sunburn.
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01-05-2020, 07:53 PM
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#279
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 6,995
Year: 2003
Coachwork: International
Chassis: CE 300
Engine: DT466e
Rated Cap: 65C-43A
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JDSquared
You've opted to go with the yellow undercarriage. That shows up well. I'm seriously thinking of doing the same.
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I picked it under the theory that any continuing rust will be easier to spot. I might eventually find that I would rather not know.
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01-05-2020, 08:21 PM
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#280
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Golden Valley AZ
Posts: 1,036
Year: 1993
Chassis: ThomasBuilt 30'
Engine: need someone to tell me
Rated Cap: me + 1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by musigenesis
Uh, I think you're thinking of somebody else. I've never had welder's sunburn, I'm always completely buttoned up. I have:
- Sprayed an angle grinder directly into my eyes multiple times
- Scraped a piece of just-cut hot steel across my forearm
- Rolled around in stinging nettle for a stupid pic
But no welder's sunburn.
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Sorry.......
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