Thomas Minotour Build

[kidharris]

Got my welder up and running yesterday. Picked up this Hobart Handler 140 on Craigslist a year ago and haven't touched it since.

Rookie mistake....

I took out the old spool of flux core. Replaced the tip and nozzle shield. Put in a new 10 lb spool of .023 solid wire. Attached the regulator to a new bottle of 25/75 gas.

My welding 'training' goes back 30-ish years to stick classes, and back then I could run an acceptable, but hardly certifiable, bead. With this machine, I struggled to do anything that looked good. Crappy beads, no penetration. Played around with all the settings, nothing really worked well. Very frustrating.

As I was hanging up the gun and calling it a night I remembered something from a YouTube video I watched....

In changing the wire from flux core to solid, I totally forgot to change the polarity. Duh.

I spent two hours and a lot of gas creating crappy welds. After swapping leads, I spent 5 minutes with the correct polarity making welds that at least are starting to look like welds. Another hour of practice and I'll be feeling ready....

lol, I can relate

 

[AlphaHare]

Got the first beam cut and fitted last night. The fits are a bit looser than I'd like in places, but I'll be able to fill the gaps. Or spend another hour fitting more carefully with a flap wheel. Probably that. Other places fit pretty well.

It's hard to make precision cuts holding an angle grinder overhead, at least for me. I marked the lines pretty carefully using the beam itself as a guide, offset by the thickness of the cutoff wheel, and I still messed up the angle. I might try a smaller porta-bandsaw to start the upper roof ribs but it's not going to be able to make the whole cut.

Disassembly was easy but now with re-assembly I have to start reminding myself, it's a bus, not a temple. A few inaccuracies will be ok and unnoticeable - as long as the welds are strong it'll be just fine.

I'm going to get the two lower beams in place, measure for symmetry which is more important than absolute position, and then tack them in. Then on to the upper section!

 

[Drewser]

My welding 'training' goes back 30-ish years to stick classes, and back then I could run an acceptable, but hardly certifiable, bead. With this machine, I struggled to do anything that looked good. Crappy beads, no penetration. Played around with all the settings, nothing really worked well. Very frustrating.

As I was hanging up the gun and calling it a night I remembered something from a YouTube video I watched....

In changing the wire from flux core to solid, I totally forgot to change the polarity. Duh.

I spent two hours and a lot of gas creating crappy welds. After swapping leads, I spent 5 minutes with the correct polarity making welds that at least are starting to look like welds. Another hour of practice and I'll be feeling ready....

My favorite posts are those where people are humble enough to not only talk about their mistakes, but willing to show them. I just spent 2 hours reinstalling pulled wiring to troubleshoot an issue only to realize it was a blown fuse. Tired of everyone only showing their perfect side online. Kudos to you! Enjoying the build too.

 

[Corbi]

Great project and ideas. I'm learning to weld on a similar machine. I didn't know about reverse polarity with flux core wire. When I asked about using it on my project outdoors, I was directed to the stick welder because of the likelyhood of wind blowing away the gas shield. Stick turns out to be forgiving on rusty metal that I have. Hoping to start my frame repair soon. Ptw I also spent extra time and frustration removing those restaint strap attachments.I went from both the top and from below.

 

[AlphaHare]

Here's a Hobart 140 showing the leads. 7/16 socket and you just swap them.

For solid wire with gas, DCEP electrode (gun) positive.

For flux core wire without gas, DCEN electrode negative.

All the good welders here are rolling their eyes, but it's so easy to forget and it makes a huge difference. Ask me how I know this. ;>)

 

[AlphaHare]

I got the second beam fit up today - and made a little tool so I can easily take a flap disk to any offending rib and straighten out my original cut. This one went in twice, but the fit is a lot more pleasing... ;>)

I'll refit the drivers side using the same technique and call the two lowers done. Tonight they are within a 1/16" of parallel - I can't complain about that!

Bonus - I'll end up with 16 stub sections to practice welding on. I'm going to tack them on the table, and then mount them temporarily in about the same position as the real ones so I can try overhead and down...

 

[AlphaHare]

Got the upper beams cut and fitted. A bit more fussy for some reason and just at that awkward overhead height which had me inside the bus and out on the scaffold.

I got a 5" diamond wheel which was just right and doesn't get smaller while cutting.... Put an 3/16 stick between the skin and the rib and that gave just enough room and had just enough disk.

The camera adds a vanishing point perspective, but they are parallel to the eye.

Next step is the stub ribs - really excited to see that come together. We're going to have a weather delay however. Single digits this afternoon and most of the week.

 

[Rob_386]

Just stopping in to say I LOVE this approach to a raise roof. It is going to look amazing.

 

[AlphaHare]

Thanks! I'm hoping the same....

I've never found a comparable build. It's very satisfying to see it start to come together. ;>)

 

[nikitis]

I plan to cut my ribs similarly but the opposite way, I will have the hat channels about 2 inches past the sheet metal rather than 2 inches inside the sheet metal, This will give me room to weld inside of the channel well better, with your approach it will be impossible to do this. But your method will allow for easier riveting.

 

[AlphaHare]

I plan to cut my ribs similarly but the opposite way, I will have the hat channels about 2 inches past the sheet metal rather than 2 inches inside the sheet metal, This will give me room to weld inside of the channel well better, with your approach it will be impossible to do this. But your method will allow for easier riveting.

This has got me thinking. It would be pretty easy to cut off just the center rib covering skin, weld the inside of the hat section rib, and cover it back up....

I'll see if I think the original welding went well first, but like I said, it's got me thinking.... thanks!

 

[AlphaHare]

Passenger side fitted, but too cold to tack anything together today. Really pumped to see it starting to come together, even if a long way to go... ;>)

 

[AlphaHare]

It's starting to look like a project!

Got the lower beams and upper beams tacked down, and also the front and rear struts.

Then I removed the scaffolding ;>) Oh boy am I excited... ;>) It's going to be fun welding now that I'm not obstructed everywhere.

 

[AlphaHare]

Passenger side done. Just a bit more welding on the DS. My welding is meh, but it's penetrating and it's really, really solid.

 

[AlphaHare]

Side note for future builders:

I picked up one of those inexpensive impact driver/drill kits from Dewalt. I sure wish I had done that earlier in the project.

I was taking out the larger screws on the bus, #3 heads, and many a bit rusty because of location (rear door and drip edge gutter). This thing just took about 30 of them out without thinking. If I had been using my electric drill I know I would have had at least 3 or 4 get messed up. And it's considerably lighter.

 

[nikitis]

After years of searching for the best drill. The Rigid brand of drill can REALLY take the abuse. I ran it through 3 batteries in a single day multiple times. She gets hot, and even smokes when I abuse her but I can pick her up the next day and she will always run for me. She also has multiple modes so it can act like an impact or a regular drill. In the past I've tried Dewalt, Milwaukee, Ryobi, Craftsman drills, and none of them could take the abuse I've put them through. If my Rigid ever dies, I'll be picking up a new one because the previous one was so great. That's been my real world experience. Rigid also guarantees lifetime on batteries and will replace them free of charge if they die on you. I'm still running my first edition Rigid batteries when they first switched to battery powered drills, going on 8 years now and still holds a good charge. And Yup, they will replace it free when it dies.

I can't speak for brands I've not tried yet. Rigid is number one in my book by far, Dewalt probably second, Milwaukee third, and Ryobi 4th. The ryobi's are handy and batteries are good, but they change battery formats on you too often to force you to buy new ones. I can use the original Rigid batteries on new drills if I needed to. The Ryobi devices though break real quick in my experience. I've bought a Ryobi blower, drill, and weed whacker. The weed whacker is the only thing still running.

*(Not affiliated or sponsored by Rigid)

 

[AlphaHare]

Cut and re-fabricated the rear door. It's underneath the bed area for accessing storage. I trimmed the top off, and then salvaged the frame inside and the upper folds. Cut the salvaged part to shorten it, welded it, then put it back inside and riveted it all together.

 

[AlphaHare]

a few more. Came out nicely - gives me the courage to do the larger wheelchair door. The wheelchair door needs a new hinge, and still maintains some draft/bend. It should be OK, but may be a bit fussier.

 

[AlphaHare]

The fasted way to remove windows ;>)

 

[nikitis]

Getting all creative. How do you plan to seal the new back door at the top of it?