/diy/ - Do It Yourself

No access to torches. The shop at work is pretty slim, and we're on a tight budget (I'll be lucky if I still work there a month from now).

My only option is SMAW, so my only real question would be how to cheaply produce my own fluxed Aluminum electrodes.

If I have to buy them, so be it. I'm just really trying to avoid it.

Either way, I'm still getting a free clay pigeon thrower.

>>278414
It's pretty easy to get started. It just takes awhile before you're somewhat satisfied with your work.

At the most basic, you'll need:
>Leather
>A fork
>A drill
>Heavy needles
>Thread (waxed cotton or synthetic sinew would be best)
>A REALLY sharp fucking knife (an Exacto works)

That's about it. Everything else is about planning, design, and cutting things out right.

All the other tools make things easier and neater, but aren't absolutely required.

While an ungodly-sharp awl is best for prepping your thread holes, I drill it with a small bit.
A marking wheel helps mark out where your thread holes are going to go, but a fork can do this pretty well, too.
An edging tool makes your edges really nice. Personally, I use a bench grinder and a solid glass orb (the process for the latter is called 'boning', because in the old days they smoothed out the edge with a polished piece of bone).

Lock stitching sucks. It works, but one breakage and the whole thing can unravel. Learn to saddle-stitch. It's the god-tier of stitching.

If you have a Tandy Leather store nearby, the employees are usually very helpful and hold free instructional classes on occasion. They also have everything you'll need and then some.

Be careful. Leather crafting is pretty addictive. Pic related.

>>278439
Believe me, if TIG was an option I'd be all over it.

Alas, I have no access to inert gasses.

Calling all welders!

I know how to weld, but my only machine is a cheap stick unit from Harbor Freight. So I'm limited to SMAW.

Anyway, I've got a few repairs that need to be made at work. The trailers and whatnot are easy, but there's some step-ladders and a skeet-thrower that need fixing (well, the skeet-thrower was given to me, but I'm going to fix it before I take it as I cannot plug my welder in at home). These pieces are made of Aluminum.

I've welded Aluminum before, both stick and MIG. Flux-core Aluminum MIG is like fucking CHEATING, it's so easy. Stick is kind of a PITA, but it's do-able.

Here's the quandry: Aluminum SMAW rods are fucking expensive. Last time I had to buy them, I could only find them from Fastenal and got a deal because I knew a company rep.

Does anyone have considerable experience with this? I want to know if it would be feasible to make my OWN Aluminum welding rods. Thinking it over in my mind, maybe I could dip the rods in a paste of Borax (and maybe powdered glass?), let them dry, bake them, and voila.

Any thoughts from my brothers of the arc?

>>277552
This.

I work at a summer camp. Kids coming and going all damn summer, now and then they get brought in.

We have to seal off the entire cabin, and put in a VERY expensive, computer-controlled heating unit consisting of one main blower and 3 side elements. It brings the room temperature up to 150 degrees F and holds it there for 8-10 hours.

Few chemicals work properly, especially with the kinda numbers you tend to see with bedbug infestations.

If they're just in a mattress, I've read that you can leave it outside and pour some sugar on it. Ants come, clear that shit like no vacuum ever will, and leave.

Call a professional.

>>274247
No, you really won't.

Go find the largest rock on your property, one you'd use as an anvil. Now take a large hammer, and begin pounding on it.

Notice how...
1) You won't have a perfectly flat surface to work on.
2) Bits and pieces chip off as they're impacted.

You can make an entire forge out of crap you can get for free. But you NEED a proper anvil. Whether it's a piece of RR rail or a proper horned anvil, doesn't matter. But a rock ain't gonna do the job.

>>274012
>>274026
Neither of you are even approaching the realm of correct.

While stock removal is a perfectly valid form of tool making, you still require a heat-treatment process to get the required hardness in the steel.

And that is NOT part of the forging process. Forging is entirely about heating the steel and reshaping it, welding it, etc. The heat-treatment is entirely separate.

>>271971
Dark brown MIGHT result in a red-brown.

You might want to try it on a small piece of the tongue that isn't visible. If that doesn't work, get a Cordovan dye and give it several treatments. Or whatever color is exactly what you want. If you have a Tandy Leather Co. store within driving distance, GO THERE. They will help you.

Might take a few applications to get the color right.

Then remember: AFTER DYING YOU NEED A FIXATIVE. This prevents the dye from bleeding. I usually use carnauba cream leather fixative, then a liberal application of mink oil.

If you have a Tandy Leather Co. store within driving distance, GO THERE. They will help you. Though you might get sucked into leather work, and end up spending all your free time saddle-stitching until your hands bleed.

Pic related. Leather fucking rocks.

>>271582
OP needs detailed instruction on how to make one of the simplest possible projects, EVER.

They obviously don't have the know-how to dress themselves, not to mention re-engineer a Jap sandal to have shock absorbers.

>>262664
So the homeless bag lady on the corner must be more punk than any Sex Pistols fan, EVER.

>>260444
Well then let's call this an extended camping trip. By setting this as your goal, we can offer more accurate advice.

Since I assume you don't own the property, and your shelter isn't a permanent one, you'll lack any form of security. You should be able to protect yourself from both 4-legged (animals) AND 2-legged predators (people).
Also, when you leave for the day, don't leave anything in your shelter you can't live without. Unlike a locked house, bums or douchebags who wander by can just snake anything they want for any ol' reason.

For storing your food, MRE's INCLUDED, keep in mind this sentence above all else:
BEARS WILL FUCK UP YOUR SHIT.
A bear will smell a sealed MRE locked in a cooler locked in the trunk of a car. There's a reason you're trained to tie your food up, suspended in the air. So much as a scrap of food in your shelter is just ASKING to have a bear tear through your stuff.

>>260434
No prob. Your shelter will entirely depend on your region and available resources. The longer you spend on it, the more comfortable and safe you'll be.

>>260436
Definitely read it. But also keep in mind that Henry didn't last long at Walden Pond before he chose to return to a normal life.

Seclusion sounds good on paper. It can be good for awhile, too. We refer to it as "me time".
But on a longer scale? No. We're social animals. Separating yourself from the herd is neither fun nor good for you.

Just to illustrate my point, my last job was 12am-8am, sitting behind a desk. I spent all my nights alone in a box, and slept days. I didn't get to SEE people, and it took a huge toll. Even if you don't like people in general, and I don't, you become really depressed.

>>260423
Or dead.


Before jumping into the woods. Try living out of your car for a few weeks. If you can't pull THAT off without running back to your apartment (or parent's house, whatever), you sure as shit can't survive in the woods.

Imagine all the shit you have to do on a regular basis. Now work those around not living with any modern amenities.
Also, what level of societal separation are you aiming for?

>Procure water
You'll need storage containers and a pot to boil it in before drinking it. You'll also need a way to start a fire to do so. Matches run out. Buy yourself the biggest, thickest misch-metal (ferrocium) rod you can and learn to use it. Alternatively, a fire piston would be a VERY useful accessory.

>Procure food
Unless you plan to return to society to work and earn yourself a paycheck, you'll need to hunt, trap, and forage. Not to mention the knowledge to properly prepare, cook, and avoid the stuff that'll kill you.

>Cleanliness
You'll need to bathe.

>Shelter
You'll need a form of shelter that will keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Nowhere to plug a fan in. And if you want an indoor fire, you're going to have to put a LOT of work and care into your shelter.


If you plan on retaining a job, you'll need to maintain an acceptable level of personal hygiene. Not to mention transportation, storage of the vehicle, taxes and fees, fuel, etc.

Do you plan on owning the property? Or basically squat on publicly accessible land? If the latter, make sure you can be there, lest you end up in the pokey.

>>260397
>Buttmad

So what exactly is getting you all cranky? Are you jealous that I have the money to afford such a hobby that's not only fun, but practical?

>worst cities in California

Oh. That. Go take your medical marijuana card and get yourself some weed. Sounds like you need to calm the fuck down and meditate about how fingery your fingers are. Silly libfag.

>>260376

>Mexico
>Citizens can't own firearms
>Cartels rule the country

Yeah, sounds like a fuckin paradise, bro.

>Old lady gets stabbed to death in her own home down the street by the nigger next door for crack money
>Keep a shotgun by my bedside

Hurr, you're imagining danger. Niggers aren't known for breaking in and stealing your flatscreen!

>>259492
>Fixing a watch
>Reshaping solid steel

Not the same thing, genius. Fixing a stainless bracelet or prying off the back and replacing a battery isn't the same as resizing a stainless ring.
The latter requires high heat to make it malleable. The former requires some tiny screwdrivers.

>>259473
Only not.

Jewelers can stretch common rings which are made of SOFT metals. They don't have the tools or training to work with stainless steel.

As has been stated, either have it bored out and lose your inscription, or find a local welder who can TIG weld really fucking well.


Also, OP, you're a serious moron. I have zero respect for people who can't be bothered with properly researching an item before buying it, then piss and moan when they get the wrong thing. Congratulations, your laziness cost you money. I hope you learned a lesson.
The world has too many stupid people in it.

>Measure strap width at lugs.
>Search ebay for "XXmm stainless watch strap".
>???
>Profit.

>>256451
>True Victorians were wealthy
>The average steampunker is not
>Most costumes are stupid because people can't afford nicer things

You only reference the upper class of Victorian England. Sure, people with money had tailored suits. Not everyone had money. Most steampunk costumes I see are based more around the working class, not the snooty rich folks.

>>256221
Well yeah, anything's better than nothing. And you'll never see me volunteering to stand in front of a shotgun loaded with birdshot.

But, like you said, it's not made for the job. It's name says it all, it's meant for wee little birdies and some people just don't get that.

>>256225
Could always get a 10ga shotgun and custom load the shells.
I recall a metal cutting tool referred to as a "nibbler". It cut through steel by literally biting out pieces, and it left a pile of steel crescents behind it. I always thought those would make for some crazy shot loads or shrapnel.

>>256184
>>256167
That poster may or may not be an idiot. I don't know, nor do I care.

Though his point about birdshot and clothing isn't entirely inaccurate.

A leather or denim jacket will stop all penetration of birdshot size pellets from a 12ga shotgun. Hell, even the layers of a hooded sweatshirt, t-shirt, and undershirt will probably do the same.

The immediate cancellation to anyone arguing birdshot for home defense: Dick Cheney.

He shot a guy in the fucking FACE with birdshot, from a close range, whilst hunting quail. Not only did the guy survive without serious injury, HE apologized to Cheney.

>>256197
Are you talking about Black Talons?

They're still available, but under a different brand name. Which I don't recall, at the moment.

>HEY GUYS I'M NOT CREATIVE ENOUGH TO THINK OF ORIGINAL IDEAS BUT I HAVE A LOT OF FREE TIME THANKS TO SOCIAL SECURITY FRAUD. GIVE ME IDEAS SO I CAN OBTAIN FURTHER PROFITS WITHOUT ACTUAL EFFORT ON MY PART.

-OP