This is a 32 ga. 14KY link. It was welded with a common industrial
welder, practice, and patience. Now that I know how to do this, I
will be able repeat this weld and apply the technique in other
situations. There is satisfaction in solving a problem. It would have
been a lot easier to come up with the money for a laser welder, but I
now can add another experience to my metal smithing history. In some
communities life is measured in dollars, but sometimes in
experiences. I believe the later to be more fulfilling. Of course
some experiences can only be obtained with many dollars. Still I am
very satisfied with those experiences that only cost me a piece of
life.
Gary, I used a Miller Dynasty 200DX, Weldcraft WP-50 mounted with
.020 tungsten sharpened to a point. The machine was in spot welding
mode. The settings were 1 amp for.01 seconds. It’s not the machine or
it exact settings that allowed me to do this. It’s how I did it. I
believe tools are wonderful. I feel a person has to learn how to use
the tool. A person’s ability to use tools, is their craftsmanship.
I’m not the best craftsman in the world, but I’m proud of what I can
do. My craftsmanship is the only segment of pricing a job that I have
complete control over. My craftsmanship is what separates me from
others. Jewelry metal-smiths are very generous with there knowledge.
I often wrestle between sharing everything I know and holding it as a
trade secret. I feel I owe it to the people that have paid me for
consultation to guard the techniques I have demonstrated for them.
It’s been over a decade now that I have been TIG welding precious
metal and resolving problems have come very slowly to me. If someone
had guided me it would have been quicker. The Miller Dynasty 200DX is
a very complicated electronic device capable of shaping electrical
flow without operator input. But it has limits to what it can do. I
am thankful for those limitations. What would I be worth if the
machine made all the decisions? I like to say, “It’s not the size of
the hammer, but how you swing it.” The main reason I posted the weld
images was to show that it is possible to find a solution with out
relying on a tool to provide the answer. Why learn to play a musical
instrument when you can listen to beautiful music from your ipod? I
think it’s for the satisfaction of learning, creating, and sharing
your art with others.
Or its because if no one learns to play the music, eventually there
will be no ipod. Listening and doing are not the same thing. Nor is
learning and teaching.
