Fired up the better MIG this morning, and did that welding I needed to get done. Played around a bit first, getting all the settings right. Damned pleased I did too, because it took me a little while to 'un learn' the technique I had been using on the other, crapier welder. This one is sooooooo much better! Never had a misfeed, didnt have to suffer that horrible continually live handpiece, nor did it sound like it was a microwave running on defrost! Excellent machine. And I can finally buy the wire in sizes larger than sewing bobbins.
The breech block is now under primer, with a first coat of blade putty applied. I had not yet applied the putty at time of taking this photo. Tomorrow I will sand that back and see if I need to apply any more.
With that done (anti-climax, really) I turned my attention to blasting some driveshaft parts, including the pieces Robert had sent me. The blast cabinet was constipated, so I emptied all the medium out from the hopper, and intended to clean the cabinet & strain the grit. Then I remembered I had bought a hand held spot blasting gun, so I used that to do the job instead. Only problem was that within 2 minutes I had completely changed color, to a nice hue of Garnet (The mineral that is, not the Warren Mitchel character). Another 15 min of work and everything was primed, ready for painting at next opportunity. Wouldn't dare have tried applying color today. Quite windy, and rather chilly. Not painting weather.
As one final gesture, I did a test fit of the recently arrived flange...thingy..that the emergency brake drum is attached to. Fits beautifully. I found an issue with the oil seal retainer plate and coresponding bearing cup where the gearbox shaft goes. The bearing cup does not fit in the transfer case sufficiently deep enough for the seal plate to fit as it should. The bearing is definately in as far as it can go. The shaft turns OK, with no slack or strange noises. This little problem has me scratching my head. I really do not want to disassemble the case a third time. Only other way around it is to apply an extrordinary amount of shims, and thats just a cowboy fix! Has anyone come across this before? All bearings & cups are new, and all others sat in the correct positions and did not need anything more than just a single gasket +/- a thin shim. Buggered if I can work it out!
Oh, I nearly forgot......May the 4th be with you. :-)