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So, i'm currently in the process of building Aerial Rig number 3. It's another aluminum rig, that will be capable of being set up in either a 4-leg 19-foot height, or a three-leg 24-foot height. The 4-leg configuration will be able to be set up by three or four people in less than 15 minutes. the 3-leg configuration should be able to be set up with only 2 people, in about the same time. Possibly single-handedly with a special tool i'm thinking about. The 4-leg configuration will have much more open space at the top. [a full construction writeup will eventually appear on this LJ...]
Anyhow, the most recent thing i needed to do was to do a *lot* of plug-welds, to join tubes to internal sleeves. 96 plug welds, in 11/16ths holes, joining an inner .375 thickness sleeve to the outer .25 thickness tube.
Doing this in aluminum requires a pretty hefty arc voltage, and produces copious amounts of nasty welding fumes. I've got a pretty decent exhaust fan located a few feet above my welding table, that is sufficient for most things, but in this case i would need to be welding on the floor, much farther away from it. Especially since my plan is to attempt to sell rigs of this design to aerialists far and wide, i decided i really want to have a better system for dealing with the welding fumes. Professional welding shops can spend enormous amounts of money on air handling equipment to move the nasty gases out quickly. But I've been in shops with really good exhaust systems, and still, your head is *right next to* the arc. You're still going to get bathed in some nastiness no matter how good that fan system above you in the ceiling is.
( I decided to attack the problem from a different angle entirely. I thought about SCUBA divers, and then did this: )
Anyhow, the most recent thing i needed to do was to do a *lot* of plug-welds, to join tubes to internal sleeves. 96 plug welds, in 11/16ths holes, joining an inner .375 thickness sleeve to the outer .25 thickness tube.
Doing this in aluminum requires a pretty hefty arc voltage, and produces copious amounts of nasty welding fumes. I've got a pretty decent exhaust fan located a few feet above my welding table, that is sufficient for most things, but in this case i would need to be welding on the floor, much farther away from it. Especially since my plan is to attempt to sell rigs of this design to aerialists far and wide, i decided i really want to have a better system for dealing with the welding fumes. Professional welding shops can spend enormous amounts of money on air handling equipment to move the nasty gases out quickly. But I've been in shops with really good exhaust systems, and still, your head is *right next to* the arc. You're still going to get bathed in some nastiness no matter how good that fan system above you in the ceiling is.
( I decided to attack the problem from a different angle entirely. I thought about SCUBA divers, and then did this: )
