Doh!

 

In the don't I feel stupid department, I bring you this: 

The college has a bunch of these Miller welders that are set up to weld both stick and TIG. I've never cared for them because the welding voltage was too low. There wasn't any real force behind the arc, especially noticeable when trying to weld in the vertical or overhead position with 7018 electrodes. Plus, the high school kids waste a ton of rods because they stick the rods when first starting, again due to low voltage, break an inch of flux off the rod and then toss them into the stub cans. One of my students came in last week and said he looked up the manual online and you can change the voltage setting. He brought a print-out of the manual page, changed one of the machines to the higher setting and the difference is unbelievable, They now work like a traditional transformer/rectifier - weld vertical just as pretty as you please. I've been there almost three years and most of that time I've been using these machines. Bitchin' about 'em but using them just the same. Told the boss about how to change the machines and the difference it made. He had no idea either. That's what happens when you give old guys new technology.

Speaking of which, check this out:

New CNC controllers for the milling machines. The lab could be a fun place to work pretty soon. A salesman is going to be coming in one of these days to give the instructor a demo on set-up and operation. He said I could sit in on the demo, so I'm looking forward to that. Maybe I should learn how to take a decent photo with my phone also.