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Yea, according to who your read its somewhere between inconclusive and will melt your lungs.  Ventilation, as with most toxic fumes and limited exposure is the key.  As to brazing vs, stick welding as 70 amps - a quick hand should do it.

The consistency of the finish on Menard's track lead me to believe its hot dipped so there will be variability in the galvanization.  I figure I'll grind down to bear metal and move fast with the stick.

By the time you cut everything, get it jigged up, figured out, test it and make sure it’s gonna work, the mail man would be walking up your driveway, crossover in hand,……welding any of this thin gauge sheet metal is just not a good idea,….and definitely not a stick welder!!…..good god, you’d never get it turned down enough to bury a rod into it to do anything,….but make it disappear,……I weld all the live long day, even a small mig machine is gonna leave you with a lot of clean up, ….to be sure there’s a hobby shop or something near by??….a crossover is one of those essentials nearly any train store would carry,…….but hey, …it’s your time …good luck, and enjoy!…

Pat

Well it was an honest effort.  by the time I got enough of the zinc off to actually weld it, there was not enough thickness to weld - just burned back even at 70 AMPS.

Was hoping that the web at the base of the rail would give me what I needed.

Don't have the materials to braze it.

As to the local Columbus Oh hobby shops - even the used guy - not 0 gauge 45s.

Well it was an honest effort.  by the time I got enough of the zinc off to actually weld it, there was not enough thickness to weld - just burned back even at 70 AMPS.

Was hoping that the web at the base of the rail would give me what I needed.

Don't have the materials to braze it.

As to the local Columbus Oh hobby shops - even the used guy - not 0 gauge 45s.

You’d been chasing that thin stuff all the way to the pins….

Pat

Well it was an honest effort.  by the time I got enough of the zinc off to actually weld it, there was not enough thickness to weld - just burned back even at 70 AMPS.

Was hoping that the web at the base of the rail would give me what I needed.

Don't have the materials to braze it.

As to the local Columbus Oh hobby shops - even the used guy - not 0 gauge 45s.

You should have made a video. That had to be an instant poof at 70amps. Out of curiosity what rod type and diameter did you use and what kind of power (ac or dc)?

Mannyrock,

Not at 5pm on a Sunday afternoon.

Columbus Oh is a major city with 2 hours being Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh, then of course the phone calls from store to store, or the drive at random

Transportation costs would have been $43.26 just for gasoline in my vehicle, $140 based on the current IRS deduction for mileage.

I won't share my hourly rate, but is north of minimum wage.

Concept to test burn was less than 1 hours.

Test burn to this ain't gonna work was less than 1 hour.

Chat time on OGR was while doin' other stuff.

SPFord27

DC, used what I had on had 3/32 - yes I know that's awfully heavy for my material - but again it was just using what I already had in the shop.

My arc was limited to just barely longer that it took for my auto darken hood to darken - where talking dwell time for the rod measured in thousands to hundredths of a second  When I held the arc longer, I started to get burn thru.

Not quite 70's era autobody steel thickness here...

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