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people online in the last 1 minutes - 0 members, 0 anon and 0 guests. (Most ever was 29 at 13:36:32 Sat Aug 3 2002) |
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Macheteman 14:18:58 Sat Apr 28 2012 Offline 4 posts Reply |
Kevin,
She's a thing of beauty. I think it's a perfect design for the vessel, especially the stern center pontoon, and the craning jet/flare. Brilliant... I might have kept the power hose single til after the 180 for laminar flow, and would certainly think about hinging the riffle frames, with the hinge side vertically adjustable for quick clean outs on site and the ability to change up the sluice medium. But what do I know...... |
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thegoldgopher 14:32:57 Sun Apr 29 2012 Offline 24 posts Reply |
Did she ever get a name? It's bad luck to have a boat with no name. Even Forrest Gump knows that! I know there was one about money, but hey, she's a classy lady. Give her a classy name.
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dickb 04:23:38 Mon Apr 30 2012 Offline 102 posts Reply |
Hi Kevin:
The lay flat to the jet worries me. Lots of unsupported water weight there. Every thing else looks really good and shipshape. JMHO. :smile: Dickb |
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AuTSaurus 07:30:58 Mon Apr 30 2012 Offline 87 posts Reply |
Kev,
If you made another cradle like the one you have with the rubber, maybe you could attach it at/with the two bolts at the top of the flare connection shown in your picture. That way it would always be supported, even when you raised and lowered the winch cable for the jet. Maybe? Greg |
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Darkstar_Mining 15:21:07 Mon Apr 30 2012 Offline 46 posts Reply |
Looking AWESOME!!!God bless and good mining. :doublethumbsup:
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dickb 18:35:26 Mon Apr 30 2012 Offline 102 posts Reply |
Hi Kevin:
I saw the support, my worry is strain on the camlock on the eductor and chaffing at the support bracket. You'll know how she works after sea trials. Way easier to work out the bugs in WA, than AK. Still think she is a super dredge. :smile: Dickb |
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Prospect09er 20:50:46 Mon Apr 30 2012 Offline 88 posts Reply |
Stick out any further and that train is gonna get ya. :smile: j/k
Awesome job! What blade are you using in your saw to cut that 6061? |
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Darkstar_Mining 13:39:34 Tue May 1 2012 Offline 46 posts Reply |
You ain't kidding Kevin, I had safety goggles on and was getting pommeled by slivers! HOT!! I want a spool gun, we Tig welded all of our welds, needless to say again I want a spool gun!! It took 3 days just to reinforce the framing between the pontoons. We would have been done in a half day leaving alot more time for other work. I see how clean the gun welds and I am convinced. God bless and good mining.:fish_whack:
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Darkstar_Mining 17:23:17 Tue May 1 2012 Offline 46 posts Reply |
Ya, all those hard to reach places are going to get mig welded when we get to Nome, it would probably be fine as is but you never know, the Bering Sea is an unforgiving mistress. Well, Mike and I are climbing into the truck in 10 mins. I will upload the photos this eavening we want to beat the rush hour traffic in Cleveland. Our journey will be 24000 miles of freeway, wish us luck. Igor is expecting us by the fifth. God bless and good mining.:doublethumbsup:
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thegoldgopher 14:44:02 Wed May 2 2012 Offline 24 posts Reply |
check this out:
http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/support/process-and-theory/Pages/pulsed-mig-detail.aspx It is about pulsed MIG. What pulsed mig does is to form a ball of molten metal on the end of the wire, then like TIG, at the proper moment, it zaps it with current, putting it at exactly the proper spot. It is a preprogrammed thing in the computer that choreographs a series of changes in voltage and wire speed to lay down a series of puddles that form good penetration, good fusion, and really great looks. The Lincoln site says it saves wire and gas. In our newsgroup welding group, the guys who have used pulsed mig for aluminum say it is the cats meow, looking like TIG, but as fast as any MIG. I'd get a demo before comitting to any new equipment. I've pulled many of those little wires out of a lot of parts of my body. Yeah, you hardly feel them going in. That is what safety glasses are all about, but when I'm using a wire wheel, I like a full face shield. |
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dicklaxt 21:52:27 Wed May 2 2012 Offline 0 posts Reply |
Been following along a bit,but missed out some where.I thought there was going to be some sea trials or is that being done in Seattle and/or Alaska.It appears it is enroute to some where,where's Egor at.
dick |
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jcazgoldchaser 02:29:15 Fri May 4 2012 Offline 5 posts Reply |
http://www.shrinkpictures.com/ |
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molecule_counter 17:48:48 Sat May 5 2012 Offline 4 posts Reply |
DS, if you go West from Cleveland, it's much closer to the west coast than going East for 24000 miles. Smile, good luck in your mining project.
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thegoldgopher 00:56:31 Sun May 6 2012 Offline 24 posts Reply |
Went online today to research pulsed MIG, just in case I do any aluminum fab: Very efficient. Lower wire and gas use. TIG looking welds. Deep penetration. Less burnthrough. Short learning curve.
The upside, a full rig is $10k. If you have your own gas bottles, that is. Steve |
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thegoldgopher 15:23:02 Sun May 6 2012 Offline 24 posts Reply |
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dicklaxt 23:05:48 Mon May 14 2012 Offline 0 posts Reply |
Did it make it to the barge on time?
dick |
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thegoldgopher 15:40:08 Tue May 15 2012 Offline 24 posts Reply |
Kevin: As I posted once here before, please document welding failures. I think it will make the next dredge better. There will be a tremendous amount of flex in this, as it is built as a box, with two runners along the full length. There is a tremendous amount of diagonal stress that one would not have with a monohull, or barge. Then, like a Hobie Cat, there is a basic trampoline across it all, holding the pontoons together, AND, a tremendous amount of weight on that. Add the flexing and torquing associated when you winch, and it is easy to leverage and put strain on all the welds.
I would personally investigate MIG pulsed weld for the next one. They are $10,000, but you spent way more than that. And with the pulsed MIG, you might be able to get it done with just one, as their production rates are up there. And you can get them used, too. I'm sure you've already learned a lot from this one, and it is just starting. Your failures and catastrophes will teach you more, and that part will be the important stuff. Keep us informed on how you're doing, how much you're getting (secretly, of course, with words like a little, some, a lot, etc) and how things are working vs: how they were intended to work. And that includes welding. It is done with the idea that it's going to stick. Then reality, weather, rough seas, other boats, collisions and bumping, torsion, cold temperatures, et al rear their ugly heads. It did come out looking awesome, tho, didn't it? Steve |
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Prospect09er 18:57:02 Tue May 15 2012 Offline 88 posts Reply |
thegoldgopher
In a couple weeks, there will be plenty of dredges in Nome for you to examine. All different sizes. Nearly a full spectrum of manufactured dredges will be present, afloat off Nome this year. Since it’s painfully obvious you need to be versed on the functional operation of gold production dredges, this would be the perfect opportunity for you. Trying to reap information strictly from internet forums is poor R&D. You might be interested to know that welding is only one part of the whole equation. You might also be a bit more circumspect of premature evaluations and unwarranted criticism of others. |
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kevyluvu 02:42:03 Wed May 16 2012 Offline 261 posts Reply |
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dickb 04:50:13 Wed May 16 2012 Offline 102 posts Reply |
Hi Kevin:
She looks sweet. I like the way she is riding in the water. I suspect that while dredging she will be sitting level in the water. Everything looks real shipshape and well laid out. Should be a real gold getter and turn a lot of heads in Nome. Have a great year and be safe. :smile: Dickb |
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thegoldgopher 02:15:45 Thu May 17 2012 Offline 24 posts Reply |
Time will write the final chapter, won't it?
Looks great. Going to love to hear the updates on operations. I fail to see any criticisms on my part. I know there are going to be weld failures in the cold welded cold lapped welds of this MIG rig when it hits cold water. I am stupid in many ways, but I do know just a little about welding. Even owned the types of welders Kevin used on this one, and know their weak spots. So, I suggested that documentation of the failures, and the LEARNING from those would be a good thing. I do also predict that if this season turns out to be a pretty good one, that Kevin will invest in pulsed MIG for the next one, or to service this one. So, with not even sea trials to base anything on, I guess it's just straight into the fray to find weak spots. Just hope it's not anything major. Time will tell, won't it? |
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jcazgoldchaser 08:33:44 Thu May 17 2012 Offline 5 posts Reply |
Man that looks fantastic.
What sorts of safety equipment do they require up there? |
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kevyluvu 04:07:42 Fri May 18 2012 Offline 261 posts Reply |
To Steve the "know it all troll". The boat was built by a professional company years ago and has already seen multiple years of use in ocean conditions with much more weight than we are running. You know nothing about the process they used to weld the boat. You know nothing about building and operating a successful dredge. If you came to Nome you would fail miserably. I will not document S@%t for you and I will not be giving this forum updates on operations any longer. I joined this forum to help people. People like you leave a bitter taste in my mouth,and I have no desire to give my knowledge to help someone like you. |
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jcazgoldchaser 04:50:30 Fri May 18 2012 Offline 5 posts Reply |
Well, that sucks. But couldn't say didn't see it coming. You can't change them, all you can do is ignore them. :mad:
Hope you'll enlighten the rest of us. Pretty pictures without a low coherence interferometry graph were doing just fine. :smile: Stay warm, stay safe, and best of luck in your endeavors! JCAZ |
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growler 19:52:40 Fri May 18 2012 Offline 36 posts Reply |
Kevin, That looks Sweet!!!. I believe with your quad jet, you will be processing/recovering 2-4 times than normal. You should be able to use your throtle differently (rpm per depth). I have not seen in your pics or posts mention of trailer tire inner tubes to minimize fight with suction hose ( fullhose pull- empty hose slack ) altho dont look like you will be pumping water only much! Great boat, jim
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thegoldgopher 22:06:13 Fri May 18 2012 Offline 24 posts Reply |
Empty propane bottles make a down and dirty flotation device. Mostly cheap or free, and give around 30# bouyancy. If you barge your stuff up there, you can pick them up stateside for free, or $2 at yard sales.
Steve |
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dicklaxt 12:47:47 Sat May 19 2012 Offline 0 posts Reply |
Darn I wanted to see her at work..
dick |
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AK_Au_diver 17:05:22 Sat May 19 2012 Offline 249 posts Reply |
Propane bottles? To float a hose? That would be a dangerous and difficult mess. For 10" dredges, and some 8" ones, people use buoys, the large ones orange ones that have the blue tie point on one end. They tie two or three of those along the hose, cut out a large hole near the blue part. The diver uses their air to add buoyancy as needed, or squeeze the float to let out air as needed. |
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Jim_Alaska 20:12:07 Sat May 19 2012 Offline 4302 posts Admin  Reply |
Used inner tubes are cheap, light, and can be deflated and packed around easily.
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Darkstar_Mining 07:32:26 Sun Oct 14 2012 Offline 46 posts Reply |
ALL i CAN SAY IS MY EX WIFE FU**ED MY WHOLE PLAN TO BE ON THE ARGO THIS YEAR... NOW YOU STEVE HAVE CHASED THE BEST POST IN THIS WHOLE FORUM OFF..YOU SIR SUCK...KEVIN...IM TRYING AGAIN FOR NEXT FALL..GONNA BE THERE IN 2014 SPRING..KEVIN IF YOU BY CHANCE SEE THIS.. I AM Live Laugh Love on facebook...hit me up...gonna start all over and build exactly what I want this time...shes a bitch...women
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