Fresh fish from South Dakota

[MonsenWorx]

Greetings all. Just wanted to introduce myself and start getting to know everyone here. Just got the Crossfire Pro with all the bells and whistles, and the first batch of shipments should be arriving tomorrow, and I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve, I am fired up jazzed, haha!

I’m a middle aged guy that loves jeeps, offroad vehicles of all types, fabrication, welding, and fishing. Early in my career I was in aerospace, did so for about 25 years, working with NASA, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and other major companies building lots of different things for spacecraft and satellites. Started my career building solar panels, then wound up in Colorado working for a small family owned business building solid state data recorders, flight computers, cables and harnessing and test equipment.

While in Colorado, I got into the off road scene hard, haha…had a Toyota SR-5 that I beat on until it expired, then bought a Cherokee XJ. Of course this led to me wanting to lift it, get bumpers and armor, and I started shopping around and was horrified at some of the prices, so I decided to invest in tools instead, and my love of welding and fabrication was born. Loved it so much, I quit my career in aerospace and pursued welding and fab full time.

Moved out of Colorado and went back to California because my daughter and family was there, and my grandmother was having a rough go, and I wanted to be closer to them all. Worked in a couple of fab shops out there for several years, and after Covid took my mother, me and my pops pooled our resources, sold our properties, and we settled in South Dakota, with a much smaller house, but a MUCH bigger shop!

Over the years I have gotten several decent bits of kit, Miller welder, JD2 bender, and lots of fabrication tools. Been wanting a cnc table for a while, so this is the icing on the cake! I’m really excited to get learning, and getting to know everyone. I’m active on CherokeeForum, in fact, I’m admin for the site, so I’m happy there’s a strong forum presence for Langmuir!

Anywho, nice to meet ya!

[DonP]

Welcome to the forum….What CAD/CAM are you planning on using?

[MonsenWorx]

Fusion360. Already studying up!

[DonP]

Great choice! Pipe bending is on my list of things to play with more this winter. I don’t have pipe bender yet but really cool you can design it and then take the measurements and build it. Let me know if you need any help with 3d bending in fusion for Jeep parts and brackets. It’s tough the first month or two.

[MonsenWorx]

Thanks!

I bought Bend-Tech Pro when I bought my bender years ago, but haven’t used it in a looong time. Looks like I need to reinstall and brush up on that as well!

I, like others, am not a software person, I’m a hardware guy haha…but, i eventually learn what i need to…I really appreciate the offer, and will definitely keep you in mind!

[ChelanJim]

Welcome to the forum James. Our wish for you is that you get as much enjoyment out of this new skill/hobby as we have and hopefully we can help each other along the way.

I used to have a “large” shop: until I filled it up!

I have to let the cat outta the bag about Don…he made the comment:

@DonP

I don’t have pipe bender yet

That means he is ‘this close’ to pulling the trigger on that purchase or it is in on a truck heading to his shop.

Most of us seem to have a habit of buying tools. Tis what keeps us happy and engaged with life. There is nothing more satisfying that making/creating/solving problems.

My dad worked with NASA in Sandusky, OH for about 12 years…then he got the hankering to move to Alaska and worked with FAA (Electronic Technician). They always had the old “upright coolers/dispensers” filled with apple juice at the facility he worked. I was 9 when we moved to Alaska.

[MonsenWorx]

Haha!!! Yes, we’re well on our way to filling ours up as well! Several vehicles and a boat, then all the tools and everything, adds up fast!

Our shop is 35x65x17’, but has one major problem…it isn’t insulated. This is a huge problem in winter, as it regularly gets down to -20*… we just bought materials to start enclosing about 1/4 of the space for winter working. We’re going to frame and sheetrock the ceiling and blow insulation on top, then insulate the outside walls, and build removable inner walls that can stack out of the way during summer. So we have some work ahead of us.

The plan right now is to get the machine and get it built, but we probably won’t be doing any actual cutting with it during the winter, due to the water table freezing. But that gives me plenty of time to get it setup, do any mods, and learn how to program and design, and do dry runs.

Good to know about Don, haha! Hey Don, if you haven’t already pulled the trigger, check out SWAG Offroad’s new JD2 clone bender, it’s beefy, and they do awesome work, I’ve bought several upgrades for my JD2 through them, awesome company.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

[DonP]

@ChelanJim

That means he is ‘this close’ to pulling the trigger on that purchase or it is in on a truck heading to his shop.

I check daily for any new used hydraulic pipe benders in my area. I’m in no hurry but like the ability to make things.

[DonP]

@MonsenWorx

SWAG Offroad’s new JD2 clone bender

SWAG and Woodward are two of my keywords I search. They both make great stuff.

[MonsenWorx]

Ah, a man of culture, I see

[MonsenWorx]

First box showed up today. 3 others came to the post office. We’ll pick them up tomorrow.

[DougDuvall]

Howdy.
Follow the instructions and then read them again as often times the assembly prints have very subtle position/orientation indicators.

Also suggest adding a bracket and bumper to protect the exposed Y axis drive screw (it is obvious which one).

Lubricate the drive screws. 3-in1-oil has worked for others. I’m not sure if the official manual has had this added yet.

There is a lot of water splash. Be prepared for that. Make sure you have a more than ample air system, perhaps even a dryer. There is a lot of smoke generated too - a ventilation system is nice.

Good luck. There is a lot of Fussy with this system. Not as turn key as I had hoped.

Doug D. Carson City, NV

[MonsenWorx]

Always read the instructions several times, despite the stereotypes from wives that we never listen to directions, haha…also have been reading prior to having everything in place…there’s going to be several mods happening beforehand. We have ample air already and have already done a copper condenser with drainage and a watertrap/desiccant filter, and ordered a Motorguard filter for just before the table.

I’ll add more pictures as the days progress, I’ve been downloading everything onto my desktop, and am now cleaning up my laptop and installing whatever is necessary on it.

We got the Razorweld 45 and machine torch today, and several other items like limit switches and THC, etc, in today…I’m picking up several packages early tomorrow morning…the only things missing after that is the actual table, (Monday delivery) and an extra hand torch (Tuesday) so we can use the RW45 to cut by hand if needed.

[MonsenWorx]

Just a couple pics of the condenser setup we built, and a couple of the shop haha

[ChelanJim]

That is an outstanding job with the copper condensation tube layout. Not one leg will be allowed to collect water and you consolidated the need for drain valves to a mere two! This has probably been done before but there are likely others that will mimic this design if it hasn’t.

A bit off topic but it is interesting what is considered patent worthy. I met someone that had a patent on the loading of container ships. It dictated the order in which the containers would be allowed to be loaded and unloaded. For the life of me, I could not see how he could demand royalties if dock workers decided to load and unload containers in a certain order. I am just saying: It would be like you getting a patent on your layout and from here on and anyone who decided to solder copper tubing in the pattern, like you did, would need to pay royalties to you.

Nice shop space and what an excellent floor surface. Your concrete contractor was meticulous.

And yes, it would be nice to have some insulated space for those cold winters. I remember one day in Fairbanks, working on my car (Heavy Chevy Chevelle '72) to put headers and dual exhaust. It was no warmer than -20 degrees and the inside of the garage was no warmer than about 10 degrees. It was absolutely miserable. I was 18 years old. We worked without gloves for about 10 hours (3 of us). There must have been a small space heater that we warmed our hands occasionally. I really can’t remember that part. The things we do when we have a desire in our minds!!!

[MonsenWorx]

Thanks, we based our design on several different setups we saw on YouTube and picked what we liked from each and came up with this setup. Not pictured, next to where our hose reel is, we put a water trap and desiccant assembly, and we’re going to get the Motorguard filter for just before the table.

[MonsenWorx]

Well, we got our torch height controller, limit switch kit, and machine head torch mount on Saturday, and the table is supposed to be here today, but i have a question, it said shipment 1 of 3, yet I’ve seen nothing about the other 2, is this normal? Just wondering if they stagger out the shipments on purpose, or do they now ship everything at once?

I’ll contact them once we get the package and see what we got if everything isn’t there, just wanted some input from thise who have been there already lol

[72Pony]

It is shipped in 3 boxes. Box 1 has the frame and all the long components. Box 2 has the electronics and box 3 is the water table and gussets. I would assume that with all the parts being in stock all 3 boxes were shipped the same day. When I ordered my table, it was a two month wait and the last box to show up was the frame (box 1). I think it came a week after the other two boxes. Others that ordered in that time frame had to wait even longer for box 1 as there was some qc issues with some of the powdercoat on the legs at the time.

For me box 1 (again my last box) went from label created to out for delivery the same day… so I wouldn’t put much stock in the notifications… If I had to guess, Id say you will get them all at the same time or close… Hopefully someone with more recent experience will comment.

[MonsenWorx]

Thanks for the insight, I am curious because they’ve been on point with providing tracking numbers and sending email notifications at key points in the shipping process, not many people go that little extra mile when shipping, and that alone impressed me.

I’ll find out when I get home from work i suppose, haha

[MonsenWorx]

Well, my pops went to the shop to get some tools, and it was delivered! All 3 packages! WOOT

Super impressed with the delivery times. Positive experience so far.