Got this Chinese 3HP VFD yesterday for 5 bucks. Looks new and doesn't smell burnt. It could be working. But wait until I touch it and plug it in, LOL. Never had one like this before. I read about all sorts of programing headaches. And I'm not the best at button pushing!
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Glad to see you back here, Jake!  What in the world have you been up to? 

Hello guys, it's been a while, but I'm back in communication.

It's been a while since I have posted, or even visited, and I'm looking forward to catching up.

Here we are once again at the day in America where we take pause to remember those brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice so that the rest of us may enjoy the freedoms provided by the American way of life. In my close family we never lost anyone to war, so I consider ourselves very fortunate. Instead, I often think of those families that did lose a son or daughter, husband, wife, or parent. Such a loss, no matter how noble the cause, leaves a void in the family fabric that can never be filled.

Please take a little time today to reflect on those people that died for our country, for our way of life, our freedoms, for US. If not for them I am afraid life here would be far different.

To those of you who have lost loved ones fighting for our country, I can only tell you how sorry I am that you lost that friend or loved one and assure you that he or she did not lose their life in vain.

The gold solder I have was found many moons ago. And I have enough to last my life time. It comes in many different melting temps, karats and colors. Have not "today" priced it, guessing it's $$$. But for me and the small scale work that I do, if I had to buy it, the cost would not stop me, because the results I get are excellent. Not sure on the temp? The steel just starts to turn that dull faint red. I use that borax flux that washes off with water when you are done. And a Mapp torch for the heat.

Welcome aboard Flash!!  You will find that we are not overactive here, but in some ways it is kind of nice. The big forums are so busy and have so many posts that a fellow can't possibly read them all!  

Looking forward to hearing and seeing what you have to share when and as you wish! Once you get a couple of posts done the security questions go away, and once you have 5 posts the classifieds and downloads sections become available to you as well.

If you have any questions or difficulties, feel free to speak up!

I learn something new every day! I had no idea that gold solder was a thing! I assume that parts prep is similar to that of silver solder?  What about temperature? Similar to silver solder also?  And price?  I assume it is also a bit more expensive.

Now that I think about it, I guess I always knew in the back of my head that gold solder was a thing, but never ever gave it any real thought. I know that jewelers use some sort of soldering process to assemble rings and other jewelry, it makes total sense that one would use gold solder on gold rings!

Just the same, thanks for bringing it to light!

South-Central Pennslvania, home to me for these many years.

I hardly remember when metal began to be an interest,I guess in the late 1940's (after the war) when my dad set up HIS Dads forge to make stuff and to educate my brother and I. By the time I was10,he had taught me how to make hinges for the barn doors and we mounted my first pair.

Lotta other stuff between then and now - along the way, I got welder certs,(MIG, stick,flux core all pos, all thickness)  bought an Atlas/Craftsman to make parts for a home-built aircraft  which I never finished.

My last real metal job was with a family owned foundry business which grew to multinational size, where I was "Tool& Gage Supervisor" which was just a fancy name for responsibility for about 10,000 pieces of measuring eqpt and for finding, buying, setting up and writing the programming for two CMM's.

Retired from all that in 2002, and have NOT looked back. Hardly have turned on the little lathe that now sits forlornly in my overly-cluttered garage/shop.

At 87 now, there are a few little projects that still call my name, mostly some gunsmithing things.

But I'm here to learn, no end of that. Thanks for the opportunity to join you folks and fill in what I need for what's left.

Made a few parts for one of my small metal lathes. The tabs/ears on the thick looking washers was gold soldered in place. If I suspect a problem with the hard solder flowing correctly, I will use gold solder instead of silver solder. It could be just me, but I get better results with how gold solder flows/wicks.
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For ten bucks that's a nice score!  Looking at yours I think we have twins.. and both missing the round plate. LOL 
Forget where I got mine but it lives on top of the 10 ton hydraulic one to do quick little jobs that don't require fussing.