Been away, I'm back now.

Hi Ernie

Know this is a welding newsgroup, but anyway, remember that now you have an AppleMac with OS-X operating system you now have access to loads of Unix utilities and programs from the Free Software movement. All put together by a bunch of hippies into a "packages" distribution system at

Drawing tools Graph plotting Programming languages Typesetters The mighty "emacs" text processor and handler of all things text-based Database programs Wordprocessors and "office applications" if you are into that sort of stuff!

Just install the downloader then click on what you want and it downloads and installs, no further intervention.

Puts in all in a directory, /sw, down in the file system root so it doesn't interact or depend on anything else on the system. Longstop assurance - if you were to delete that directory and all its tree of contents there would be no "fink" unix presence anywhere on the computer. Not as you'd want to...

My stainless steel / TIG work - all the blank shapes, template shapes (cut with a jig-saw from MDF board) and the jigs (plasma-cut and "precision angle-ground" from steel plate) were calculated using a program written in Lisp and run on the "clisp" ANSI Common Lips interpretter I grabbed from "Fink".

If you see the "curvaceous vase", first picture in

shape was decided on playing around with "gnuplot" the graph-plotting program, also grabbed from "Fink". I put in various mathematical equations until I saw a shape that was pleasing. And that became the shape of the vase.

Richard S.

I am especially glad I got this now before Macs go Intel next year. That is not something I am looking forward to.

Interesting stuff. The guy who created my website did it all in Emacs. I am sure he will be very pleased that I can run the real thing now, although BBEdit is pretty cool too.

Nuts, Honestly, For an entry level guy would a Maxstar be good for him or something close? I really don't know much about buying machines, I bought the Dynasty on your suggestion from my upgraded welders I sold on Craigslist. As for the race track it's August 27th, National Dragster Challenge at Bonanza Raceway in Walla Walla, Wa. I don't know if your close but the invite still stands. I learned a lot from you, I would at least like you to see my work and let me pick up the tab for dinner.

Rob

Fraser Competition Engines Chicago, IL.

From: ||Mobile data link- "TAD 3570 Top Alcohol Dragster", Robert Fraser Racing Enterprises, FCE LTD. Chicago, IL.|| Please send E-mail in lieu of calls to the shop or call on the satellite phone, we are on the road this week winning||

For what its worth:

When I was shopping for an inexpensive Tig welder, I spoke with a lot of people about the Econotig (and the equivalent Tigmate) and no one recommended it. The most interesting example was at a Miller roadshow. They brought the 18-wheeler rolling storefront with everything they make. I saw the new equipment, the big monster pipe cutters, the torches and accessories and everything. But I couldn't find the Econotig. When I asked the rep, he said that it was the only piece of equipment he wouldn't sell, and he refused to bring it on the roadshow.

This is too bad because it is the least expensive High Freq Tig welder you can find, and I see them around at $800 used, but given this universal opinion, I went with a used Daytona Mig Pocket Pulse, an older, lift start, non-high frequency unit, myself...

YMMV...

A Maxstar 150 is a fine basic TIG if you don't need to do aluminum.

Unfortunately at that time I will be at Burning Man.