Show Us your Welders!

[markba633csi]

I wonder if he got a warranty with that?
MS

 

[brino]

Not to be outclassed by all the new-fangled stuff, here's mine- I just got it,

I think I saw a bunch of those chasing Dr. Who!
-brino

 

[FOMOGO]

I think I saw a bunch of those chasing Dr. Who!
-brino

I was going to say it looks like something from Flash Gordon, or perhaps Gods switch-board. Very cool looking machine. Mike

 

[brino]

Dalek that's the name:

 

[brino]

Okay, here's mine (I gotta counter all that blue above )
Sorry, but I cannot get a straight-on picture without moving a pile of other equipment.
From left to right:
-BOC oxy-acetylene rig,
-Everlast WRC-300A torch cooler,
-Everlast 250EX AC/DC TIG/stick,
-Century AC stick,
-Lincoln MigPak 180,



Two gas cylinders and tube of rods(covered by a coffee can) are on the back of the table.

The Everlast front plastic shield had some acetone drip on it from something I was cleaning on the table....it now has a cloudy appearance in that drip shape......I guess that's why it has a shield?!?!

The welding table was a temporary build(yeah right!) about 25 years ago when I only had the Century and almost no money. The casters came surplus, the upright tubes are conduit from an abandon electrical service at our first house, the top and bottom shelf were scrap telecom cabinet doors from work. The top is drooping in the middle from too many heavy things over the years. I have an old cast saw table waiting to take over this duty....I just need the time.

I have also built a microwave-oven transformer based spot welder.

It does not get used regularly and was in the shed....the reason for the condensation rust.
I have another transformer that I can add in parallel to get more current.
The tips are used-up MIG contacts.

-brino

 

[CraigB1960]

How do you guys like those everlast welders? Especially the powerpro TIG/Stick/Plasma? That welder has been on my wish list for 2yrs or so.

I have the Everlast 255 EXT, really like it. I am practicing stick welding to get better. My TIG welding is fairly good now.

One thing I can say, it is very hard to beat the customer service from Everlast. Buy directly from them (either call them or go through one of their Reps. like Mark (Lugweld). Not only do you get a good discount, you get that direct line from a service standpoint.

 

[CraigB1960]

My mind completes the picture. No goggles or any type of eye protection, and the other end of the line is connected with battery clamps to the service side of the the power line.

As for buzz, I can picture that thing walking around by itself.

No eye protection...particle or UV, no gloves and skin protection. Electrical is very dangerous. The welds look very substandard...so hopefully not a load bearing structure...though it looks to be perhaps scaffolding.

I take it that this is from India? There are a lot of electrocutions there. A lot of dangerous practices. For instance, their substations have bus bars/wires that are low to ground with easy touch potential. It is sad that practices like that still exist, but when you have to provide for your family.....

Makes one value our safety standards and equipment.

 

[strantor]

Home made spot welder:




BTW that stainless cover started life as a refrigerator door. The heavy cable is from a boat and the transformer came from a MWave my wife found curb cruising.
Robert

That looks nice!

I have also built a microwave-oven transformer based spot welder.
View attachment 133382
It does not get used regularly and was in the shed....the reason for the condensation rust.
I have another transformer that I can add in parallel to get more current.
The tips are used-up MIG contacts.

-brino

I never met anyone else that made one of these, and now there are 3 of us in this thread. That's pretty cool! great minds think alike.
I learned a lot in the process of building mine. Did a lot of research on the commercial units used in production; they are something else entirely.
I want to make a bigger and better version, a DC capacitive dump kind with current control.
The AC-powered microwave transformer type fuses metal together no doubt, but the required weld time is so long that the heat travels far out from the weld.

 

[rwm]

I thought about using a capacitor with a diode in addition. Is there any risk it could explode from the rapid discharge? Where could that be found?
R

 

[strantor]

I thought about using a capacitor with a diode in addition. Is there any risk it could explode from the rapid discharge? Where could that be found?
R

I will not go on the eternal public record of the internet and say that "there is NO risk it could explode from rapid discharge," However, I would be very surprised and confused if I saw a capacitor explode from rapid discharge. When capacitors explode, it's usually because they started leaking electrons through the dielectric, either because they are old or because higher than rated voltage was applied to them.

Not just any 'ol cap would work for this, as the discharge rate (the discharge current, actually, hence the rate) would be limited by the capacitor itself, especially from the DC resistance of its legs/terminals. You would need some capacitors designed for high current, and with a very low ESR. something like these averox IGBT snubber caps:

(note the huge tabs, good for high current)
You would need several of these in parallel. I haven't done any math on it, but I'm guessing~10 of these things in parallel could dump a few 10s of thousands of amps for a few mS.