Vise for welding

homebrewed

homebrewed

H-M Supporter - Gold Member
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2017
Messages
2,376
I have a low profile drill press vise I rarely use for its intended purpose. I'm wondering if there is any risk of damaging it if I use it for holding stuff I'm welding. I'm not talking about the obvious issue of hitting it with the welder, more about messing up the vise screw threads due to current flow through them.
 
I use my bench vise all the time, and I've had no problems with it. As for current through the moving parts, that's easy enough to remedy by grounding the work, not the vise. Unless you're TIG or oxy-acetylene welding, you will have to worry about weld spatter. You can either cover the parts of the vise with a welding drop matt or slather them with an anti spatter product. Over the long term the vise will likely see more wear due to the small welding spatter getting into the mechanism.
 
The current flow will not hurt the screw . I recently got a vise that was used for welding and the screw was fine . What hurt the vise was some kind of arcing was happening , (it wasn't spatter) or maybe it got hit with the stinger . Any how it got hardened (just a spot) .
 
I use an anti-spatter agent on my bench, vises, and other articles I don't want to have to wrestle spatter from. The stuff I use is called "Weld-Kleen 350".
Of course I also observe 'best practices' and connect the ground as close to the work as possible, so current isn't flowing through my lead screw or anything else that I value. A magnetic ground clamp helps a great deal, and I'm a big proponent of them. They seem to make a more positive circuit than a lot the ways in which you can attach a standard clamp.

GsT
 
GeneT45 said:
I use an anti-spatter agent on my bench, vises, and other articles I don't want to have to wrestle spatter from. The stuff I use is called "Weld-Kleen 350".
Of course I also observe 'best practices' and connect the ground as close to the work as possible, so current isn't flowing through my lead screw or anything else that I value. A magnetic ground clamp helps a great deal, and I'm a big proponent of them. They seem to make a more positive circuit than a lot the ways in which you can attach a standard clamp.

GsT
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for all the replies! I'll look around for Weld-Kleen 350.
 
I think Weld-Kleen 350 is just a 1:10 solution of Palmolive and water with a little bit of base to ionize it fully. Sometimes chem companies like CRC will obfuscate their ingredients the same way Coke or Pepsi does, particularly when the product is ridiculously simple or mostly water.

I've never used it, but I probably should sometimes.
 
pontiac428 said:
I think Weld-Kleen 350 is just a 1:10 solution of Palmolive and water with a little bit of base to ionize it fully. Sometimes chem companies like CRC will obfuscate their ingredients the same way Coke or Pepsi does, particularly when the product is ridiculously simple or mostly water.

I've never used it, but I probably should sometimes.
Click to expand...
Sounds like I need to find the SDS for the stuff. But these days many components are just listed as "proprietary"

Wondering if a flash coating of copper might serve the same purpose. Yes it won't last but I bet the other stuff needs to be frequently applied, too.
 
You really want copper for an exposed screw. I've never tried it, but copper based anti-seize might work ok. The vises I use for welding have a concealed screw. That's why the Wilton Bear has above still functions. Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top