# Mig question



## outsider347 (Mar 30, 2013)

Don t have a TIG,so
Can i weld bearing quality grade E52100 alloy steel 1 in ball bearing to a mild steel .375 solid round with a mig?

I want to make a holding device


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## Rbeckett (Mar 30, 2013)

The biggest issue will be the dissimilar materials.  You would probably be better off drilling and tapping the ball and using a die to thread the rod.  More permanent and repairable if the ball becomes damaged.  Just a thought.
Bob


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## outsider347 (Mar 30, 2013)

do you think I'd be able to drill a 1" hard ball bearing?


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## psychodelicdan (Mar 30, 2013)

I've welded plenty of ball bearing to the end of shafts. We would weld them to the end of our bore alignment shafts so we could pound them with hammers and not mushroom the ends. What worked real nice was to weld a nut to the shaft then weld the ball to the nut. That way you could also turn them with with a wrench.  So I say if on ones in danger of harm, weld em up. 
Dan


Master of unfinished projects


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## Tony Wells (Mar 30, 2013)

Drilling the BB is not a problem with carbide, but tapping......another story. You could drill it slightly under, and turn the end of the rod to press fit and not worry about welding.


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## Rbeckett (Mar 31, 2013)

You can drill a bearing, but have to use a carbide bit to do it.  Another concern I had was having enough giddy up in your welder to get a good solid weld.  If it is for a dial indicator or low stress part then you should be OK, but if it is weight bearing or a critical system I would pursue the drill and tap or make a ball turner and do one that is completely solid.  The Ball turners are a great project and you will find other uses for it, so that is a good prohect and tool to have.

Bob


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## outsider347 (Mar 31, 2013)

This is project I have in mind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnpOa9WtF7o


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## DJ Bill (Mar 31, 2013)

I keep up with Lazze but missed that one somehow. That is going on my to do list for sure. I am also thinking a ball turner might be the way to go to simplify construction.  Perhaps a ball with a threaded stud to attach to hollow threaded arms.   It's like a large version of those third hand tools you see in the cheap tool store.


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## outsider347 (Mar 31, 2013)

Yea
I was not much interested in making a ball turner prior to seeing the thread, so looks like I'll be making one 
Should work


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## xalky (Mar 31, 2013)

outsider347 said:


> This is project I have in mind
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnpOa9WtF7o


 For this application , mig welding the ball to the rod is probably the way i would do it. Precision and warping are not really a huge concern since the whole arm is made to be adjustable anyway. I'm planning on building one of these octopus clamp fixtures in the very near future. I like his except that i find that he has limited adjustability on one of the axis on each clamp. The problem can be solved by either using a bigger ball, a smaller rod, or smaller clamp clamp radius clearance. I've seen others that do just that.

Instead of using allen screws on the clamps i'm gonna weld a t-bar to the bolt so that they can be adjusted  by hand, without tools.


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## outsider347 (Mar 31, 2013)

Marcel
Tks for the info
Will use your suggestions as well


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## xalky (Mar 31, 2013)

http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/Kit8601 Here's a great place to buy bearings of all types. I've bought quite a bit from them. Cheapest around and fast shipping. They also sell on e-bay.


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## leftandfred (Apr 2, 2013)

[h=2]Re: Mig question[/h]MIG will work OK to weld a ball bearing to a shaft, but if you've got a good old fashioned arc welder with a stainless steel rod you should get a better weld as the s/s rod will act as an alloying agent much the same as using a dissimilar rod would.

leftandfred


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## Tony Wells (Apr 2, 2013)

That's primarily because of the chromium content of the E52100. Most any s/s rod or wire would be better than a typical ER7-x series wire. But there would be no problem I can see using the ER70 wire, as long as you achieved good penetration.


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## PlasmaOnTheBrain (Apr 2, 2013)

If your going to MIG these parts... Figure out some way to set it up so that you can spin the part as you weld. Being a machining forum, I know you guys would yell at me to no end if I suggested clamping the part in a lathe and welding it...:scared: but that is the idea to go for. Maybe find some bearings and an old 3 jaw chuck, and make some kind of pulley setup off of your lathe or mill so that your not welding directly on top of your shiny precision machine equipment, but far enough away to keep the mean spatter off of it. 
Pre-heat the ball bearing to somewhere around 200 F to 300 F and cool it off slow. When you start seeing the water on the surface from the torch vanish, your around 200F, when you touch your leather glove to it and it smokes your somewhere near 400 F to 500 F. Or just go get some temp indicating crayon from the welding store and take the mystery out of it.  The exact degree isn't as important as putting some kind of heat to it before you weld it. A quick little mig weld will be hard and brittle with how much carbon is in that grade... :yikes:
Cooling off slow will help as much as preheat, the slower the better. Ceramic fiber insulation works wonders, an old set of welding leathers works too and even burying it in a box of sand will help more than letting it cool off in air.  
Stainless rod or wire would work fine if you have it, I'd still wave the torch over the bearing a few times but with the stainless its not as important. Preheat and low carbon wire works too and is a lot cheaper. 
Hope this helps
:welding:


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## psychodelicdan (Apr 2, 2013)

I've found cat litter/ floor dry can keep things hot for hours if you bury it deep enough.
Dan


Master of unfinished projects


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## Tony Wells (Apr 2, 2013)

I gave an old susperspacer to a welder one time and he connected a spare wire feeder motor to it for a rotary positioner....worked beautifully for spinning work. I tried it, but I couldn't coordinate the foot control for the TIG and the foot control for the positioner at the same time very well. He was a superb welder, and made good use of it. We left the 3 jaw chuck on it.


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## flwhite500 (Apr 2, 2013)

Vermiculite works well to cool welded parts slowly.


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## aametalmaster (Apr 13, 2013)

outsider347 said:


> Don t have a TIG,so
> Can i weld bearing quality grade E52100 alloy steel 1 in ball bearing to a mild steel .375 solid round with a mig?
> 
> I want to make a holding device



Yup...Bob


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