Rollout Wheel (Welding Positioner)

[erikmannie]

Today, I received a rollout wheel kit today from HK Fabrication in Conway, AR.

I will post pictures of what I received.

I get to weld this up myself. I also get to assemble a trailer spindle to a trailer hub. See pictures of these trailer parts that I bought from Tractor Supply.

The used plain back 8” 3J scroll chuck that I bought should bolt right on, but the chuck does not include a lathe chuck key or mounting bolts.

If I make my own lathe chuck key (which I prefer), is mild steel good enough? I won’t be tightening the chuck too much, as the chuck is only holding the pipe (or tubing) for welding, & never for machining. Maybe I could make the body of the chuck key out of 4140 prehard.

I will get to choose which welding process to use for welding this rollout wheel kit. The last project I did was all SMAW, so I won’t choose that.

I just got a new tank of acetylene that I haven’t tried yet. I always love to gas weld, but I have been doing a lot of gas welding lately. As such, I should choose GTAW or GMAW because it has been awhile since I have used either one of those processes.

I will choose GTAW (never my favorite process for carbon steel) because I think my wireless foot pedal is out of batteries.

 

[erikmannie]

Rollout Wheel Kit:

Roll Out Wheels For Pipe Welders | Basic, Pro, & DIY Options

Our roll out wheels are designed to make your pipe welding projects easier. Save time and money by using the right tool for the job. Most orders ship same day.

hkfabrication.com

Spindle & Hub:

 

[erikmannie]

What I received from HK Fabrication. All of the plate is 1/4”:

 

[erikmannie]

I bought a used Bison chuck for $324 delivered.



I was thinking about buying a very economical chuck from mainland China for as low as $150 delivered, but I have been trying to only buy Chinese products as a last resort.

Also, the Chinese chucks are advertised as both 8” and 200mm; most are marked 200.

The Bison is 8”, so the Bison is pretty much guaranteed to bolt right on.

Here is what the manufacturer (HK Fabrication) when I inquired about this 8” versus 200mm question, telling them that I was probably going to buy a Bison:

“Bison shouldn’t be an issue. We rarely have them not line up. Normally it’s really old ones or China knock offs.”

My point here is that I just wanted to go to with a sure thing (i.e. the Bison bolting on to the rollout wheel).

 

[erikmannie]

This rollout wheel kit is designed to fit in a 2” I.D. trailer hitch, usually in the back of a pickup truck.

I will be putting my rollout wheel inside a 2” I.D., .25” wall square tubing arm on a fixture stand. This arm will be about 36” long, so the arm *must* be supported by a sturdy, height adjustable stand.

The load of rollout wheel kit + chuck + pipe can be up to 120 pounds extending out as much as 5 feet (!), so if the support stand fails, then the whole work bench will come tumbling over. If I bolt the work bench to the wall (which I will), I’m sure that the plate would pull out the plywood bench top if the support stand were to fail.

My fixture stand will be used indoors sometimes (only for GTAW, & bolted to a welding table), & outdoors most of the time (all other welding processes, & bolted to a wooden work bench).

The only thing that I will leave out in the weather (covered with a tarp) is the base and mast. My fixture stand has 3 arms, & there is no need for the arms to be out in the weather.

 

[erikmannie]

Relevant videos:

and

I like this video from the 7:40 mark:

Finally, this one from the 4:01 mark:

 

[stupoty]

You should keep an eye out for a lower price chuck, bison is pritty up there with the finest stuff.

Might be a good horse traiding thing for somone who needs a chuck upgrade

My 40's or 50's bison 8 inch still repeats to 3th or better.

Unless its a had a lot of late days and no suppers and been put away wet as some may say

Rotator thing looks interesting.

Stu

 

[aliva]

Coincidence I'm going to be building a welding positioner later this year, stay tuned for the build

 

[erikmannie]

Coincidence I'm going to be building a welding positioner later this year, stay tuned for the build

Is your positioner going to have a motor, or is it manually operated like mine?

 

[aliva]

The rotation will be motorized with speed control. It will also have a motorized tilt, along with food pedal control. The foot pedal can be unplugged for contestant non stop rotation.