Homemade small welding positioner finished!

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ken226
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Homemade small welding positioner finished!

Post by ken226 »

I made this to ease the welding of my form 1 cans. Its a chinese wood lathe headstock with a 3/4x16 threaded spindle bolted to my welding table. I got it for 50.00 on ebay, and got the bbq rotisserie motor for 10.00.

The motor has variable speed from 0 up to 5rpm. The headstock pulleys have a reduction ratio of 1.7-1.

This should give me a spindle rpm range from 0 up to about 3rpm. My suppressor is going to be 1.625 in diameter, so i should be able to adjust the welding speed from 0 up to 15.3 surface inches per minute.

I ordered a 6 inch wood 3 jaw on ebay threaded to fit the spindle. I figure since there will be no load on the suppressor while tig fusion welding it, a should be able to get away with a wood chuck which was only 50.00.

The plan is to assemble the can using a homemade jig which holds everything in alignment, the tig fuse the endcaps to the can in 3 equidistant spots while aligned in the jig. Then im going to chuck it up in the positioner and tig fuse the seams all the way around the circumference while the positioner rotates it. I should be able to get some nice clean consistant welds.

I'm going to attache one end of a copper ground strap to the table, then wrap it up and over the spindle just behind the chuck. Ill attach a spring to the other end of the ground strap and attach the spring to the table to maintain a light but constant pressure and keep the welding power from arcing through the bearings.

What do ya think!?

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02/07 FFL-SOT
airsix
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Re: Homemade small welding positioner finished!

Post by airsix »

Very cool!
FarmDadCO
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Re: Homemade small welding positioner finished!

Post by FarmDadCO »

Do a test run or two and let us know how well it works . Interesting project to say the least.
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L1A1Rocker
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Re: Homemade small welding positioner finished!

Post by L1A1Rocker »

I really like that. With a little trial and error on some scrap, you'll be able to dial in the exact speed and settings for some great looking welds. Well done.
Historian
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Re: Homemade small welding positioner finished!

Post by Historian »

My compliments on your resourcefulness and creative thinking!
Impressive.

I admire how you set the context of your need and then proceeded to find
existing items that you creatively combined.

If this site had a smily with congratulatory clinking of beer mugs as some other site
I would give you two of them.

You truly have earned my vote to receive the Macgyver Award of the Week.

Best.
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ken226
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Location: NM

Re: Homemade small welding positioner finished!

Post by ken226 »

Unfortunately i ran out of argon a week ago and NOONE in this godforsaken butthole of a town, or any of the towns nearby sells welding gas on saturday.

The locals here have no understanding whatsoever of the of the concept that people who can afford things like welders, have JOBS. I work mon-fri 5am to 5pm in a capacity that doesn't allow time to go get the cylinders filled. Hopefully, someday, ill be able to find time to drop of my cylinders for a refill.

I guess they primarily sell to welding/fabrication shops and oilfield workers who can buy supplies mon-fri 9-5.

When i lived in Tucson, i kinda took for granted that local businesses also liked to sell to home shop/hobby type customers who work mon-fri, because all the welding supply places had saturday business hours.

Not here in Roswell, theres something very wrong with the poeple in this town. Noone gives a s--t about customer service, they act like theyre doing you a favor by even letting you in the store.

Businesses here have a grand opening, then one day you drive by and see the windows boarded up. And its noone can figure out why! Its a mystery that the locals like to blame on a poor economy. The poeple who run these businesses are rude and incompetent.

When i couldnt find any fly traps, at any of the stores in town and finally ended up at wal mart, who didn't have any either, i had to ask the manager "why?" they didnt have any. Her answer floored me!!

"We used to keep them in stock, but poeple keep buying them all up, so we stopped!!" Really! They stopped carrying a product because it was inconvenient to have to keep ordering more!!


Some of my Roswell stories:
Water dept.
Me and the wife moved here, went to the local water dept. to get the water turned on. Had to make 3 trips, because every time we went the clerk thought up a new document we needed to run home and get. I had asked her on the phone, before the first trip, "what ALL do i need". So finally, i got to pay the 100.00 depost, and went home. The water guy finally shows up and turns on the water! Then an hour later, the same guy showed up and turned it BACK OFF! WTF!

So i called the water dept. and asked why they turned the water off. Her reply "Well, because you didn't pay your bill!"
Me: Then why did you turn it on in the first place?
Her: What are you talking about
Me: I just paid the water deposit and had it turned on an hour ago
Her: No, i dont show that
Me: The same guy who turned it on, came back and turned it off!
Her: You got proof?
Me: Well, i have the receipt, with the date on it, showing both when i paid the depost, and that i in fact DID pay the deposit.
Her: Whats the serial# on the top right corner of the receipt?
me: 1234567
Her: Er uh, oh! here it is. Ok, ill have him out by the end of the day to turn it back on.
Me: Wait, are you sure its safe to drink? Where do you guys get your water :)
Her: Ha, very funny! You want it turned on or not?
02/07 FFL-SOT
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ken226
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Re: Homemade small welding positioner finished!

Post by ken226 »

Tia Juanas Cantina:

Waiter: What would you like to drink
Me: What do you have on tap
Waiter: We got bud light, coors light, michelob light, michelob ultra
Me: Do you have any "good" beer, like Sam Adams, Guiness, Shock Top, Blue Moon
Waiter: No
Me: Do you have anything thats not light?
Waiter: Errr, um oh yea, yea we do. We got miller light!!
Me: Waiting for him to laugh, giggle, or something to indicate that hes jokeing. Long awkward pause while he waited with a serious look on his face
Me: Ok, yea a miller light sounds good!!

NM Motor Vehicles Dept. Artesia
me: I need to get my vehicle registrate, boat registration and drivers license switched from AZ to NM
Her: Ok, i need your AZ drivers license, Social Security Card and proof of residency.
Me: Ok, heres my AZ license, SS Card and my insurance policy
Her: No, the list of acceptable documents says you can use your lease agreement or insurance bill
Me: Pointing at the list, I say no, it says right here " Proof of insurance, bill or other docement"
Her: No, it has to be the bill, not the policy
Me: The police has the same info as the bill, and it shows my NM address?
Her: The list says it has to be a bill!
Me: The list says bill, or other docements
Her: but our policy says it has to be the bill
Me: at this point i drive home and find an insurance bill, then return, take a number, and wait another 2 hours in line
Her: Wait a minute, your AZ driver license has your middle initial, but your social security card has your middle name spelled out.
Me: Is that really an issue?
Her: How do we know its the same person
Me: Really??
Her: You have to have a notarized "Affidavit of one and the same"
Me: isn't that for a woman whos married name has changed
Her: hands me a blank form, to take to a bank and get notarized!!
me: at this point i drive to a local bank, get the "affidavit of one and the same" notarized, then return to motor vehicles, take a number and wait in line.
Her: Takes drivers license pic and tells me the license will be sent to me in the mail?!
Me: Now lets do the truck.
At this point we did the paperwork for the truck, which wasn't very difficult. BUT, she can't give me a license plate untill the state mails them the title. She gives me a 30 day temporary registration. This was 6 months ago! I still havn't recieved anything in the mail. When i drive down, take a number, wait in line, and talk to them (they dont take phone calls), she says "still waiting on the state". The temp registration has long since expired and theres absolutely nothing i can do to be legal!!!

Me: Ok, now the boat
Her: I need the title
Me: Arizona doesnt issue a title for watercraft, but i have the certificate of ownership from AZ game and fish
Her: That wont work, we need the title
Me: Theres not one
Her: Then you cant register it
Me: Do i have to sell it? Do i have to sell it out of state, since the new owner wouldnt be able to register it either?
Her: (looking at me like im an idiot) Ok, how did you get the boat down here?
Me: This is New Mexico, not Venice. I towed it!!
Her: On a trailer?
Me: Usually!!
Her: Wheres the title for the trialer
Me: At home in my file cabinet, where its going to stay.
Her: Then how are you going to register it???
Me: Im not, it has a non-expiring AZ registration, so theres no need to pay you to register it here.
Her: Then why are you here?
Me: To register the boat
Her: Oh so you wanna register the boat, but not the trailer! (quizzical look on her face)
Me: Yes
Her: Well, you cant without a title!!
Me: I need your manager
Her: No manager is available
Me: Is there anything, anything at all we can do with the boat?
Her: Pecking away at a keyboard, looks up and says "it says here arizona isn't a title state, do you have your certificate of ownership?
Me: Give me back my paperwork you idiot, im leaving!!
02/07 FFL-SOT
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ken226
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Re: Homemade small welding positioner finished! And Roswell

Post by ken226 »

Super 8 motel:

I check in, pretty easy and normal process, then take my stuff up to the room. I go eat at K-Bobs steakhouse, and when the food hasn't arrived an hour later, i flag down the waitress. She goes to the back to check on my order, then comes back and says "im not sure what happened, do you know what you want to order?" So i order again, and 30 minutes later my medium rare ribeye shows up as a new york strip, well done.

I get back to my motel room, take my pants off and am laying on the bed, in my underwear watching Star Trek Nemesis on netflix, on my laptop. The door handle starts wiggling, then wiggling a little harder!!! I reach into the nightstand and get a grip on my X5 Tactical, but don't take it out of the drawer.

Then the freaking door opens, and a 10ish year old girl runs into my room, and stops halfway to my bed! Her eyes got as big as saucers when she saw me! She stammered out a couple times "im so sorry". I let go of the Sig X5 and leave it in the drawer, then run to the door and look out in the hallway. Theres a woman standing there with a bewildered look on her face, and her two daughters, one of which is the little would-be burgler :).

I walk down to the front desk with them, and the clerk, unapologetically, as if this were normal, re-books them into a different room. Later, my card wouldnt work and i had to get it rekeyed, apparently when they keyed the 10 year old girls card to my room, it disabled my card!

I swear, im not making any of this s--t up. Its all true!!

Sorry to devolve my positioner thread into a Roswell, NM rant. I couldn't help it.
I'll update the title to more accurately reflect the thread contents.


Once at Burger King, there was a line of about 10 people waiting at the register in front of a clerk who was leaning on the counter, head propped up with his hand, clearly asleep. The lady in the front of the line kind reached forward and poked him to wake him up. This guy opened his eyes, looked up at her, and very loudly said "WHAT!" His big, cartoonish plastic nametag read "RABBIT".

Once at Taco Bell, me and a coworker are sitting at a table eating lunch and a 30ish year old woman in a Taco Bell uniform was sitting in the middle of the floor in the dining area, legs wide apart with a big pile of taco sauce packets in front of her, apparently seperating the mild, hot and fire packets. A little odd, but we didnt put much into it untill suddenly she says "UH OH" and jumps up and sprints into the bathroom. Then the odor of s--t drifted over to us!!

Another time at Burger King, at the drive through, I asked for a Big King extra value meal. The guy on the intercom said "Uh, were out of burgers, but we got chicken sandwiches or nuggets". I asked "burger kings out of burgers?" He said "Uh, yea, we get a truck friday though!!" (this was a tuesday). The chicken sandwich was pretty good though!

Once at Golden Corral, me and same coworker from above were eating lunch. He is a compulsive handwasher, so after every plate refill, he would put his plate on the table then go wash his hands. While in the bathroom, washing his hands, he hears a stall door slam open and heard a very loud, odd masculine voice bellow "ERRAAAAH" or something like that. He turns around and theres a 50 year old man standing in the doorway of the stall behind him, pants and underwear down around his ankes, just staring at him!! He ran out of the bathroom and we left!
We later, upon leaving saw a bus in the parking lot from a local mental health facility, which kinda made sense of his being accosted in the bathroom. Still weird though!
02/07 FFL-SOT
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Dr.K
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Re: Homemade small welding positioner finished!

Post by Dr.K »

Well, I thought I was the only person who dealt with such stupidity on a regular basis. I don't judge them, but rather feel blessed that I have the ability to think, speak properly, and comprehend most everything in my environment.

the other day I was walking down the sidewalk by the grocery store and a dude on a bicycle literally had his pants around his knees. With the straightest face I could muster, and pretending that I thought he didn't know, I leaned into him and whispered in his ear, "dude your pants are down". He became visibly flustered and didn't quite know what to say, so he started babbling on and on about how his 20 G's were weighing down his pants. I replied with, "are you shitting me?" Then I burst into hysterical laughter while pointing at him. He rode away rather quickly on his little bicycle and his 20 G's he thought he had.

The world is so full of derp.
Kyle O.
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L1A1Rocker
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Re: Homemade small welding positioner finished!

Post by L1A1Rocker »

Many, many, many (ok you get the idea) years ago I had the transmission cable break on my 79 Trans-Am. Went to the Pontiac dealer in Robstown Texas (those that know Robstown Texas are already groaning) as it was closer than driving into Corpus. Asked for a transmission cable for a 79 T-A. He looked it up. No were completely out. Really? You happen to have one for a Camaro? He checks again. . . Yeah, we got one of those. I'll take it, but, you said you had a Trans-Am. No, really, It'll work fine. The guy just refused to believe that they were the same car, at the freeking dealership???
Historian
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Re: Homemade small welding positioner finished!

Post by Historian »

L1A1Rocker wrote:Many, many, many (ok you get the idea) years ago I had the transmission cable break on my 79 Trans-Am. Went to the Pontiac dealer in Robstown Texas (those that know Robstown Texas are already groaning) as it was closer than driving into Corpus. Asked for a transmission cable for a 79 T-A. He looked it up. No were completely out. Really? You happen to have one for a Camaro? He checks again. . . Yeah, we got one of those. I'll take it, but, you said you had a Trans-Am. No, really, It'll work fine. The guy just refused to believe that they were the same car, at the freeking dealership???
:) :)

Clone of these slugs once told me I could not order more than 8' of vacuum hose to save me lugging
vacuum around. When I asked when they repaired hoses did they get them in 8' lengths from the
factory he told me no, that they cut it from 250' rolls.

Well, " cut off 25' and I shall pay for it."

No dice as they had a fixed price for 8' only. In a measured, stentorian (a.k.a DI bark )
the manager with a higher I.Q. ( ~ 99 ) came over and told me that they only priced 8' and
I would be loosing 'suction' anyway. After an unwelcome precise from a physics background and
my saying I would settle for a continuous 24' length at three times the cost of the 8' length
the exasperated manager ordered the slug to waddle over, cut 24' from the 250' roll.
I spared his few neural firings by doing the multiplication for cost which he still had to
laboriously calculate.

I believe that these dopes and their kin have gone on and are getting bonuses at the VA Hospitals
for their great way of running them.
srs
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Re: Homemade small welding positioner finished!

Post by srs »

About 50% of the population is by definition below average and average is pretty f..king stupid.

I repeat this many time each day.

Richmond, VA is not much better that Robstown, TX (I've been there) or Roswell, NM (I've been there too); and Richmond had at least 3 universities in it!
joe0121
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Re: Homemade small welding positioner finished!

Post by joe0121 »

I had a similar Idea myself. I was just gonna find a parted out metal lathe or junker mini lathe and do the same thing. My idea is to use reamer like a .375 for my form 1 .308 to ream the bore and than use a PTG precision ground .375 rod to put in the chuck than slide the cones spacers on the rod to weld them.
hntbambi
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Location: New Mexico

Re: Homemade small welding positioner finished!

Post by hntbambi »

Well Ken, welcome to the Land of Entrapment. If it is any consolation, Las Cruces is not much better.

Nice job on the welding jig. I have had a similar idea running through my mind.
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