The Armour Archive

Came across this - http://www.ebay.com/itm/115V-Machine-Sp ... 2eceb13036

Not having attempted welding before, could this be useable for welding your own rings? Or do you need another type of welder?

If you over lap the rings and the ring dia is large enough I think it could work, though you would probably be better served by getting a mig or tig welder to be honest.

There was a guy in Ontario. Who was doing spotwelded mail. He used a small round dot of metal so he was welding across the split of the ring. Looked at a distance as if it was riveted. strictly as show armour at the price he was asking. I'm fairly sure that a good, well set spot welder could fuse the flattened portion of a ring.

Rannulf

I think that's what knutt does for welded titanium maile. Not certain if that particular machine can be rigged to hit the right voltages but it's the right principle.

Sean

I know it is the right principle. How? Knut taught us, and we built several welded aventails with a spot welder. It was a 115 volt one. Using 1/16" wire and a slight overlap, it worked great.

Wade

Thanks all, that answers my question. I'll have to decide if I want to make the investment.

The price for the spot welder on ebay is significantly cheaper than the ring welders offered by the ring lord for example - http://theringlord.com/cart/shopdisplay ... at=Welders

This might help your budget. http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to- ... for-Cheap/

Gryndar wrote:This might help your budget. http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to- ... for-Cheap/

That IS awesome. Sadly I lack the handyman skills to pull such a project off myself. If anyone else is interested and wants to attempt to make one, I could fund it.

Charles Alexander wrote:. . . Sadly I lack the handyman skills to pull such a project off myself.

I HATE IT when people mischaracterize themselves like this.

Bullshit you lack the handyman skills. For FSM's tentacular sake, Charles, you have an illustrated set of instructions and a video, and probably you can come up with friends who have tools in garages who can show you which end of a hammer you hit with, etc.

So avail yourself.

You only don't know you can as of right now, Charles. Make one, and you'll know from then on you can.

This is a good feeling, knowing that.

I'm assuming you have the normal complement of hands and eyeballs.

You know what? -- I know about as much about electrical wiring as you do, and I think I can build this homemade spotwelder from these instructions. Illustrated instructions. With a damn, and relevant, video.

Neither of us would have to paint it pretty black and yellow either. But it does look nice, and you could even use fire retardant paint if you're of a mind.

I think our boy has a drill press, but a hand drill can do the drilly stuff just fine. Small drill presses aren't that big an investment. We know he has a table saw and the ever-popular saber saw, a fine tool for small exact cuts at proper right (and other) angles. The wooden bits can be of absolutely anything, including salvaged plywood.

If it's awesome enough (you did use an exclamation mark) start getting the pieces. All the electrical pieces are stuff you can buy. A piece at a time, even. Such a transformer is available new, and might be the costliest piece in the whole job. Talk to an electrical-appliance repair guy; he might have one in the back room someplace.

Where about in PA are you? Hell, if you pay for the parts and a case of beer, bring the stuff over and I'd help you make it.

This board is full of constructive people. You can begin to construct too.

While I'm all for the DIY stuff.....

In the long run, once you consider various parts and pieces, gasoline or shipping, and more importantly your own time you would invest, it would be easier to just spend the $175 at Harbor Freight to buy a ready made 120v Spot welder. Unless you have a junk pile sitting outside with all the needed parts and you just like to screw around with stuff.

If you already have a stick welder, get the $28 spot weld gun, and use it.

Also as an Electrical Engineer, I would caution people from screwing with transformers that don't know what they are doing. As the video stated, you can FRY yourself. No joking, no exageration.

Just my experience and opinion.

Vermillion wrote:
Also as an Electrical Engineer, I would caution people from screwing with transformers that don't know what they are doing. As the video stated, you can FRY yourself. No joking, no exageration.

Just my experience and opinion.

That was one of my thoughts

Hello

I seem to remember on the American longrifle forum some years ago, that one of the members posted a way to heat treat/weld small parts on a forge. Basicly it is a iron sheet a couple inches wide, and 1/4-1/2" thick and how ever long. Hole(s) are drilled of varying sizes and is placed over the center of the forge. The flame coming through the hole acts as a blow torch more or less. I was wondering if anyone here has seen such an animal, as I did look in the above forum but I think it is in the archives and I no longer have access. I know this would be a very tedious chore, and probably not what you were looking for, but it is a cheap way out.

Hey, Charles...I have a microwave transformer- thinking about making one of these...FYI

Johann Lederer wrote:Hey, Charles...I have a microwave transformer- thinking about making one of these...FYI

Cool