My $15 spot welder

Projects Fab Shop
#21

I guess if you had some big diodes the rectify the ac it could be converted. Need a heat sink for the diodes.

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#22

http://www.car-part.com/

#23

Welding with two 12v batts is very interesting, Iā€™ve never heard of such a thing!
Have any of you guys tried that, Iā€™m skeptical because for one thing heā€™s welding cast iron and says nothing about having to use nickel rod, his welds do look good!!
So am I gettin it right, wire fed is out because itā€™s AC ?? It has to be DC right??

#24

To my knowledge Herb, migs are DC, except the little cheap flux core only machines. Some migs will run alum. wire with out spool gun, some will not, depends on gun length, and kind of liner. I worked with a guy used a small Hobart, (no spool gun) welded alum great Al

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#25

herb I built my whole unit welding with batteries (ready welder) I only use my larger gas welder for thick stuff.

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#26

Paul, I looked that up, very cool but a long ways from two 12v batt hooked in series. Have you stick welded alum with it?

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#27

herb the only thing the gun does is hold the wire and control speed .otherwise it is just batteries in series . I have welded aluminum but its a mig not stick .but I bet it works

#28

I have thought about finding an old cheap mig that was burned up and just use the feed rollers and the gunā€¦Hook a couple of batteryā€™s up and it should work.

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#29

Thanks for all the information and all the good ideas! I took the easy way out today and had a weld shop stitch it up for me. Someday Iā€™m going to get set up to weld alum!
Now I just have to mount the tire and get it on the Caddy, Bob is flying in Wed afternoon and driving it about 500 miles to his summer place in Wisconsin!

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#30

Hey if anyone has two 12v batts I sure am curious if you could run a bead with 6013 or 6011 or better yet weld a 1/8 or 3/16 peace of alum with 4043 alum rod!

I would but donā€™t have two batts I could get at! May be a good way to weld alum in a pinch!!

I know the guy did it on the vid that Wayne put up but that was cast iron and had to be nickel rod besides I just donā€™t trust a lot of things I see on youtube!!

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#31

Hey Don, Iā€™m a Grant Thompson fan also.
I built one of these it worked pretty good in a pinch! mine is not as nice as yours but does
the job. have you tried putting an insulator under the offset lug/cable connection? that might help stop some heat transfer.
JHart

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