Vintage Homemade Welder - Part 3: Sparks and Smoke
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- Опубліковано 16 вер 2024
- I found this welder on Craigslist for hundred dollars. It's made with a World War II surplus aircraft generator and the engine from a 1946 Austin Dorset. It's a 200 Amp DC welder with a four-cylinder pushrod engine. I've gotten it running and tried welding some steel with it.
These were common after WWII thanks to enormous quantities of surplus aircraft parts. Generators were sold via magazine adverts well into the 1970s.
My HS science teacher built one (he was a WWII Merchant Marine vet later US Navy Commander and even later a tall ship captain in retirement, RIP Steve Masone) for his class to learn from. He even brought auto engines into school because he knew tactile experience is vital to learning.
Dude your MOM IS A BADASS! OUTSTANDING DESIGN I WONT ONE!
Oh oh . Time to rebuild the welding generator.
I replaced it with an alternator instead! ua-cam.com/video/HXyCBcAfamY/v-deo.html
I see. But is something of this vintage be rebuild? Or are parts absolete?
These generators used to be inexpensive and common, but they've become more rare over the years and are now quite pricey. It's entirely possible that this generator could be re-wound and re-built, but that would require a set of skills that I have yet to acquire. The generator is sitting on a shelf in the warehouse and one day I do hope to have the time and energy to rebuild it.
Napa has a copper spark plug wire kit you can buy
Magnetic tool holder built into work clothing! You should definitively get a patent on this. Genius! What a great idea, thanks for sharing. Cheers!
The apron vest is nice. Your mother is awesome. The magnet idea is brilliant. Until now i was using a wrist mounted magnet to keep the rods on the outside of my wrist, but over the chest is waaay better.
Now i have to check some clothing stores for a few used leather jackets.
The engine runs really nice and it seems to be quite quiet. I'm looking forward to the next videos and a possible repair. :)
+aserta Yeah, I was surprised how quiet it was, especially since there is no muffle at all!
Interesting project. I'm sure you'll get it figured out. Just a word to the wise, get a pair of real welder's gloves. The work gloves you had on in this video are not thick enough to protect your hands, not long enough to protect your lower arms and have areas of synthetic material that will melt when a hot spark is thrown on them. I've had sparks from a grinder burn through a pair like that
+Steampunk Steve Ha! I knew someone was going to say that! And yep, totally right (blows gently on the burn on the back of my left hand).
I took a welding class in college as a 49 yr old as a fun class my last semester. Some of the students still kid me about setting my long beard on fire.
BTW when I told a stranger about doing a bus conversion and mentioned my screen name they immediately asked if I'd heard of you.
i might have my mom make me one of those vests, thats pretty cool! although me and her still have to finish a few other projects we've been working on like my White Mage robe, and maybe even a Thaumaturge mage set.
+Rinoa Super-Genius ok this video was the tipping point for me, ima add you to my "channels i enjoy" list on my home page. maybe youll get a few subscribers from that. ^^
i cant wait to see the generator teardown btw, should be interesting!
+Rinoa Super-Genius Thanks!
Gas Motor wasn’t running at high RPM for anything to weld.
Can you make a steam electric generator?(who works with wood and charcoal..with a steampunk victorian design..)
Awesome videos! I've read about several of your projects in the past, and had been waiting for the Part 3 video for a few months! Great welding smock too, looks very handy.
Couple bits of advice, having recently learned it myself:
- Get a box of 7014 electrodes, you can find them most anywhere that sells welding stuff, I think mine are Hobarts from Tractor Supply. As my grandfather said, "you can basically start it and lay it along the joint and it'll weld itself." Not the end-all electrode but I found it was much easier to get started with.
- Clean that carb! Makes a world of difference on any engine. Get a proper kit if you can find it, they come with everything you need and typically cost less than $40. If the needle was stuck the tip is probably damaged.
- Learn to release the stinger when you stick a rod. Practice being able to hit the release without thinking about it. Probably more important with old gear -- our old AC buzzbox Linde welder will suck the sliding shunt in if you stick a rod long enough.
Even if you already know another welding process, stick welding is incredibly handy, especially if you have an engine-driven welding machine. It's a great process for when you need to fix some rusty old piece of equipment without dragging it back to the shop.
+glitchwrks Great advice! Thanks! You'll be happy to know they'll be a part 4 in a few weeks.
That's a sweet sounding engine. I'll stay tuned to see if you can find a workable substitute for that toasted old generator.
By the way, I liked your idea, so I tried sticking my bronze brazing rods to the magnets sewn into my vest, but for some reason they wouldn't stick.
+bellowphone I think you have to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow to get bronze to stick. Or maybe you have to modulate the tetryon field, but that might produce a massive graviton wave. F&@%ing magnets, how do they work?
+Jake von Slatt I might just try harvesting plootons from the disgronificator matrix, and use them to flux the wefkin field.
Excellent sticktoitiveness, Sir.
Good lord bring it over idle LOL
The arc stabilizer coil has a contact on the end that closes when current flows to the electrode, this energizes a solenoid that opens the throttle. However the shorted generator loaded down the motor to the point where, even at full throttle, it couldn't rev.
kick ass vest my man
Jake, now that you got to clean up the engine. You still need to find a replacement generator. A mechanic always likes working on clean equipment. Give your mom kudos for the vest.
Mice could have been in that generator
Must suck a little bit that the aircraft parts failed (those where the coolest parts on this thing at my opinion), but i hope that they will come to good use anyway, i hope You will find a new generator.
I hope You can repair the old one for some other project.
Hey Jake,
this has been an interesting project from the get go.. it seems that your RPMs were a little low at the onset. the regulator that runs up the RPMs might have a delay on it that you can adjust to make the rundown take longer. i'm wondering if the addition of a capacitor might help with getting your arc going?
love that vest! that thing is the bomb! if your mom decides to make them to sell i would love to buy one.
cheers
mike
Jake, you might want to take a look at the Zena welders. I bought and have used one for several years and they work quite well for replacing older units like yours. www.zena.net
+depatty Thanks for the link! Those are a little rich for my blood, I was looking at something like this: www.ebay.com/itm/HIGH-OUTPUT-250A-ALTERNATOR-Fits-FORD-E-F-SERIES-E450-F450-EXCURSION-6-0L-03-07-/281226124330
Hi could you explain how you checked for polarity and what do you mean by 'straight polarity' and 'reverse polarity'?
+Andrew Gaudet +ChuckE2009 does a good job explaining it here: ua-cam.com/video/D4kRlWogon8/v-deo.html TL;DR is that the old school terminology for welding polarity seems totally backwards to anyone who has a knowledge of electronics.
+Jake von Slatt Thanks!
Oh oh . Time to rebuild the welding generator.