homemade welder

[KRS]

anyone ever made their own welder, as shown here http://www.dansworkshop.com/Homebuilt arc welder.shtml , wanna know if it worked well. Thanks

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: homemade welder

I didn't, but I thought long and hard about making that particular one. The one with the auto alternator and gas engine seemed like a good idea too because it's portable.<br /><br />I decided against it because I decided what I really wanted was a wirefed to teach myself with. I did a little stick before, but it seems to me the wirefed is the way of the future. I'm sure hope those who know better will comment on that assertion.<br /><br />So I got a cheapy ($300 CDN) Lincon fluxcore wire welder. It hasn't let me down once. Someday I'll convert it to MIG. Even though it's theoretically fluxcore only, it uses all the same parts as the MIG ones so converting it just involves buying a few parts.<br />Enough rambling. I owe you some plans and I'll get to work on them.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: homemade welder

Harbor freight has arc welders for well under $100. My HF wire feed welder was only around $80 on sale I think and it works ok for the price. I have made a welder/generator with a 6.5hp engine and 130 amp alternator, it works pretty well. If you want to make your own non gas powered welder you could hook an alternator up to an electric motor...I think that would work better than a homemade solid state welder. You could use it to jump start/charge batteries too.

 

[KRS]

Re: homemade welder

Excellent ideas... I like the thoughts of using an alternator... hmmmmmm.

 

[snapperbait]

Re: homemade welder

I saw plans for one somewhere, very much like what Zmoz describes... I believe the plans were for a TIG machine, if I'm not mistaken..<br /><br />Yep.. here tis!. http://classicbroncos.com/homemade-welder.shtml

 

[petryshyn]

Re: homemade welder

Alternators work great for welders. I've built several. Because they are high frequency rectified 3 phase, they weld better than any home style welder.

 

[ndemge]

Re: homemade welder

go over to hobartwelders.com and check out weldtalk forum... there are a few threads there to home brew welders, tigs, auto torches etc....<br /><br />I've seen the welder kits you can get to put under the hood with a 2nd HO alternator. If you do serious off roading, it could come in handy.

 

[KRS]

Re: homemade welder

Thanks all.<br /><br />Schematic, let's see some... er,,, uh, schematics.

 

[petryshyn]

Re: homemade welder

OK<br />What components do you have at your disposal?

 

[KRS]

Re: homemade welder

hehehe, well, none. I am a HAM hobby guy, but I truly don't know much about electronics. Lemme know and we'll need to work on it from there.

 

[Trent]

Re: homemade welder

Glad to see Schematic back... Long time memeber.. Iv asked you this before Schematic. Im wondering if you ever got to use that underwater video camera yet? Is it worth it? Thanks. Id like to try to use it during night fishing...TO see if fish are around? Even tho the fish finder says so..? I think it lies to me. Cause sometime i dont catch much!!

 

[heycods]

Re: homemade welder

If we can afford a boat why not a welder. Its just the cost of a new prop. <br /> have a goodun lwr

 

[petryshyn]

Re: homemade welder

Hey Trent, long time!<br />yes I did use the camera. No, its not worth the effort. Its just too murky around here. Maybe in a cleaner lake.<br /><br />Az<br />The fact is, all you have to do is "full field" the alternator and it will weld. You have to be careful though, because the "open circuit voltage" creaps up quit high and can be a shock hazard. Chose an alternator of atleast 120 amps or so. For my next one, I plan on using a 160 amp Delco 22si. They are very common on highway tractors. A old 160 amp Leece Neville would also be a good choice. You have to remove the regulator and run pig tails from the brush leads to an external control. You have to feed the brush leads 12v. You can vary the output by installing a rheostat in series with the leads. Be sure that the pulley ratio you use will result in 6000-7000 alternator RPM.

 

[KRS]

Re: homemade welder

All of our trucks use Leece-Neville alternators, but I don't think we have an old one laying around.<br /><br />Thank you for the info, I will check around and work on parts.