Welding Positioning Arm

Ulma Doctor

Infinitely Curious
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Feb 2, 2013
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i'm in the middle of an idea,
inside of building more junk art, that will require holding parts in different attitudes and axes to weld the parts together.
i had a few pieces of stock lying around, and the will, to make the positioning arm.

i use (read :ABUSE) my little Black & Decker Workmate for everything portable.
it's a table, a vise, a lunch table, a welding surface, a drilling surface, and assembly jig - all rolled up in 1 !!!!!
the workmate has pre-drilled 3/4" holes on the deck, i'll use this feature in the fab process.

(when in welding mode, i use a sheet of copper as a heat shield and welding conductor.)

the positioning arm was made from a 22" x 5/8" aluminum rod, a 12" x 1/4" 304SS rod ,
a 1-1/4"od x 3/4"od x 5/8" id step bushing turned from reclaimed bronze drilled/tapped to 1/4-20,
a fabricated 1"od x reamed .626"id 303SS collar-drilled /tapped to 1/4"-20 - the 304SS rod was welded to the 303SS collar with E309L-16 rod,
a 1/4"-20 knurled thumb screw/allthread combo for the lower bushing stop
the top stop has a 1/4"x 20 x 1" bolt as the attachment method

IMG_4229.jpg IMG_4228.jpg

this positioning arm will surely be a help in the upcoming projects, i hope to share them very soon!

as always thanks for reading!
 
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One of the things I always thought about doing is replacing the wood top/jaws of the workmate with like conveyor metal side rails. Would have to come up with some kind bushings for holes for the stops and make some kind of replacement for those stops out metal. Why in the world doesn’t workmate offer an upgrade kit like that? A HD Workmate with metal screws and handles for clamping mechanism.
 
I think you will find it very useful. I made something similar but used brass for everything so spatter would not stick and bolted magnets on each end.
 
One of the things I always thought about doing is replacing the wood top/jaws of the workmate with like conveyor metal side rails. Would have to come up with some kind bushings for holes for the stops and make some kind of replacement for those stops out metal. Why in the world doesn’t workmate offer an upgrade kit like that? A HD Workmate with metal screws and handles for clamping mechanism.
i think when i finally break or burn out the wood, i'll use a 1/8 or 1/4" aluminum deck bonded on a piece of hardwood!

maybe we should come up with a tool kit for the workmate! :grin:

I think you will find it very useful. I made something similar but used brass for everything so spatter would not stick and bolted magnets on each end.
thanks @b4autodark ,
i figured the aluminum mast would shed most of the spatter klingons.
i like the idea of the magnets!!!!
thanks for commenting!
 
i think when i finally break or burn out the wood, i'll use a 1/8 or 1/4" aluminum deck bonded on a piece of hardwood!

maybe we should come up with a tool kit for the workmate! :grin:


thanks @b4autodark ,
i figured the aluminum mast would shed most of the spatter klingons.
i like the idea of the magnets!!!!
thanks for commenting!
Hmm, I’m not sure why I never thought of aluminum for the top. I guess because I rely heavily on my angle magnets along with my clamps to hold stuff together and never seen an aluminum topped welding table.

Since the workmate is not big enough to be a heavy fab table maybe it would work fine for small stuff. I have some kind of painters aluminum rack, rail, dunno, that was left here when we moved in. It’s like two aluminum channels with aluminum angles at the ends but is to flimsy to stand on. I assumed it was for holding paint pans etc on a scaffold. Might be just the right size to cut up and make new tops........hmmm.
 
Hmm, I’m not sure why I never thought of aluminum for the top. I guess because I rely heavily on my angle magnets along with my clamps to hold stuff together and never seen an aluminum topped welding table.

Since the workmate is not big enough to be a heavy fab table maybe it would work fine for small stuff. I have some kind of painters aluminum rack, rail, dunno, that was left here when we moved in. It’s like two aluminum channels with aluminum angles at the ends but is to flimsy to stand on. I assumed it was for holding paint pans etc on a scaffold. Might be just the right size to cut up and make new tops........hmmm.

the aluminum clouds up and looks ugly after a single use, but steel spatter usually chips right off.
steel would be better, but adds weight :)
 
You need to go through the scrap piles at the farm for more material for your art. You have a good eye for what works. Any time your up in the Sacramento area give me a call.
 
Doc you don’t mention where you are going with your clamp but my hobby turned day gig was a kind of wire art. Really hard to hold and I struggled with that until I had a flash. I took the springs from the wooden clothe line pins pin and used key stock to replace the wooden parts making metal clothe line pins basically. Because my stuff was all out of 1/8” welding rod it was light enough for these to support and I welded one leg of the pin to a piece of 3/4” angle to make a foot so the pin could stand. I don’t know if that is of any help but you can never have too many different tools.

A local yard sale was a claymation studio that had all kinds of cool stuff. They had several flat boxes full of those switchable mag bases like on indicator bases they were blowing out for $5ea and I didn’t get some because I have too much junk. Should have not resisted.
 
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