will this work?

[chunkolini]

I have made and installed a piece of sculpture, there is some welding needed to finish it off.

My customer lives 30 miles away and I am not lugging my Mig on my motorbike..
He has an SIP 130amp thingy with gasless wire.

The welding is for a process I devised for myself.

Basically I bolt the structure together, then lop the back off the bolts leaving the head on one side and plug weld the back side of the bolt through the hole to leave a mock rivet. The bolts are dome headed so the front looks like a large rivet. Harder to describe than to to do.


Question, will this welder manage a decent job of this with gasless wire?

Chunko'.

Saves a load of hassle with transport etc.

 

[mike os]

my personal opinion of the sip130 mig is not printable on an adult only forum......

if you want decent welds you would be better with an arc set rather than that piece of crap... JMO

 

[chunkolini]

Mike
That was my theory, we will see what else we can find.

Chunko'.

 

[chap]

How thick's the metal?
Does his machine weld ok?
Seems like all you really need is proud weld that stops the bolt undoing?

Or is the metal NOT tapped? In that case it may not be strong enough!

 

[chunkolini]

It's a construction technique and decorative.
As a sculptor I have almost a phobia about nuts and bolts being visible in my work.
In the photo I have two lengths of 30x 5mm strip forming sections of a dome.

They initially bolt together, then I lop the bolts so they are flush on the nutted side and put a plug of weld on the end, filling the clearance hole and leaving a raised disc fused onto the strip and the bolt, effectively rivetting the assembly together. Strong enough? definitely. Dismantleable? No way.

Looks good as well.



My welder is more than up to the job, but my customer is 20 miles away and has a cheapo nasty SIP welder that I doubt is up to the job.

When we are finished I will put up a post of the end result. The next job is making the top and then welding the bolts up.

Chunko'.

 

[chap]

I see.
You use the nut (and bolt) initally to hold the structure together, then undo nut/chop bolt/plug-weld sequentially.. clever!

 

[malcolm]

What thickness of steel are you working with? Edit> Oh 'eck - didn't read your last post. 5mm with a great big bolt in the middle is a bit imaginative for a 130. The SIP will be horrid (I have one) but you'll have the weld standing up with no penetration even on gasless.

I've not tried gasless plug welding but have a feeling it might be easier and more pleasant to borrow a car and take your own rig along.

 

[Rubber Duck]

my personal opinion of the sip130 mig is not printable on an adult only forum......

You can say that again!

 

[R BEADLE]

you could always hire an inverter for the day , they may even drop it off at the address . don't know what it would cost , though f someone can afford a commission sculpture in there garden then they can afford the price of a hired welder .

 

[chunkolini]

I tink I will get a lift over with my welder.

Thanks Chap, I was well pleased with the result. I have always loved Victorian technology, big bastud rivets look cool.

Chunko'.

 

[mike os]

You know it makes sense

agree on the rivets

 

[scarecrow]

could you not use a dome head nut on both sides

 

[chunkolini]

Scarecrow, how do I join the dome head bolts on both sides?

the bolts, I cant remember what they are called, have a dome head, with a square shank that goes into the threaded bit, pefect for my misuse but what are they for? other than being used a pseudo rivets. I will attempt to get photos in the next few days.

Chunko'.

 

[dai]

coach bolts

 

[SC_BK]

Could you not build a trailer for behind your bike

 

[Welderpaul]

Scarecrow, how do I join the dome head bolts on both sides?

the bolts, I cant remember what they are called, have a dome head, with a square shank that goes into the threaded bit, pefect for my misuse but what are they for? other than being used a pseudo rivets. I will attempt to get photos in the next few days.

Chunko'.

A short bit of threaded bar will let you stick a dome nut on each end

You thinking of coach bolts?

 

[chunkolini]

thats them coach bolts.
Dome nuts, how do you do them up really tight?

Chunko'.

 

[outofthefire]

Can you get any heat near the job, if so you could leave a longer length, heat it up and pean it over into a rivet head.

 

[GeorgeB]

Question, will this welder manage a decent job of this with gasless wire?

As long as the SIP welder is working, I'd say, yes it will do the job. If you accept the criticism of gasless wire at this forum that gasless wire burns "too hot" then it might well do a better job than another machine running on gas.

That said, I've used a similar approach with bolts, once or twice, and an arc welder (buzz box) is ideally suited to that job. I'd certainly use a buzz box in preference to any MIG welder for a job like that. Penetration and the resultant quality of the joint is likely to be superior.

 

[Welderpaul]

Dome nuts, how do you do them up really tight?

Chunko'.

Big *** spanners.
Or an impact wrench chews them up nicely