Brazing And Light Welding Fixture

Welding Techniques, Theory, Machines and Questions.

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warmstrong1955
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Re: Brazing And Light Welding Fixture

Post by warmstrong1955 »

Nice fixture! Versitle for sure!
I make a lot of small fixtures, but all are part specific.

As far as C-Clamps, for welding, most of my small ones, 1" to 3", are Pony brand. They are not bad. last couple I bought came from McMaster Carr.
Most everything else I have, are Wilton, Wright, and Armstrong, and pretty equal in quality.
My Wilton's are all at least 15 years old....a couple of the Wrights I bought 3 or 4 years ago. I'd buy either again.
Good ones....are spendy.

Bill
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
spro
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Re: Brazing And Light Welding Fixture

Post by spro »

Good stuff guys. Then I have to say, exploit. These cheap ones can be tightened up and that's where I was going. When I said "a pound" that was to explore how the available clamp could be tightened with linearity. Once the paint and surface is ground, stud section welded, whatever- we have a sloppy screw. So, now with the base alignment , how to bring the screw square for this purpose? There is the big squeeze at the sides via press but that is too easy (unless it works). Hey, I haven't bought them yet for this purpose.
Another thing. I cannot say or treat that everything affordable is garbage. People we don't know, work themselves to death producing machine parts and tools. We are the consumers now. I didn't cause this or set this plan . These things reverse.
So we are not talking junk here. It is tools and we don't have the factory in our backyard to make them. Modify and useable tools which is another imprint of how further close we became before something else
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shophermit
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Re: Brazing And Light Welding Fixture

Post by shophermit »

Don't know where your going with that you seem to be on both sides of some argument. The accuracy of the clamps is a mute point as long as the material accepts a good weld for the stud. Using a torpedo level and small square I set that example up flat and square in less than a minute.

CB
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BadDog
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Re: Brazing And Light Welding Fixture

Post by BadDog »

Just for my $0.02 (in 1970s depreciated currency), but I agree on not using the nice clamps for something like this. I've done a whole range of fabrication work from (relatively) large to (somewhat) small. And from that experience I appreciate them in normal use far too much, and find them too dear to replace.

I've go some HF clamps and a variety of clamp-ish looking bits-n-pieces picked up over the years that would server fine from my perspective. All it really has to do (in general) is hold 2 pieces in immobile relationship while welded/brazed/soldered. My box of useful clamp bits (from HF or yard sales - often missing parts or visibly broken so cost near nothing) usually get welded (tacked) to the table top, or to a fixture, or sometimes to a part, whatever it takes to hold the piece I need to hold (and often just the "finger" gravity tool). Much like the indicated flexible fixture in that there is really nothing precision involved, and nothing particularly taxing ... unless one of the pieces I need to hold is a fully loaded Dana 60 front axle or the like, and a c-clamp fixture ain't doing much there anyway. :D

But I have other collections of premium quality c-clamps (and others). A range of moderate sized on row-holder on the side of my welding cart in order of size from about 3" up to 6", probably 20 or so. Other bigger clamps hanging on a similar mount on the table, that would make up another 15 to 20 or so. And many dozens of of other smaller clamps (down to 1" forged steel c-clamps made by Cincinnati) as well as cleco clamps and the like in a well loaded 400 lb rated storage box drawer. These are my nice clamps, put into service when a better grade is needed, and I wouldn't generally even consider welding on them unless in the most dire of straights, particularly the forged clamps. I fully appreciate the value of a "good clamp" and use them often. They don't "wrack" (easily), they line up work smoothly and clamp square, and just like any well made tool are simply a pleasure to work with. In my opinion they are well worth the money for appropriate use, but to replace that money is not insignificant, and often not convenient (unless you wait on delivery). Any of these would likely loose many of their appreciable qualities in welding to the fixture (somewhat less so for brazing), so to me it risks being loose-loose.

So to circle back, if I were building something like this, and it does look handy in the same way any of those "hold 2 pieces while you work on them" devices do. But I would probably build it with HF or HD cheap clamps and save my good clamps for many years of good service in general use. I could easily be convinced otherwise and am not completely averse to sacrificing (or rather dedicated or "committed" (like the chicken and the pig)) a good tool for sufficient call, but I'm not sure the higher quality would be much appreciated here. Perhaps if it were the device you spent much of every day in front of doing piece-work for pay? Something like that might overcome my aversion.

But that's just me and my aversion to committing (and a bit risking) nice clamps for what I envision as a "sometimes quite handy" helping hand tool that would most often gather dust on a shelf. But your tools, your call, and your vision may also be completely different. As always, good luck and I hope it is very successful.
Russ
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shophermit
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Re: Brazing And Light Welding Fixture

Post by shophermit »

Hey BadDog see previous post.

CB
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BadDog
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Re: Brazing And Light Welding Fixture

Post by BadDog »

I think the reason for the posts was an earlier comment about using premium quality clamps as opposed to cheap clamps welded into the fixture. I think that what you said about the accuracy being a moot point is what we were saying. We just cringed at the thought of welding good quality clamps into a fixture. Or maybe I misunderstood completely, in which case please disregard my ramble.
Russ
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shophermit
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Re: Brazing And Light Welding Fixture

Post by shophermit »

Your right BadDog the conversation did drift to the quality of today's clamps but has little to do with the accuracy of this fixture. As long as they are strong enough to hold the intended work and are made of good weldable material, they will suffice, you control the accuracy of the set up not the clamps.

Cheers CB
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BadDog
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Re: Brazing And Light Welding Fixture

Post by BadDog »

Agreed.
Russ
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GlennW
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Re: Brazing And Light Welding Fixture

Post by GlennW »

shophermit wrote: They will collect spatter and grinding dust weather used here or in some other application. An occasional wire brushing and file touch-up will greatly extend there life.
You could always invest in a can of spatter shield.
Glenn

Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!
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shophermit
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Re: Brazing And Light Welding Fixture

Post by shophermit »

Yes that will extend there life as well. I don't weld enough to consider this a problem, that was another posters concern. With a little occasional maintenance they will last a long time. If I did this for a living occasionally replacing one is a consumable in the cost of production.

Cheers CB
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