Don't laugh...

[Conrad_Turbo]

So I was working in the shop today and had to do a tedious task of capping off about 80 pieces of tubing. I searched around the shop for something that I could use that would make things go by a lot quicker. I came up with an idea...don't laugh!


The daunting task ahead.


The solution, using a throw out bearing from a Toyota Corolla, some fishing line, a magnet and a few piece of metal stuck to it to add some weight. All I did was hold the line, and then let the weight slowly drop to rotate the part, I controlled the speed of rotation by the speed of my hand moving towards the part.


The final result.

My pops is definately MacGyver with the cool things he comes up with and today once again I knew I was my dad's son.

Any of you come up with weird tools or devices to make your welding jobs easier or quicker?

[PeteZ28]

Necissity is the mother of invention!

Very resourceful I must say.

[Maxim]

The two most sophisticated and advanced items most people use commonly are the PC and the automobile. Many, many useful parts can be obtained with these two (and I don't mean perusing ebay and driving to home depot).

[down19992000]

that looks like a ring we use at work for air-end mounts. i work at an air compressor plant

[REDbeast]

nice work on the rig there, and holy crap I wish I could weld like that

[realitycheck]

Who's laughing thats awesome. What a really neat rig. I wish I had brains like that.

[Black Wolf]

Absolutely nothing to laugh at. Very inginuitive (sp?) & resourceful. I'm impressed. Good job.

Later,

[1990notch]

Good thinking and good work. Don't mean to be too nosy, but what are those pieces for? I know you produce bracing pieces for autocrossing among other stuff.

[Conrad_Turbo]

Good thinking and good work. Don't mean to be too nosy, but what are those pieces for? I know you produce bracing pieces for autocrossing among other stuff.

After welding the pieces are drilled to size (2 different size holes) and ultimately those are the pieces that bolt to the underside of the car.



REDbeast, it's really a no brainer, which is exactly what I wanted...the settings took 1 part to get right (just so I wasn't 50% on the pedal the whole time).

[LBHgti]

Great idea...but one question....does the bearing still spin after being grounded through for welding 80 of those pieces? I was always under the impression that a bearing...especially a grease filled bearing, would be more or less destroyed if the ground current ran through the assembly?

[Conrad_Turbo]

Great idea...but one question....does the bearing still spin after being grounded through for welding 80 of those pieces? I was always under the impression that a bearing...especially a grease filled bearing, would be more or less destroyed if the ground current ran through the assembly?

It lasted through all the pieces I needed to do...however it did get harder to control when the bearing got warm. Once I gave it a break and went back to it, it worked just fine. Probably just due to the current being low enough for the size of the bearing to not really cause much of an issue. However I definately wouldn't reuse the bearing on a car though!

Here's a short video clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvikQUQAaQM

[Wild Turkey]

Dad told me about a welder who took the job of building up the lips of the track rollers on a bulldozer.

Clamped his ground to the tractor fram, cranked up the welder and laid a nice thick bead all the way around both sides of the rollers.

Dad didn't mention if he got off the site before the bearings crumbled

When we were hardfaceing plow discs (1" wide band of NiCr laid on with OA torch) we made a turntable that you turned with your feet to spin the 24" disc.

Amazind how a little thinking can save a LOT of tedious work!