Homemade stick welder

[thudpucker]

Most of us don't have a good reason to buy a welder. And not the time or wherewithal to take the job to a welder.
So I was looking at Homemade Stick welders.
On you-Tube there is a guy who does a good job of explaining.

Grant Thompson - "The King of Random"·

He sure made it look do-able!
Have any of y'all tried this?
Care to tell us whether it worked , didn't work and why?

[matt167]

There is another way to do it too.. remove the recetefier from a 100A alternator, whatever is cheap at the parts store will do. Then you need a 115V motor. Hook the motor to spin the alternator, and then wire the alternator so it can excite the field by itself. A 12V DC power adapter wired in with a switch to get it going would work best... Hook up some leads, and go weld.. Will work a lot better than pushing 240V to weld with 1/16" rod

[Bill CNC]

Hmmm, ... depending on what your trying to weld, ... cheap welders can be had for around $100 or less.

[matt167]

$89 if you go to Harbor Freight. 115V Buzz boxes and I've heard they work pretty decent, after all, an Arc welder only needs to carry enough current to make an arc and get it hot enough to weld. It does not matter how it is obtained.. I learned on an older Century 110V Buzz box that would weld nice with 3/32" 6013 and then went to a Lincoln Tombstone A/C 225 and I use 1/8" 7014 and 7018 most of the time and my welds are cleaner and better with the more capable machine.
The alternator powered stick welders are popular with trail rigs because you can fix what broke while still on the trail. Most make brackets to replace the A/C compressor.
The only benifit to the Microwave welders are I think they produce D/C current, so they can make a cleaner weld or be converted into a TIG welder.

[Bill CNC]

$89 if you go to Harbor Freight. 115V Buzz boxes and I've heard they work pretty decent, after all, an Arc welder only needs to carry enough current to make an arc and get it hot enough to weld. It does not matter how it is obtained.. I learned on an older Century 110V Buzz box that would weld nice with 3/32" 6013 and then went to a Lincoln Tombstone A/C 225 and I use 1/8" 7014 and 7018 most of the time and my welds are cleaner and better with the more capable machine.
The alternator powered stick welders are popular with trail rigs because you can fix what broke while still on the trail. Most make brackets to replace the A/C compressor.
The only benifit to the Microwave welders are I think they produce D/C current, so they can make a cleaner weld or be converted into a TIG welder.

Matt,

I have 2 from harbor Freight, ... I have one down the street and as soon as I walk into the store, I head to the clearance Isle.

One of the welders I have is a Tig/Mig/Arc welder, regular price was $349. I bought the last one in the harbor freight chain for, ... $49.00!!!!! No Box, it was the last display the chain had.

I use it ALL the time, it has made me thousands in money and makes all my welding projects. My other welder their $90 wire feed, I use to teach the kids and even grand kids to weld.

Have you ever seen a 6 year old weld, ... It's a proud moment to see him throw a usable bead down at 6 years old. His mom wont let me teach him to use power tools with blades yet, ... sometimes what mom doesn't know, wont kill her. That's how I got my start, ... my mom was the same way, ... good thing I had an uncle that knew the value of teaching kids young the importance of correctly using tools.

Hey Mom, ... LOOK AT ME NOW!

Regards
Bill

[John K]

Bill, glad to hear that you are teaching kids to use tools. I learned plenty for my dad. Too many kids now know very little about basic house or car maintenance, let alone how to do it.

Unless something changes with kids of today, I envision no plumbers, electricians or carpenters. If it not on a smart phone, computer, or gaming unit, they will not know what to do.

[matt167]

$89 if you go to Harbor Freight. 115V Buzz boxes and I've heard they work pretty decent, after all, an Arc welder only needs to carry enough current to make an arc and get it hot enough to weld. It does not matter how it is obtained.. I learned on an older Century 110V Buzz box that would weld nice with 3/32" 6013 and then went to a Lincoln Tombstone A/C 225 and I use 1/8" 7014 and 7018 most of the time and my welds are cleaner and better with the more capable machine.
The alternator powered stick welders are popular with trail rigs because you can fix what broke while still on the trail. Most make brackets to replace the A/C compressor.
The only benifit to the Microwave welders are I think they produce D/C current, so they can make a cleaner weld or be converted into a TIG welder.

Matt,

I have 2 from harbor Freight, ... I have one down the street and as soon as I walk into the store, I head to the clearance Isle.

One of the welders I have is a Tig/Mig/Arc welder, regular price was $349. I bought the last one in the harbor freight chain for, ... $49.00!!!!! No Box, it was the last display the chain had.

I use it ALL the time, it has made me thousands in money and makes all my welding projects. My other welder their $90 wire feed, I use to teach the kids and even grand kids to weld.

Have you ever seen a 6 year old weld, ... It's a proud moment to see him throw a usable bead down at 6 years old. His mom wont let me teach him to use power tools with blades yet, ... sometimes what mom doesn't know, wont kill her. That's how I got my start, ... my mom was the same way, ... good thing I had an uncle that knew the value of teaching kids young the importance of correctly using tools.

Hey Mom, ... LOOK AT ME NOW!

Regards
Bill

I had their original 90A flux wire and even with the upgraded feeder ( original quit ) it was useless. It sat around for about 5 years and then I sold it. I bought a Neiko Tools ( same as Eastwood ) Mig 135 and a bottle of C/25 gas for light sheetmetal. Coupled with the Arc welder for structural repairs, I can do about anything. This is something I started in 2009 but sadly, may never get to finish. It's all scratch built except the front frame/ suspension which came from a '94 Ford Ranger...

[Bill Edmundson]

http://www.lowes.com/SearchCatalogDispl ... B%5D=2z8vp

Here are several. It really depends on the size of the job. For minor repairs these may be fine. But, they're not up to building a boat.

bill

[Bill CNC]

http://www.lowes.com/SearchCatalogDispl ... B%5D=2z8vp

Here are several. It really depends on the size of the job. For minor repairs these may be fine. But, they're not up to building a boat.

Bill

Agreed,

You need to have something powerful enough for the job to get penetration. The Harbor Freight welders will easily weld 3/16" material. I have welded up to 1/2" but it requires beveling your work edges and many, many beads beads laid down to get the proper fill. I couldn't get access to a larger welder, ... but I got the job done, ... 2 hours later, ... but it held 6 tons while the rest of the assembly could be attached.

But then again, ... what do you want for under $100.00?

Regards
Bill