Rotating welding device

[gearhead]

Anyone have plains or has constructed a rotating welding table for welding round tubing. I have seen the fixtures advertised but they are very expensive. I have electric motors but getting the speed to gear down in my problem.

[aametalmaster]

Well gearhead you need a gearbox to slow it down. Check ebay and do a google search they are cheap on the web. I got a NIB 60 to 1 for 100 bucks its 600 local. I have a home made positioner that i use the base for a few other items i just switch the tops. It works great...Bob

[gearhead]

So 60 to 1 is the gear ratio I should be looking for. I'll do the searching. thanks

[aametalmaster]

Here is my gearbox setup for bending metal, the gearbox fits many machines i have i just remove 3 bolts and the whole unit removes to bolt on another machine. The pic with the top removed is what you want. Add another top, and a shaft with a plwyood top and you are ready to go. You can even cover the plywood with sheetmetal to keep it from burning. Also 60-1 is the slowest i found reasonable...Bob
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/aameta.../ph//my_photos

[wldrman]

You'll probably want to consider a variable speed motor so you can match your welding speed. Most of these units have a foot pedal or dial for this.

[gearhead]

Why couldn't I just use an electrical reastat (sp) switch on the motor to change the speed.

[wldrman]

Why couldn't I just use an electrical reastat (sp) switch on the motor to change the speed.


You can if your motor is wired for it. I don't know how to tell, but someone here probably does.

[racinjason75]

i cant get your link for the pic to work. did i read in hear not to long ago about using a tred mill motor/

Jason

[Bodybagger]

Why couldn't I just use an electrical reastat (sp) switch on the motor to change the speed.

Assuming you are talking about an AC motor...

You can't use a rheostat or autotransformer to slow the motor down because you are only changing the voltage. The frequency determines idle speed and the voltage applied to the motor affects only the torque when operating against the load. If you decrease input voltage enough to slow the motor down, you'll burn it up.

Now a DC motor is a whole 'nother animal.

[Burnt hands]

Hello gearhead,

Here are some photos of a turntable I made. It uses a gear reducer I had sitting for 20 some years. Ratio is 1725 to 1 so I had to do some experimenting.

I first put a 3" diameter pipe coupling on an old record player and had a friend turn it slowly at rough tig welding speed while I timed it with a stopwatch.

We came up with 1/2 to 3 RPM as a range for the turntable speed for my needs. Your needs (and mileage) may vary.

Then I ran the numbers with my existing gear reducer and found a 12 volt DC motor on ebay.

It works perfectly as far as speed range for the turntable as I can use 12 to 24 volts DC to run it.

The nice thing is that by swapping the leads (it has only 2), the motor will also reverse rotation. This is a nice plus.

I got the motor couplings from Reid Tool (www.reidtool.com) and the 3 jaw chuck from ebay.

I found the motor speed control in the internet and SSC controls (www.ssccontrols.com) has a foot switch and resistor which works for my set-up very similar to a tig foot control. SSC Controls will
change the resistor value to match your needs. They also make TIG foot controls.

Welded a plate to the motor coupling in case I had odd shaped pieces to weld.

Most welding is done with the 3 jaw chuck.

Hard part is using both feet and not mixing up who does what.

Hope the photos help.