Tiny anvil knob for forge - video

[Jon]

Tiny anvil knob for forge. By ArmaBianca creations. 6:50 video:

Previously:

Homemade Forge Build Guide
Marriage anvil - photo
Floating an anvil in liquid mercury - video
Making an anvil from a railroad rail GIF

[ArmaBianca Creations]

How do you like japanese knives? Homecrafted

[ArmaBianca Creations]

I turned my AC stick welder into a DC welder with only bridge rectifiers!
Has anyone tried it?

[nova_robotics]

OH! You can overclock those welders for free!! I had one of those welders years ago. Well, a very similar rebadged version of that welder. There were two versions, a big one and a little one (they looked identical, but one had more amps). Turns out the good welder and the lesser model are the exact same welder, and you can easily unlock the extra amps.

I was a broke high school student I couldn't afford the good one, so I had to buy the poverty version. There's a plate that decouples the primary from the secondary which you operate by turning the handwheel. That's how you adjust the amps. There are two sets of holes to mount the transformer, and one set of holes won't let you pull the decoupling plate out all the way. That artificially limits the maximum amps. Just unbolt the transformer then reinstall it on the other set of holes. Congrats. You just gave yourself an extra 30 amps.

I think there's a 150 and a 180. Anyway check the bottom. See if there's an extra set of holes in the sheet metal for the transformer. You might be able to upgrade this welder even further.

[Christophe Mineau]

waooo, that's quite promising.
I guess this can be put externally if I want to try it without being intrusive to the welder ?

[katy]

waooo, that's quite promising.
I guess this can be put externally if I want to try it without being intrusive to the welder ?

Shouldn't be a problem.

[Frank S]

A friend of mine down in dry gulch Tx. sent me a DC converter for my Lincoln 225. It was a nice self-contained unit that could be mounted on the top of the machine I connected it one day to see how it worked, which was great someday though I want to remove it from its case and install it inside and add the connectors to the front of the machine so I can have either AC or DC by simply changing the leads' location

[ArmaBianca Creations]

I'm glad you guys like the project.

The most effective change that I've noticed is the amount of the metal that melts from the stick and thus the thickness of the weld bead.
As far as I know, with DC current, electrons move more easily from the stick to the base metal.

To nova_robotics:
I am willing to try this hint of yours, do you think the welder (cables especially) would stand that higher current? 30 Amps more don't seem too much for the cables, actually.

To Christophe Mineau:
Sure you can put it externally. Since the output coil it's directly connected to the cables I guess you want to mount it right before the cables to avoid the soldiering part and stuff, right?

To Frank S:
What were the results, what change did you see in the welding?

[Frank S]

With the DC you get a smoother more stable arc with low hydrogen rods like 7018, you can buy 7018 rods that say they are ac or dc but the formula that make them able to be run on AC machines is all in the flux coating, even those run better on DC current.
most people who run AC machines shy away from low hydrogen rods anyway. and run 6013 or 6011 either of these will run on either AC or DC-or DC+ you will see about the same penetration at ever so slightly lower amps with either of these on DC current6011 will run a little better on reverse polarity. 6010 or what pipeliners call 5P runs on DC reverse only, 6011 being the most common rod for beginners and still quite popular for veteran welders since it has a violent deep penetrating weld and a fast-freezing puddle it will weld through rust and even paint. Higher amperages for horizontal lower for vertical and still lower for overhead. 7018 even if not specifically labeled AC DC will run on AC it just requires strike start to get it going but it likes to be run on reverse polarity electrode positive best.
I found that my machine ran quite smooth with the converter on it which also allowed me to run Nickle rods for welding cast iron
IF you bump your machine up the extra 30 AMPS be aware you should practice a lower duty cycle. if it is now a 40% duty cycle drop down to using it as if it were 30%. a 100% duty machine would know no difference. Most people unless they are like me who welds a lot of 1/2" and thicker stuff will hardly ever exceeded 60 to 80% duty. for materials in the 1/8 to 1/4" thickness using 1 rod size smaller than the machine is capable of 40 to 60% If your cables heat up you have 1 or more things going on exceeding the duty of the machine and or cables or loose connections. Hope this helps.

[nova_robotics]

To nova_robotics:
I am willing to try this hint of yours, do you think the welder (cables especially) would stand that higher current? 30 Amps more don't seem too much for the cables, actually.

Mine ran fine for about 10 years until I gave it away to my brother-in-law. It's a free 30 amps. If you get nervous you can always adjust it down with the handwheel.