Post your diy jigs and clamps for welding

[FishingMan]

Looking for some ideas on diy welding jigs and clamps to make fab jobs go smooth. Thanks guys

 

[sberry]

I like common clamps as simple and as universal as I can get. 11r, some 6 and a selection of screw clamps, work bench and vise.
Some pieces of steel on the rare occasion the basics dont work.

 

[BD1]

Check weldingweb . Lots of ideas there
I did see a guy bought a old Craftsman table saw with cast iron extensions.He cut them down and used the corner 90's for jigs.

https://weldingweb.com/forum.php

 

[crugg65]

The first picture is one I use in my large pipe vise for miscellaneous pipe welding work. The larger pipe is a 2 1/2” with a 5/8-11 lock/hold down welded on to lock schedule 40 2” pipe. The 2” pipe has a piece of 2”x3/8” stock welded on for certain flanges I use. The second picture is my “V” block jig I use in conjunction with my drill press to drill holes into round stock or pipes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[FishingMan]

Crug nice job on the V block. I need to make one for my drill press. Keep em coming guys

 

[racingtadpole]

My table is set up using milling clamps..

 

[HenryAZ]

My table is set up using milling clamps..

My table the same way. I use the same holes to bolt down a drill press vise occasionally. Do you use anything to plug the holes while they are not it use, to protect the holes and threads? I've tried hex head set screws, but they usually get vibrated over time and fall out the bottom.

 

[lilredex]

A couple of my helpers.

 

[racingtadpole]

My table the same way. I use the same holes to bolt down a drill press vise occasionally. Do you use anything to plug the holes while they are not it use, to protect the holes and threads? I've tried hex head set screws, but they usually get vibrated over time and fall out the bottom.

I have internal hex drive grub screws in mine also. I’ve not had any issue with them falling through but I have had issues with spatter from the mig clogging the hex or sticking them in place. I try and avoid mig welding on that surface where possible.

 

[koditten]

I made a few of these. They work awesome!

 

[stsmytherie]

I cut the ends off some cheap import clamps and welded on 5/8 bolts to fit the holes in my table.

 

[JoeMcGov]

Oh my ^^^. That is REALLY nice.

 

[FishingMan]

I made a few of these. T

hey work awesome!

Is it a copy of a fireball jig. Can you show a pic of the other side. Thanks for all the cool ideas guys

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I cut the ends off some cheap import clamps and welded on 5/8 bolts to fit the holes in my table.

I did the same. Used the clamps to build the table, then modified them to use on the table.

 

[koditten]

Is it a copy of a fireball jig. Can you show a pic of the other side. Thanks for all the cool ideas guys

 

[strength_and_power]

The Fireball Tools Square and Magic Square are worth the money, very versatile. Check out Genuine Metalworks on Instagram for his version of a square made from 1/4” P&O steel, laser cut and CNC formed. Considerably cheaper than Fireball, not quite as versatile but they both have good uses. 1-2-3 blocks are good to have and can be found pretty cheap. The most handy jig I have is a piece I had my local fan shop laser cut and form. The jig is 24” long, formed at a right angle, 3-3/16” holes in a row offset from the corner to put me center of 2”, 2.5” and 3” square tubing. Each set of holes is spaced 1” apart down the 24” length. Over time the holes may wallow out a bit, I used mine daily for 7 years and only a few of the holes I ended using often were starting to wallow. So much faster than a combo square and center punch.h
If there was enough interest, I could have my fab shop make up more of the hole templates.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HenryAZ]

I have internal hex drive grub screws in mine also. I’ve not had any issue with them falling through but I have had issues with spatter from the mig clogging the hex or sticking them in place. I try and avoid mig welding on that surface where possible.

I didn't have much of issue until my wife started using the work bench to build rabbit hutches. Lots of hammering to bend over each strand of hardware cloth. Also hammering to finish setting staples, as she was using a hand squeeze type stapler. I bought her a pneumatic stapler and that eliminated all of that pounding on the staples.

 

[ndnchf]

Not really a jig or clamp, but a vise. Its bolted to a heavy brake rotor disc and sits on my welding table. It can be positioned however its needed to hold things. I added a bar to clamp the ground cable too when its not convenient to clamp the piece directly. The jaws were cleaned to bright for good contact.

 

[Ch3No2]

Before and After

 

[larry4406]

Before and After

Nice radius'd fence.

How come it doesn't match the adjacent sections? Your top and bottom rails are in different positions.

 

[bad_idea]

The most handy jig I have is a piece I had my local fan shop laser cut and form. The jig is 24” long, formed at a right angle, 3-3/16” holes in a row offset from the corner to put me center of 2”, 2.5” and 3” square tubing. Each set of holes is spaced 1” apart down the 24” length. Over time the holes may wallow out a bit, I used mine daily for 7 years and only a few of the holes I ended using often were starting to wallow. So much faster than a combo square and center punch.

So, what is that jig for? I'm gathering from my context clues it is for center punching holes in square tube. But what are you doing that you need to center punch square tube all the time?

Talking about jigs to layout square tube - I routinely have to cut square tube to length with a grinder. The rolled edges makes it hard to mark with a combo square. I cut off a short piece of angle iron square and use that to mark the line on the square tube. Mark length on square tube, lay angle on tube, mark two sides, rotate tube, lay angle on tube, line up with line on other side, mark, repeat.

 

[Ch3No2]

Nice radius'd fence.

How come it doesn't match the adjacent sections? Your top and bottom rails are in different positions.

Good catch...The posts were installed plumb first and then the squared up rail sections were fit to the posts. This makes the top rail perfectly level and since the concrete has slight fall they don't meet the post at the same height.

 

[joe49]

For the future, you should shoot the elevations and add those into your bench layout.

 

[Ch3No2]

For the future, you should shoot the elevations and add those into your bench layout.

Thanks but since the fall is not drastic I preferred the level top rail.
And your sign off is "the easy way"...lol

 

[larry4406]

Good catch...The posts were installed plumb first and then the squared up rail sections were fit to the posts. This makes the top rail perfectly level and since the concrete has slight fall they don't meet the post at the same height.

I think many will see but few will notice.

I hope you have a gate to get in there to mow.

 

[Ch3No2]

I think many will see but few will notice.

I hope you have a gate to get in there to mow.

I agree that few will notice or care....besides it's my fence and my yard and I did it my way......yes there is a gate on the far end as evidenced by the mower tracks fresh on the grass by the gardener in the 2nd pic

 

[strength_and_power]

So, what is that jig for? I'm gathering from my context clues it is for center punching holes in square tube. But what are you doing that you need to center punch square tube all the time?



Talking about jigs to layout square tube - I routinely have to cut square tube to length with a grinder. The rolled edges makes it hard to mark with a combo square. I cut off a short piece of angle iron square and use that to mark the line on the square tube. Mark length on square tube, lay angle on tube, mark two sides, rotate tube, lay angle on tube, line up with line on other side, mark, repeat.

I used to build gym equipment and the initial jig was 7’ long with 40 holes for power racks. The jig pictured evolved from that and was a real time saver. I would clamp the jig on and use my drill press. I’d have friends offer to help and I could set them up at the drill press and with 5 minutes of instruction, they were off and running.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

What tooling were you using to drill all those holes and how many holes did you get per tool before they were dull?

 

[strength_and_power]

What tooling were you using to drill all those holes and how many holes did you get per tool before they were dull?

I piloted with a Norseman black and gold 3/16 bit at 980rpm with cutting oil every 3rd or 4th hole. For the finished size (3/4”) I used a Roto Kut Ultra from Kimball Midwest, basically a carbide tipped hole saw that had very little deflection. Cost around $100. Ran it around 450rpm with oil every hole. Did the math on one order where I started with a fresh cutter. That order alone had 12,000 holes and I used the cutter for 6-8 months after that. Cost per hole was fractions of a cent. I tried Norsemans version which was identical in looks, about 2/3s the price but it didn’t last near as long. You can find Chinese cutters on Amazon in metric for cheap but they don’t last. Quickest way to ruin any of the cutters was to spin them too fast or in a hand drill where the pressure isn’t even.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I piloted with a Norseman black and gold 3/16 bit at 980rpm with cutting oil every 3rd or 4th hole. For the finished size (3/4”) I used a Roto Kut Ultra from Kimball Midwest, basically a carbide tipped hole saw that had very little deflection. Cost around $100. Ran it around 450rpm with oil every hole. Did the math on one order where I started with a fresh cutter. That order alone had 12,000 holes and I used the cutter for 6-8 months after that. Cost per hole was fractions of a cent. I tried Norsemans version which was identical in looks, about 2/3s the price but it didn’t last near as long. You can find Chinese cutters on Amazon in metric for cheap but they don’t last. Quickest way to ruin any of the cutters was to spin them too fast or in a hand drill where the pressure isn’t even.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's incredible tool life!

 

[strength_and_power]

That's incredible tool life!

Yeah, I found Kimball Midwest totally by accident. Bought a 1” roto kut off of EBay from a private seller and it had the Kimball Midwest name on it. Their website was a PITA but I could email the sales rep who usually responded within the hour and my orders would ship the same day. Another nice benefit of them is that their size increments are 1/16”. 3/4” sch40 pipe fit perfectly in a 1-1/6” hole and 1.5” sch40 fit in a 1-15/16” hole.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sqznby]

That's incredible tool life!

Xs 2 on that, holy shmoly that's incredible.

The right speed, consistent pressure and a little lube will go a long way

Nicely done

 

[joe49]

I also use many Kimbal-Midwest products, everything exceeds expectations.

 

[ShuhornGarage]

Looking for some ideas on diy welding jigs and clamps to make fab jobs go smooth. Thanks guys

 

[ShuhornGarage]

Here's a few jigs I've made, hope they can be useful to you
Cheers
Norm

 

[mike528]

Yeah, I found Kimball Midwest totally by accident. Bought a 1” roto kut off of EBay from a private seller and it had the Kimball Midwest name on it. Their website was a PITA but I could email the sales rep who usually responded within the hour and my orders would ship the same day. Another nice benefit of them is that their size increments are 1/16”. 3/4” sch40 pipe fit perfectly in a 1-1/6” hole and 1.5” sch40 fit in a 1-15/16” hole.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

do you have to have a "company" to set up an account or can an individual set up an account with them?

 

[ShuhornGarage]

Looking for some ideas on diy welding jigs and clamps to make fab jobs go smooth. Thanks guys

 

[ShuhornGarage]

Just came across your post for jigs & not sure if you're looking for more but here's a few if you're interested & don't already have something similar, I hope you find them useful
Cheers
Norm

 

[Cap'n Coldeye]

Right on. Great ideas. Here is one I made when I first started welding. I roughed up the smooth ball bearings and got it to hold 8 lbs. I thought about letting the bearings rust for more fiction, but it worked good enough with the sand paper treatment. Eventually I traded the center bolts out with some T bolts.

Cheers

 

[slowtwitch73]

Jig for tig'ing bandsaw blades.