Welding turntable project

[JABgj]

My son had mentioned a few times that he could have used a welding turntable on his last fabrication projects. So thought I would try and build one for him.

12VDC motor, variable speed with reverse and foot pedal. Waiting to see how it goes on its first try.

 

[txvwnut]

Very nice!
The only thing I would've done differently is to add some slots in the table for clamping or attaching a lathe type chuck to hold round items.

 

[JABgj]

Very nice!
The only thing I would've done differently is to add some slots in the table for clamping or attaching a lathe type chuck to hold round items.

Thanks,
He is going to give a try first and see what suits him for clamps. We can pull
the wheel and slot it or drill and tap as needed.

 

[royce]

Excellent work JAB
I really like the ground strap
How many amps you gonna send through it?
Well done
Royce

 

[JABgj]

Excellent work JAB
I really like the ground strap
How many amps you gonna send through it?
Well done
Royce

Thank you,

How many amps? All of them I hope. He will be using MIG and plasma to start and hopefully TIG in the near future. We will have to watch and see if there are any issues. We could use a wider strap if needed. Seems others have had good
results with this method. Learning as we go, I can report progress as he uses it.

 

[thejimmy]

I would be interested in knowing how the 12vdc motor works, the low end(rpm) is where a lot of these don't work well, without enough torque a larger diameter part will stutter.

Nice build BTW, I'd be curious to know about how much you have into it.

 

[JABgj]

I would be interested in knowing how the 12vdc motor works, the low end(rpm) is where a lot of these don't work well, without enough torque a larger diameter part will stutter.

Nice build BTW, I'd be curious to know about how much you have into it.

Thanks,
The motor @ 12VDC is almost unstoppable. It is a high speed motor with a gear reduction that ends up at about 4 RPM at the shaft. I learned a lot about things as I went with this and speed control was one of them. I asked about using a potentiometer/rheostat for speed control. This controls voltage and as voltage drops, so does torque. I learned about PWM speed controls and they in turn control the speed by maintaining voltage, but turning it off and on to control speed. There is still (by feel) a lot of torque just before the motor stalls at low speed so there is good range over different speeds. We will see if there is any stutter. One thing we can do it change the power supply (higher) and have more volts down low. Might have to learn about capacitors and stuff if it becomes an issue.
I did the math and it looks like I have about 65 bucks plus a lot of time in
making and fitting parts. Not sure which is more fun. Building it or giving it
to my son.

 

[Com_VC]

Looks good but that motor looks tiny, think my remote control car has a bigger one lol

Have you tested it with some weight sitting on the plate? Also give it a bit of time when you do test it as you might find over time the motor overheats (duty cycle?)

I do like the earth strap and general construction of the unit though

 

[welder4956]

Could you use a 12V starter motor to drive one of these? Perhaps a small Honda starter motor would have all the torque that would be needed.

 

[BD1]

Pretty neat looking forward to a review or in progress usage.
Those welding positioners are not cheap

 

[mike93lx]

Could you use a 12V starter motor to drive one of these? Perhaps a small Honda starter motor would have all the torque that would be needed.

GJ overkill at its finest. How much torque do you really think is needed to turn something that would fit on that table?

 

[sberry]

How fast you want it to go too, a starter motor is zippy.

 

[JABgj]

Looks good but that motor looks tiny, think my remote control car has a bigger one lol

Have you tested it with some weight sitting on the plate? Also give it a bit of time when you do test it as you might find over time the motor overheats (duty cycle?)

I do like the earth strap and general construction of the unit though

The motor is just a bit bigger than a RC car type motor. I have had about 30 lbs. stacked up on it and the motor did not even flinch. The weight is carried a little by the top bearing and there is a Delrin thrust bearing between the coupler and the motor so the weight is carried by the top bearing and the motor case. We will see how much this one can handle. Who knows, maybe we will build a bigger one later.

 

[Pathfinders]

What is he welding? Please post pics in use. Good job sir.

 

[JABgj]

What is he welding? Please post pics in use. Good job sir.

Thanks. One of the projects he has is welding in new centers on rims. He has promised pics or video soon.

 

[tarbellb]

Dang! Looks legit.

Nicely done. Buying new is not a cheap endeavor.

Any specs on the motor?

 

[JABgj]

Dang! Looks legit.

Nicely done. Buying new is not a cheap endeavor.

Any specs on the motor?

Thanks,
The motor was from surplus and the only thing I know is that it is 12VDC and 4 RPM output. There are no marks or tags on it.

 

[Superbec]

cool , I'm gonna build one myself

I think he's going to need something in the range 1-10+ rpm ...

 

[JABgj]

Dang! Looks legit.

Nicely done. Buying new is not a cheap endeavor.

Any specs on the motor?

A little update on the motor. I went back to the surplus store and picked up another motor to have as a spare. This one had a label on it.
And add 20.00 to my 65.00 previous total, the motor was more that I remembered.

 

[TheEquineFencer]

FYI

 

[bon3s]

This one is very impressive and what I will most likely base mine off of.

 

[JABgj]

This one is very impressive and what I will most likely base mine off of.

I watched that video a couple of times. Excellent build. I "borrowed" the clamping pocket idea for mine.