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Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer
Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2019 4:46 pm
by 5chn3ll
One of the reasons I'm comfortable with the spot welder: As long as I don't leave anything exposed, the only gap between + and - will be the 1/8" or so between the 2 electrodes. Both the plasma cutter and fractal burning provide a new wealth of potential ways to die.
gnat wrote: ↑Wed Apr 10, 2019 4:33 pm
Heh. This weekend I found build instructions for a plasma cutter. I want a plasma cutter. I'll spend the money for a real one though...
Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer
Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2019 4:51 pm
by 32wildbilly
5chn3ll wrote: ↑Wed Apr 10, 2019 4:01 pm
There are plenty of people who use a similar rig for fractal wood burning - which involves both 1000 amps
AND salt water.
To that I say, Good Day!
gnat wrote: ↑Wed Apr 10, 2019 3:02 pm
#whatcouldpossiblygowrong
1000 amps...sounds like potentially fatal to me...much less mix in some salt water...
Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer
Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:20 am
by 5chn3ll
It's a lot of amps, but the voltage is low enough that it doesn't want to arc everywhere and kill you. Even so, the number of Youtube videos I see of people using one of the electrodes as a handle makes me pucker just a little...
Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer
Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:33 am
by 32wildbilly
5chn3ll wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:20 am
It's a lot of amps, but the voltage is low enough that it doesn't want to arc everywhere and kill you. Even so, the number of Youtube videos I see of people using one of the electrodes as a handle makes me pucker just a little...
At what voltage? Regardless of the answer to my previous question I would not want my heart to be in path of that charge seeking a ground source!
Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer
Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:35 am
by 5chn3ll
1 to 1.5 volts. Anything under 2 volts will be a win.
Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer
Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:37 am
by 5chn3ll
Added some screenshots to the second post (the solid-state build)...
Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer
Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:38 am
by 32wildbilly
5chn3ll wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:35 am
1 to 1.5 volts. Anything under 2 volts will be a win.
So anything over 2v would be a loss. What defines "loss".
Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer
Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:42 am
by 32wildbilly
5chn3ll wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:37 am
Added some screenshots to the second post (the solid-state build)...
My wife was not thrilled about this part of the project: removing the secondary winding. I used a chisel to cut through the loop on each side of the transformer. Once the wires were cut, I drilled out a small cross-section of the secondary wiring (it's really packed in there). Once you have managed to create some wiggle room, use pliers to pull out the remains of the secondary winding.
Your wife is an intelligent person...
Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer
Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:50 am
by gnat
32wildbilly wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:33 am
5chn3ll wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:20 am
It's a lot of amps, but the voltage is low enough that it doesn't want to arc everywhere and kill you. Even so, the number of Youtube videos I see of people using one of the electrodes as a handle makes me pucker just a little...
At what voltage? Regardless of the answer to my previous question I would not want my heart to be in path of that charge seeking a ground source!
Meh. I never feel more alive than after they run a few hundred amps through my chest
Re: Build thread: nickel strip spot welder from microwave oven transformer
Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:52 am
by gnat
32wildbilly wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:42 am
5chn3ll wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:37 am
Added some screenshots to the second post (the solid-state build)...
My wife was not thrilled about this part of the project: removing the secondary winding. I used a chisel to cut through the loop on each side of the transformer. Once the wires were cut, I drilled out a small cross-section of the secondary wiring (it's really packed in there). Once you have managed to create some wiggle room, use pliers to pull out the remains of the secondary winding.
Your wife is an intelligent person...
You sure about that? She married and continues to live with him after all...