Carbon arc

[sjp001]

I get why you'd consider it if you want to avoid bottle rental / risks, but really have to agree with dannyp ^

 

[Memmeddu]

i'd advise buying one off the likes of ebay they rock up occasionaly, tbh i wouldnt't put much effort into makeing something not wishing to rain on your parade but it really is a crap prosess, and welderburn central if you do have a go don't show it any skin

At moment I wouldn't buy from eBay or any other Ethernet E-Commerce
Cos I think it's better avoiding to buy unnecessary things to protect me the postman, my family.
It's not useful to survive I don't buy it from eBay .... I don't know if you can get my point
I think should be enough easy to make , and I would like to make one because I need something to do during this lockdown time , they said we will probably stay in lockdown till July
I have to stay closed at home for 4 months in the best case scenario ,I have to make something to prevent suicide
On eBay I've seen a torch and buzz box for sale 100 euros.
The clampy thing for 35 euros

I get why you'd consider it if you want to avoid bottle rental / risks, but really have to agree with dannyp ^

I have not a forge
I have not a OA set up
I won't avoid bottle rental ... the point is that I can't afford the torch set that I want (Harris 85 handle and 72-2 cutting attachment) and all the hoses, flashback arrestors, check valves, regulators, tips, bottles, bottle cart etc
Risks are anyway involved in every I do in my hobby so not a big deal
Propane instead of acetylene will reduce the risks to an acceptable level for an hobbyist

It's being confirm ,we are in lockdown till 31 July ,so we can go out and live our lives normally only in August

 

[Rudi McAnichal]

Some of the carbon arc torches that were on sale years ago were rather poorly constructed, and fitted with thin leads that got very hot very quickly. I had one in which the sliding movement was nice and smooth when cold, but became very sticky and jerky when warm, so it was difficult to adjust the arc gap accurately. (Actually, I still own that one, but lent it to a friend many years ago. Every so often he reminds me that it is still somewhere in his garage, and I tell him not to waste too much time searching for it.)

I used to use the carbon arc torch to heat steel for bending or to release rusted nuts, because it was much faster, cheaper and more effective than a little propane blow torch; nowadays I rarely work with thick material, and can heat most things with a MAPP gas torch.

It is possible to do fusion welding of steel with just a single carbon in the electrode holder, but I never managed to achieve a tidy looking weld. Maybe I was using the wrong flux.

 

[Memmeddu]

Some of the carbon arc torches that were on sale years ago were rather poorly constructed, and fitted with thin leads that got very hot very quickly. I had one in which the sliding movement was nice and smooth when cold, but became very sticky and jerky when warm, so it was difficult to adjust the arc gap accurately. (Actually, I still own that one, but lent it to a friend many years ago. Every so often he reminds me that it is still somewhere in his garage, and I tell him not to waste too much time searching for it.)

I used to use the carbon arc torch to heat steel for bending or to release rusted nuts, because it was much faster, cheaper and more effective than a little propane blow torch; nowadays I rarely work with thick material, and can heat most things with a MAPP gas torch.

It is possible to do fusion welding of steel with just a single carbon in the electrode holder, but I never managed to achieve a tidy looking weld. Maybe I was using the wrong flux.

It's what I am thinking to do if I achieve to make one , use it to help bending steel (32mm rounds)
About welding using only one single electrode ...
Wouldn't be a conditional similar to arc air?

 

[Cobbler]

A workmate was brazing sills on a car when it was allowed & had a feeling he was being watched. Looked up & sat on the wall looking at him was a load of cats. He didn’t know what attracted them, noise, smell or whatever. Cats with arceye anyone, that would be a new one for the vet.

One thing I was told to do, connect the earth lead to the job as it tended to pull the arc towards the work area a bit. I don’t know whether it made any difference or not, I never had a lot of success with it however I tried. I only used it a couple of times as I borrowed it.

 

[Cobbler]

Had one years ago (made by Kel-Arc?), like your good self, just couldn't get on with it, gifted it to Mike Cannon the trials car man, I don't think he ever had much success with it either.

I have a photo of Mike Cannon competing in WKE 555. I bought it as a box of bits in 1972 & ran it until 1986. I’ll have to see if I can get a reasonable copy of it & send it to you. The car is still running, now with a 1500 Ford engine, when I had it I fitted a 1098 BMC engine with an MG1100 head & 1/12 SU on it. It was so light it was the fastest accelerating thing I’d ever been in, it must be frightening with a 1500

 

[hunter27]

I had one that got quite a bit of use in the mid 70s as it was all I could afford at the time with a Topweld 140 buzz box that cost about £20 inc delivery, started off with a cheap slider holder with thin wires which melted early on so replaced it with the scissor type holder which was a much more robust tool.
Biggest draw back for me was they were bulky to get in a tight spot and the sun burn was terrible thing that finished it off for me was that the available rods seemed to change and it became hard keeping a good smooth arc going. I still have a few half used rods flux and the scissor gun in the garage.