arther dailey
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I will study Skotl s info and perhaps learn to do it!
- Thread starter Richiew
- Start date
Had a bit of progress over the last couple of weekends so here's a few more pictures. Still not there yet though, I am a very slow operator.
Firstly I have moved the mounting point for the socket by 20mm.
I had to enlarge the main hole too. I used a nibbler and a a powerfile followed by some primer to protect the bare metal
Next I used a 20mm piece of MDF as a spacer and mounted the socket to it. The spacer tidies up the enlarged hole and redundant bolt holes but the main thing is to get the feeder away from the space occupied by a large wire reel.
View from other side, plenty of clearance. I've also bought a new short power cable. The other one was too long and I had specified the wrong the terminal too. The threaded brass section is M10, I thought it was M12 originally.
I shortened the brass thread and the steel liner rod by about 15mm. Here's a picture showing all the unwanted thread to the right of the cable.
.
This shows the feeder mounted square for the first time in the welder cos it's in the right place with room all around..
Side view with another support.
Continued..
Firstly I have moved the mounting point for the socket by 20mm.
I had to enlarge the main hole too. I used a nibbler and a a powerfile followed by some primer to protect the bare metal
Next I used a 20mm piece of MDF as a spacer and mounted the socket to it. The spacer tidies up the enlarged hole and redundant bolt holes but the main thing is to get the feeder away from the space occupied by a large wire reel.
View from other side, plenty of clearance. I've also bought a new short power cable. The other one was too long and I had specified the wrong the terminal too. The threaded brass section is M10, I thought it was M12 originally.
I shortened the brass thread and the steel liner rod by about 15mm. Here's a picture showing all the unwanted thread to the right of the cable.
This shows the feeder mounted square for the first time in the welder cos it's in the right place with room all around..
Side view with another support.
Continued..
Yesterday I finally got round to start fabricating the pedestal. I started with a lump of wood to get my dimensions right. The angle is 15 degrees off horizontal.
Remade in steel. The bolts will be shortened and I think I will use nylocs on them too. Notice that the returned edge of the welder had to be trimmed to allow the front tensioner to drop down when needed. The bit of primer gives it away.
Square used to ensure everything is square.
I will look to trim down the excess on the top steel mounting plate after welding and round off the edges. The light blue plastic strip is left long at the front, so in case of any movement, the plastic will strike the case rather than the electrically live feeder. I will look to tack the pedestal up with my arc welder, check to see it still all fits then I will reinstall the old feeder mechanism one last time to weld the pedestal up with the mig.
Continued
Remade in steel. The bolts will be shortened and I think I will use nylocs on them too. Notice that the returned edge of the welder had to be trimmed to allow the front tensioner to drop down when needed. The bit of primer gives it away.
Square used to ensure everything is square.
I will look to trim down the excess on the top steel mounting plate after welding and round off the edges. The light blue plastic strip is left long at the front, so in case of any movement, the plastic will strike the case rather than the electrically live feeder. I will look to tack the pedestal up with my arc welder, check to see it still all fits then I will reinstall the old feeder mechanism one last time to weld the pedestal up with the mig.
Continued
This was the cheapest bit of 20mm black plastic I could find on Ebay. Less than nine quid delivered. It is HDPE. High density polyethylene. It's relatively hard, shiny and scratches when you look at it. I thought some nylon might have been better but it was a few quid more. I'm mounting the euro socket onto this to try and make the finished welder look slightly less bodged from the outside.
I read up about cutting the material first. Some people have had issues with it melting and clogging blades. I had enough material to make two cuts so I thought I would risk it with my evolution saw. If it all went wrong I would have enough spare for a second attempt with a different tool. As it happened it cut really nicely.
I had spent a fair bit of time and scrap timber adjusting the saw to cut as square as possible and I was quite chuffed with the final result. These saws are a bit shoddily built but I got a few good cuts in without it going out of square in any direction. It took me half a dozen practice cuts and adjustments on timber to get it right first.
Sawn edge for interest.
I used a step drill to drill a 32mm hole
The Portamig has plenty of flat square edges and faces to hang a square off so it was relatively easy to mount the HDPE lined up on the front. I think the sticker is slightly off but there's also wiggle room for a bit of adjustment. I am going to drill bolt holes in three corners of the the HDPE and I have some transfer punches to get the mounting holes lined up on the chassis. It wont move after that. I think it might look good to chamfer the fat edges of the HDPE. I might experiment with a scrap piece I have to see if I'm able to. Radiused corners might also make it look less severe but I only have plenty of excess to trim on the right hand side. I am wondering if an electric plane might chamfer it?
This the reverse. The brass can't get anywhere near the metal chassis so no danger of electrical contact, this has been my number one concern throughout the build. I will do the final drilling and bolting up one spare evening through the week and look to weld up next weekend
I read up about cutting the material first. Some people have had issues with it melting and clogging blades. I had enough material to make two cuts so I thought I would risk it with my evolution saw. If it all went wrong I would have enough spare for a second attempt with a different tool. As it happened it cut really nicely.
I had spent a fair bit of time and scrap timber adjusting the saw to cut as square as possible and I was quite chuffed with the final result. These saws are a bit shoddily built but I got a few good cuts in without it going out of square in any direction. It took me half a dozen practice cuts and adjustments on timber to get it right first.
Sawn edge for interest.
I used a step drill to drill a 32mm hole
The Portamig has plenty of flat square edges and faces to hang a square off so it was relatively easy to mount the HDPE lined up on the front. I think the sticker is slightly off but there's also wiggle room for a bit of adjustment. I am going to drill bolt holes in three corners of the the HDPE and I have some transfer punches to get the mounting holes lined up on the chassis. It wont move after that. I think it might look good to chamfer the fat edges of the HDPE. I might experiment with a scrap piece I have to see if I'm able to. Radiused corners might also make it look less severe but I only have plenty of excess to trim on the right hand side. I am wondering if an electric plane might chamfer it?
This the reverse. The brass can't get anywhere near the metal chassis so no danger of electrical contact, this has been my number one concern throughout the build. I will do the final drilling and bolting up one spare evening through the week and look to weld up next weekend
Hi PDG,
On the 5kg there is plenty of spare width on the spindle to space the spool further out. The Portamig uses a spacer for the 5kg spool as it is, i just need to make a wider one. I haven't got round to getting a 15kg spool so I'm not sure how tight the angle will be on the inside.
On the 15kg I expect that the 20mm difference wont be ideal but it wont be critical either. Unfortunately the feeder is closer to the spool and this compounds the angle issue though. I should have the power and traction to pull wire round 90 degree bends so a tighter few degrees will be hopefully OK. That sprung wire guide is designed to flex so I expect it will earn its keep. It's all part of the fun to see how it pans out. This is design and build by suck it and see.
On the 5kg there is plenty of spare width on the spindle to space the spool further out. The Portamig uses a spacer for the 5kg spool as it is, i just need to make a wider one. I haven't got round to getting a 15kg spool so I'm not sure how tight the angle will be on the inside.
On the 15kg I expect that the 20mm difference wont be ideal but it wont be critical either. Unfortunately the feeder is closer to the spool and this compounds the angle issue though. I should have the power and traction to pull wire round 90 degree bends so a tighter few degrees will be hopefully OK. That sprung wire guide is designed to flex so I expect it will earn its keep. It's all part of the fun to see how it pans out. This is design and build by suck it and see.
I've now got the front of the welder finished. I've beveled two edges on the spacer and smoothed the whole thing over. An Aldi router table was used to bevel the edge. I've had it a few years now but never really used it, it was just a sale item I picked up one day. I think a competent person could have done a good job but I couldn't keep the workpiece square against the fence as the workpiece was so short. There is a lot of clearance around the router bit and the feeding of the workpiece all got a bit wonky. Consequently the bevel wasn't particularly straight. I would have been OK with a longer piece of material that could have be held against the fence better. I was left to use sanding blocks to smooth the thing over and tidy up the new faces. I think this was a good thing. No sharp edges and it's much nicer to the touch. I wont be catching my knuckles on this. I sanded the whole thing up to 1500 grit and used some bumper black to add back some colour. The camera flash washes it out a bit but it's a good match for the plastic socket surround.
I've got the spacer sat square but round socket surround isn't quite sat at the vertical if that is possible for a round thing.
I got some bolt covers ordered for the front and back. I'm not drilling any more bolt holes as that would make the front look too busy.
This is the back. The socket is attached to the spacer with the three bolts. The spacer is attached to the welder by two bolts and two self tappers. I thought it was the simplest thing just to reuse the holes I already had. The whole thing is very solid despite the bodgy self tappers. I will be employing some nut covers here.
Just the pedestal to weld up now.
I've got the spacer sat square but round socket surround isn't quite sat at the vertical if that is possible for a round thing.
I got some bolt covers ordered for the front and back. I'm not drilling any more bolt holes as that would make the front look too busy.
This is the back. The socket is attached to the spacer with the three bolts. The spacer is attached to the welder by two bolts and two self tappers. I thought it was the simplest thing just to reuse the holes I already had. The whole thing is very solid despite the bodgy self tappers. I will be employing some nut covers here.
Just the pedestal to weld up now.
Last edited:
arther dailey
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Wondered how it was going, looks like a tidy job to me, can you peel/sand off the transfers that are partially readable now? maybes fine wet and dry, be interesting to see how it all works eh. Arther
Dragged the welder outside to get a (another) picture as I'm sick of taking pictures from 2 feet away due to the confines of the garage. Actually, it's all the crap I've got in there hindering me. I'm very pleased with how it looks from the front.
The lettering disappeared like it was never there. Not damaged the paint either this time!
The pedestal is actually tacked up and fitted in the welder. Hurrah!
Had a bit of chew as my auto welding helmet has stopped working so I left it out in the sun to recharge. I'm not used to slumming it with a fixed shade. Might see if I can dismantle it and replace the batteries. What can possibly go wrong when taking welding equipment apart?! If you take a look at the stick weld tacks you will understand why I need to get this MIG sorted.
For the three people still watching this thread I know it seems like it's the same old pictures again and again but there is actual progress here. The pedestal is very solid. I don't even need mounting bolts in the bottom. The base plate fits the available width very snugly so it can't really move or twist. I've drilled and filed a hole to tightly fit over some square captive nut contraption which retains the front castor. Combined with the bolted M10 brass thread the whole assembly has nowhere to go and is secured in multiple planes.
Looking at the whole thing this evening I think using a 15kg spool might be a bit optimistic. It will physically fit but I reckon the feeder will be a bit too close to the spool and the angles will be a bit too acute to be sensible.
IF I was going to start this all over again I would mount the euro socket a few mm higher. I got led astray replicating the original mounting height. Now I've got it all fixed up I can see that I could go a little bit higher with the mount. The front tensioner handle thing dictates the max height I could achieve and there's a bit of room above it. It's also plastic so wouldn't matter if it touched the metal frame at the top.
I have also come too far across with the wire feed. I can get one of my fingers between the back of the motor and the chassis wall. I reckon I could have saved five mill there which would have helped with the wire angle. If I ever find myself on gardening leave I might rivet a new plate to cover all the front mounting holes and try a remount. I've had this assembly together and apart about forty times now, measuring and remeasuring, cutting and drilling, mocking up. I just want my welder back.
This pic just shows that I got the feeder where I planned to. Success of sorts. The hole for the wire lines up with the top screw hole so at least I got my measurements right even if my assumptions and design weren't optimal. The pic also shows the text on the front of the welder has shifted without damaging the paint surface, it just needs a clean. Makes a change to all the previous savagery but I've actually made fewer holes and less damage than I expected when I started this project. That scabbily brushed on primer covers all the damage apart from the trimmed edge return bit on the side.
Jobs still to do.
1.Dismantle.
2.Remount the original wire feed and temporary reconnect the wires for the final time.
3.Weld pedestal.
4.Remove the old wire feed.
5.Space out the 5kg wire spool, a hose clip should do this.
6.Affix rubber insulation to new motor body.
7.Trim down the excess material on the pedestal top plate and radius the corners.
8.Prime and paint pedestal.
9.Reassemble with nut covers and rewire.
10.Sling it in a corner and forget I ever started...
The lettering disappeared like it was never there. Not damaged the paint either this time!
The pedestal is actually tacked up and fitted in the welder. Hurrah!
Had a bit of chew as my auto welding helmet has stopped working so I left it out in the sun to recharge. I'm not used to slumming it with a fixed shade. Might see if I can dismantle it and replace the batteries. What can possibly go wrong when taking welding equipment apart?! If you take a look at the stick weld tacks you will understand why I need to get this MIG sorted.
For the three people still watching this thread I know it seems like it's the same old pictures again and again but there is actual progress here. The pedestal is very solid. I don't even need mounting bolts in the bottom. The base plate fits the available width very snugly so it can't really move or twist. I've drilled and filed a hole to tightly fit over some square captive nut contraption which retains the front castor. Combined with the bolted M10 brass thread the whole assembly has nowhere to go and is secured in multiple planes.
Looking at the whole thing this evening I think using a 15kg spool might be a bit optimistic. It will physically fit but I reckon the feeder will be a bit too close to the spool and the angles will be a bit too acute to be sensible.
IF I was going to start this all over again I would mount the euro socket a few mm higher. I got led astray replicating the original mounting height. Now I've got it all fixed up I can see that I could go a little bit higher with the mount. The front tensioner handle thing dictates the max height I could achieve and there's a bit of room above it. It's also plastic so wouldn't matter if it touched the metal frame at the top.
I have also come too far across with the wire feed. I can get one of my fingers between the back of the motor and the chassis wall. I reckon I could have saved five mill there which would have helped with the wire angle. If I ever find myself on gardening leave I might rivet a new plate to cover all the front mounting holes and try a remount. I've had this assembly together and apart about forty times now, measuring and remeasuring, cutting and drilling, mocking up. I just want my welder back.
This pic just shows that I got the feeder where I planned to. Success of sorts. The hole for the wire lines up with the top screw hole so at least I got my measurements right even if my assumptions and design weren't optimal. The pic also shows the text on the front of the welder has shifted without damaging the paint surface, it just needs a clean. Makes a change to all the previous savagery but I've actually made fewer holes and less damage than I expected when I started this project. That scabbily brushed on primer covers all the damage apart from the trimmed edge return bit on the side.
Jobs still to do.
1.Dismantle.
2.Remount the original wire feed and temporary reconnect the wires for the final time.
3.Weld pedestal.
4.Remove the old wire feed.
5.Space out the 5kg wire spool, a hose clip should do this.
6.Affix rubber insulation to new motor body.
7.Trim down the excess material on the pedestal top plate and radius the corners.
8.Prime and paint pedestal.
9.Reassemble with nut covers and rewire.
10.Sling it in a corner and forget I ever started...
Last edited:
arther dailey
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Well.......while you have it apart what about making a similar plate to fit on the inside to cover old holes,one mm steel, you could use a bit of card to mark up holes etc and go from there, sorry just realised I have increased the finish date,
I have a bit more progress to show. I reinstalled the original wire feed. This is how the welder looked, it still welded fine despite the adjustments. Not quite as well as before but I didn't spend anytime fine tuning the wire feed.
The trigger wires were just twisted together and covered with tape.
Pedestal welded up. Wire feed speed was a bit "pulse-y" but I reckon this could have been tuned out if I had spent a few minutes sorting out wire tension and drag resistance on the drum.
Close up of one of the welds.
New welding Helmet. It matches my gas bottle.
Continued
The trigger wires were just twisted together and covered with tape.
Pedestal welded up. Wire feed speed was a bit "pulse-y" but I reckon this could have been tuned out if I had spent a few minutes sorting out wire tension and drag resistance on the drum.
Close up of one of the welds.
New welding Helmet. It matches my gas bottle.
Continued
arther dailey
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Probably its taking longer than expected, worth doing a nice job though eh. Arther
Two coats of primer and two coats of Aldi paint later and the the pedestal is finally in with the motor wired up on a temporary basis. The paint turned out to be a good match for the exterior of the welder. It is very cold and damp now so took ages for the coats to dry.
I have nut covers front and back of the mounting bolts. I could only get one of the self tappers screwed into the HDPE as I couldn't get a screwdriver in on the screw head once it was all mounted. It is still rock solid so nothing to worry about. The gas pipe will need shortening and the wiring could do with a tidy up but I wanted to test the welder first.
I was in luck and managed to get the wire motor direction correct the first time. I was also pleased that I didn't trip the electrics when I turned the welder on. The wire feed motor seems to have a much wider speed range than the old one. It won't move at all with the wire speed set at zero and it seems to turn extremely fast when cranked up to 10. The wire feed seems really steady. I used to run the wire speed at about 4 on the dial with the original motor. The new wire feed runs at around three on the dial. The wire speed controller seems to cope with the new motor without any issue as far as I can tell. The new motor is rated at 3.5 amps and the original 3 amps. I think the new motor may be slightly higher geared.
Wire speed video, no load on the motor. No drag.
Wire feed
Here are a few practice welds with the new set up. I am really pleased with it. I think the wire feed is a genuine improvement. Believe me, I'm not proud and would happily tell you if it was worse or no better. It seems to pull the wire through a lot smoother and the extra wheel gives better grip on the wire. I only managed a few short runs so there is more welding to do to get a fuller picture of the modification. I'm not saying the modification is worthwhile or cost effective but I'm glad I have given it a go. I have hankered over a four roller set up for a while and my curiosity has been satisfied. I am very much aware the limiting factor was never the two roll wire feed though, it was always the operator.
Now I have a bit more experience I could probably do a better job of the install if I started out again. The wire feed could be mounted a little higher and further towards the centre line of the wire spool. The wire comes off the spool no problem despite this.
I have nut covers front and back of the mounting bolts. I could only get one of the self tappers screwed into the HDPE as I couldn't get a screwdriver in on the screw head once it was all mounted. It is still rock solid so nothing to worry about. The gas pipe will need shortening and the wiring could do with a tidy up but I wanted to test the welder first.
I was in luck and managed to get the wire motor direction correct the first time. I was also pleased that I didn't trip the electrics when I turned the welder on. The wire feed motor seems to have a much wider speed range than the old one. It won't move at all with the wire speed set at zero and it seems to turn extremely fast when cranked up to 10. The wire feed seems really steady. I used to run the wire speed at about 4 on the dial with the original motor. The new wire feed runs at around three on the dial. The wire speed controller seems to cope with the new motor without any issue as far as I can tell. The new motor is rated at 3.5 amps and the original 3 amps. I think the new motor may be slightly higher geared.
Wire speed video, no load on the motor. No drag.
Wire feed
Here are a few practice welds with the new set up. I am really pleased with it. I think the wire feed is a genuine improvement. Believe me, I'm not proud and would happily tell you if it was worse or no better. It seems to pull the wire through a lot smoother and the extra wheel gives better grip on the wire. I only managed a few short runs so there is more welding to do to get a fuller picture of the modification. I'm not saying the modification is worthwhile or cost effective but I'm glad I have given it a go. I have hankered over a four roller set up for a while and my curiosity has been satisfied. I am very much aware the limiting factor was never the two roll wire feed though, it was always the operator.
Now I have a bit more experience I could probably do a better job of the install if I started out again. The wire feed could be mounted a little higher and further towards the centre line of the wire spool. The wire comes off the spool no problem despite this.
arther dailey
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i agree, certainly makes the wire feed free from vibration/movement. looks smooth running thats for sure.good job well done i reckon.
Domeo_jones
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Ooh you got me thinking about upgrading....
