I’ve been thinking about side clamps for my welding table for a while. Today I got some cold rolled 5/8 round stock and some IRWIN C-clamps and went to work! It was also my fist time TIG welding steel to cast iron! I stopped at Toll Welding Supplies and got some nickel filler rod and gave it a shot! I’m happy how the first one turned out, and I will make three more tomorrow! I wanted something height adjustable, instead of the fixed height side clamp available from Strong Hand Tools. It will be interesting to see how they perform in the long run. Nothing to put a lot of pressure on something, but enough to hold it in place!
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A picture of the parts for my little project. -
The nickel filler rod to weld cast iron to steel. I’ve never done this before! Something new to experience! -
Starting to cut the C-clamps with a cutting wheel. -
After cutting! The big portion is going into the scrap metal bin. -
Cleaning the cut and preparing it for welding. -
A test run of the nickel rod on the cast iron clamp stock. -
The cold rolled 5/8″ round stock fits perfectly into my fixturing holes. Lucky me! -
Setting up for welding the pieces together. -
A closeup of the weld bead. -
The other side! -
The whole side clamp after cleaning. -
A closeup! -
Another view! -
First test on a 1″x 1″ tube. -
Next a 3″x 3″ tube. -
I like how quick and easy it goes from the lowest to the highest setting! -
Center height at the lowest setting is 1 3/8″ from the top. -
Center height at the highest is 6 1/2″. That’s a lot of flexibility! -
The only piece I could find available to purchase. It has a fixed height of 2″.