burning hole with welder...

crackcrack30

I want to burn a few holes in metal .....holes for bolts & gate clasps ect, up to 1 inch hole in I suppose 3-5 mm thick metal/iorn.....is there a technique to burning them out with the electric arc welder.....I have no gas.

Michael D Not Higgins

Turn up the voltage and keep the filament away from where you want the hole. The arc will then burn through rather than depositing metal.

woodcock89

Turn up the welder fairly high and start the rod in the centre of where you want the hole and move it around in a small circle til the pool of weld falls true hope this helps you.

dharn

Special gouging rods, be carefull with your welder that is awful hard on it

crackcrack30

Thanks lads its not something i'd be be doing every day but could do with gas on occasion.

On a side note can the bolting plates used/welded on H-iorn and the L brackets for the purlins for bolting together a (lean-two) shed be bought? ........

knotknowbody

crackcrack30 wrote: »

Thanks lads its not something i'd be be doing every day but could do with gas on occasion.

On a side note can the bolting plates used/welded on H-iorn and the L brackets for the purlins for bolting together a (lean-two) shed be bought? ........

Yes, most good general merchants, farm supplies/hardware stores should have them on the shelf, they all do in my area anyway.

Figerty

You could just use a hole saw. Even the Aldi or Lidl ones will do if you use a slow speed and control it.

Would be neater than the welder

dharn

Cant imagine a lidl hole saw cutting a 2 inch hole in half inch steel plate

crackcrack30

knotknowbody wrote: »

Yes, most good general merchants, farm supplies/hardware stores should have them on the shelf, they all do in my area anyway.

Haven't seen them round here and I do like to browse......what do I call them if asking at the counter??

Ken.

Whereabouts are you op?. County will do.

Figerty

dharn wrote: »

Cant imagine a lidl hole saw cutting a 2 inch hole in half inch steel plate

Have done it. Small Aldi Pillar drill with the speed low and patience. Did a good few Pen barriers for the slatted shed. Drop in a two inch pipe for welding or for sliding gates.

It was even trickier than flat plate as I was working on 80mm round galvanised pipe.

crackcrack30

limerick....north tip or south clare area....

Muckit

Figerty wrote: »

You could just use a hole saw. Even the Aldi or Lidl ones will do if you use a slow speed and control it.

Not worth a sh*t for anything over a few mm thick. I've used
them successfully to bore holes in round hollow galvanised gate posts for threaded hangers, but wouldn't be worth a damn to bore H iron or heavy plate

Ronan|Raven

Hire a magentic drill and save yourself a lot of hassle.

NuckingFacker

Often had to burn holes on site with the welder - I just pick a 3.2mm rod, turn up the amps to the max and keep the arc about 5-10mm long - it's like a slow cutting torch - you concentrate the heat on one spot till you have a hole then start working the pool out to enlarge. If you have a mag drill with a rota-broach, use that, it's neater, or, buy a Ruko hole saw of the correct size, run it slow in a pillar drill with plenty of cutting fluid and it will drill 40-60mm or whatever size you need holes all day long in 12mm steel. Slow and well lubed is the key and keep the feed pressure easy and steady. Often drilled dozens of holes that way at work with the same hole-saw and did the same again the day after. If you don't abuse it, it will do what it says - saw holes.

Muckit

NuckingFacker wrote: »

... Slow and well lubed is the key and keep the feed pressure easy and steady.

Oh ya ...I hear ya :pac:

munkus

NuckingFacker wrote: »

Often had to burn holes on site with the welder - I just pick a 3.2mm rod, turn up the amps to the max and keep the arc about 5-10mm long - it's like a slow cutting torch - you concentrate the heat on one spot till you have a hole then start working the pool out to enlarge. If you have a mag drill with a rota-broach, use that, it's neater, or, buy a Ruko hole saw of the correct size, run it slow in a pillar drill with plenty of cutting fluid and it will drill 40-60mm or whatever size you need holes all day long in 12mm steel. Slow and well lubed is the key and keep the feed pressure easy and steady. Often drilled dozens of holes that way at work with the same hole-saw and did the same again the day after. If you don't abuse it, it will do what it says - saw holes.

Hi Nuck,

I tried this a few weeks ago with a 3.2, but the rod itself melted off. Was this because I was touching the metal?

blue5000

250 amps on single phase welder, PM sent.

Farmer

+1 for hole saw + oil. Not as fast as the welder but will be a round hole


For the welding, remember to mind the toes!

pakalasa

Magnetic drill, as said above. It will cut the cleanest hole.

Juniorhurler

The mag drill are deadly. They can be bought at about €400 now if you keep your eyes open. I picked one up about 18 months ago reluctantly and am surprised how much use I have got from it.

I try to hire as few tools as possible as I find you will spend the price of the tool on hire over a period of time.

Figerty

Muckit wrote: »

Not worth a sh*t for anything over a few mm thick. I've used
them successfully to bore holes in round hollow galvanised gate posts for threaded hangers, but wouldn't be worth a damn to bore H iron or heavy plate

Have done H irons for hanging gates and used a hand drill on slow speed for 20mm Bolts. They work fine if they are used the right way.

Burning holes with welding rods is the he-mans way of doing things, especially on galvanise.

Biggest one i used was 125mm on 4 mm steel, Drill set to about 80rpm. It could have been 20mm thick and it would have worked fine. It's all about the right speed, easing the feed and keeping the High speed steel cutter temperature down.

NuckingFacker

munkus wrote: »

Hi Nuck,

I tried this a few weeks ago with a 3.2, but the rod itself melted off. Was this because I was touching the metal?

Your Welder must be a good one - lower it to about 130-140 amps and keep a good distance - you want a long, ragged arc - strike the arc then pull it back as far as you can without loosing the arc.

The rod will burn off - metal will transfer in the arc as per normal, except as a wide spatter instead of a bead. If the rod is glowing red hot at the base when you're done burning one, lower the power level - you can even use your usual setting for welding but keep a very long arc, but it will tend to be very hard to maintain an arc and will deposit a lot of metal - sort of defeating the purpose.

In a bind, i've used a MMA welder as a torch to cut off some pretty hefty brackets from machines etc, so it's a good technique to have in your arsenal. I much prefer a plasma cutter though! OP- if you are struggling to get brackets, pm me - I have an engineering shop and will get the lads to chop some for you - if you have someone passing they can drop them down to you.

massey6480

crackcrack30 wrote: »

limerick....north tip or south clare area....

Sherling steel west in limerick has the purlin cleat`s your looking for sound to deal with.

loveta

dharn wrote: »

Special gouging rods, be carefull with your welder that is awful hard on it

Have looked in several place for them cant get my hands on them any of you guys know where i could get a box of them??

dharn

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