I made one using battery cables and an actual work clamp and electrode holder but same idea. I have a little box that the parts go in with a face shield and gloves and some electrodes. Goes under the seat of my cruiser and works awesome. Starts off too hot... is perfect for a while, then gets kinda weak. But it works great for what it is and how much it cost.
It's not perfect... I'm not going to go around using it for every welding project... but if something is majorly FUBARed off in the middle of nowhere and you can stick it back together and get to sleep in your own bed that night instead of in a broken down truck, it's awesome.
Funny how when he was filing a grounding spot on the other end, I was thinking "errr... not a good idea" and then magically in the next take he had the ground near the other end...
Of course, the issue with this is indeed that you can maybe fix the part but then have to hope you can still start the truck afterwards. So need really a three battery system?
For field welding, I was trying to come up with a small hood/goggle type thing that takes up little space. I have a #5 welding goggles that I rarely use and was thinking of adding another #5 lens on top of to come up with #10 shade. Has anyone else tried this?
I like those simple hoods that you hold with one hand and weld with the other and it does offer UV protection on your face. Often times, you need both hands while holding and a small hood that packs nicely would be a good solution.
Secondly, what is the best stick to use for this application?
What I did is I got a #10 shade to fit in gas welding goggles. I got a cheap leather apron from harbor freight and cut out a face shield out of it that slipped around the goggles. Just leather flap to cover my face from sparks and UV.
I helped a guy do exactly this waaay back in the early 80's when I worked in the oil field (Halliburton). We were way the hell out in BFE and a brake pod got torn off the rear duals of our pump truck when we had to drag it out of the mud. It was gonna take several hours before the shop mechanic could bring us the parts to fix it, so we figured we'd give it a try while we waited. Pulled the batteries out of the truck, hooked it all up with jumper cables, my hillbilly buddy wore 2 pairs of sunglasses and a t-shirt over his head. We used coat hanger for electrode. Not kidding, I swear. Worked better than I expected, made it home.
We've used this method as well on Fordyce trail in Cali many years ago. I bent one of the rear trailing arms (non 80 vehicle) and used three batts in series to weld long 3/4" round spikes (used for concrete form work) to the arms to prevent any more bending.
Good idea on cutting up an old leather apron as a face shield. I might pick up one of those leather welding hood things.
6011 rod would be the best for this application. It is not as susceptible to moisture as 7018 rod and will burn through almost anything. It is popular as a pipeline welding rod and works well out of position but splatters alot.
you will need that leather face shield for sure
