Harbor Freight Spot Welder

[ElectronWrangler]

The only thing I'm missing to finish my last Yugo kit is a way to spot weld the rails. I have the AK Builder tong for the HF Spot Welder. My rental does not have a 220V recept, and I don't want to add one the LL would freak if I asked.

Will the 110V Harbor Freight spot welder be adequate for the 1.5mm receiver?

Or should I rig up a temp 220V recept to hang out the front of the panel?

Are Curtis' warnings on his website about burn through a valid concern on 1mm receivers with the 220V Spot Welder? I know this is supposed to be my last one and all...

Thanks.

[Swagman00]

No replies yet? Wow...

Anyway, the plug in Chicago Electric 110 unit is advertised to weld up to 1/8 in. metal.

http://m.harborfreight.com/115-volt-spot-welder-45689.html?utm_referrer=direct%2Fnot%20provided#.Uy0AxaNlAb0

Now 1/8 of an inch is .125 in or 3.175 mm. With a combined thickness of 2mm or 3mm between the reciever and mag rails, it appears that the unit is adequate for both the thicker and thinner recievers.

Make sure to clean all contacts and parts to minimize resistance.

[Twystd1]

I had help from a PRO builder on several of my AKs.

We used my 110 volt HF spot welder.

He said he won't use the 220 version as it has a tendency to burn holes through the metal.

That is his and my experience. Yours may well be different.

-T

[five.five-six]

He said he won't use the 220 version as it has a tendency to burn holes through the metal.

Yup

You can burn holes with the 110 if you aren't on your toes.

[wecf]

I just TIG weld them

[valley82]

The HF 110 will definitely weld Yugo 1.5mm flat rails on, I have a bunch that were done with one.

[Colt562]

I used mine, but I ran a 50' extension cord. Seemed to help.

[dg29]

This warning about burn through when using a 220v spot welded I believe is for ones without a timer.(Curtis : Avoid the 220v welder if at all possible due to the possibility of burn through while welding.) My Miller 230v with a timer box and others with built in timers are easily controllable and are much more versatile compared to a 110v IMO.

[kcstott]

I use a 110 v spot welder for my builds and it works just fine.

Issues I had were all related to bad connections so go get some scotch brite and some electrical joint compound. clean every part bright copper clean. Wipe with Alcohol or other degreaser, and apply the joint compound. All tips need to be clean and add joint compound as well.

the joint compound may be over kill but it was the only thing i found that would make the welder weld consistently.

Test weld some material. sand or sand blast your parts and degrease them before welding.

Remember everything clean = good welds. With this set up and good firm pressure on the tongs for five seconds = a good strong weld, five to six of those welds on the rail = it ain't ever coming off.