Subject: Re: ???Welding Wire Ends, How Do I Do It???

From: [email-masked] (Mark Kinsler )
Date: Sat, 8 Apr 1995 02:19:24 GMT

>Now that I think of it, how are all those small bars attached to the
>frame on wire closet shelves, and  refrigerator shelves??

When I taught a course for the industrial technology program at Ohio U 
last fall they made the mistake of giving me keys to all the machine 
rooms.  I had orders from Natalie to fix the thin wire rack on which we 
cool freshly-baked bread.  Without knowing what I was doing and guessing 
at pressure and current settings, I was able to use the big spot welder 
in the sheet metal shop to weld two joints back together.  I can barely 
distinguish my work from the factory welds.  So I guess they use electric 
spot welds.  It doesn't leave any marks or discoloration if you do it 
right and polish or plate the work after it's been welded.
                                                M Kinsler

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From: [email-masked] (-Mayo,H.H.)
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 17:02:56 GMT

I'm working on a project duplicating bent-wire clamps. These clamps
are made of several pieces of 1/8 inch wire welded together somehow
to produce a nice clean piece.  The problem is that I can't figure
out how they were done. The welds where the end of one piece butts
up to the side of another ( T ) are solid , splash free, and barely
visible, almost like a spot weld. If I try to duplicate it, the 
welds are splashy, and unsightly. Should I try brazing them, or was
there some sort of unusual welding process used to create the 
originals?

                                      Larry Mayo

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From: Bruce Olson <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 95 11:37:54 -0500

>out how they were done. The welds where the end of one piece butts
 
I have used a butt welder for bandsaw blades to weld 1/8 wire (steel) into
circles.  This worked very well and I was able to set the controls to
eliminate most of the flash with a small amount of swelling at the joint
where the metal ends met.  This machine was ideal in that it held the
ends in perfect alignment and had the required amperage settings.

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From: Bruce Olson <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 95 11:37:54 -0500

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From: [email-masked] (-Mayo,H.H.)
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 1995 16:45:52 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
Bruce Freeman  <[email-masked]> wrote:
>[email-masked] (-Mayo,H.H.) wrote:
>>

>I'm only an amateur blacksmith, but it seems to me that
>you could get your wires up to a welding heat (yellow, for mild steel)
>then hammer them together.  If this process is not familiar to you, 
>any basic book on blacksmithing will clarify it.

I don't think that's what they did. The clamps look somewhat like
this.

                  _____________
                 |      |      |
                        |      |
                 |______|______|

and the wires don't show any hammer marks where the center bar is welded
to the rest of it, which is obviously bent on a jig of some kind. These
were mass produced, and silver soldering is a possibility, as a previous
poster mentioned. I don't think spin welding is a possibility in this
case. I wonder if some kind of electric spot welding was used.

                                                 Larry Mayo