Welding clamps

[john b]

I see those drop In welding clamps. Does anyone know what the tolerances are for the hole and the clamp. Thanks John b.

[Black Forest]

Not a sloppy fit. On my table I have to work quite a bit sometimes if there is any dirt what so ever in the holes. I keep a bottle brush on the table to clean the holes.

[Doozer]

Without a brand and/or a part number it is impossible to say.

-D

[john b]

The brand is home made. My welding table is a piece of vertical slat floor (deck) grating, so I will be making both parts .

[Arcane]

Why not simply buy some welding cable connectors? They aren't expensive.

[psomero]

I see those drop In welding clamps. Does anyone know what the tolerances are for the hole and the clamp. Thanks John b.

Stronghand clamps with the 15 or 16mm thru holes? Used them but never owned them. I have some coming UPS next week (hopefully) and will report back...

[Ian B]

Arcane,

I think he's talking about these type of things: https://www.gereedschappro.nl/artike...BoCkIwQAvD_BwE

Ian

[reggie_obe]

I see those drop In welding clamps. Does anyone know what the tolerances are for the hole and the clamp. Thanks John b.

An example of a commercially made welding table and clamp system would help.
I don't think the style already mention will work for your design. We had this type at the last place I worked at: https://buildprotables.com/

[Arcane]

Arcane,

I think he's talking about these type of things: https://www.gereedschappro.nl/artike...BoCkIwQAvD_BwE

Ian

Oh, right. When he mentioned welding clamps, my mind automatically went to attaching a cable from the welder to the table. Duh.

[john b]

The clamps that are like the Bessey clamps linked to above are what i would like to make. I will also make the part that it fits to, that why i was asking about the the tolerances/

[BCRider]

Look at how hold fasts in an anvil work. They can be pretty sloppy but still hold well. The issue becomes that if they are too sloppy the clamp will tilt too much. But you don't want the fit to be so fine that a touch of spatter or grinder grit causes things to jam.

What I'm thinking is make the plug on the end with a fairly loose fit in the hole. Like up around .03 of play. That should be enough to avoid the odd bit of spatter and grinder grit from causing any issues. But then join the plug to the clamp at an angle so when the plug is cocked to the locking angle in the hole that the clamp is properly vertical. Or if making your own clamps instead of the sliding arm go with a bent piece of rod shaped like a "7" so the horizontal part is parallel to the table at the locking angle and drill and thread the end of the 7's top arm for the clamping screw....

Or dare I suggest just making them as a hit down to lock and hit the back to release like a traditional hold fast? If you go that route they are super easy to make and use. So you can have lots of them. And they are neatly low in profile since there are no tall fixed length pillars or sliding arms with screw handles.

As for the sockets. If you use a solid top then I'm thinking it needs to be quite thick to avoid damage when the plug pries against the edges of the holes. And that seems to be supported by the 5/8" metal "planks" used by Build Pro. For a home shop situation though I'd think that one could get by with 1/2" and use a little consideration with the clamping pressures.

[reggie_obe]

Look at how hold fasts in an anvil work. They can be pretty sloppy but still hold well. The issue becomes that if they are too sloppy the clamp will tilt too much. But you don't want the fit to be so fine that a touch of spatter or grinder grit causes things to jam.

What I'm thinking is make the plug on the end with a fairly loose fit in the hole. Like up around .03 of play. That should be enough to avoid the odd bit of spatter and grinder grit from causing any issues. But then join the plug to the clamp at an angle so when the plug is cocked to the locking angle in the hole that the clamp is properly vertical. Or if making your own clamps instead of the sliding arm go with a bent piece of rod shaped like a "7" so the horizontal part is parallel to the table at the locking angle and drill and thread the end of the 7's top arm for the clamping screw....

Or dare I suggest just making them as a hit down to lock and hit the back to release like a traditional hold fast? If you go that route they are super easy to make and use. So you can have lots of them. And they are neatly low in profile since there are no tall fixed length pillars or sliding arms with screw handles.

As for the sockets. If you use a solid top then I'm thinking it needs to be quite thick to avoid damage when the plug pries against the edges of the holes. And that seems to be supported by the 5/8" metal "planks" used by Build Pro. For a home shop situation though I'd think that one could get by with 1/2" and use a little consideration with the clamping pressures.

I think you've missed the point. The OP has a welding table already, the top is steel floor grating. https://www.chinasteelgrating.com/st...l-grating.html
He desires to make clamps and bases similar to the ProTables ones that will work with the grating.

[BCRider]

I think you've missed the point........

Not really.... a replacement top made from planks of steel is certainly an option. But if he wants to keep the grating then at least the sizes for the hole dimensions are there to use as a guideline for making weld into place inserts. But by that time it would be a toss up as to which option would be less work and nicer in the end.

[john b]

The part that goes in the table will not be wielded in . It will be able to twist lock any place I want to to put it.

[reggie_obe]

The part that goes in the table will not be wielded in . It will be able to twist lock any place I want to to put it.

Fixture holes on the BuildPro plate are 0.625 +.002 -.000 Posts are a sliding fit into the table, probably 0.625 +.000 -.0035 to .005