Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi,
I seem to remember a thread by someone who made a bolt tightening wrench( go thru the end pin/peg hole straight to the neck bolt) using a hex key welded to some drill rod. I was wanting to make the same tool and wondering how difficult a task is this. Are there any special parts/tools I need ( like some sort of sleeve to weld the key and rod together or a welding magnet). Obviously I need a welder...I have a Clark mig130en. It does both Flux and Gas welding. I have the drill rod. I have the hex key. Do I need anything else or do I just go at it. I am completely new at and lost when it comes to welding. Any help, insight, comments, whatever will be greatly appreciated.TIA Dave-SKG38588.8686342593

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Dave,

Your Clark rig sounds plenty good enough. Heck, even if you just have a gas rig and brazing rod, you should be able to cobble together what you need. Just make sure the two parts you're joining are not terribly dissimilar metalurgically (e.g., don't try to weld together carbon steel and stainless, unless your rig does TIG), and also make real sure that the parts you'll be joining are clean and free of rust.

Best,

Michael

_________________
Live to Play, Play to Live

Hey Dave,
That was in one of the GAL publications. I will post which one in the morning OK.

An alternative would be to thread the hex key, then drill and tap the end of the drill rod to accept it. A drop of CA and you have your tool.

Thanks for the responses. Michael, I do have Flux capabilities from this welder. Is that a better method? Also, should I just butt the hex key to the drill rod and just weld or put a "sleeve" on it first? Jerry, That's a great idea too! If the welding fails I'm screwing it together . TIA

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Dave,

Flux might yield a better bead for you, and if you're comfortable using it, then go for it. Whether you butt weld or use a sleeve I don't think will matter too much for this sort of application. Penetration is most important. You'll not be subjecting that joint to more than a few foot-lb of torque, I wouldn't think, so even a butt weld should work fine.

Also, if you're unsure of your technique, it's always a good idea to get yourself some pieces of scrap and practice on them until you feel confident with your abilities, then turn to the real thing.

Best,

Michael

_________________
Live to Play, Play to Live

Good advice Michael. THANKS!!!

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

I have used my MIG welder to make extra long drill bits by butt welding a normal bit onto the end of a piece of steel rod. In those cases the rod was either the same diameter as the bit, or smaller. I beveled the ends of both pieces to create a sort of V shaped groove where they butt together, to help assure good penetration. I have a little jig I made to help keep the pieces aligned while welding. I made the jig by welding a piece of angle iron along to a piece of flat bar. Then I sawed out an area in the middle where the joint is made. I clamp the jig in a vise, then clamp each piece to be joined into the angles on the jig. If the pieces are different diameter you can shim under the smaller one to center them up.

After welding the pieces together I grind the weld flush with the OD of the largest piece.






TomS38589.7000115741

Tom,
That's a cool jig. Thanks! I will make something similar and give it a go!

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Dave,

One thing to check if you make a jig like that is that most steel angle has an inside radius where the legs meet. If the radius is larger than the pieces you want to align, it won't work as well. The size of the radius goes down with the size of the angle.

By the way, here's something simliar I use for ukuleles. Since ukes often don't have end pins, I have to go through the tiny sound hole. I cut the end off of a 1/4" rachet drive extension. I drilled a hole the end to slip in a piece of hex key. Then I drilled and tapped holes in the side for set screws to hold the key. Epoxy, or even peening down the end of the drive extension would probably work as well.

TomS38589.7961805556

Tom,

You realy have some real ingenious jig creations going on. Thanks Again! Hey maybe Lance will put these Jigs/tools in the jig section. I am sure others would appreciate them. THANKS TOM!

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

I was going to build one of those v jigs and then realized I have two, new, identical V blocks. Also, I guess two magnetic 90 deg angle blocks would work also or do you feel you definitely need to clamp the work?

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Dave, I'm not sure if the magnetic hold is sufficient. My preference would be to clamp them because I'm a such a klutz once the welding hood is down. (I haven't got one of those nice auto-darkening hoods). Also as the weld cools there will be some tendency to pull sideways.

Are these machinist V blocks? If they were mine I'd be afraid of ruining them with a stray weld strike. But I'm not a great welder either TomS38590.4046759259

Yes they are machinists V blocks but they were pretty cheap around $20 for the two...I think...I have no other real use for them any way...at the moment...maybe when I get my welding skills up I will attempt to make your jig with some flat plate. Question...how did you cut the relief section? Hack saw?

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Yes, a hacksaw, and a grinder. The angle is not welded in that area so the piece falls out when you saw through the angle. Actually just removing the piece of angle gives enough clearance to work, but if you want more you can grind into the base piece some. TomS38590.6552083333

Gotcha! Thanks so much!

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Anyone having a metal lathe can possibly friction weld two pieces end for end. Chuck one piece in the headstock and the other in the tailstock. Run the lathe at high rpm while bringing the two ends together with pressure from the tailstock.   Kill power to the headstock when the ends get red hot and let it coast to a stop. You will have a neat weld joint if everything goes right. The setup does need to be rigid however to keep the two pieces aligned during the heating process.