8 DIY Welding Tool Plans You Can Assemble Yourself (With Pictures)
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Every welder will find themselves working independently at some point. There’s not always an extra set of hands to hold a part steady. The truth is that many welder’s tools are overpriced at the hardware store. If you have the materials lying around your shop, you can make many of them in just a couple of hours of work and for far less money than you would spend to buy one. Here are eight do-it-yourself welding tools that can maximize your effectiveness and efficiency.
The 8 DIY Welding Tool Plans Are:
1. Third Hand
| Materials: | Stainless round bar (two sizes), silicon bronze |
| Tools: | Band saw, tig welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Joining two larger diameter pieces of round stock (one shorter than the other) with a smaller diameter piece, you can form the base of this third hand tool. Then, three more pieces of round stock are ground to a point (not too sharp) and touched up with silicon bronze which is welded on. These pieces are then welded to the smaller piece of the larger diameter round stock: two on one side and one on the other. This way, you have a versatile third hand tool that can hold either two plates or one piece in place. The silicon bronze is added to the tips so that it doesn’t accidentally create arc marks on your workpiece.
2. Rod Bender
| Materials: | Flat bar, shoulder bolts, |
| Tools: | Bandsaw, drill, tap, grinder, welder |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
If you need to bend round stock or rebar, this simple-to-make rod bender is an ideal project. One long piece of flat bar is the handle that performs the bend, and it has two holes at one end. One hole remains open while the other is tapped for a shoulder bolt which is screwed in and welded on the backside. The excess thread is ground flush to the plate, and the second piece of the bender is the fixture itself. Two holes in a shorter piece of flat bar are drilled and tapped for shoulder bolts which are welded and ground down just like the first piece. The open hole on the handle slips over one of the shoulder bolts on the fixture so that it can perform the bend of your material. Be sure to deburr all sharp edges.
3. Fixture for Round Stock and Square Tubing
| Materials: | Channel, angle iron, pipe |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder, bandsaw |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
This is perfect for fitting up parts on pipe, which tend to roll away. A base frame comprised of three pieces of the channel and two pieces of angle iron on either end are welded together. Next, miter all corners of a piece of angle. This angle will be where your material rests in the fixture. Next, round off all the edges with a grinder and tack the angle at the heel centered across all three pieces of channel at the web (not the flange). Smaller pieces of angle are then tacked at six points (two on each channel) on either side of the fixture. Then, the clamp is made from a sliding arm assembly of a BESSEY clamp, welded in between pieces of pipe. This is then mounted to the sides of the fixture.
4. Gas Cylinder Holder
| Materials: | Brake discs, rebar, pipe, bolts |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder, drill, wire wheel or brush |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
Some gas cylinders have too much slop in them, and you don’t want them to tip over. Using an old brake disc, you can form the base of the holder. The cylinder is then supported on the sides by pieces of rebar which are welded to the disc on one end, and a piece of pipe on the other. Unless you are equipped to weld cast iron and carbon, you will have to drill holes on the sides of the disc in order to weld the rebar. It’s pretty straightforward once you get the holes drilled.
5. Slag Hammer
| Materials: | Chisel, threaded rod, pipe, hexagonal nuts |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder, drill, crescent wrenches |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Every welder needs a good slag hammer. Unless, of course, you’re blessed with great TIG abilities! In any case, this slag hammer will last you a long time, and you can easily replace the handle if it gets worn out. An old chisel for the head of the hammer is drilled halfway through. In this hole, you insert a piece of threaded rod that is welded around. Then a piece of pipe with an inside diameter only slightly larger than the outside diameter of the threaded rod is placed around the rod with hexagonal nuts on either side. Tighten the nuts simultaneously to snug up the handle.
6. Mini Metal Clamp
| Materials: | Angle iron, steel plate, threaded rod, hexagonal nuts |
| Tools: | Drill, welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Fitting up smaller pieces at a right angle will be easy with this mini metal clamp. Two pieces of angle are welded at a right angle, while two more pieces are welded on the back side of each. These two pieces have a hole drilled in each on the upright leg. Then, hexagonal nuts are tacked at the holes on the inside of the leg. The video shows it painted, which will help prevent arc marks on the fixture, but it’s not necessary.
7. Bar Clamps
| Materials: | Tube steel, plate, round bar, bolts, pipe, threaded rod, washers, flat bar, hexagonal coupling nut |
| Tools: | Drill, step drill, tap, miter saw, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Difficult |
Sometimes it seems like you can never find a big enough clamp to get around your material. That’s why it’s important to have access to furniture clamps or, in this case, bar clamps. They are made of a longer tube steel piece with holes drilled and tapped in the side.
The top of the clamp is made from a piece of threaded rod with a welded handle on one end and, on the other end, a piece of formed pipe is used to fit around a nut and the threaded rod. This is all threaded through a coupling nut at the top. This project is complex and requires more than a few fabrication skills.
8. Welding Table
| Materials: | Plate, angle iron, bolts |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
All of these projects would probably be impossible without a good welding table. You need a surface to attach the ground clamp and plenty of space to work. This simple table is made from a piece of plate for the tabletop, which is then supported by four pieces of upright angle for the legs. At the bottom are large bolts and nuts welded to suspend the table off the ground to keep it off the wheels. Tighten the bolts to let it down onto the wheels, and you’re mobile!
Conclusion
The opportunities are limitless for the types of tools you can build to help you with your welding projects. Different projects will allow you to produce more unique tools, and eventually, you won’t have to purchase overpriced products from the hardware store or online retailer. We hope these welding designs inspire you to construct tools that will last for several years.
Featured Image Credit: Roman Zaiets, Shutterstock
