r/metalworking • • 1d ago

HOW TO BUILD SPOT WELDER AT HOME

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1 Upvotes

r/metalworking • • 2d ago

What metals have the coolest colors when exposed to heat?

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18 Upvotes

My wife loves metal art and picked this up today. The artist hand cut the trees with a plasma cutter and heat treated the entire thing to make it look really cool. I don't have a plasma cutter but i am really good with solid works and there's plenty of machine shops that take a step file. and who doesn't love playing with fire? Thinking 1/8 inch aluminum or copper would be a good place to start. I'm unsure of what grade of metal to purchase. The best metals will resist heat but I'm looking to embrace it.


r/metalworking • • 1d ago

Idk if this is the correct place to post this but i have a bed that has like a storage unit under and i lofted the frame and now i see that one of the side thingys are bent and i cant close it. All i have is a hammer can someone help?

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1 Upvotes

r/metalworking • • 2d ago

Great Ebony Steel Axe from Skyrim In Process

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111 Upvotes

Currently making this great ebony steel axe from Skyrim.
Length is 7ft.
Width is 20 inches
Weight is 23 kgs
Currently in the pictures the parts are nickel plated. I will do matte black powder coating on it and will post the final product after it’s completed. Doing nickel before powder coating will provide much better corrosion resistance.
I hope you guys like it.
The pictures are not great at the moment. Will take better pictures when it’s done


r/metalworking • • 1d ago

How to clean welding gloves

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0 Upvotes

I bought a pair of slickman welding gloves before the start of summer and now it's a time for a wash I flipped them inside out but idk what to use to clean them I know I have to air dry cause it's leather but what do I use to clean I looked it up on Google but now every search result is ai and I'm not trying to ruin my work gloves any tips or home remedies to clean them would be much appreciated they are the 820s I think just regular cow leather with padding on the inside on one side posting here cause don't have enough karma for the welding sub


r/metalworking • • 2d ago

Practicing for a job test

3 Upvotes

I got a great job working at a fab shop that makes grates, I’ve been offered a position as a welder if I can pass their mig weld/fab test (not structural). If not, I’ll be working on the production line loading the forge welders. I have a Lincoln 110c that I have practiced flux core with in the past and I can stick shit together, but I’ve never really made anything. Just ran beads on scrap. Does anyone have any insight on what I could do to practice for their test? I’m pretty handy with woodworking, but I’m a bit nervous since I haven’t actually used my welding skills for anything. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks


r/metalworking • • 2d ago

Building a tabletop vertical mill from an old mystery casting - deciding how to mount the motor

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5 Upvotes

I recently got this casting from the other side of Canada. It has zero markings, parts of it are unfinished (spots were holes should be drilled but haven't been), parts of it are missing, but the z axis is super smooth, and it's all fairly well built.

If I could afford to just buy a mill I would, but I'm disabled and this is my hobby, so I've decided to but one together from bits I've gathered over the last while.

My first problem to solve is how I'm going to mount this milling head and motor. My three options as far as I can tell are

Belt - id need to get a very small belt and mount the motor on the same surface as the spindle, or a longer belt and mount it behind the machine, designing it so that it moves up and down along with the spindle, just like a drill press.

Geared - I could put the motor offset in front and use some gears I have from an old range rover transmission to link them mechanically. This is nice because I can increase spindle rotation easily.

Directly linked - Connect the drive shaft of the motor directly to the spindle, using a flex coupling or oldham, etc. This is probably the easiest, but it limits me to the rotation speed of the motor itself.

Due to the way this was designed, all of these will interfere to some degree with the z axis screw, and I'll have to design things so the parts don't foul.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Oh also, while I don't have a working mill at the moment, I have a myford ml-7 lathe with a perfectly capable milling attachment. I just can't do anything really oversized.

Thanks!


r/metalworking • • 2d ago

looking to alter a metal necklace (not a smith)

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2 Upvotes

r/metalworking • • 3d ago

Making some charging station lamps

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18 Upvotes

Doing some upcycled metal lamps for charging phones and laptops etc while providing mood light and ambiance. There's a 110 and two USB outlets in the front center of this piece. The lamps are dimmable and it's thoroughly diffused with red acrylic and expanded metal. I really like the custom green cloth shrouded cord. Not sure what my aesthetic is, but it's getting consistent. Somewhere between dieselpunk, industrial, post-apocalyptic sci-fi.


r/metalworking • • 3d ago

Getting started with brass sculpting to restore a Sergio Bustamante sculpture.

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13 Upvotes

I inherited a Sergio Bustamante sculpture from my grandparents of a large brass bird on a perch, similar to the one in the photo.

I left the sculpture in the care of my sister because I didn’t have room for it in my apartment at the time, and at some point, the tail came off and she lost it after a house fire.

I would like to re-create the tail, but I have no idea where to begin and was hoping somebody can give me some starter tips.

Also, the bird in the photo is dull, and mine is also dull, but these birds started out very shiny. How do I restore the shine without removing the intentional color variation?


r/metalworking • • 4d ago

Out with the old. In with the new!

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389 Upvotes

Custom handrail for a client. Fun but tedious build splicing all the pieces together. (No it doesn't pass code, we installed after their CO inspection) 🤫

2"x1/2" flatbar with 3/4" tube for the middle section. I find it very satisfying when you look through one rail at the other and all of their lines run parallel with each other. Happy to answer any questions about the build or its process in the comments!


r/metalworking • • 4d ago

I know it's not conventional metal working, but this is what I make in my full time profession. What do you guys think?

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329 Upvotes

I made these knives out of a variety of materials, most of them are made with my hand forged, copper layer damascus called Cu Mai. The handles are a variety of natural materials, stabilised natural materials and also some synthetic composites.

I've been making knives full time for the last 5 years k make all of these by hand in a small workshop.

Let me know what you guys think! And thank you in advance!


r/metalworking • • 3d ago

I need help

2 Upvotes

I’m a Junior in high school and I take a fabrication class and I can make any project I please. I asked my step dad and he asked me if I could make a Hibachi Grill. I’m very unfamiliar with what it is but I got a reference to what it looks like and he said to make it rectangular so it would be easier for him to move. I looked online for plans and couldn’t find any. Would anyone be willing to send me plans or work something out? I’m currently unsure what to do or how to go about.


r/metalworking • • 3d ago

Please advise on how to remove this and clean up the old welds to install new brackets

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0 Upvotes

r/metalworking • • 3d ago

Got tired of generic tourist souvenirs, so I started designing and engraving my own travel cups

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0 Upvotes

I travel quite a bit, but most souvenir shop stuff always feels pretty generic. not necessarily terrible, just rarely something I actually want to keep.

my husband recently got me an Aliencell, so I figured I'd try making my own keepsakes instead. for this one I put together a design based on a recent trip and engraved it onto a blank coated tumbler.

the wrap alignment was honestly the trickiest part since I wanted the skyline and little details to sit straight around the curve, but it came out better than I expected.

I think I like this way more than buying a random souvenir now. having the actual places and little memories from the trip worked into the design makes it feel a lot more personal.


r/metalworking • • 3d ago

Bend 1/2" steel rod

2 Upvotes

I want to bend 1/2" steel rod in a S shape. In the photo, you see the rod, then a blue representation of what I want (more or less). A tool like this is going to give something like the red bar I have drawn, i.e. not rounded. What can you suggest?

Post must contain at least 400 characters. Post must contain at least 400 characters.


r/metalworking • • 4d ago

Custom Brass Curls

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66 Upvotes

Hello! I (29F) have been a welder fabricator for almost 8 years now. I specialize in ornamental style, making a lot of handrails, fencing and gates.

I wanted to share something I had to make at a very stressful day of my life. The day before I got in a car accident that led to my vehicle being totaled (no one was hurt). I then came in the following day, my birthday, to curl 4 of these. I could not make ANY mistakes because we bought the exact amount of material required.

It was extremely stressful, but so rewarding completing such a task at a very dark time. This is what I love about my job. You are faced with new challenges every day, and you overcome them. As with life. It has really helped me establish my self confidence.

I practiced on mild steel first. I also had to create my own jig to make the curl. This meant creating a Fibonacci Spiral from scratch! I just cut sections of different sized pipe, then arranged them onto a piece of plate to put in a vice. I then heated the brass and used a fork to bend the curl.

I will have to share more of my work eventually! The welding subreddit doesn't really care about fabrication, and the fabrication subreddit is pretty dead. So I am glad I found this place. Thanks for looking!


r/metalworking • • 3d ago

Vertical up

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2 Upvotes

r/metalworking • • 4d ago

A hiding spot for my sons bearded dragon.

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45 Upvotes

My son's lizard needed a larger hide for the upcoming burmation season. He's really into dragons and castles.

So I used some stainless scrap, a zip disk, a die grinder and most my brakes this week. It will get painted this weekend and then mounted in clay. The top will be covered in sand and that rough hole on top will hold an aloe with soil in a bucket below. The rough weld on the top edge will be painted to match the clay and hopefully make it look more inset. There's also a viewing window on the side so we can observe her sleeping.


r/metalworking • • 4d ago

The Emperor’s Letter

6 Upvotes

r/metalworking • • 4d ago

Where do people purchase their PAPR hoods at?

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19 Upvotes

Im interested in getting one of these from 3M, but it seems like they dont sell them off their website and i want everything included, there is a model that comes with ear protection, and I want it new not off ebay incase someone didnt take care of it, but the prices range anywhere from 3k to 4k on various websites that just seem random. Does 3M have an instore location in the U.S. somewhere in Georgia or close by? Or am i just better off getting one online from a random website or even ebay because 3k is a lot. I see online that many people get these from their company but I doubt that I would as these are hella expensive. I want to be able to get one of these just for my health, I always thought they were a bit overkill but now that I've been exposed to more in welding I see the value in these and especially this model having its own integrated hard hat.


r/metalworking • • 4d ago

Could a graver help me make bevels in copper

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9 Upvotes

Looking to make a copper watch dial but need to have a date window (2.7mmx2mm rectangle) that has 45 degree bevels. Would a graver be a good tool for this? Any advice? How could an angel be set so the graver only removes a 45 degree slope? Would the bevels come out pretty clean?

I’m looking to make 10 or so of these dials. They are .4mm thick. Apparently copper is hard to machine so since no one makes copper dials like this I have to diy


r/metalworking • • 4d ago

Swans I made today.

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29 Upvotes

r/metalworking • • 4d ago

I made a leaf arm cuff by wire wrapping. It took me about four hours.

71 Upvotes

r/metalworking • • 4d ago

What do you save to repeat a metal engraving job without starting over?

1 Upvotes

I want to get better at leaving myself enough information to repeat a project. A finished piece and a vaguely named file probably aren’t going to be much help six months later.

I’m working on a WeCreat Lumos Ultra with MOPA, mainly small reliefs and cutouts. Keeping both operations on the same machine is convenient, but there’s still the material, focus, placement, and order of operations to remember.

Before I build a folder full of files called final_final2, what are you guys actually saving?

Does your laser software keep enough with the project, or do you also keep photos of the setup and separate notes? Interested in how this works across different machines, especially when you return to a job after doing completely unrelated stuff.