This must be my week for sheet metal—especially box and pan work.
I've been doing more repairs on a hobby gold sluice and was asked how I hold together the corners for welding. Wood working clamps (corner type and band clamps) don't allow access to the corners for tacking very well, and there is no adjustment for the bending of the sheet metal (not an issue with woodworking). I couldn't find a tool or clamp on the market specifically for this task, and magnets are a problem on shallow pans and thinner material when welding. So this is what I came up with. I wanted to able to adjust the box on two planes, and often in several locations at once on thinner metal (e.g., 20-24 gauge). Thicker stuff (18 gauge and down) you can just work with a hammer and dolly to make it fit.
This jig/tool has a few advantages: it's cheap to make, allows tacking in two planes, allows you to use your existing clamps (ViseGrip, spring, C-clamp, etc.), and is infinitely adjustable with the addition of a coupling nut and longer All Thread (see pic below). The Allen Head screws adjust the side in one plane and the turnbuckle adjusts the other sides in the other plane. I can actually get the edges closer than a butt welding clamp (i.e., zero gap).
Works really well. I can close the seems up perfectly, get above and below the jig to add tacks, remove the jig and stitch weld the rest of the corner. For illustration purposes in the pics below I haven't tightened down the screws or turnbuckle to close the seems yet. The material is 22 gauge steel with a safety (folded) top edge.
I'll make a few more of different sizes, increase the angle iron size a bit or add a flat bar extension for more clamping surface. But then comes the best improvement: I'll get them copper plated so they don't collect weld spatter. And they'll look cool.
I've been doing more repairs on a hobby gold sluice and was asked how I hold together the corners for welding. Wood working clamps (corner type and band clamps) don't allow access to the corners for tacking very well, and there is no adjustment for the bending of the sheet metal (not an issue with woodworking). I couldn't find a tool or clamp on the market specifically for this task, and magnets are a problem on shallow pans and thinner material when welding. So this is what I came up with. I wanted to able to adjust the box on two planes, and often in several locations at once on thinner metal (e.g., 20-24 gauge). Thicker stuff (18 gauge and down) you can just work with a hammer and dolly to make it fit.
This jig/tool has a few advantages: it's cheap to make, allows tacking in two planes, allows you to use your existing clamps (ViseGrip, spring, C-clamp, etc.), and is infinitely adjustable with the addition of a coupling nut and longer All Thread (see pic below). The Allen Head screws adjust the side in one plane and the turnbuckle adjusts the other sides in the other plane. I can actually get the edges closer than a butt welding clamp (i.e., zero gap).
Works really well. I can close the seems up perfectly, get above and below the jig to add tacks, remove the jig and stitch weld the rest of the corner. For illustration purposes in the pics below I haven't tightened down the screws or turnbuckle to close the seems yet. The material is 22 gauge steel with a safety (folded) top edge.
I'll make a few more of different sizes, increase the angle iron size a bit or add a flat bar extension for more clamping surface. But then comes the best improvement: I'll get them copper plated so they don't collect weld spatter. And they'll look cool.
