Articulated jig

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I have over the years resorted to clamping up bits and scraps of metal if there was a need to hold something in place while I tacked it.Most often it is not such a big deal to just hold the item to be welded with a pair of vise grip pliers until I tack it.But sometimes, I have circumstances where I need to reach into a tight spot to hold something where there is not room for a hand and pliers, or that I might need my free hand to hold something out of my way until I get tacked in.A while back (years ago actually) I began toying with the idea of making a light duty articulated jig to help out.  I have mulled this over a long time having been inspired by the articulated jig work used in magnetic base dial indicator fixtures.Below are some pics of what I came up with.  I had never built one of them and so I just had to develop the concept and then figure out how I was going to make the pieces.  I do not have machine shop equip (I wish I wish with all my might) but I do have some basic tools.The base angle is a piece of 1.5" X 1.5" X .25" steel angle, trimmed with Portaband and 4" angle grinder.  The base can be clamped in place, or if a hole (threaded or unthreaded) is available, a bolt, or nut and bolt....can be used to hold it securely.The tubular sections were cut from tube stock (McMaster Carr).  3/8" lengths of stainless steel round scraps from past projects.The disc shaped pivot joints were cut from 3/8" steel plate scraps using a hole saw.  The1/4" hole saw pilot was bored to 3'8" after the discs were cut out.  The stainless adjusting rods are held in position by a 5/16" set screw.Threads for the set screw were obtained by welding a 5/16" X 18 nut onto a section of tube followed by drilling the tube wall through the nut and using a bottoming tap to cut the same threads as the nut, into the tube walls.I welded a cheapo 2" C-clamp onto a piece of stainless rod to hold small items.  I also have welded up a starter set of threaded adapters for when I have a need to weld a nut, or a bolt onto something.  I will just make those on an as need basis because that is pretty quick, no need to try and plan for all possible thread categories.  The end piece that adapts to threaded positioners has a 3/8" X 16 nut welded to it and all other THREADED positioners use that thread to mate up to the jig work.  I can also use the threaded adapters to tie onto the piece to be welded if it has any kind of hole, or threads......instead of using the C-clamp adapter.Because the articulating joints can be rotated on the stainless rods as well as being "angle adjustable" themselves, the jig assembly has a very high degree of flexibility.Welding was done with 3/32 7018 at 75 amps, DCEP.  The welding is not perfect, and neither are my 63 year old eyes and hands, but I get a feeling of "still workin' it". Attached ImagesLast edited by walkerweld; 02-22-2014 at 05:44 PM.
Reply:thats pretty sweet dude....great ideaMiller Syncrowave 210 w/CK FlexLoc 150  3/6/14ESAB PCM 1125 Plasma CutterAtlas 12x36 LatheACER 9x42 3hp millHarig 612 Surface GrinderDRINK Machine              welding&fabrication
Reply:That is awesome. I really need one of those for my dial indicators. Seems like all the mag bases are too short or can't bend where you need them.TOO MANY TOOLS & NO MORE SPACE
Reply:Hey that's cheating - but I like it Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:I would say your "63 yr old eyes and hands" are fine considering you stick welded the project, great job seems like the jig is pretty handyMillermatic 211Miller Syncrowave 350lx with cooler and tigrunner Thermal Dynamics cutmaster 811955 National Cylinder Gas O/A setup with original patina
Reply:Very nice system. I really like how simple it is to make. Thanks the idea.
Reply:outstanding idea.  I like that project.  May try to make something similar to use on some of my stuff. Thanks for the post
Reply:Nice job, that guy sure is going to come in handy!  Wish I had one.Some kind of Big Blue constant current welding machineAnother smaller yet, Blue machine (it's got wire in it)
Reply:Very Cool!Idealarc 250AC 225SVictor OA-older made in USA stuff.And a crap ton of other stuff.
Reply:Good work Look into building one using a flex arm. I had no idea how strong  and handy the little suckers are until I made this. If you cant fix it with a hammer, it must be an electrical problem."Boy, everyone starts with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before the bag of luck is empty."-Grandad circa 1990ish
Reply:Flex arm are goot!Thanks for all the kind remarks y'all.I located another pic that I wanted to include in the first post, but I had somehow put that image into a different, unrelated folder and could not find it to save my ask (you would cringe if you knew how much stuff I have "lost" only to locate it later).This detail is not much but it illustrates how I formed the tabs to connect the pieces of tube to the swivel joint discs.The tab was cut out of 3/4" X 1/8" flat stock using the same 1" hole saw that I used to cut the 3/8" discs.  Each cut with the hole saw yields 2 usable tabs (1 on each side of the cut).  Then I cut the tab on the diagonal to give a bit of "dress" to the appearance.I welded the tab so it is proud to one side of the 3/8" thick center disc (instead of centering it to the disc edge profile) so that when I weld the tube section to it, the tube is offset to one side.  That way, when you assemble the 2 halves that comprise a swivel joint assembly......the adjacent tubes can bypass each other without touching at any compass point. Attached Images
Reply:Awesome... nicely done.I've thought about building something like this several times, but always in the middle of a project, so of course it never got done, and I never got to the point of having a good design like this.A vice grips end would be awfully handy there too.
Reply:Originally Posted by cwhA vice grips end would be awfully handy there too.
Reply:fantastic
Reply:Originally Posted by larpheadGood work Look into building one using a flex arm. I had no idea how strong  and handy the little suckers are until I made this.
Reply:Originally Posted by TTnicksocalLooks cool, where'd you source the flex arm. Might have to try something similar....
Reply:OK, this is going to be the stopping point on this jig for now.I welded the adjusting screw of an old needle nosed vise grips to a 3/8 X 16 bolt to adapt to the threaded end of my jig boom.I welded an 8mm nut in place across the tips of the needle jaws and then sawed out a section of the nut with my Portaband to make it better for holding objects with either round profile, or a flat profile easily.One other improvement I will do is to replace the 3/8" flat washers on the swivel joints with wave spring washers which will allow adjustable tension on the swivels to make it easy to adjust the angles without using wrenches each time.  When I do that I will also switch to using a lock nut instead of a plain nut on the swivel bolts as well.  The lock nut will keep the joint at the set tension. Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by Chris T.That is awesome. I really need one of those for my dial indicators. Seems like all the mag bases are too short or can't bend where you need them.