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My neighbor just closed his store and had several large racks of uncut keys that he was throwing away. I thought it would be fun to make something out of them. I am a new to welding and picked up a used MIG welder a few months ago. I'd like to make something like this chair (scroll about half way down the page to see the chair). I tried to make a small, hollow ball with a dozen keys to practice, but I can't seem to get them to stay together. Sometimes the metal melts away, but when I turn it down, the weld just pops off.Any tips on how to make this work or what I'm doing wrong? Is a small spot weld the best way to do this? Or should I be brazing/soldering/some other technique (none of which have I learned -yet)? Thanks for the help!
Reply:Most keys are not made of steel. They can be some aluminum alloy or commonly a brass. You could likley join the brass keys with a brazing alloy... Silver brazing alloy comes to mind but even if you are only using an eighth of an inch of wire each time costs would add up.
Reply:Keys are made of brass, sometimes chrome platedYou can't mig them together with steel wire, it just won't stickMaybe soldering or brazing if you clean them up to bare brass.better yet, ebay them off to somebody that wants to cut keys
Reply:0.023" Silicon bronze wire perhaps? 1st on WeldingWeb to have a scrolling sig! HTP Invertig 400HTP Invertig 221HTP ProPulse 300HTP ProPulse 200 x2HTP ProPulse 220MTSHTP Inverarc 200TLP HTP Microcut 875SC
Reply:Originally Posted by Oscar0.023" Silicon bronze wire perhaps?
Reply:silver solder would work.i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:Thanks for the tips and info everyone. Sounds like this is a brazing job, so I may skip this project. Just for my own education, can someone translate this: Originally Posted by Silicon-basedWould probably work, but I would use O/A with a #0 tip, Sil-phos, and Handy Flux.
Reply:O/A means Oxy / Acetylene |
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