Modding a ground clamp?

[dragoneggs]

I have traditional but I use my magnetic one mostly.

View attachment 601680

View attachment 601681

'Mostly'... by the looks of it, that is an understatement.

 

[dragoneggs]

Yopu need to address this on a welding forum.....

Experience of 38 year of working with power cable and such, get proper size lug, meaning hole for bolt and for cable size, If you don't have proper tools go to good welding supply and they should have repair lugs and proper crimpers....Any place that sells bulk welding cable should have proper lug... Even Tractor Supply...

This close to what you need

Thomas & Betts - 5415 - Lug; One Hole; 1/4"; Blue; 6 AWG; .53" Lug Sz; 1.23" Overall L; .44" W; .31" Cable Sz - Allied Electronics & Automation

Or

Thomas & Betts - 5413 - Copper One-Hole Lug; #8 AWG; 1/4" Bolt Size; Die Code 21; Color Code Red - Allied Electronics & Automation

IF neither of these are correct tell me exact size of cable and hole size you need I can supply information on proper lug...

Sorry, didn't know you lived in a bubble....

Dale

Those don't work. But I think I found it... 4 gauge wire and a 7/16in stud.

4 AWG, 1/2" Stud, Tinned Copper, Crimp or Soldered

A 5 pack for $5.20. Funny thing is that ElectricalHub is a distributor for my company! I think I will pay them a visit and ask for a sample!

 

[Egon]

A piece of copper pipe, hacksaw, hammer and drill and make your own. Custom sized to fit.

Or: hacksaw a slot on the existing terminal, crimp in the wire and fill with soder.

 

[WranglerX]

Those don't work. But I think I found it... 4 gauge wire and a 7/16in stud.

4 AWG, 1/2" Stud, Tinned Copper, Crimp or Soldered

A 5 pack for $5.20. Funny thing is that ElectricalHub is a distributor for my company! I think I will pay them a visit and ask for a sample!

Thomas & Betts - 5414 - Copper One-Hole Lug; #4 AWG; 3/8"Bolt Size; Die Code 29; Die Code Gray - Allied Electronics & Automation

Drop down one bolt size....

Dale

 

[Fallon]

Crimping (properly at least) is superior to soldering. As odd as it sounds it's quite true. When you solder stranded wire solder wicks up the strands & fuses them solid. You then end up with flexibility issues. Chances of damaging insulation is high as well. In the event of any issues, wiring heats up. That doesnt phase crimps much, but soldered connections can fail catastrophically in those situations.

All car & aircraft wiring harnesses are crimped. If you have the right crimper an idiot can get a good crimp that can easily be inspected. Soldering takes skill & in blind lugs like you are talking about they cant be inspected.

There are dozens of cheap hydraulic crimpers out there. Goplus 16 Ton Hydraulic Wire Crimper Battery Cable Lug Terminal Crimping Tool w/ 11 Dies https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZA2P3XM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_h2iWCbYH1SJN6 is a random one off Amazon. I'm sure its identical to the others there or the one from Harbor Freight. I picked up on off Amazon for a pile of big Anderson connectors. Its a cheap tool & a little fiddly to use, but great bang for the buck.

I'm sure you could make soldering work, lots of people have, but it's an inferior technique for most modern applications.

Also, get the right sized lug for your wire & terminal. You can use a copper pipe as a shim or fold over the wire, but that severely weakens the connection.

 

[dragoneggs]

Okay for you guys that were worried I was going to have a half-azzed end product... rest easy. I decided to visit my distributor that I do business with and they happen to be industrial electrical parts business. He gave me a few samples of the proper terminal... a 1/2in dia. 6 gauge. I brought in my cable and went back in the warehouse and he let me try out a $240 crimper and a cool wire stripper with depth gauge that works like a thin wall pipe cutter.

Power Lug Terminal Crimping Tool

He also gave me a bunch of shrink wrap various sizes for my collection of misc electrical stuff. When I got back to my shop, I used a bit to finish off the connection along with the other existing end.



Job finished. Reinstalled the ground inside the welder and attached the Magswitch. I'm happy... just have to get this by the TBN QA department!

 

[yomax4]

Nice work. I use both regular and Mag grounds. I have quick disconnects 5' from the clamp so i can switch between Magnetic and Aluminum/Stainless

 

[dragoneggs]

Nice work. I use both regular and Mag grounds. I have quick disconnects 5' from the clamp so i can switch between Magnetic and Aluminum/Stainless

I was thinking about that! Now I am only set up to do mild steel but I do have a spool gun for my MIG that I have yet to use. Probably end up selling that and go with a dedicated TIG if I get serious.

What do your quick disconnects look like? Part no's? Didn't know such an animal exists but it doesn't surprise me.

 

[Big Barn]

I will thinking about that! Now I am only set up to do mild steel but I do have a spool gun for my MIG that I have yet to use. Probably end up selling that and go with a dedicated TIG if I get serious.

What do your quick disconnects look like? Part no's? Didn't know such an animal exists but it doesn't surprise me.

 

[dragoneggs]

View attachment 601998

Those are quick disconnects at the machine, no? Mine ground is 'hard wired'. I understood yomax modded his wires for an in-line disconnect like a pin/socket connector.

 

[Big Barn]

Those are quick disconnects at the machine, no? Mine ground is 'hard wired'. I understood yomax modded his wires for an in-line disconnect like a pin/socket connector.

Chop the lead coming out of your machine and have a short pig tail with a quick connect. Tweco connectors in this photo.





Or get real fancy and install a panel plug on the face of your welder if there’s room. Dinse or Euro style in this photo.



You may have to “borrow” that fancy crimper.

 

[dragoneggs]

And here I thought my project was done and could cross off the long list! :smiley_aafz:

 

[Big Barn]

No, Mark. We’re just getting you started!

 

[WranglerX]

And here I thought my project was done and could cross off the long list! :smiley_aafz:

You don't understand.... Projects are never done....

And just FYI, I happened to be into a TSC today and they had 11 different sized copper lugs for ends of cables in welding supplies section....

Dale

 

[dragoneggs]

You don't understand.... Projects are never done....

And just FYI, I happened to be into a TSC today and they had 11 different sized copper lugs for ends of cables in welding supplies section....

Dale

It is time to revisit my TSC store... I do like poking around there. Just opened mid last year. Never heard of TSC before they opened. Have bought a few things from them, but in general... not great deals. Purchases so far that I remember... 4in mesh grating for my wife's garden (bean, pea, and squash trellises). Also some decent gloves, a couple hummingbird feeders, some cat food for home made shrimp bait (don't have a cat much to my wife's chagrin).

Now back to the original programming...

Lower on the bucket list but in my mind. Finding a QA plug for 6 gauge.

 

[yomax4]

Not sure of the Tweco part numbers anymore for the Quik connects but you can also get Lenco LC10 for smaller cables and LC40 for the big stuff. There are likely several others out there. Good Luck and happy shopping.

 

[Motorboatin]

Thanks for your reply!

Option 1: Didn't find one. If someone wants to point me to where I don't have to buy a pack of 10 or 25 :thumbsup:

Option 2: I could increase the wire gauge to 2/0 and I think it will actually fit the routing and terminal inside the welder. Really didn't want the expense of a 15ft wire. I actually bought a second terminal in case I mangled the first one. See pic.

View attachment 601673

Option 3: What I was planning to do unless someone had a brilliant idea. Thinking at least a tripler.

McMaster-Carr

You can find just about everything you would ever need at McMaster

 

[/pine]

...Crimping (properly at least) is superior to soldering. As odd as it sounds it's quite true. When you solder stranded wire solder wicks up the strands & fuses them solid....

This may sound logical but in general mobile applications it's simply a falsehood, in static situations there is no vibration or flexing...it doesn't happen with large gauge wire...proven many times over by electric golf cart professionals both soldering and crimping makes the best terminal connection...

There have been several threads (mostly about batteries) where the same points were made...

in general electronic applications it is generally recommended to "tin" the ends of wires before they are soldered to a PCB or a component etc...

 

[WranglerX]

This may sound logical but in general mobile applications it's simply a falsehood, in static situations there is no vibration or flexing...it doesn't happen with large gauge wire...proven many times over by electric golf cart professionals both soldering and crimping makes the best terminal connection...

There have been several threads (mostly about batteries) where the same points were made...

in general electronic applications it is generally recommended to "tin" the ends of wires before they are soldered to a PCB or a component etc...

PCB boards are not crimp on style power cable connectors..... In industry I came out of (retired after 38 years) everything than was #14 gauge and larger was a crimp connector and no solder and we went up all the way to 750,000 CM cables.... "PROPER" crimp connector is industry wide standard....

Where most people fail with crimp on connector is the don't know proper way to crimp them, you DO NOT squeeze them in a vise or beat on them with hammer, first thing is lug (connector/terminal) has to be proper fit to wire size and then a proper indenter or circumferential crimp must be uses, also recommended to put some anti corrosion grease on cable end before crimp if connection is going to be in harsh environment... Heat shrink tubing also helps keep oxygen and moisture (corrosive perpetrators) out of crimp....

Most people are put off by wire crimping because they have had poor success for cheap auto parts crimpers.... And don't know to step up to more professional tools...

Poorest tool for crimps, if you have these, throw them away...

Suggest you get ratchet style crimpers with interchangeable dies for type of crimps you are attempting....

For large work...

Dale

 

[/pine]

PCB boards are not crimp on style power cable connectors..... In industry I came out of (retired after 38 years) everything than was #14 gauge and larger was a crimp connector and no solder and we went up all the way to 750,000 CM cables.... "PROPER" crimp connector is industry wide standard....

Dale

crimped on tinned wire ends...

I'm not going to bother looking up or searching for the links that are somewhere in the (battery) threads I cited...they prove through testing that a combination of both crimping and soldering makes the best connection (for large gauge connectors) does not mean it's industry standard...