Welding Tips and Tricks

After making several pieces of furniture out of 1" square tubing, I told myself that next time I need to find a better looking and more efficient way to add leveling feet on the bottoms of the tubing. Well, it's that time!

This is what I'm looking for, basically a bare steel version of this that would fit into 1"x1" square tubing, then I could TIG weld it with a nice flat bead that wouldn't need any grinding. I'd like the threads to be a bit larger diameter than what's here in the photo, but it doesn't matter to much.

Anyone know a place that sells something like this in bare steel? I'd probably buy a bulk amount, since I know I'll be using a lot of these.

Daniel,
You can check these out.
http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/125 ... c_176.html
Len

Might want to give these guys a call... http://www.componentforce.com/category/ ... al-inserts or http://www.casterland.com/Products/Glid ... serts.html

If you have a local fab shop they could knock them out pretty quick I am sure in bulk at a good price with the fit and thread size you require

Braehill wrote:Daniel,
You can check these out.
http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/125 ... c_176.html
Len

Yea, I've seen ones like that, meant for suspension links. But they are usually to large, and solid (expensive). I've not found any that fit inside a 1" square tubing.

you know what, maybe I'm over thinking this. Maybe just a simple square nut would work, if I could find one that fits pretty well inside the tubing without to much play.

I'm gonna head to the local ace hardeware and see if they have any square nuts that are 7/8" wide (I guess that would be a 1/2" thread?), if they have anything that's 7/8" wide, that would be a perfect fit inside the tubing. I could grind/sand the sides slightly if they don't quite fit. I could grab a few beers, and grind down 100 of them in an afternoon

Another option would be rivet nuts. They are made by Fastenal and other companies. We use them a lot since they fit a lot of applications.
http://www.fastenal.com/



There is a special tool that installs them but they work well.

that would work for round tubing, for sure

well the hardware store didn't have any square nuts that were 7/8" diameter, BUT I did find some online I'm gonna order some and see how they work.

http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/de ... ngMachine=





They are $3-4 each, which is a bit expensive I think. I'll see if I can find some cheaper elsewhere. Most of them are 13/16, only some of them are advertised as 7/8.

danielbuck wrote:that would work for round tubing, for sure

And when you want steel, or SS fasteners in aluminum.

rick9345 wrote:http://www.mcmaster.com/#square-nuts/=t4e3zl

mcmaster is the first place I looked. The only square nuts they sell that are 7/8" wide, are made out of fiberglass, not steel.

rick9345 wrote:http://www.mcmaster.com/#square-nuts/=t4e3zl

good gravy for the price of those, I'd be welding hex nuts onto 1" flat stock, cutting to fit then welding in.


MC has exactly what you want, but in plastic. http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-tube- ... rs/=t4e509

Wade Patton wrote:

rick9345 wrote:http://www.mcmaster.com/#square-nuts/=t4e3zl

good gravy for the price of those, I'd be welding hex nuts onto 1" flat stock, cutting to fit then welding in.


MC has exactly what you want, but in plastic. http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-tube- ... rs/=t4e509

yea, plastic ones are easy to find, but I don't want plastic And yea, Mcmaster is pricy most of the time.


Welding to 1" stock is what I've been doing in the passed (or building up weld on a hex nut, then grinding it back). It works, but it's alot more work, having to drill holes, cut plates and such. I'm looking to speed up the process. Simply welding in a square nut or a metal insert is what I'm looking for.

I work slow, and I don't have much time to work on my projects, so I'm always looking for time savers. The plastic inserts would be a nice time saver, but I don't really want plastic on my furniture pieces, just metal and wood, that's where I draw the line

Ok, so I did have some tubing and a square nut that were already the correct size (but not the size tubing I normally use). So, I did a test, and I think this will work out fine! I let the nut stick out from the tubing maybe 3/16", and just melted them together, no filler. Not sure if using filler here would be better or not (I'm still new to TIG)

If I can get ahold of the correct size square nuts, this will work out quite nicely.

I'd suggest keeping a tap or two in the thread size handy. Sometimes the weld will distort the nuts enough to make them difficult to thread your feet into, so it's nice to be able to chase the threads after a test fit, if needed.

Steve S

Otto Nobedder wrote:I'd suggest keeping a tap or two in the thread size handy. Sometimes the weld will distort the nuts enough to make them difficult to thread your feet into, so it's nice to be able to chase the threads after a test fit, if needed.

Steve S

Indeed, I do that! I'll have to get another tap for these square nuts though, I used to use 3/4" hex nuts, and I had a tap for just that purpose (sometimes a bit of weld spatter would go in there too). But with the TIG, there won't be any spatter ( shouldn't be anyway, haha!) but yea, sometimes they distort. I'll pick up a 1/2" 13 tap for these square nuts.

danielbuck wrote:

Otto Nobedder wrote:I'd suggest keeping a tap or two in the thread size handy. Sometimes the weld will distort the nuts enough to make them difficult to thread your feet into, so it's nice to be able to chase the threads after a test fit, if needed.

Steve S

Indeed, I do that! I'll have to get another tap for these square nuts though, I used to use 3/4" hex nuts, and I had a tap for just that purpose (sometimes a bit of weld spatter would go in there too). But with the TIG, there won't be any spatter ( shouldn't be anyway, haha!) but yea, sometimes they distort. I'll pick up a 1/2" 13 tap for these square nuts.

Another trick I use, usually on stainless nuts which are more prone to distortion, but helps anywhere access is restricted, is to thread a bolt with a thin coat of anti-seize into the nut. The anti-seize carries heat to the bolt for an effective heat-sink to minimize distortion. Probably overkill for your use, but since I'm reminded, and this seems the right discussion, I thought I'd share it.

Steve S

I guess anti-seize is ok to get real hot? No bad fumes? I don't have a fume extractor, I just make sure there's no paint, zinc, or any other coatings on the metal.

I'll definitely keep that in mind if/when I ever put some nuts welded into thicker metal where the heat is alot higher.

danielbuck wrote:I guess anti-seize is ok to get real hot? No bad fumes? I don't have a fume extractor, I just make sure there's no paint, zinc, or any other coatings on the metal.

I'll definitely keep that in mind if/when I ever put some nuts welded into thicker metal where the heat is alot higher.

Anti-seize is used on exhaust manifold bolts and other high-temp applications all the time. I won't promise there's "no" fumes, but I've not detected any beyond a little hydrocarbon soot from the oil that carries the metal oxides that do the work. Now I'll have to take a look at the MSDS to give a better answer to that....

Steve S

7/8(or size of choice) square stock
Lathe,chuck in 4 jaw or sq 5c collet holder
drill & tap to thread of choice
parting tool in lathe or saw to thickness desired
look for small job shop, case of beverage and make friends or office table to trade
lots of home/hobby machinists need a challange
post a request here for parts made to order http://www.hobby-machinist.com/

Pack of 25

MinnesotaDave wrote:Pack of 25

I saw those, but I am concerned about the chamfered corners of the nut. With MIG, it would be no problem, I can squirt all the filler material I want all over the gap. But with TIG, I'm not so good at filling gaps, that's something I need to work on. If they had those with no chamfered corners, I would be all over them!

I'd think the chamfered corners to be immaterial to the finished product.

A bit of filler rod as your're welding them, and "done". Since you have to weld them anyway, why not have a filler rod in your off hand, for those gaps?

It's your game, though.

Steve S

danielbuck wrote:Ok, so I did have some tubing and a square nut that were already the correct size (but not the size tubing I normally use). So, I did a test, and I think this will work out fine! I let the nut stick out from the tubing maybe 3/16", and just melted them together, no filler. Not sure if using filler here would be better or not (I'm still new to TIG)

If I can get ahold of the correct size square nuts, this will work out quite nicely.

Y not make it so the nut is on the inside??

Drifta-X wrote:Y not make it so the nut is on the inside??

Most of it is, once I get more of these I'll play around it