2026-07-20

Last modified: 2026-07-20 12:42:47

• Welder
• Tractor

Welder

The voltage knob on the welder snapped off when I was welding the sill on the car. It snapped off because the rotary switch had seized. I did take the casing off the welder to see if I could easily fix it but it didn't look like I could. I managed to weld the sill on the car but then left the welder half-disassembled ever since.

Today I decided that I will either fix it or scrap it. So I screwed the casing back on, forced the switch to turn with pliers, and 3d-printed a knob for the voltage switch.

I think the "power on/off" function and the actual voltage selection function are now out of sync.

Position 0 on the dial is on and welds, same for positions 1-3. Positions 4-6 have the welder switched on but won't weld, squeezing the trigger makes a clicking noise but wire doesn't feed. And to turn it off you need to force it anti-clockwise past 0, it goes about half a turn further and switches off.

So I'm unsure whether positions 0-3 correspond to voltage levels 1-4, or 3-6. I am kind of thinking that there are 2 or 3 functions on the same shaft, and forcing the shaft to turn when it was seized has moved some of them but not others.

So the plan is to just use it as-is. I don't think I'm particularly fussy about the voltage selection anyway, and if I am then I can always either keep forcing the switch round until it gets back in sync (?), or scrap it anyway.

Tractor

The first welding project is to put a stop on the bearings on the countershaft to stop it from tilting diagonally, which lets off the chain tension and misaligns the sprockets.

Great success, should be a good improvement.