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Posted: 8/14/2006 3:28:28 AM EDT
| Roughly how many secconds are you supposed to hold the Harbor Freight model "on" to weld in rails? |
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From what I gather it is different for everybody. If you watch the videos from AK-builder.com it looks every bit of 10 seconds. I tried this and i was left in the dark for a short while  With my spot welding setup(Chicago brand from Harbor Freight) the welding process is about 3 seconds. Others I have heard take slightly over a second. Maybe two. In other words. not long. |
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Triumph955i is right, it depends on many factors but 2-4 seconds is a good start. I average about 4 seconds. Plug the welder directly into the outlet and don't use any extension cords. Wear goggles (for possible splatter) and watch the color of the weld being made. A orange/reddish color is good. When your done, you should have a nice looking dimple, like it was shot with a BB gun. It's not a bad idea to make sure both joining surfaces are clean by hitting it with some sandpaper. Build on  Kyle |
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its a little different for each one you do, I got the 230v chicago SW what I do is position the tips, lock the handle down and hit the trigger and watch the area, when heat marks (red glow) expand out to a little bigger (1 1/2 times) than a #2 pencil eraser, I let off the trigger for a few seconds, then I hit it again until I see the heat mark extend beyond the original spot and let off, let cool for a few seconds and move to the next spot, I found this way gives good penetration without undo burning of the metal, don't let yourself be distracted, cause you will burn a hole in them, I was talking my bro through his and he looked up to reply and burned the shit outta one, once you do one, you'll know what to look for, it'll be something like this: 
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| From the, now, many rails I have done and helped do at the Colorado build parties. I have found that the the AK-builder rails (which come hardened or maybe it is the combo of the flats steel and the rails?) take a considerably longer "burn" to weld than say the home-heat-treated TAPCO rails. I look for a bright cherry glow on the receiver a little larger than the size of pencil eraser. As stated above that can be 4-5 second slow count to 12-15 second slow count on the ak-builder flats. Afterwards you should have a dimple in the receiver...be careful when you are on the ends of the rails they heat up faster than the middle and can go from cold to a burnt hole in no time flat. |
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