Weld up UZI receiver using gas welder?

Longez77

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Medical reasons (Installed D-Fib) prevent me from any electric welding.

Thoughts on a weld up using Oxy/Act torch??
 

BWE Firearms

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Oxy Acetylene will weld just fine if you have the right tips and you are very good at Oxy acetylene welding.
 

Mackjack

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I’m sure if you practice you’ll do fine. Lots of things used to be welded that way
 

atfsux

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I also have a defibrillator in me, and I was just learning how to MIG weld when that happened, so I gave it up and sold my welder. That was 10 years ago. However, in recently re-investigating welding with a defibrillator, current guidelines from most manufactures of these devices (including Boston Scientific, who made mine) now say that while they still recommend not welding, if you do, use settings below 160 amps.

Hmmmm.


So this begs the question, if I were to use a TIG machine for sticking a front trunnion section onto a McKay 80% shell I have laying around,...how much amps is actually needed for sheet metal that thin/thick? 100? 120? I have no idea, because I abandoned learning welding 10 years ago. Now I wonder if I can actually do this after all?
 

slimshady

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Install shielding over your heart and electronics? Maybe something like a chain mail undershirt like the renfair reenactors wear under their armor? Grounded of course. Like a Faraday Cage. Or maybe make one out of brass screen, smaller holes for higher frequencies! You could attach it to the outside of a leather welding coat.

I do recall there are some precautions to take, like keeping the arc as far from your heart as possible, twisting the welding wires together to create a "twisted pair" that cancel each other out, use the full length of the leads to keep the welder as far away as possible and keep the wires far away too, and have someone there to watch for trouble and kill the power if you have an issue and can't do it yourself. As I understand it the interference from the welder doesn't damage the unit, it just confuses it so it may think the signal being picked up from the welding is a signal from your heart and it tries to "fix" it by changing your heart rate, zapping you, or whatever. Once the interference is removed the device no longer sees the bad info and reverts back to what it should be doing. Hopefully you recognize something is wrong, stop welding, and survive while it's adjusting!

Gas welding was used for everything before electricity became common enough to make arc welding practical. Heck, TIG is almost the same as gas, you're just using the arc to melt the puddle instead of a flame and the arc can be used to move the metal around a bit more than the gas jet can.

BTW, funny story about implanted defibs. A friend of mine had one installed. He was, ah, getting friendly with a ladyfriend when his went off. She apparently felt the jolt through her ladyparts and was always asking if he could do it again...
 

atfsux

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I have also read that there is apparently a way to use a special magnet draped over the defibrillator to "pull a switch" internally that essentially turns the device off temporarily, like a breaker in a junction box. In this manner,...so long as you are not so critical in need of constant pacing and can survive unassisted for the duration of the welding project,...one can prevent confusing the device into zapping you. The magnets are available from the device manufacturer themselves. Here's a video on the subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUYw7aZlDlo
 

Longez77

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Remember you have one or maybe two leads (welding antennas that are very good at picking up welding interference ) from the device that go into your heart.

Quit worrying about the device and start worrying about your heart.
Damage to the device from welding interference --
1. Device can be repaired/replaced
2. Device recovers/resets itself
3. Dr or Manuf Rep can reprogram the device
of course all these options require you to live thru the damage.
Turning off the device with a magnet has little benefit.

Keeping the leads from picking up the interference from the welding is close to impossible. Removing the leads is almost impossible as over time they are over grown with tissue. Cutting them out of that tissue without losing small scraps that can cause a stroke almost impossible.

Relying on amp setting to stay safe very risky. Lets see 150 amps welds ok. 170 amps I die. Very risky. Lots of variables.

Stick to gas or go to plan "B" and have someone else weld it.
 

Jones

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Why take the chance? The waiting time to get another receiver piece is no where as critical as waiting for someone to get around to restarting your heart. That's from a 76 y.o. a-fib owner.

Get some sheet metal about the same gauge 16ga or 18ga and practice welding on it. Stuff that thin won't like a lot of heat thrown at it so a very small brazing tip should be plenty.
Alternating stitches instead of running a continuous bead will help cut down on warping. Leave everything clamped up until cool to the touch. If you do encounter some warping, heating the weld area with a propane torch to a straw color (400 to 450 deg) will normalize and help 'relax' the metal.
Get some thick copper sheet 1/8" or better to use as a weld back. It'll suck the excess heat out of the weld, won't stick to the sheet metal like brass will and should be rigid enough to hold everything in place.
Above all; Practice, practice, practice.

https://ibb.co/WnyJtkC
 

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