Spot welding tinplate

It will probably be easier to resolder them.  That is what I have done  with good success.

Yes, re-soldering would be easier, but I hope to figure out a way to master the same technique used by the factory and they spot welded. I just don't know what they used to achieve those perfect little pin size welds. Thanks for your reply, Tlh

A spot welder.  You can buy one from Harbor freight for about $170 but would likely need odd shaped tongs depending on the shape of the parts and location of the spot welds.

Have you tried the Harbor freight welder?  I looked at them and the tongs are way to big.  Concerned about burning a hole in the tinplate.  Thanks for the advice though. 

You may want to find a jeweler with a fusion welder or maybe a friendly orthodontist or dental lab with a dental spot welder to get the best results. (or purchase/construct the tool)

Thanks for the reply, I will look into these.  I have never heard of a fusion welder.  

You could try 3M body panel adhesive, As strong as a weld and won't burn the paint.

Überstationmeister posted:

You may want to find a jeweler with a fusion welder or maybe a friendly orthodontist or dental lab with a dental spot welder to get the best results. (or purchase/construct the tool)

That might be the ticket. I'm assuming the OP is talking about the 618 &619 cars he mentioned in another thread  They do have some delicate tacs in some very tight spots.  The Harbor freight one I suggested would be much to large for that.  However, a smaller version could do the trick I suspect.

I should have clarified that I want to purchase a welder that will properly spot weld tinplate.  I enjoy restoring tinplate trains and being able to repair broken welds is a must IMO.  Paint damage is not an issue because they will be stripped and painted with Hemings Collector's Color paint.  The small spot welders for attaching battery strips may work.   I am thinking about buying one and trying it.  Anyone know how thick tinplate is on pre war cars?

In the neighborhood of 22-26 gauge depending on the mfr and part.  Lionel motor sides are .050" thick for ex.  Sides and frames are much thinner.  Would be best to just check the part in question.

I will be listing parts of a flying yankee loco on ebay soon, same problem, 4 tiny spot welds

held it together. Took it to a welding shop locally, they said they could reweld it,  but

not without destroying the paint and chrome

Yep BD, The Yankee and the Streak passenger cars are spot welded.  Welding shops use migs or tigs and neither will weld the car back together without destroying the chrome.  It takes a resistance type spot welder that only heats just a small area - me thinks.  Don't know what that is yet, but I am researching the problem. Ill post if I find a solution.  

You can find jewelers spot welders on ebay for around 130.00 plus shipping. They claim they can weld tin.

Judd, I checked those jewelry repair welders out.  They are like a small tig welder.  I would like to be able to duplicate the factory weld which was a tiny spot weld about the size of a pin head.  Still not sure how they achieved that weld.  Thanks for your suggestion

I have spot welded the flying yankee car bodies. There are different size tips that will fit.

Jagrick posted:

I have spot welded the flying yankee car bodies. There are different size tips that will fit.

how much to do mine?

Jagrick, What welder did you use to spot weld the Yankee bodies with?  Thanks

I have a Miller spot welder and several style tips of different length and height.

beardog posted:

Jagrick posted:

I have spot welded the flying yankee car bodies. There are different size tips that will fit.

how much to do mine?

When it warms up, just pay postage both ways and will spot weld for you no charge to do as it does not consume any supplies.

Jagrick posted:

beardog posted:

Jagrick posted:

I have spot welded the flying yankee car bodies. There are different size tips that will fit.

how much to do mine?

When it warms up, just pay postage both ways and will spot weld for you no charge to do as it does not consume any supplies.

Where you and when does it warm up? Thanks, John

Ok OGR members, I have now spot welded my yankee passenger cars.  I made a spot welder to do the job from a MOT.  It works well - If you are interested, there are many DIY videos on the net.  Just remember, to do tinplate we don't need a lot of amps.  

What's an MOT? Sorry for my ignorance - interesting stuff.

Jim

Ok, did the homework - microwave oven transformer. Remove secondary, a 2 wind new secondary coil. Looks like it really kicks! Have to put that on my list.

beardog posted:

Jagrick posted:

beardog posted:

Jagrick posted:

I have spot welded the flying yankee car bodies. There are different size tips that will fit.

how much to do mine?

When it warms up, just pay postage both ways and will spot weld for you no charge to do as it does not consume any supplies.

Where you and when does it warm up? Thanks, John

Indiana and hopefully will warm up enough next few weeks

Ok, understand, I used to live in Illinois

Up to 35 today in Lafayette!

Fascinating - I have not used a spot welder since my high school sheet metal class where we made a lamp base with a hexagonal to circle transition! As I recall our spot welder was a high amperage industrial size unit with a foot pedal. We also had good size bending brakes.

Jim Waterman posted:

Ok, did the homework - microwave oven transformer. Remove secondary, a 2 wind new secondary coil. Looks like it really kicks! Have to put that on my list.

Could you share with those of us who might be too lazy to do our own homework, please? Sounds like a fun project.

Mini spot welders seem to be a popular way to weld nickel plate to batteries.  There are quite a few videos online about this. These spot welder ( like Sunkko) however are not set up to weld our train cars as they use side by side electrodes and are simply not strong enough. What will work is setting up a custom spot welder using a MOT.  You can get MOT anywhere from 700 to 1100 watts.  To weld tinplate the bigger the better.  Once you decide on a MOT for your project, carefully remove the secondary winding leaving the primary in place and then rewind your own secondary using thick copper cable ( battery cables work ok).  Next, test your creation on a nail between the cable ends.  If you can melt the nail into a puddle of metal, your on your way.  From here, add jaws and a contact tips etc..  You can even use a microprocessor to create a weld pulse.  The sky is the limit and there are a lot of examples to check out online.  Hope this helps save your Blue Streaks,  lol have fun !

One other thought -  A large watt MOT gives us a long duty cycle, but we don't need a lot of amps ( can burn through). So, The best of both worlds is big MOT coupled with a microprocessor pulse controller ( $50 or so on ebay) and small welding tips in a jaw fashioned to fit inside of your train car.  Be creative, but test everything several times to get just the right combination of watts, amps and pulse.  Best of luck

Jagrick posted:

beardog posted:

Jagrick posted:

I have spot welded the flying yankee car bodies. There are different size tips that will fit.

how much to do mine?

When it warms up, just pay postage both ways and will spot weld for you no charge to do as it does not consume any supplies.

Hi, is it warm enough yet? I have the yankee power car and a hafner power car. 

Thanks, john

Yep it is shop up and running

Jagrick posted:

Yep it is shop up and running

where do I send them?

Thanks, John

Hey John contact me on email 

ricklyons@tds. net