Better ground clamp?

[smithdoor]

Looks great.
It well work for a long time .
The copper jaws will wear out but just buy new one..

FYI my cable ends I solder in it last far longer than crimping and for replacement just de-solder.

Dave

Hope this was the problem. Checked the cable at the ground clamp. You could see where it had arced between the nut and the cable end it was loose too. A little dissembling an cleaning reassemble test run works like it should.

Attachment 1738137

[SlowBlues]

I always keep a nice adjustable wrench set (6" and 10") with my welder for gas connections.

-Make sure it's a decent set, the softer metals will thank you and you'll curse yourself if you ever round one off. I've had good luck with crescent brand adjustable these days, but of course they still are not as nice as vintage made in USA.



I also use it to check my ground cable connections about every week if I'm using the machine all the time, or whenever I use it if it goes a long period of time without use.



The heat cycling, dissimilar metals, and usually lower tension (double nut setups are usually excluded) all lead to the connection inevitably loosening over time.

[whtbaron]

So what your saying is he really needs a new impact wrench and socket set to keep the nut tight...

[52 Ford]

I always keep a nice adjustable wrench set (6" and 10") with my welder for gas connections.

-Make sure it's a decent set, the softer metals will thank you and you'll curse yourself if you ever round one off. I've had good luck with crescent brand adjustable these days, but of course they still are not as nice as vintage made in USA.



I also use it to check my ground cable connections about every week if I'm using the machine all the time, or whenever I use it if it goes a long period of time without use.



The heat cycling, dissimilar metals, and usually lower tension (double nut setups are usually excluded) all lead to the connection inevitably loosening over time.

Just weld the nut on the ground clamp.

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[John T]

I use these buggers on the mig/plasma/stick
They are very convenient

On the tig machine I use the stock clamp since magnets don’t stick to aluminum …. Usually.

PS,
Lillian says hello

[NotaVegetarian]

Well

got it all cleaned and reassembled slid some shrink wrap the handle to help support the cable

[John T]

Well

got it all cleaned and reassembled slid some shrink wrap the handle to help support the cable

Looks good.

[whtbaron]

I use these buggers on the mig/plasma/stick
They are very convenient

On the tig machine I use the stock clamp since magnets don’t stick to aluminum …. Usually.

PS,
Lillian says hello

Gotta say John... that's a nice pair of clamps...

[NotaVegetarian]

I use these buggers on the mig/plasma/stick
They are very convenient

On the tig machine I use the stock clamp since magnets don’t stick to aluminum …. Usually.

PS,
Lillian says hello

Have to admit that will get an arc started

[John T]

That was 43 years ago.

Who knows what she looks like today

[CAVEMANN]

I like the copper contacts on that clamp.

After I filed/sanded the nuts and the lug to clean them up and remove any burrs from arcing, I think I might coat them with some grease (or better yet, copper-based anti-seize) before cranking the nuts down good. This might delay you having to disassemble and clean them up the next time.

The braided copper inside the clamp came apart and frayed badly on mine & I wasn't close to any place that sold ground clamps, I had an old set of booster cables that were junk so I robbed three trands of the fine copper wire in themand braided them together and bolted it on both sides & it worked really well, I think the wires wer #6 or 8, cheapie cables. The clamp seems to stay cooler too.

[whtbaron]

That was 43 years ago.

Who knows what she looks like today

We all get older... that's why our eyesight "adjusts" naturally....

[52 Ford]

The braided copper inside the clamp came apart and frayed badly on mine & I wasn't close to any place that sold ground clamps, I had an old set of booster cables that were junk so I robbed three trands of the fine copper wire in themand braided them together and bolted it on both sides & it worked really well, I think the wires wer #6 or 8, cheapie cables. The clamp seems to stay cooler too.

Careful with cheap jumper cables. I almost bought a set of #4 cables a few months ago. Nice clamps. Really nice insulation... BUT it turns out they had copper plated ALUMINUM wire. Copper has about 60% of the conductivity of copper (according to a quick Google search)

So they'd conduct like something around an 8 gauge copper cable.

I was just buying the jumper cables for the wire - I was going to make an extension for the ground on my MIG and my plasma cutter.

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[whtbaron]

Careful with cheap jumper cables. I almost bought a set of #4 cables a few months ago. Nice clamps. Really nice insulation... BUT it turns out they had copper plated ALUMINUM wire. Copper has about 60% of the conductivity of copper (according to a quick Google search)

So they'd conduct like something around an 8 gauge copper cable.

I was just buying the jumper cables for the wire - I was going to make an extension for the ground on my MIG and my plasma cutter.

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Yep, most of the cheaper ones are copper coated aluminum now. I'm still buying them to store in the vehicles, because they'll still get you out of bind better than the nice copper ones hanging in the shed 50 miles away.

[Lis2323]

I know the topic is ground clamps but this is what I do with jumper cables to keep them from tangling ....




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[Sberry]

Should be a good lesson here,,,, guy can speculate, can type pages, can spend money, can spend others money or he can tighten a loose nut.

[Sberry]

That is a gread cable idea.

[Freebirdwelds]

After I saw where this thread was turning I had to start a jumper cable thread. lol

https://weldingweb.com/vbb/threads/7...04#post8856904

[Lis2323]

After I saw where this thread was turning I had to start a jumper cable thread. lol

https://weldingweb.com/vbb/threads/7...04#post8856904

I'll have to see what I can do to sidetrack your jumper cable thread. lol


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[welding1]

The magnetic ones look cool, but I weld aluminum from time to time. cant load a picture but I just crimp a 1/2" copper lug to the cable and bolt it to Vise grip.

[52 Ford]

The magnetic ones look cool, but I weld aluminum from time to time. cant load a picture but I just crimp a 1/2" copper lug to the cable and bolt it to Vise grip.

If it's thin aluminum, you can stick a piece off steel on one side of the aluminum and the magnet on the other.

Having quick couplers on your leads so you can swap out your ground clamp is nice. Run a magnet when you're sticking steel and a clamp when you're dealing with aluminum or nonmagnetic stainless.

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[Lis2323]

Having quick couplers on your leads so you can swap out your ground clamp is nice. Run a magnet when you're sticking steel and a clamp when you're dealing with aluminum or nonmagnetic stainless.

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Like this ....



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[whtbaron]

After I saw where this thread was turning I had to start a jumper cable thread. lol

https://weldingweb.com/vbb/threads/7...04#post8856904

Will the next thread be about winches or receivers?

[Insaneride]

About jumper cables, welders and trains; there was a weldor here that said someone in Montana I think, needed his train jump started with a welder. The dude had a big engine drive MILLER but didn't want to chance frying a rectumfier on his machine. Don't blame him.
However SA200's were used to jump start other SA's. There's videos in the archives. I think an SA could jumpstart a train if the batteries weren't shot out.

[G-ManBart]

I've used many of the work clamps from Harbor Freight and never had an issue. I have seen one or two that the jaws didn't line up well so I always check that when I pull them off the rack.

Go ahead guys...get all upset now over proper terminology.