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welding on a kilndoor

updated fri 9 jun 06

 

Snail Scott on tue 6 jun 06


At 02:39 PM 6/6/2006 -0400, you wrote:
>...thinking that I should place the door where I want it, mark
>the spots for the hinges and then remove the door to weld them on...or can
I just weld them on with the door attached to the kiln?


Weld them in place. Too hard to get them right,=20
otherwise. A 3=BA shift in orientation is easy=20
to not notice on a 6" hinge, and it could render=20
it useless. Then you get to grind and cut for a=20
few hours to get the damn thing off and try again,=20
when it will go 3=BA off in the opposite direction.

Just cut off the gas further down the line and=20
bleed the line before welding; no real hazard=20
that way.

-Snail

Randall Moody on tue 6 jun 06


I am going to be welding on some hinges on the new kiln door at the arts
center. The old ones are bolt on but the new door is designed to have them
welded on. I am thinking that I should place the door where I want it, mark
the spots for the hinges and then remove the door to weld them on Am I over
thinking this or can I just weld them on with the door attached to the kiln?
This is a gas kiln and something about welding on a big chunk of metal
attached to a gas line doesn't seem right to me. Any help would be
appreciated.

Vince Pitelka on tue 6 jun 06


>I am going to be welding on some hinges on the new kiln door at the arts
> center. The old ones are bolt on but the new door is designed to have them
> welded on. I am thinking that I should place the door where I want it,
> mark
> the spots for the hinges and then remove the door to weld them on Am I
> over
> thinking this or can I just weld them on with the door attached to the
> kiln?
> This is a gas kiln and something about welding on a big chunk of metal
> attached to a gas line doesn't seem right to me. Any help would be
> appreciated.

Randall -
You'll want to weld the hinges on with the door exactly in place. That's
the only way you can really ensure a perfect fit. Just block the door up
from underneath to hold it in place, and then clamp the hinges on and weld
them. As long as the arc welder's ground clamp is hooked up to the kiln
frame, you have nothing to worry about regarding the gas supply. If it will
make you feel better, shut off the gas supply while doing the welding.
- Vince

Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/

Fred Parker on tue 6 jun 06


Hi Randall. How you do this depends, in part, on the type of hinges
you're attaching. Some of these do best when welded in place because
there is very little tolerance for having the pin misaligned. ALso, once
one hinge is attached, unless you have perfect vertical alignment, the
other might not mesh properly. This is the case for weld-on metal hinges
designed for things like ornamental steel gates and the like. Unless
there is much room for variation I'd avoid the "marking" option. Too much
risk of slight movement. Also, I'm sure you are taking
expansion/contraction into account. The steel WILL move when welded. If
you're relying on a mark for alignment, chances are it won't be accurate.

You might minimize exposure to sparks, etc. by positioning the door, then
tack welding the hinges in position at two or three points, then remove
the door and do the actual structural welding away from the kiln. This
option also allows you to position for flat welds instead or verticals or
horizontals, which might be an advantage depending on how skilled a weldor
you are.

Finally, in case you aren't already aware of this, you can buy "welding
blankets" at welding supply or autobody supply stores that might help re
the gas pipes. They are fire-resistive blankets used to cover areas that
might be damaged by sparks and spatter near a weld site (example: car
seats when repairing a door post.) Of course, if there is a gas leak
nothing will help. These are only good for protecting from spatter and
spark damage.

Food for thought...

Regards,

Fred Parker

On Tue, 6 Jun 2006 14:39:04 -0400, Randall Moody
wrote:

>I am going to be welding on some hinges on the new kiln door at the arts
>center. The old ones are bolt on but the new door is designed to have them
>welded on. I am thinking that I should place the door where I want it,
mark
>the spots for the hinges and then remove the door to weld them on Am I
over
>thinking this or can I just weld them on with the door attached to the
kiln?
>This is a gas kiln and something about welding on a big chunk of metal
>attached to a gas line doesn't seem right to me. Any help would be
>appreciated.
>
>__________________________________________________________________________
____
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
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>
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melpots@pclink.com.

pdp1@EARTHLINK.NET on tue 6 jun 06


Hi Randall,


I myself do not like welds for any part of a
Kiln's frame or Door or any of it...

But, if one were to do so, if one were to weld
Hinges on some existing Kiln, it likely would be
best if they were stount 'Knife Hinges'. One oculd
make these or have them made easily, if no
commercial examples are at hand or easy to get.

If one were to use conventional 'Leaf Hinges' the
most common error of installation, would be to
surface mount them ( which is what one always sees
of course, ) and to assume that a dummied-up,
shimmed-in-place Door, with the hinges then lain
on it in-place spanning with their Knuckles, the
line or gap between the Door and the frame, will
make for a tidy job.

Instead, if planning to use Leaf Hinges in that
way, allow for the slop or play they have to begin
with, or will have as soon as the weight of the
Door is on them, or will have after some use, and
weld them so the Door is a little high, and a
little tighter on the top hinge side...

Then, for the mean of it's active life, it will
get to be in the 'about right' zone...

Otherwise, it will start off likely too low, and
too far 'out' on the top, and will have no where
but worse to go, from there...

Sparks and so on should be of no never-mind, but
maybe keep a Bucket of Water handy in case you see
anything smouldering once you are done.



Best wishes...

Phil
Las Vegas


> On Tue, 6 Jun 2006 14:39:04 -0400, Randall Moody

> >I am going to be welding on some hinges on the
new kiln door at the arts
> >center. The old ones are bolt on but the new
door is designed to have them
> >welded on. I am thinking that I should place
the door where I want it,
> mark
> >the spots for the hinges and then remove the
door to weld them on Am I
> over
> >thinking this or can I just weld them on with
the door attached to the
> kiln?
> >This is a gas kiln and something about welding
on a big chunk of metal
> >attached to a gas line doesn't seem right to
me. Any help would be
> >appreciated.

Randall Moody on thu 8 jun 06


Thanks for all of the input. I was mainly worried about the gas issue but
have been told by many people not to worry about it or shut the gas off at
the main.


On 6/6/06, Snail Scott wrote:
>
> At 02:39 PM 6/6/2006 -0400, you wrote:
> >...thinking that I should place the door where I want it, mark
> >the spots for the hinges and then remove the door to weld them on...or
> can
> I just weld them on with the door attached to the kiln?
>
>
> Weld them in place. Too hard to get them right,
> otherwise. A 3=BA shift in orientation is easy
> to not notice on a 6" hinge, and it could render
> it useless. Then you get to grind and cut for a
> few hours to get the damn thing off and try again,
> when it will go 3=BA off in the opposite direction.
>
> Just cut off the gas further down the line and
> bleed the line before welding; no real hazard
> that way.
>
> -Snail
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________________=
_____
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>