How to weld chain neatly?

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Dirty_Vinylpusher

Dirty_Vinylpusher

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Been having a go at welding some chain links together, and to be honest, the results have been pretty dreadful.
(Mig welder)

So far I've laid the chain in some angle iron, tightened it at both ends and tried to weld the links together, but it ends up very messy....
:(

Also stretched some chain between the shed roof and the bench so I could get in "on top" of the links which worked a bit better.

Just curious how people go about this and which welder settings are the best as I'm ending up with far too much weld, making the welds "too obvious" if that makes sense....
Volts up, wire feed down?


Didn't think it was gonna be this difficult, but clearly it is ;)
Wanna do some bits and pieces for my projects.


Pics of your welded chain along with some pointers much appreciated.
Thanks.


:)
 
I made a bunch of bicycle chain items. getting all the grease and oil out of the chain is a challenge, especially since as soon as you put the heat to it any hidden oils liquefy and run. Also difficult to get a neat weld with a MIG. I just do the best I can and clean up with a grinder or dremel.
 
LukeTheJoker said:
Main reason I have not tried it yet is that most of the chain I can find is Galvanised, almost impossible to weld nicely...

Luke.
Click to expand...
Yeh gal sucks.
I have a bunch of old lifting chains and old block n tackle chain here which isn't gal and a nice size
 
Walker said:
I made a bunch of bicycle chain items. getting all the grease and oil out of the chain is a challenge, especially since as soon as you put the heat to it any hidden oils liquefy and run. Also difficult to get a neat weld with a MIG. I just do the best I can and clean up with a grinder or dremel.
Click to expand...
Was more talking about "normal" chain ;)

Would be difficult to do bike chain though I imagine, yes.

Have you tried chainsaw chain?
Done that once.
 
Terrible iPad pic but you get the gist

3cbd4832495ba4419c39d1a697fe22fe_zps361665b4.jpg
 
Are you using flux core or gas? I've been welding for several years now with flux core, and it is almost impossible to get too neat. When the flux burns , the pocket of gasses it creates just isn't enough to fully protect the weld area. Try it indoors, so a breeze doesn't expose the weld to oxygen. I'm guessing most chain projects we see are brazed. That way you can force the filler between the links, keeping it neater. But that's only a guess. Try the process in this link but add more heat:
 
Not with a wire feed. Do wonder what would happen if you hooked the ground cable from a stick welder to one end and struck an arc on the other end. Would the links join enough?
 
ozzmonaut said:
Are you using flux core or gas? I've been welding for several years now with flux core, and it is almost impossible to get too neat. When the flux burns , the pocket of gasses it creates just isn't enough to fully protect the weld area. Try it indoors, so a breeze doesn't expose the weld to oxygen. I'm guessing most chain projects we see are brazed. That way you can force the filler between the links, keeping it neater. But that's only a guess. Try the process in this link but add more heat:
Click to expand...



Gas.


Thanks for the video.
I'll get my magician's hat on :rofl:
 
Mr. Gangrene Genes said:
Not with a wire feed. Do wonder what would happen if you hooked the ground cable from a stick welder to one end and struck an arc on the other end. Would the links join enough?
Click to expand...

I've seen this discussed online before but no concrete answer.

In theory it would probably work but you'd need a pretty big welder I think.
 

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