I have a project where I need to weld nuts to pieces of rebar. I’ve never welded before. I see there is a Mig class on 9/8. Is this the correct class to work with rebar? If not, what class do you think I should be looking for?
MIG should work for that purpose.
Specifically with welding nuts onto things, make sure they are not galvanized or zinc plated. If you can’t find untreated nuts buy stainless steel nuts (you’ll know they’re stainless because they’ll be 10X more expensive) and weld those to the mild steel rebar.
jarom, you can also buy plain, uncoated nuts at a fraction of the cost of stainless steel nuts. You will probably do best to go to a local fastener store to get them in the size that you need. Home Depot / Lowes tends not to carry plain nuts less than 1/2 inch. Welding heat can harden some stainless steels so that it is almost impossible to tap them to restore the threads after welding.
Bring them and the appropriate tap/tapping oil, rebar and a product called heat fence to the class on 9/8 (heat barrier, even drywall mud). The heat fence clay will keep welding splatter from ruining the nut threads and the tap will restore the threads when they are distorted by the welding puddle “heat”. You can get the heat fence at your favorite welding supply store like Metroplex. Mention that you are a DMS member and you should get a 10% discount. Note, the smaller the nut the greater the chance of ruining it. Best, Jim aka MTLmanglr
Great advise, I guess I never thought about finishing on nuts because I’ve never thought about welding them.
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Thanks for the shopping list. I’ll get all of that before the class on 9/8. I look forward to learning, thanks for teaching the class!
And, if you’re looking for untreated, you probably won’t run in to any of them that are cadmium coated, either. Another heavy metal, they too produce toxic fumes when heated. Chromium produces a gold color.
Success! I welded 48 nuts to rebar on Friday. The dry wall mud worked pretty well, I did have to retap most of the threads, but it wasn’t too hard. Here is a picture of the final product. The rod should hold pretty well in cement now, I hope. Thanks so much @MTLmanglr for taking the time to teach the MIG class, it opens up a world of possibilities!
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Jarom,
Excellent!
You nailed it, now that you know how to weld you will be looking at every new project with
a different mindset.
Congratulations,
Best,
Jim
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