"As the Nut Turns" Revisits the Welding Torch Ignitor and Holder Stand

[Rog02]

As most of you know I do a lot of welding.  All kinds of welding, gas, TIG, and Stick.  I work by myself most of the time and frequently need a place to rest a lit and adjusted OA torch while I shrink metal or planish a weld down.  A few years ago I built a little stand to hold my torch and decided to incorporate a BBQ Piezo Lighter into it so I could strike the torch without scrounging up a flint striker (I must own 2 dozen strikers but they never seem to be handy without some searching).


Stand v.1 also incorporated a welding wire dispenser that turned out to be less than optimal in its functionality.  All told the stand was a success and served my needs well for a couple of years until a couple of defects rose to glaring prominence.  The scrounged lamp base I had based v.1 on had a cement filled plastic base that contained enough moisture to freeze and burst when left in an unheated environment and the welding wire dispenser was a waste of time. 

On a recent trip to a thrift store I found an old microphone stand that had a cast iron base I decided to splurge for the $5 USD asking price and revise the Torch Stand.  Upon taking my bargain to the checkout, I was informed by the nice lady that it was a “Everything is ½ Price Day” and my treasure would actually only cost me $2.50 plus sales tax.   I was chuffed!!!!

The original stand as it was conceived and built, prior to paint.


The Piezo electric spark generator kit is available at any well stocked hardware purveyor (iron monger for the tea and crumpet set).  I think the whole kit was about $10 USD.


A little scrounging through my “Possibles Box” yielded this 1/3 cup stainless steel measuring cup that fit the bill perfectly.  I first drilled the holes for the piezo electrodes near the edge of the bottom and then drilled three ½” vent holes at 90 degrees to the electrodes to prevent the build up acetylene it the cup which will cause a loud explosion when struck off (DAMHIKT).    Also noticed I have protected the wires with lengths of “High Temp Fiberglass” wire insulation to protect them from the inferno they may encounter when using this igniter.


Detail of the lighter cup with the electrodes and vent holes in place.


The Torch cradle is simply a length of ¼” rod bent to accommodate your torch.  Since I use several different torches for different jobs mine is rather universal, fitting my most frequently used torches better than others.  What isn’t shown in this photo is the 3/8” flat washer welded into the “Vee” bend that provides a method of attaching the cradle to the stand.


The completed stand with a Victor Journeyman torch in the cradle.  Since v.1 was not height adjustable, the wiring was fed through the upright tube and the piezo generator was fitted into a convenient hole in the plastic coated concrete base.  To light the torch, you simply hold the tip over the cup, start the acetylene flow and depress the the igniter button with your toe.  Easy, Peasy!  I can light and adjust my torch with just one hand, instead of the usual clumsy two handed method.


The completed v.1 Torch Stand.  I added a welding wire dispenser thinking it would be convenient for dispensing the .035” MIG wire I frequently use to weld sheet metal, but the wire needs to be sized to straighten the curl out and my idea for a sizing fixture proved too impractical.  I still keep the spool under the bench and cut off the length I need and then size it using safety wire pliers.


The completed v.2 Stand.  The solid cast iron base and height adjustment required a bit of modification to the original design. 


Since the cast iron base was solid and was considerably thinner than the original base I had to fab a simple aluminum enclosure for the piezo generator.  I made it a wedge shape which placed the button at a comfortable angle for me to depress with my toe.   Also, the height adjustment necessitated the routing of the wires outside the upright tube. 


A view from the top.  The only modification needed to the mic stand was to dispose of the plastic collar and attaching fixture for the microphone and welding a 3/8” nut into the end of the tube.  The igniter cup is now hose clamped to the lower portion (non-adjusting) part of the stand tube.  I recommend dis-assembling the adjuster before doing any welding as the tapered collar that cinches the height adjustment is probably some sort of plastic and will melt during the welding process.  NO, I did not destroy mine learning this.  I destroyed a few ball valves in previous brain lock to learn this.


The Completed v.2 stand with the cradle adjusted up for a standing position.  The height adjustment has proven very convenient, especially when working out dings in roof panels.


V.2 has worked out better than expected and I now know of at least two other copies being used regularly by other fabricators.  The ability to rest the lit torch makes many tasks much simpler, especially if you are going to repeat the task several times. 

A NOTE OF CAUTION!
Be aware of anything in the flame path of the torch before resting the lit torch in the cradle.  Waste paper and rags on the floor have been known to burst into flames even though the flame is not striking them directly. 


OK, that is the end of this episode of “As The Nut Turns”.

[Bernd]

Very nice little write up on a very useful tool. I like the pizeo idea and the little cup to lite the torch. I remember struggling many a time trying to lite a torch and adjust. You almost need three hands to do it, but your stand sure makes lighting a torch easier.

Thanks much for the write up Rog2.

Bernd

[sbwhart]

Very well shown and good safety warnings that results in a useful bit of kit.

 

Not wanting to highjack the thread or get too heavy on the safety side, but my mother nearly blew herself up gas welding Jerry Cans:- what happened was when the torch was hung up, the hook operated a cut off valve to save gas, any way the hook broke off one day and my mother, not thinking, stuck the torch in the neck of the Jerry can whilst she got the hanger fixed, the can filled up with gas, when she started welding again BOOM, the weld jig split open like a tin can she was badly brused and shook up, her nerves were never the same again. 

Any way have fun and thanks for showing.

Stew

[Rog02]

Very well shown and good safety warnings that results in a useful bit of kit.

 

Not wanting to highjack the thread or get too heavy on the safety side, but my mother nearly blew herself up gas welding Jerry Cans:- what happened was when the torch was hung up, the hook operated a cut off valve to save gas, any way the hook broke off one day and my mother, not thinking, stuck the torch in the neck of the Jerry can whilst she got the hanger fixed, the can filled up with gas, when she started welding again BOOM, the weld jig split open like a tin can she was badly brused and shook up, her nerves were never the same again. 

Any way have fun and thanks for showing.

Stew

I knew someone would bring up the topic of shut off valve type torch hangers.  I personally dislike the things.  I bought one a few decades ago, thinking I was going to be really trick, only to find out they never relight the torch exactly the same twice.  I was twiddling with the torch more than if I just shut it off and relit it each time.  The hose leads from the valve out to the torch head will purge themselves of oxygen and acetylene each time the valve closes so the gas has to flow for a bit to relight and then flow a bit more to come back to anything resembling a decent flame.  To minimize the purge problem, the hose from the valve to the torch MUST be kept to a minimum thus limiting the flexibility of the set up in a job shop setting.  I sold the first one to another shop that soon sold it on to a third owner and the two others I have incidentally acquired at auction have also been unceremoniously disposed of at swap meets.

The only shop I am aware of in this area using shut off valves on any type of torch is a radiator shop that uses a propane/air venturi type torch for soldering.   

You do bring up a good point about gas build up and confinement though.  When I was in vo-tech school, in the last century, one of the the guys thought it would be funny to fill the welding table with acetylene and wait for the next student to use it.  Sure enough he filled the tray that supported the fire brick and another guy walked over to practice his newly acquired metal sewing skills only to have the fuel explode and throw the bricks in his face.  Fortunately he wasn't seriously hurt but everyone in the shop had ringing ears from the concussion.  The fellow that was responsible was tossed from the class and sent back to regular high school along with a suspension for disciplinary reasons.

Then there is the infamous case of the MORON that filled a weather balloon with acetylene and then decided to transport it to the party in the back seat of a small car where it was inadvertently set off.  The resulting explosion expanded to car into a roughly ball shaped item and the responding fire and police quickly notified the alphabet soup people of the explosion.  The driver and passenger were not killed (cheating Darwin from another prize winner) but survived to be charged with manufacture and transportation of an explosive device and public endangerment.

Now for another little trick from my bag of "Redneck Tech".  When soldering a fuel tank or any other container that has held combustible liquids an easy way to assure no nasty explosions is to first thoroughly flush the tank with water and blow it out with compressed air.  After everything is as dry as you can possibly get it plug all the openings except the filler neck.  To displace the air with a non combustible gas simply acquire some dry ice and drop several chips into the filler neck.  Let the dry ice gas off with the filler neck in an upright position.  As the dry ice sublimates (changes from a solid to a gas without going through a liquid state) the CO2, which is heavier and more dense that air, will force the air out of the filler neck.  As long as the opening is left at the high point, gravity will keep the nonexplosive CO2 inside the take and any welding or soldering can be done without those nasty little KABOOMs.  If you must do extended heating operations it is advisable to drop a bit more dry ice in from time to time as to replenish the atmosphere lost to heat expansion.  The nice thing is that when done welding there is no clean up other than flux removal.   I use argon these days when in the shop because it is available and serves the same purpose but the dry ice trick works whenever I need to make an "in field" repair.