We’ve seen many kids toys modeled after real tools, but a toy welding set has to be the most obscure yet.  Whether you’re a full-time welder or just a hobbyist, if you want to get your kids interested in a skill that’ll serve them well for a lifetime, maybe put this under the tree.

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WeldingSupply.com is selling the Smith Little Torch Kit for $112.32.  The Little Torch, a tiny oxy/acetylene brazing and welding setup, allows pinpoint control of the flame for jewelry and other delicate joining tasks.

Smith Little Torch Kit [WeldingSupply.com]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

If you weld in your garage, these welding strip curtains will protect people coming out of the house from welding flash.  Black Stallion’s curtains block 99% of UV and also deaden the noise a bit.  Some of the sets seem to include door-mounting gear, and you can choose from four colors — you know, for the inner decorator in you.

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Welding isn’t the cheapest hobby to pick up and start fooling around with, and some of the high-end gear can cost you more than a shiny new 60” HD TV. But there are ways to get your weld on without crossing into budget-killing territory — the Chicago Electric 90A flux-core welder comes to mind.

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According to their latest “Super Savers” flyer, MSC is selling Kant-Twist’s T-handled 2″ clamps at the low price of $11 apiece, if you buy two or more. Make sure you follow the link from the flyer, as the clamps’ll come up at the higher price if you just search the catalog. If you buy only one, the price is $13.33 — still a deal, although Shop.com sells them for $13.07.

Kant-Twist’s C-type clamps work great for welding and machine shop setups — they don’t twist as the jaw pivots down to tighten. They’re so superior, I rarely use a plain C-clamp anymore.

#405 Kant-Twist 2″ Clamp [MSC]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?] [What's This?]

When you finally find the project that you really need a welder for, and you’re not a welding genius, you need to research what exactly you should be looking for in a welder. You’ve got lots of options when it comes to welding, starting with MIG and TIG — but then you have to watch the features on the model you purchase, to be sure you aren’t trying to use tissue paper when you need cardboard. Buyer’s guides can help, especially with no-nonsense advice.  You can also check out our “getting started” post on welding.

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Many thanks to tmib_seattle for recommending Giles Puckett’s Tubemiter freeware — it allows you to print out cut templates from a computer, simplifying the task of cutting weird angles in round tube. The site seems to be broken, but the download works. Just enter the diameters of the tubes being joined, the wall thickness of the tube being cut, and the angle of the joint — then print, wrap, and cut.

Happily, while searching for the software download I uncovered some really interesting sites on human-powered vehicles, including airships. And so we present you with a cool video that only tangentially relates to the subject at hand — screen shots of the software aren’t visually stimulating, anyway.

If this sparks your interest, check out the International Human Powered Vehicle Association site where I found the video, because there’s lots more cool stuff on there.

Tubemiter Software [OzHPV]
Human-Powered Airship [IHPVA]

As Toolmonger cyclists probably already know, a recumbent bicycle offers several advantages over the normal upright sort, but they’re generally rather pricey. We’ve recently posted on tube bending, mitering, and welding, and this project requires all those new tools you wish you had an excuse to pick up.

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Metallurgists combine metals to create alloys that work differently than any of their components. Woodworkers might find this idea alien — mixing two woods just doesn’t go. Machinists might not even appreciate the beauty of this fantastic art and science, unless they carefully select the metals they work with. But the choice of a metallic alloy for a project or a part can make even more difference than a woodworker’s choice of species.

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Our friends over at Miller dropped us a line yesterday to let us know they’ve released a new design in their Elite and Digital Elite auto-darkening helmet line: a bald eagle, crest, patriotic stars and stripes, and the 1929 Miller logo featured prominently on the front.

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The PipeMaster, a tool for laying out complicated tube joints, makes me think of roll cages — but it could also come in handy for that trellis or giant rodent maze you’re working on.  Regardless of the project, these templates help a Toolmonger keep to the “measure twice, cut once” principle, so you don’t waste your welding wire filling in the gaps from loose cuts.

Templates for smaller pipe diameters start at about $40 — for diameters larger than 10″, look to pay over $100.

PipeMaster [Corporate Site]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?] [What's This?]

Zena Inc.’s extensive website, though amateur-looking, advertises some welders with extremely impressive specifications, all backed by a three-year warranty and a 60-day free trial.  They design the welders to attach to an existing engine, either freestanding or in a vehicle, and they claim that electric, gas, hydraulic, and pneumatic motors are all compatible with the welders.

Obviously, an assemble-your-own-welder kit could save you some money over a big commercial welder, but the specifications are hard to believe for $800. And I’m especially impressed by the specs on the pictured backpack welder, a cordless welder in a 65-lb backpack you can carry anywhere — no wonder they’re charging $3,750 for it.

Am I missing something? Does anybody out there have a Zena welder?

Backpack Welder [Zena]

When it’s time to remove a bolt or nut like this, you usually start by introducing it to the business end of a recip saw or a wire wheel — and then the real work starts. I’ve heard that the easiest approach is to weld on a nut or sawed-off bolt so that the remaining part of the bolt can be backed out, but I don’t have enough welding experience to know what alloy to use.  According to some welders I’ve talked with, Messer Welding MG 600 will do the trick if the metals involved are steel; it provides the high tensile strength necessary to twist out a bolt that’s rusted stuck.

What would you use? Let us know in comments.

Photo from cheetah100 posted on Flickr.

MG 600 [Messer Welding]
Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Miller recently added a new set of digital features to their Elite series of auto-darkening welding helmets. The new masks include settings for welding, cutting, and grinding, as well as an “X-Mode” setting that electromagnetically senses an arc and then automatically switches to a predetermined shade level, with a reaction time of 1/20,000 of a second. The X-Mode setting also prevents sunlight or an obstructed sensor from causing interference.

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Just when you thought your multi-talented angle grinder couldn’t get any “multi-talented-er”, along comes the Grizzly Industrial angle grinder stand. This cool grinder accessory effectively turns your 4-1/2″ angle grinder into a mini metal-cutting chopsaw.

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Whether you’re an aircraft mechanic, auto mechanic, welder, or DIYer, you’ll eventually need to grind or sand some metal. But what happens when your angle grinder doesn’t offer the finesse you need for a small, intricate job? What happens when you need to get into a hard-to-reach area? Here’s a solution that takes advantage of a tool you already have — 3M’s Roloc drill-mounted grinding/sanding/finishing system.

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Reader tmib seattle is setting up and constructing his own gas forge. From the pictures we’ve seen, he looks to be rounding out the process already. This photo of his home setup shows the forge after he painted it and added the castable refractory.

Even though it’s not a huge forge, you can make tons of stuff with this type of setup, from square nails to your own tools.  Of course, there’s more to it than just throwing an iron in the fire and pulling out a newly formed Snap-on wrench — but that’s half the fun.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]