muddstopper
Veteran Member
Got a gift of a magnatek 40amp converter charger but dont really have a need for it. Since a buddy of mine has been trying to stick weld some very thin stainless with my borrowed tombstone, which only goes down to 35 amps, and seems to burn more holes than weld. I got to thinking why not try the charger as a small stick welder. Since building welders doesnt seem to be in my range of talents, I thought I would just ask if it would be possible/practicle to even make a stick welder using a batter charger. First, the charger is 12v 40 amp output so I dont know if the volts would allow it to work, even on a small scale. Second, I also have a old adjustable voltage charger that goes from 1.5v to 24v laying around that might make a better welding machine, but I aint sure of output amps. This charger was built to charge large, multiple, single cell lead acid batteries in a back up power supply.
Now i know everyone is going to say just tig it, but my buddy doesnt own a tig welder and I aint carrying mine back and forth to his shop, so tig'ing isnt an option. He is only building art work using stainless, not making something that requires serious professional welding that could kill someone if the welds fail. I also suspect once this project is done, the welder most likely will lay around and collect dust, so just buying a welder for this project just doesnt make sense. We already considered silver solder, but the cost of the solder sort of puts it out of his price range. So while I am open to suggestions as to other options to complete the welding job being done, I really just want to know if its possible to convert either one of the battery chargers I already own, into a small stick welding machine.
Now i know everyone is going to say just tig it, but my buddy doesnt own a tig welder and I aint carrying mine back and forth to his shop, so tig'ing isnt an option. He is only building art work using stainless, not making something that requires serious professional welding that could kill someone if the welds fail. I also suspect once this project is done, the welder most likely will lay around and collect dust, so just buying a welder for this project just doesnt make sense. We already considered silver solder, but the cost of the solder sort of puts it out of his price range. So while I am open to suggestions as to other options to complete the welding job being done, I really just want to know if its possible to convert either one of the battery chargers I already own, into a small stick welding machine.