jdustu

Did you ever get around to doing this? I do quite a bit of aluminum weldments, all kept to pretty strict tolerances. You're always gonna get some movement(especially without a specialized fixture), the trick is to minimize it to where you can straighten without much of a problem. If you can clamp it down, block it up under the center of the plate so that the edges are actually pushed down a bit. "Preload" the plate in the opposite direction, the edges will want to pull up when welded. Then move around like CurlyGeorge said and you should be able to keep it pretty straight.

As much as I hated to do it, I ended up turning this job down. As I got further into my research, I realized that at every step of the way there was a new technique I'd have to figure out on my own through trial and error. Just bonding and forming the copper was one thing, but add in building the latches/hinges, the antiqued glass, the gas burner, ect. and it was too much. At this point, I don't have the time to put into it. I'm trying to establish my own welding business, and what I already do has been keeping me busy. There were certain time constraints, and I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew. Hopefully I'll be able to pursue some copper working again down the road. -Josh

Cool deal, I may have to pick your brain some more when I get to putting in the actual burner. I'm pretty confident in my welding skills, and tigging it would be my first choice, I just want to make sure the lantern has the right "old style" look to it. I guess they are pretty hefty, would 1/16" sheet metal be about right? I've got to pick some stuff up pretty soon to start messing with.

Obviously the person who did this is very good at what they do. My wife's aunt sent me these pics asking if I could do something similar, and I'm always up for a challenge when it involves metal.

Ah, that always came up in my searches, but I never really looked into it. I can see where I could get that to work. I'm gonna post some pics in a minute of the lamp I'm trying to emulate.

I'll post a pic tomorrow of what I'm basing my project off of. Thanks. I'm guessing I may being using a variety of methods on this deal. Yeah, I just got a set of tanks but I need a better torch. I may try that. Are you saying that you cut thin strips of copper out of the sheet to use for filler? I'm thinking of getting de-oxidized filler metal, but we shall see.

Hey guys, I came across this site while searching for different copper working techniques. I'm doing some research on forming and joining copper in order to build a gas burning lantern/lamp. I'm pretty good with stainless, aluminum, and mild steel, but I've been asked to tackle this copper project and I'm excited about it despite my limited copper experience. I'm still debating whether I'm going to use tig , gas , or solder as the main form of bonding. I'm most comfortable with tig, but the desired look is more old school, so I'm not sure yet. I guess I've got a couple of questions to start with: What gauge should I used? It needs to be pretty hefty. Should I warm it up even before doing a simple bend? How much does it need to be annealed as it's worked, or will that be pretty obvious once I start messing with it? How can I attatch glass to it? I'm figuring on making clips, but it seems as though I've seen them where they look to be bonded to the copper. I've got a couple books on order that should be here next week too. Thanks in advance for any advice, I'll be sure to post pics as I move along! -Josh

I always carry industrial eye drops with me. Anytime I think I've been flashed I go put some in. And to this point I've never had the dreaded "sand in the eye" feeling. I agree with Dodge about the reality "build" shows. I always laugh at the guys wearing short sleeve shirts and no helmets welding up a gas tank or whatever. I'm sure they aren't doing that all day long, and it really doean't send the right message to wanna be welders watching the show. FWI the Jackson Nexgen helmets are well under $300 now. -Josh