C clamp weld with OA?

[rfdecarter]

Is it possible to weld (using oxy-acetylene) a C clamp to a piece of mild steel plate? Or, would brazing be better?

I want to fix the top of the C to the plate to make a moveable base for a tool I'm putting together.

[Thomas Dean]

Depending on the clamp...the really cheap ones I doubt you can weld/braze with anything to make them hold. The good clamps are forged steel, (drop forged). We weld them with E7018 all the time with no problem.

[Dragons lair]

What Thomas said. however what do you have to loose. Try it and let us know.
Ken

[David Einhorn]

Look for the forged C clamps at you local flea market. My experience is that they weld fine. The photgraph shows an older C clamp welded to mild-steel using 6011 rod.

Also, for clamping pipe clamps work well for making fixtures. You weld a length of black pipe into position and then screw on the working end of a pipe clamp.

[cami]

Cut a scrap of plate or flat bar into an L. Weld one end to your base so it stands upside-down and weld a nut to the other end; add some threaded rod and you have a clamp. It's cheap and you're not dealing with mystery metal.

Depending on a few things, you might end up shrinking the nut a bit; I've run into this but it was nothing a quick pass with a tap or homemade thread-chaser(much cheaper than a tap if it's a monster nut) couldn't fix.