The average welder only has many helping hands. Sometimes to achieve that perfect weld, you do need some help. Luckily, this is where magnets and clamps come into play.
How do you use welding magnets?
Welding clamp magnets are used for holding pieces of ferromagnetic materials in position for tack welding, where small welds are used to align a piece of metal before the process is completed with a final weld.
How Do You Use Welding Magnets?
Welding magnets are magnets with extremely strong magnetic fields that make great tools for the welding process. They can stick to all metal surfaces and can hold objects at angles of 45, 90, and 135 degrees. Welding magnets usually contain Alnico, neodymium or samarium cobalt, which can ensure that you will be working with a magnet that is strong enough to meet your demands for application.
Welding magnets hold objects in place and thus, allow the welders to work with their hands-free so that the welding process becomes safer and more secure. They allow for a quick setup and accurate hold.
To use welding magnets, the process is very simple.
You take the two (or more) workpieces you want to weld together and let the magnet hold them together at your desired angle before you start welding them together. Because you won’t have to hold the workpieces in place, your weld becomes straighter and neater, and most importantly, you can take the required safety measures.
Setting and holding two (or more) pieces of metal in place when you want to tack weld them can be difficult, but if the metal is ferromagnetic (that is, it is attracted to magnets) you can use these magnets to laying them on the horizontal piece and lining up the cross piece at whichever angle you want to fit it at. If the magnet comes with a switch, you would want to turn on the switch now. With the pieces now in position, you can easily weld them together.
Though magnets can be easy to use and are strong enough to help you out during the welding process, if their magnetism starts attracting other pieces of metal, it can ruin your alignment and also be a pain.
Types of Welding Magnets
Different types of welds require different types of magnets – or clamps – to help with the process. Smaller projects can be completed with one or the other, while larger ones would likely require the use of both.
Choosing the right magnet for your project involves taking a look at the features it provides such as the angle, or whether it is strong enough to hold your workpieces, etc.
Welding Magnets with Switches
Just as the name suggests, welding magnets with switches are welding magnets that have an on/off switch. This means that you can control the magnetism by turning it on or off at will, and thus don’t have to worry about the magnet sticking to your workbench or attracting any of the other tools in your workbox.
Since the magnet is very strong, pulling it away from your other tools can be a pain. That is why this feature is extremely beneficial. These types of welding magnets can typically hold workpieces at 45 or 90-degree angles. You simply have to leave the magnet at off until you’re ready to work, and then just turn it on to use it.
Multi-Angle Welding Magnets
As the name suggests, multi-angle welding magnets can hold workpieces at different angles – at 45, 90 and 135-degree angles, and are also strong enough to attract any ferrous metal surface. These are ideal for assembling, marking off, pipe installation, soldering, and welding.
Arrow Welding Magnets
Arrow welding magnets are strong magnets that, like multi-angle welding magnets, can hold workpieces at 45, 90 and 135-degree angles, and are strong enough to attract to any ferrous metal surface. Arrow welding magnets are shaped like an arrow, and can also be used as a double-sided holder for welding and assembling.
Adjustable Welding Magnets
Adjustable welding magnets are capable of swiveling around a full 360 degrees, which allows them to hold the metal at any angle. Each of these magnets can hold up to 50 pounds of material and are thus ideal for welding and assembling.
Adjustable Link Welding Clamps are usually used with magnets to hold steel plates in position when working on brazing and welding and any other applications that involve the use of high heat. These are good to use in workspaces that have very limited space. The magnetic blocks allow for a clamping power of 50 pounds that works strongly even in the higher temperatures.
Magnetic Welding Clamps
Though not exactly magnets, Heavy Duty Adjustable Clamps have the magnetic properties to allow them to act as both, clamps and magnets. They are used for welding, fabricating and assembling larger parts. This welding magnet has two magnetic arms that are attached to a pivot and can be securely positioned at any angle between 45 to 90 degrees.
There are also incremental marks every 15 degrees to make setting easier and a casing that is not magnetic to reduce stray magnetic fields as much as possible, and also to avoid attracting welding spatter.
There is also a 90-degree Fixed Magnetic Welding Clamp that is commonly used for fixing the insides of square corners of different kinds of magnetic materials before welding them. These tools are also very strong in their magnetism and can attract any metal surface that has an iron component.
Sheet Metal Magnets
Sheet metal magnets are strong magnets with plastic handles that make it easier to place, move and remove them quickly and easily. They can be placed upon metal sheets and automotive metal panels to hold them firmly in place while you work on these pieces, whether that involves cutting, welding or paining
These metals are made with rare earth metals that provide them their superior gripping power and come with replaceable rubber pads that can provide friction to be able to better handle larger, heavier workpieces. These magnets must be removed before the weld can be completed.
Snake Magnets
This is a type of sheet metal magnet that comes as two flat magnetic pads with a cable that holds work pieces at different angles. The cable – which is metallic – can bend and twist in all directions, and the set usually includes a spring clamp that can replace one of the magnet heads and hold smaller tools. This magnet also needs to be removed before the weld can be completed.
What’s the difference between welding magnets and welding clamps?
Welding magnets are magnets with very high levels of magnetism that is used to hold workpieces together through its magnetic attraction so welders can weld, cut or paint the material. Welding clamps are devices that are designed to hold two or more parts together by pressing them together from opposite sites.
Can magnets be attracted to galvanized steel?
Yes. Galvanized steel can still be magnetic. Although the zinc coating does not enhance the magnetic properties of the steel, since the underlying metal is magnetic, galvanized steel can still have magnetic properties and thus, will attract magnets.
Can welding magnets affect the welding process?
Magnetic fields can cause arc blow, which is the unwanted deflection of the arc during the process. However, magnetic strength decreases exponentially with distance, so if the magnet is at a distance, it will not affect the welding process very much.