Power Tools for the Welding Workshop

Although most people associate drills, saws, and the like with woodworking – with a circular saw whirling through pale pine boards, showering the floor with sweetly resinous sawdust, as one of the iconic images of these uses – these tools are equally useful for metalworking. Indeed, they are essential if you are going to make any alterations to the pieces of base metal that you are planning to weld, since cutting off portions of metal with hand tools would be impractically slow.

•    Abrasive saws are special saws with circular, wheel-like blades – visually similar to a circular saw, but replacing the toothed metal blade with an abrasive disk fashioned out of composite fiber. The saw features a sturdy base with a built-in vise to hold the workpiece, while the abrasive cutting disc – which is aligned vertically – pivots on an arm, controlled by a handle on the side.

The discs are generally manufactured in 14” or 16” sizes, and must be chosen specifically for the metal you intend to cut, with different discs for steel and stainless steel. They cannot be used on aluminum but will spare you the danger and discomfort of cutting steel with an oxyacetylene torch.

•    A drill – and possibly a drill press – will also prove useful to a welder. A center punch should be used to create a dimple in the metal where the drill bit will remain rather than twisting away across the surface, allowing you to drill the hole exactly where you need it (as well as keeping you safer).

Carefully adjusting the revolutions per minute of the drill itself will facilitate clean, easy drilling as well as making your tool last longer; to determine the correct revolutions per minute for a drilling job, divide a number (the dividend) by the diameter of the drill bit in inches, rendered as a fraction. For stainless steel and cast iron, the dividend is 228; for carbon steel, 340; for aluminum, 950. Thus, a 3/8” (0.375”) bit would require 600 rpm for stainless steel, 900 rpm for carbon steel, and 2,500 rpm for aluminum. For soft metals such as copper or aluminum, the drill bit should have a 118˚tip angle, while 134˚ is necessary for iron and stainless steel.

•    An electric grinder, usually an angle grinder, is a convenience that few welders will do without. These are used for both grinding (usually for cleaning purposes, such as removing slag or preparing a surface for welding) and cutting with the addition of a “cutoff wheel.” 6” grinding discs combine the strength of larger grinders with the agility of smaller types, and are thus a good compromise tool for those who do not want to equip their work area with several grinders.

•    You can also add other tools such as band saws, circular saws, and so on, depending on the amount of cutting that you do. However, for most handymen and home users, an abrasive saw covers most, if not all, cutting needs.