Welding Wire Spool Adapter

 

I was running low on solid mig wire. I found that an 11 pound spool would be the cheapest per pound. But it turns out that it won't fit in my welder. I suppose I should have read the whole instruction manual, but the spool didn't seem that large, and I didn't open the box at the store.

I had to decide whether to return the wire and buy several smaller rolls for a higher price, or find a way to force it to work. I tried to brainstorm some solutions- wind the wire onto smaller spools, make an adapter, mount the spool on the door, or shave off part of the rim of the spool. Eventually, I found a way to make a lazy susan to hold the spool on the open door of the welder. 

I used roller ball feet to make the lazy susan spin smoothly. Here's an Amazon Affiliate link to the bearings I used: https://amzn.to/3pyEBE1 First, I tried a cardboard circle underneath to support the spool. This showed me that the concept was good, but I needed a stronger base. Next, I used the bottom of a powdered drink mix can. For the center axle, I used a steel drink can. I cut it to make a smaller diameter to fit. Ironically, I couldn't use the new welding wire to weld the lazy susan together.

After I finished this project, I posted a photo to Reddit to get advice to help me learn to weld better. One person said "you can't weld something that isn't clean, all the paint and [stuff] on the outside of the can will [mess] up your weld." They also suggested using better materials to start with, so my next project will be finding more materials to experiment with.