Abstract: Mounting brackets for an engine driven welding machine have respective first and second legs at right angles to each other. The mounting brackets can be attached to the welding machine base in a shipping mode or in a installation mode. When in the shipping mode, the second legs are under the machine base, and fasteners engage first sets of holes in the mounting bracket first legs to common sets of holes in the machine base. The welding machine can then be welded to a selected mounting surface by welding the mounting brackets and not the base. When in the installation mode, the mounting bracket second legs extend outwardly from the base, and fasteners engage second sets of holes in the mounting bracket first legs and the common set of holes in the base. Holes in the second legs of the mounting brackets are then exposed for installing it by fasteners to a mounting surface.

Abstract: In a fastener-driving tool comprising a housing structure with a handle and a nosepiece and a magazine with a main body and a hinged cover, the main body is mounted to the handle by a mortise and tenon mounting, which comprises a structure integral with the main body and defining a mortise and a structure integral with the handle and defining a tenon. The mortise and the tenon are tapered complementarily so that the tenon can wedge into the mortise. The mortise has a widened region and the tenon has a widened portion fitting into the widened region so as to prevent the tenon from pulling from the mortise in a direction normal to the handle.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for initiating a welding arc includes a controller coupled to a power circuit for enabling the power circuit a predetermined time after an arc starter circuit has applied an arc starting signal at the power output of a welding device. The apparatus further includes a protective gas source for providing a protective gas, such as argon or helium, to the welding site. The arc starting signal ionizes the gas to aid in initiating the welding arc.

Abstract: A method and system for remotely controlling operational parameters of welders by communicating over a welding cable thereof with a remote device electrically coupleable between a workpiece and an electrode holder of the welder. The operational parameters include remotely enabling and disabling the welder, remotely choking the engine thereof, remotely controlling coarse and fine current adjustment, and remotely controlling other parameters otherwise controllable from a control panel of the welder.

Abstract: In a fastener-driving tool comprising a housing structure and a magazine, a structure fixed to the nosepiece is adapted to confine one of two sides of a leading portion of a strip of fasteners so as to guide the leading portion of the strip along fastener-guiding surfaces of the fixed structure. Moreover, a structure hinged to the nosepiece is adapted to be hingedly moved between an operative position and inoperative positions and is adapted when disposed in the operative position to confine the other side of the leading portion of the strip so as to guide the leading portion of the strip along fastener-guiding surfaces of the hinged structure. The hinged structure includes a polymeric cover hinged to the nosepiece, a holding member, and two wear guards, which are spaced one above the other, which are made of metal, and which are mounted so as to define the guiding surfaces of the hinged structure.

Abstract: An apparatus for initiating a welding arc during a lift arc start. The apparatus includes a power circuit to provide welding power to a power output, a background circuit to provide background power to the power output to maintain the welding arc during low power welding processes, and a controller. The background circuit is enabled prior to drawing the welding arc, thus providing a background voltage to the power output of the welding device. The background voltage is monitored such that the controller can detect when the welder has touched the electrode to the workpiece. Upon detection of a short, the controller enables the power circuit to provide a flow of output current to the power output.

Abstract: A mig welding gun has a handle with a longitudinal centerline and a hole with an axis transverse to the centerline. A trigger is received in the handle for rotation about an axis perpendicular to and offset from the hole axis. A spring biases the trigger to a released position whereat the gun is off. Applying a squeeze force to the trigger rotates it to a depressed position whereat the gun is on. A pin is slidable in the trigger to engage the handle hole when the trigger is in the depressed position. Removing the squeeze force while the pin engages the handle hole locks the trigger in the depressed position. Momentarily reapplying the squeeze force to the trigger causes the pin to disengage from the handle hole and enable the trigger to return to the released position. In a modified embodiment, the pin is engageable with a chap inside the hole.

Abstract: An adapter enables a conventional MIG welding machine to successfully use spoked wire wheels on which weld wire is wound. The adapter assembles over a rotatable hub that is also conventional. The adapter has a notch that mates without backlash with a post on the hub, thereby assuring that the hub and adapter rotate together. The adapter also has tabs that engage spokes of the wire wheel without backlash. Accordingly, the wire wheel and hub rotate together without backlash. A frictional drag on the hub is transmitted by the adapter to the wire wheel, so that normal operation of the welding machine does not cause wire wheel coasting and unraveling of the weld wire. The adapter allows field retrofit of existing welding machines so they can use the wire wheel in place of prior wire spools. In a modified embodiment, the adapter is made of two parts that are angularly adjustable relative to each other to enable the adapter to engage the spokes of different wire wheels.

Abstract: An engine driven welder has a fuel tank with a filler tube that extends upwardly from a reservoir in the machine base. The filler tube upper end and a cap thereon are below the machine top cover. The machine top cover has a cutout into which is installed a grommet that closes the cutout and that fully protects the filler tube upper end and the cap. The grommet has a hole that seals over a top portion of the filler tube such that any spilled fuel does not leak inside the machine. The filler tube has an expansion space that prevents splashback and spillover during fueling. An angled tail pipe directs engine exhaust away from the welding machine in any desired direction.

Abstract: In a roofing washer-dispensing and fastener-driving machine, which has a fastener-feeding tube, a fastener-engaging pawl is mounted operatively to the tube, near its upper end. The pawl is pivotable between a normal position wherein the pawl is arranged to engage a fastener dropped into the tube so as to prevent the fastener from dropping through the tube and a pivoted position wherein the pawl is arranged to disengage from the fastener. An elongate rod is arranged to pivot the pawl from the normal position into the pivoted position when the machine is operated.

Abstract: A modular robotic welding station comprises a base skid to which is mounted robotic welding equipment. The base skid defines one or more docking stations. Satellite modules can have either stationary tables or turn tables that hold the workpieces to be welded. The satellite modules are detachably and interchangeably docked to selected base skid docking stations to thereby create customized workstations for the workpieces. The docking stations, satellite modules, and tables are designed to accurately locate the workpieces relative to the welding equipment. By detaching the satellite modules from the skid base, the satellite modules and skid base are easily transported individually from one location to another. A safety fence secured to the skid base can be arranged in different configurations to suit whether or not a satellite module is docked at a docking station.

Abstract: A lock nut threadably engageable and lockingly retainable about a threaded shaft extending through a workpiece, the lock nut having at least one deformable slot disposed on a side portion thereof and disposed transversely relative to the lock nut bore axis, the lock nut also having a nut deforming member protruding from a bottom end thereof, wherein at least a portion of the nut deforming member is in substantial axial alignment with the deformable slot. The lock nut is undeformed prior to installation thereof about the threaded shaft. The nut deforming member is engageable with the workpiece to deform the lock nut upon threadably installing the lock nut about the threaded shaft, thereby retaining the lock nut thereabout, whereby the lock nut has a relatively consistent torque performance with reduced statistical spread over several installation and removal cycles of the nut about the threaded shaft.

Abstract: A fastener detection system is provided for both internal combustion and powder actuated fastener driving tools, and similar powered fastener driving tools. A sensor disposed at a portion of a fastener supply path detects the presence or absence of a fastener. In the combustion tool, either or both of fuel delivery and combustion ignition are disabled when no fastener is detected. In the powder actuated tool an indicator notifies an operator when the sensor detects the absence of a fastener. The indicator may also be incorporated into the combustion tool.

Abstract: A power fastener driving tool, like a pneumatic trim nailer, of the type for driving fasteners supplied from a collated strip of fasteners disposed in a magazine of the tool. The magazine is coupled to a nose-piece of the fastener driving tool, wherein individual fasteners are sequentially fed into a channel of the nose-piece and driven axially through the nose-piece by a driver blade and into a workpiece. The fastener driving tool includes an improved work contacting element that provides for improved visibility of the nose-piece, an improved depth of drive adjustment for accurately adjusting the work contacting element, an improved hinged nose-piece assembly, and an improved two piece magazine assembly formed of extruded components which provide an accurately dimensioned channel for receiving fastener strips, among other improvements.

Abstract: A pre-assembled workpiece fastenable to a mounting surface of a second workpiece, and in one application a pre-assembled plastic component fastenable to a metal automotive engine component. The pre-assembled workpiece includes an opening extending therethrough between an outer surface and a mounting surface thereof. A sleeve member is retainably disposed in the opening through the pre-assembled workpiece, and a fastener having a threaded shank portion and a head is retainably disposed through the sleeve member. The fastener is axially and laterally positionable relative to the pre-assembled workpiece, whereby the pre-assembled workpiece is mountable and alignable on the mounting surface of the second workpiece without interference from the fastener.

Abstract: A foot control for a TIG welding machine utilizes a timing belt that is tensioned between a pedal and an enclosure. The timing belt meshes with a timing gear that is fixed to a rotatable shaft. Pivoting the pedal on the enclosure causes the timing belt to travel past and rotate the gear and shaft. A potentiometer on the shaft also rotates to control the power output of the welding machine. The belt is tensioned by a relatively weak spring in a manner that biases the pedal in one direction on the enclosure. A stronger spring biases the pedal in the opposite direction. The pedal is hinged to the enclosure by resilient tabs on the enclosure having bosses that engage holes in the pedal. The tab bosses can be depressed to disengage the pedal holes and enable the pedal to be removed from the enclosure. A heavy base joined to the enclosure has plates that lie alongside the enclosure tabs such that the tab bosses cannot be depressed out of engagement with the pedal holes when the base is joined to the enclosure.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for mounting a panel on a rail member having first and second resilient legs separated by a channel. A groove disposed along a first side of the panel receives a portion of one of the resilient legs of the rail member. The groove extends from a lower surface of the panel toward an upper surface of the panel so that the upper surface extends over the resilient leg received in the groove. The groove includes a first side surface with a first inclined portion and a second side surface with a second inclined portion. The second side surface of the groove is engagable with the inner leg surface of the resilient leg received in the groove to outwardly urge the resilient leg away from the channel of the rail member and toward the first inclined portion of the groove to retain the panel on the rail member.

Abstract: A side panel is easily installable onto and removed from a welding machine using a minimum of fasteners and requiring only a small space on the side of the machine. The side panel includes clips joined to one edge of the panel. The clips have respective first legs secured to the panel, second legs that register with slots in the machine base, and third legs that elastically bend against a lip on the base. The restoring force of the bent third legs of the clips holds the clips second legs firmly against the base slot and thereby prevents vibration. Conventional fasteners are used to attach at least one other edge of the panel to the welding machine.