Welder Gas Tap knob

I'm in the process of renovating and modifying my trusty portable welder - Long story, won't bore ya! During that process, I realised that the handle on the gas valve wasn't working. It turned just fine, but the valve didn't turn with it. Thus, no gas was released from the cannister to make its way to the business end of the tool, so there was no inert gas shroud for the weldifyingification to take place within, and mayhem ensued.

After I whipped off the valve knob's retaining nut, the reason was immediately obvious: I don't know if the knob was originally splined or squared to fit the valve head shaft but, either way, it was plainly neither now! Ergo, no matter how tight the retaining nut, the handle had nothing with which to grip the shaft (oooh, err, missus!).

So I knocked up this wee little beastie, loosely based on the original knob. At a glance you wouldn't even know that it wasn't the original part.

I printed it in PLA (as that was what I had to hand). I don't know how well that will stand up to welding sparks and the general workshop environment, but at least I can control the gas flow again.

Print it in the same orientation as the STL file, with support on the print bed only. I used Cura's "tree support", as I've found this much easier to separate from my prints when post processing.

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It's funny how one job can lead to another, that leads to another. This was just a little side job taken care of so that I can refurbish the welder. The welder refurbishment is itself a side job, which arose because I wanted to fix a failed part of my office chair frame. ...And I only had to repair the chair frame because Office Outlet UK went tits up making my statutory consumer right to a replacement worhtless! Now, hopefully, this little doodah means I am one stage nearer to getting off this bloomin' uncomfortable dining chair, and back to the padded luxury of my office chair.*Damned farmers!!

(*Note: For non-UK readers; I'm not cussing those hardworking agricultural folk. I'm actually using cockney rhyming slang to refer to an uncomfortable physical ailment that makes sitting on hard surfaces uncomfortable!)

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Anyway, happy 2020 printing to you all!

Category: Parts