I sat in the dump trailer i was replacing the floor on, we always ground to the table at work, and I just bolted my ground to my weld tables at home. So you will be fine. The sparks are looking for the path of least resistance.

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I do it. No shocks in 35 years of intermittent non commercial welding

 

Even if you didn't put the clamp on the table and only on the work, just the fact that you have a metal part being welded on a metal table means that the table itself would behave as if you did have the clamp on it. Think about it.

 

If you don’t get shocked or occasionally set yourself on fire are you really even welding?

Seriously though. It’s perfectly safe. Hell, I’m setup where my ground is clamped on a bare spot on the bed of the truck so if need be I can pull my hot lead and do work right on the bed or in the Vice at any given time.


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If you don’t get shocked or occasionally set yourself on fire are you really even welding?

That is t-shirt/coffee mug/shop sign worthy.

 

It's a work clamp, not a ground clamp

I have no idea why so many folks call it a ground clamp...they don't call the negative terminal on their car battery the ground (I hope).

Name aside, it'll work just fine putting the clamp on the table the way you describe.

 

I have no idea why so many folks call it a ground clamp...they don't call the negative terminal on their car battery the ground (I hope).

Well, we do always hear about "negative ground" cars versus "positive ground" cars...

Whether it's a car or the work clamp on a welder, the usage seems to be the same: The "ground" is the part of the circuit that's "always connected," and the other leg of the circuit is the one we manipulate, either through the stinger on a welder, or through the switches in a car.

Whatever. Whether we call it a "ground clamp" or a "work clamp" makes no difference. It's just words. Who cares? You say po-tay-to, I say po-tah-to...

OP: Yes, you should be fine connecting your GROUND clamp to your welding table. Just remember that if you touch your stinger to the table, it's going to light. Or if (for example) you have an acetylene bottle leaning against your welding table, and you touch your stinger to the acetylene bottle, same thing. Or if you touch the table with one ungloved hand, and you touch the tip of the stinger with the other ungloved hand, you might get a shock. (You should avoid this, especially with an AC welder.)

Connecting your welding table to the EARTH is an entirely different discussion with its own controversies (search the forum for more).

 

Only time I've ever been shocked is when I'm wet, the ground (dirt) is wet and I lean on whatever I'm welding. Enough to get your attention.

 

I’m late to the discussion.

^^ I second this. Years back I got a slight tickle running the 75 V OCV tap while using wet gloves. Of course wet anything is bad especially from the point of heat conduction.

Beyond that, never.

I mostly run the clamp on the bench. However for 6010/11 I will try to locate to the work to reduce voltage drop. This improves lighting.

I made the following bit for my adjuster clamps. This has proven nice. I added some knurling to bite into painted surfaces. This way I can easily clamp where I want.

 

Thank you for all your responses !
jonath

 

The only thing I have noticed is that if your work piece is not always in good contact with the table you will get some arcing between the table and the workpiece and occasionally a few boogers to grind off with the flap disc.

 

Absolutely! I try not to weld on the table itself, using it as the current conductor. Bit of arcing, and it ruins the flat surface with little bumpies (bumpies:laugh

 

Thanks bigb

 

Always, always to the work unless the work is SERIOUSLY clamped to what ever pole, + or -, your whatever is attached to. It's the path of least resistance. And mind your ground clamp (I don't know why the guy above has a problem with that because THAT is what it's been called since before time) weather the polarity is + or -. Ground clamps need attention!

 

Electricity in your house is GROUNDED, being attached to an earth ground. When you're welding, you attach one lead to the piece you're working on, the WORKpiece, using a WORK clamp. You do not attach one lead to the earth (ground). This is why welders call it the stinger lead and work lead.

 

as long as ya don't get to crazy/lazy like this guy...

https://nasdonline.org/1849/d001793/farmer-dies-when-electrocuted-while-welding-feed-bunker.html


I also knew a 50 year old man when I was a kid in Scio Oregon working to pay for my first car by pulling parts in a wrecking yard, this guy was welding inside an old 1960s bread truck body, had an AC Lincoln 225 buzz box with about 50 feet of power cord, welder was sitting inside with him work clamp was clamped to inside body rib of the truck body... they said he got between the work clamp and the stinger, it was hot and he was sweating alot, the rubber tires isolated the truck body from any earth ground... killed him deader than a nail.....

 

But they also call them ground clamps not work clamps. Everybody knows what they are so the name isn't a big issue. No different than if you call stick electrodes rods.

 

Lot of pissing and moaning over the name of that clamp thing. For what it’s worth, that clamp has continuity to the ground prong of the 6-50 plug on my welder.


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Lot of pissing and moaning over the name of that clamp thing. For what it’s worth, that clamp has continuity to the ground prong of the 6-50 plug on my welder.

I think some of the pissing and moaning is because people didn't notice the smiley face.

If that ground prong is energized something is wrong.

 

Well whatever you call the clamp I'll tell you this. If I have someone helping me that isn't real experienced and tell them to hook up the work clamp they would be looking for some type of C clamp or visegrips. If I say ground clamp they know exactly what that is.

 

It's like the 220-240V thing -- anytime anyone mentions a "220 circuit," as sure as the sun will come up tomorrow, some pedant will jump on and correct them.

WTF cares?

 

DC current is much safer in wet conditions. Voltage is another area where some people get their panties in a bunch. 110, 115, 120 or 220, 230, 240 are used interchangeably all the time. Pretty much all welders have 10% line voltage compensation so it's not a big deal what voltage is mentioned. About the only time actual voltage is required is when trouble shooting a problem.

 

If the table is rusty you could get one that wakes you up, but you need a nice coat of rust to do it, the rust can flash.


Sincerely,

William McCormick

 

"Ground" is a word that's used in ways it was never meant to be used.

When speaking of house current.....................the "ground" wire is simply a current carrying conductor which carries current back to the source when there's a "ground fault"(a piece of equipment gets "hot" when there's a wiring problem, and the current is on the surface of the equipment enclosure). This provides a low impedance pathway to the transformer, and causes the breaker to trip. The only reason it's actually "earthed" at the first disconnect, is to provide a pathway to earth for lightning, and lightning only.

Same with a welder. The work lead is simply a current carrying conductor that returns current to the transformer. The welder might be "grounded" (improper use of word, but it's commonly used so it gets the point across), as any other piece of equipment is, but again.............it's a low impedance return circuit to enable the circuit breaker to operate. Secondarily........like any other piece of equipment........lightning will be earthed when the "ground" wire is connected to that piece of equipment.

Mike Holt had an interesting discussion regarding excessive grounding on multiple pieces of expensive equipment. He stated, if I remember correctly, that an individual earth ground on each piece of equipment will actually be more harmful, because it provides a path for lightning through the equipment to ground, rather than a common pathway to the single, code required, earth ground. I need to look that up again to verify, but I'm pretty sure that was the crux of the article.

Electricity isn't my strong point. Buying Holt's book on bonding, and grounding, really set me straight. Or it at least made me more dangerous

 

"Ground" is a word that's used in ways it was never meant to be used.

When speaking of house current.....................the "ground" wire is simply a current carrying conductor which carries current back to the source when there's a "ground fault"(a piece of equipment gets "hot" when there's a wiring problem, and the current is on the surface of the equipment enclosure). This provides a low impedance pathway to the transformer, and causes the breaker to trip. The only reason it's actually "earthed" at the first disconnect, is to provide a pathway to earth for lightning, and lightning only.

Same with a welder. The work lead is simply a current carrying conductor that returns current to the transformer. The welder might be "grounded" (improper use of word, but it's commonly used so it gets the point across), as any other piece of equipment is, but again.............it's a low impedance return circuit to enable the circuit breaker to operate. Secondarily........like any other piece of equipment........lightning will be earthed when the "ground" wire is connected to that piece of equipment...

When I was wiring up a 100A circuit for my Sync 250, I got confused about something-or-other and called Miller, and I'm pretty sure it was a Miller tech who told me that the ground wire on my 100A welder circuit (the ground wire that goes to the sub-panel and from there back to the main house panel) needed to be the same size as the two hots, "even though it doesn't carry current."

Mine is not to reason why...

 

We got a contract to weld roll-off containers for about six months. And when I would connect the workpiece clamp of the welder to the container, it would spark, but not change the sound of the welder much, and the resistive coils in the welder would not glow. But you could tell there was a differential between the workpiece clamp of the welder and container sitting on the asphalt, you could feel it if you had damp gloves.

Sincerely,


William McCormick

 

Thank you again, William.
jonath

 

I thought that was a pizzcicle..? :laugh:

 

Only if you can trip over it....

 

Seems like the " polarity police" are out in force today. Perhaps a donut shop is order, or would that be persians, frycakes or bismarks?

 

I vote for the persians. Can't seem to find good ones anymore.

 

OK NOW...to settle this stupid argument about squeezie thinga majiggy bein a ground clamp or a work clamp....I stopped up at our shop tonight to grab some wire and some other stuff...on the shelf Joe has 4 stacks of guess whats printed on the boxes? GROUND CLAMP 2 different sizes 2 different brands.

So its a *^%$()()^##@@ GROUND CLAMP alf$%^inready

 

OK NOW...to settle this stupid argument about squeezie thinga majiggy bein a gorund clamp or a work clamp....I stopped up at our shop tonight to grab some wire and some other stuff...on the shelf Joe has 4 stacks of guess whats printed on the boxes? GROUND CLAMP 2 different sizes 2 different brands.

So its a *^%$()()^##@@ GROUND CLAMP alf$%^inready

Exactly. Walk into your LWS and ask for a work clamp. I’ll bet you get a funny look and directed to the C clamps or Vices.


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Shocker....Miller Electric also calls it a work clamp! I sure hope they don't find out the counter jockeys a the welding shops don't agree with their choice of terminology!

https://www.millerwelds.com/equipment/welders/stick-smaw/thunderbolt-210-m30148

 

These are new GROUND CLAMPS IN THE PACKAGE THEY WERE PACKED IN!!!! They are GROUND CLAMPS!!! You aint changin my mind...


MJD.... Shop class?...yup they did, especially when I could do most of it before the course even started and was better at it than the instructor

 

I wasn't referring to you about shop class. I was referring to " Mr. Correct".

 

And here all this time I called mine a ground clamp because it always worked best when I ground the spot it was clamped to...