Well let’s get one then!
Looks about £600 for a decent one (will weld 2mm to 2mm mild steel)
http://www.clarketools.net/clarke-csw13t-spot-welder-with-timer---6030010-678-p.asp
If there’s interest, we could do a pledge drive to buy one (with help from central funds maybe if interest is high?)
the ones that are used for batteries are this style: http://i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/32303346721_1/Free-shipping-by-DHL1-5KW-High-Power-font-b-Spot-b-font-font-b-Welder-b.jpg but perhaps the one you posted could be adapted for battery making if it would be useful to more people.
Ah yes, I completely mixed the two types up in my mind.
I’ve been hankering for one for welding thin steel rods for a long time, and this jogged my memory.
If one machine can do both jobs, then all the better!
i wish i’d asked this earlier and not dropped £400 on batteries 
I’ve worked with that model and like it a lot. Plus you can turn your own tips.
I can’t see how that one could weld batteries - unless you can change the tips to both be on the same side it would be extremely dangerous. Furthermore, 40kg is a fair bit of force and I’m not exactly positive about the price - if folk want to pledge for it, fair enough, but I don’t think it is a good use of SLMS funds - for £600 we could get a battery spot welder and a tig - which would weld literally everything we can think of.
I’ve used a battery spot welder at lhs a few times, it was a cheapy chinese one and was alright for that purpose, would occasionally trip the breaker which was annoying. With 13kw peak for this one I think it would run into the same problems.
We already have a “proper” welder, but with no suitable place to use it :-/
This machine would at least allow some welding…
A battery welder feels like a very achievable pledge goal. They’re much cheaper!
I think we should wait until we’ve got the space use survey done before buying new tools.
For a member-run pledge for a tool that doesn’t take up any floor space?
No. Your right.
Also think that buying new tools should not generally be delayed until the survey is done - we do not want a situation the survey drags and holds things up for months.
Similar Clarke welders go for £350 used on eBay now and then so I might keep my eye open for one anyway…
The survey wouldn’t take 2 weeks to complete it’s been waiting for the @directors for a chance to post it out.
@electrotechs can we get one of these perhaps? I have used this model at LHS and it is decent for doing battery packs.
Right, so, the plan is to let people weld lithium battery in the space?
let’s make a risk assessment : what happen if someone weld 23 battery together and weld the last one with the polarity inverted?
I will state it again, I don’t like 18650 batteries because you can’t always be sure that people will not use them in the right way .
As someone else said, you can make a fire with a AA battery, but lithium battery have a much higher violent reaction to fast discharge.
That isn’t really relevant to the safety of a spot welder - instead it’s a different argument about whether people should be allowed to work on bare unprotected 18650’s in the space.
Yes, you can do dangerous things if you put something in backwards with an 18650, but you can do exactly the same with a wire accidentally too.
FWIW, I’ve mainly used a spot welder to weld AA batteries and don’t have a current project that requires welding 18650’s.
Also, spot welds have uses beyond batteries 
(Sans le bonnet d’director)
If you keep saying that, I’m going to make you a director’s hat and put it in a sealed case so you can’t wear it.
+1 for resistance spot welding over conventional IMO - but I won’t get into that discussion again.
First time I’ve seen one in that style (but my background’s mechanical) - I’m used to the pincer type ones. Would this have an application beyond batteries?
The battery ones are quite a bit wimpier than the pincer ones. I’d quite like one of the latter, for welding thin steel plate/rod.
