Hi all,

Random find and unsure...

Was changing the headlight bulb and found this weird looking metal stick, not sure if it belongs to any component in the car (or maybe something left behind by the mechanic)?

Paranoid may have broke something lol

Edited 19 May, 20233 yr by jonnieboi82

Looks like a knitting needle. It could have been used as a tool by a mechanic and left after doing work. I would say quite confidently it is not a part of the car.

Looks like a ground tungsten electrode for use in an arc welder for getting stuff really hot, really quickly!

8 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

Looks like a ground tungsten electrode for use in an arc welder for getting stuff really hot, really quickly!

Makes sense, now I'm curious to know what was done previously (previous owner)...if that's the case

It looks like the end of my mechanics stethoscope, the one that keeps falling out into inaccessible places under the bonnet!

10 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

Looks like a ground tungsten electrode for use in an arc welder for getting stuff really hot, really quickly!

 

I'm not sure such an animal exists, it looks too long for a TIG torch electrode and the tip has never arced.

21 minutes ago, J.R. said:

 

I'm not sure such an animal exists, it looks too long for a TIG torch electrode and the tip has never arced.

 

I said it looked like one...

 

Arse, covered!

...also TIG electrodes are generally 150mm long which looks about right and I'm not suggesting it's ever done any welding, rather it's been used for some purpose for which it was not designed.

You could check whether it is magnetic as Tungsten is only very weakly magnetic.

1 hour ago, sepulchrave said:

...also TIG electrodes are generally 150mm long which looks about right and I'm not suggesting it's ever done any welding, rather it's been used for some purpose for which it was not designed.

 

Shows how long since I did any TIG welding, I could not recall the torch details.

 

I can sort of see the logic of using one to heat a seized bolt or whatever using an arc welder in that the tungsten is not likely to transfer as a weld bead but is that a common practice?

 

I always used oxy-acetylene but no chance of getting any hooky refills for years so I handed over all my cylinders, I've seen induction heaters and I have some special arc welding rods for broken off studs intended to weld a nut to them to remove once the weld heat had done its stuff, if a TIG electrode could do a similar job I'd like to learn how.

Here's a video of it...did check whether it was magnetic and can confirm it's not...

I think it's been used as an idiots scriber or centrepunch.

1 hour ago, jonnieboi82 said:

Here's a video of it...did check whether it was magnetic and can confirm it's not...

Just 4 seconds of muted speech and no video for me.

 

Not sure what a video of a pointed shaft would show anyway unless you were stabbing someone with it!