Hand-held cold pressure weld device

A hand-held welding device utilizes a multiple upset cold pressure welding technique to join abutting end surfaces of a pair of wire members. The welding device includes a pair of spaced-apart, parallel tie rods for supporting a stationary V-block in spaced apart relationship with a moveable V-block. A welding die assembly is positioned between and is actuated by the two V-blocks. An end plate is secured to one end of the tie rods adjacent the stationary V-block, while a fixed handle is adjustably secured to the opposite end. A moveable handle is pivotally mounted relative to the fixed handle and includes a working roller which engages the moveable V-block to force the V-blocks against the die assembly. As the V-blocks are forced against the die assembly, the die assembly is operated to force the ends of the wire members against one another to form a cold pressure weld. A separate pair of gripper fingers are provided on opposite sides of the die assembly for securely holding each wire member during the welding operation. The gripper fingers are mounted on a retainer assembly which is resiliently supported between the V-blocks to allow the gripper fingers to float and move axially with the die assembly during the welding operation. Each pair of gripper fingers can be selectively opened when initially loading the individual wire members by pivoting a lever in one direction to open one set of gripper fingers, and pivoting the same lever in an opposite direction to open the other set of gripper fingers. Also, the moveable handle is provided with a shuttle which can be pushed from either side of the handle to simultaneously open both pairs of gripper fingers and the welding die assembly in order to remove the welded wire members after the welding operation.