Hi all,
I am a noobie welder, just picked up a second hand Clarke 90EN to have a play with yesterday.
It was in pretty good nic, needed a new tip and shroud but otherwise looked good and was only £80. I figured it would be better than an 80 ebay welder to practice with
Welding is always something I have been scared of, might sound silly, but as soon as I see something on a car or anything elses needs welding, it's this black art of electricity, heat and if not careful damaging your eyeballs! So I have always left it alone.
Well, I am 38 now, and a month ago I purchased a 106 GTI track car in an attempt to do some racing this summer. The car is in good shape, albeit some rust in the usual areas. Rather than ship it off to someone and pay a small fortune for the privilege, I thought what better time to tackle my phobia of welding and learn a new art.
So here I am, with a rusty 106 and some sheet steel in hand, and an old Clarke 90EN in the other!
I've just been gifted a auto dimming mask by a family member which is nice, and a fire blanket. I've already got fire gauntlets (and other fire protection due to having an obsession with our open fire) so we are good there for sand and CO2 extinguishers.
I've read a lot of the advice on here already before buying the welder and registering. I know a gassless is not the best to start with, but, I wanted to try both, and will only be welding 1mm mild steel mostly, so figured the little 90EN was a good place to start.
No doubt I will have a few questions, sorry I can't add much to the site in terms of answering questions or knowledge at the moment - I hate to be a sponger and normally try to contribute how-to's and such. But my utter beginner status kind of makes that contribution impossible at the moment.
Anyhow, all the best, and thanks for a great site!
I am a noobie welder, just picked up a second hand Clarke 90EN to have a play with yesterday.
It was in pretty good nic, needed a new tip and shroud but otherwise looked good and was only £80. I figured it would be better than an 80 ebay welder to practice with
Welding is always something I have been scared of, might sound silly, but as soon as I see something on a car or anything elses needs welding, it's this black art of electricity, heat and if not careful damaging your eyeballs! So I have always left it alone.
Well, I am 38 now, and a month ago I purchased a 106 GTI track car in an attempt to do some racing this summer. The car is in good shape, albeit some rust in the usual areas. Rather than ship it off to someone and pay a small fortune for the privilege, I thought what better time to tackle my phobia of welding and learn a new art.
So here I am, with a rusty 106 and some sheet steel in hand, and an old Clarke 90EN in the other!
I've just been gifted a auto dimming mask by a family member which is nice, and a fire blanket. I've already got fire gauntlets (and other fire protection due to having an obsession with our open fire) so we are good there for sand and CO2 extinguishers.
I've read a lot of the advice on here already before buying the welder and registering. I know a gassless is not the best to start with, but, I wanted to try both, and will only be welding 1mm mild steel mostly, so figured the little 90EN was a good place to start.
No doubt I will have a few questions, sorry I can't add much to the site in terms of answering questions or knowledge at the moment - I hate to be a sponger and normally try to contribute how-to's and such. But my utter beginner status kind of makes that contribution impossible at the moment.
Anyhow, all the best, and thanks for a great site!