Well, this old thing is working well.
It has now made me some engine mounts for the new engine in my car. (Kawasaki ZX10 engine into Sylva Leader). It has also made the exhaust manifold for the same project.
Anddd....
A nice engine hoist trolley for moving the electric engine hoist around...
My local fire extinguisher supplier will fill a pub type cylinder with CO2 for £7.
This has about a million times the capacity as one of those little cylinders too.
Darren
This machine sat with the roll on it for so long that it was a coating of dust and garage crud that was the issue. Now that this has gone and I'm using the bright shiny copper coated stuff lying under it, I'm cooking with gas .
My draughty garage breathes very well indeed so dampness...
Another advantage of my older machine.
It takes 15kg reels as well. This one came with a pretty full roll on it.
It will last me a long time, but when it does need replaced, under 20 quid will buy me oodles worth of welding time, unlike that little 0.7kg roll of wire from 'a well known car...
I have ignored all good advice in the past and bought cheap £100 welders. Even bought a cheap £80 welder.
Both brand new.
Both crap.
Everyone said don't buy a gasless only. I bought a gasless only.
Everybody said make sure you get a welder that goes down to 30 amps for the thin...
I got one of these when I got a bottle of CO2 recently.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Draper-Pub-CO2-Gas-Regulator-2-Gauge-MIG-Welder-76711_W0QQitemZ150313246914QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20081201?IMSfp=TL0812011210006r8990
My bottle is CO2 and nothing else as stated above.
Ye Olde Clarke 165E seems to be going not too bad now.
The potentiometer for the wire speed was a bit stuttery to say the least.
Had it out and got that sorted.
Also managed to find the escaped contact from the torch and reassembled that too. So now we have nice smooth variance in speed on...
Chaps
The unit I have in mind is this one http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SALDATRICE-HF-UNIT-TRSFORMA-INVERTER-MMA-IN-TIG-HF_W0QQitemZ330293332057QQihZ014QQcategoryZ46413QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262
It's in Italy so here's a Google translation. Not great but confirms it's happy with an...
This one is just a straight inverter, so no control socket for the torch or gas connection. Still usable, but not quite as usable as no HF and a valved torch required. Fine for an expert, but I'm not that expert.
There may be more sense in flogging it and getting a proper HF set with the torch...
I have recently had a go on a little scratch start Fronius which was great, but I'm too much of an amatuer to get on with it.
The inverter I have since bought was a bit of a bargain. It was meant to be a 75 amp one, but they sent me a 200 amp one - not bad for £24.99 :D
Hence me thinking of just...
Fixing up this old Clarke in readiness for making some engine mounts for my Sylva.
Following all good advice I ordered a new steel liner.
So, the other night I dismantled the torch to check it out before starting the job. As soon as I opened it up, the spring steel contact for the switch...
I'm not a first time mig buyer - have had a few in the past and needed to get shot when I lost my garage etc.
Anyway, when I was looking to buy recently, I had a tight budget so decided to go for an older Clarke. It's a sturdily built machine and takes full size 15kg rolls of wire. This to me...
Re Locostbuilders.
The phone call thing is done with new members now because there was a real problem, maybe a year or so, ago with an individual setting up accounts and posting mega sick hard core p**n pictures. Serioulsy vile stuff that took days to get over if you were unfortunate enough...
I phoned the office the other night and they contacted Richard.
He has since emailed and advised that it will be Monday or Tuesday.
Nothing today, so let's hope for tomorrow or I'm afraid it'll be plan B.