Another newbie

[growntree]

Hi all,

I have recently got my first mig welder. I went for the clarke 151en when machine mart had their vat free offer a couple of weeks ago. Today I tried it for the first time using the gasless wire that came with it. My first attempt wasn't great as I was trying thin sheet metal on the lowest setting. My next attempt was on a bit of 10mm steel as I haven't got anything in between. I know it's a bit thick for the welder, but I thought it would give me some practice with welding without blowing through it. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.
Cheers
Graham

 

[gaz1]

sorry to say not much we can say without the correct material been used

0 to 5mm thick is its max by the way

not bad try with your lines though

 

[growntree]

Thank you for your reply.

I'll see what I can get hold of in the 4-5mm range and give it another go.

Cheers
Graham

 

[gaz1]

best off starting at 2mm or 3mm thickness

 

[Yamhon]

Worth popping by your local metal supplier seeing if they have any little bits you could pick up cheap; I got lucky and was given some, which got me started.

All you can do with the 10mm on that machine is practice running beads, your welds won't offer anything in the way of penetration, but there is still a lot you can practice; the angle of the gun, how you manipulate it, travelling in straight lines, observing the puddle, etc. You could drawn a few straight lines on the metal you have and practice trying to follow those lines. Or hang on until you get some more suitable material for your machine.

I have the Clarke 151 TE myself.