bad first attempt

[wigwan]

hi all, i know i got advised against a clark 85 so i decided not to get one and wait till i have the cash for a new 90en but yesterday i got offered a 85 at a price i couldnt say no to, so thought *** it will do till i get my 90,
had my first attempt on some scrap 3" exhaust tube, hack sawed it in half and then attempted to weld it back together useing a series of spot welds, had a play with some spots on the end of the pipe to test the settings and wasnt one bit happy (**** settings tbh)so i got it best i could and it didnt go well, not blameing the welder for my bad welds! but i think its a mix of me and the welder, ashamed to show these compared to my welds in collage with a gas proper gas welder but tbh i have to learn so here goes

first attempt on anything that thin and exhaust tube, as you can see, alot of spatter and genrally not good, so were do i go from here to improve?

btw the wire lets of so much flux that it has to be wire brushed after every spot


cheers

 

[shenion]

Exhaust tube is either galvanized or aluminized. Neither will weld cleanly unless it it ground off first. The zinc from the galv plating is an irritant anc can cause health issues (weld fever.)

Get some clean flat steel and practice laying some continuous beads. 1-2mm would be best. That way you can work on getting the wire speed right.

Gasless is messy and cheap wire hard to use without lots of spatter.

Make sure you have the polarity right for gasless.
This is an 85EN?

Edit: the 85 should do fine. I'd look at the Clarke 150 for an upgrade, the 90 will not be much different.

 

[wigwan]

Exhaust tube is either galvanized or aluminized. Neither will weld cleanly unless it it ground off first. The zinc from the galv plating is an irritant anc can cause health issues (weld fever.)

Get some clean flat steel and practice laying some continuous beads. 1-2mm would be best. That way you can work on getting the wire speed right.

Gasless is messy and cheap wire hard to use without lots of spatter.

Make sure you have the polarity right for gasless.
This is an 85EN?

Edit: the 85 should do fine. I'd look at the Clarke 150 for an upgrade, the 90 will not be much different.

na its just mild steel pal, deffo not galvanized, i know about galv flu like, the welders a 85enb gasless?, i was thinking of the 90 en because i will be doing car work and the 90en goes down to 24 amps, has more heat settings and i would be running gas with it? going to go and get some flat steel this week


cheers

 

[shenion]

the 85ENB looks to be gasless only and specs a minimum of 27A so should be about the same as the 90.

 

[wigwan]

yea the e85enb is only gasless werw as the 90en is gas and gasless with a minimum of 24 amps, and heat wish has min and max and 1 and 2 were as my 85 enb only has min or max, i would be running the 90 with gass and i thought it would make quite a diffrence?

 

[shenion]

Yes, gas is easier on thin metal and is also cleaner.

You can also use 0.6mm wire on gas. The smallest flux wire is 0.8mm.

 

[Iain Westland]

wait till you get on gas and 0.6 before worrying mate, gassless is a royal pain

 

[troppo]

Mate, for a first attempt i`d say thats pretty bloody good. Its only up from here

 

[keith19]

I'd say pretty good for a first bash at gasless too, especially with something like the 85 which has few settings.

"btw the wire lets of so much flux that it has to be wire brushed after every spot"

Just do a series of spaced tacks on thin metal, brush the lot at once, then do another series joined to the first, brush the lot again, and so on until you have a complete seam. Brushing after every single tack would do my head in!

For the kit you've got, you've made a decent start, I'd say. When you get the 90EN you will be able to do some neat stuff with gas; meanwhile explore fluxcore welding, it's well worth it.

 

[wigwan]

cheers for the comments and advice, so do you thin the 90em would be good for what i want of should i look at something else?

cheers

 

[keith19]

If it's just car panels, bodywork, etc then the 90EN should be fine. It is really made for that sort of thing, and hasn't much output at the top end for anything else. Nice little review here if you haven't read it already:
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/clarke-90.htm

If you think you might want to occasionally do heavier stuff, 3mm to 4-5mm, get a mig around 150A.

Or, if you want to learn arc welding, get a cheap buzz-box arc welder for 3mm up. But don't think it can be used on car chassis easily, it can't. But good for heavier bench and floor work.

 

[wigwan]

yea i know what you mean mate, ashame some of the bigger ones dont go down to 24 amps, there will come a timewhen i need to weld 4mm plus but for now its just for a exhaust (1.5mm thick) and bodywork, ive done uite abit of arc welding in collage so thata an option, im likeing the 90 for the settings like, hadnt seen that rewiew, will have a read niow

cheers

 

[kelsham]

If you are serious I would start saving to buy at least a 150 amp Mig.

I started with a SIP 100 and struggled with it for years. Eventually I upgraded to a Clarke 175, Then my welding began to improve.

Second improvement came after finding this site. The advice posted here showed me what to aim at.

Things I have learned, clean metal, good earth clamp, must see work clearly,external lighting.
I found the extra power of the Clarke very useful, I seem to often need to weld thicker pieces of metal. I work mostly on my fleet of classic cars.

Regards Kels.

 

[wigwan]

cheers will consider it,

had another few goes at welding the same pipe and looks like ive taken steps back :s was a shocking attempt and i mean that, wonder if i could find anyone in wigan that could help out and give me a few tips