Clarke 150te trigger and side panel

[ronsealdeath]

Hi there,

I'm a newbie novice and have just purchased a Clarke 150te Mig off fleabay for the pricely sum of £47. Its a bit of a sorry state I must say but amazingly I have got it to weld thanks to some new wire and gas. I've always wanted a Mig welder ever since reading Custom Car aged 11 and seeing people crafting amazing things out of metal. Now I'm 32 and I still get excited about it. I've finally got an excuse in the form of a rusty Land Rover Disco Mk1 so I took the plunge with this Clarke unit.

I have a couple of questions if anyone can help;

The side panel is missing (the one to cover the wire), does anyone have the dimensions of one so I can make a new panel from some steel or alloy?

Also the spool/spindle was missing so I had to cut a hole of wood about 3/4" thick to thread on and support my wire reel, I've then used a large washer and two nuts to hold it in and stop the nut tightening further. Do you think this will work long-term? It seems to be ok in the 5 minutes I have tried it out. I couldn't find a spare spool on the internet for the 150te.

There is no trigger on the torch and instead just a small button. Did the torch always have this or has the trigger broken off? Can I get a new one?

I've been on weldequip and ordered a new swan neck (current one melted and covered in tape), shroud, contact tips and liner for the wire. Hopefully it will have some life left in it then. Its an old model and doesn't seem to have a fan that turns on when I put the power on, did they all have fans in them or is it just shot?

Sorry for the zillion questions, once I get going I can bug you guys with more questions about how bad my welds are!

Thanks in advance
Al
A
Swansea

Additional - Sorry I think I posted in the wrong forum, apologies but I can;t seem to move it to the bit on Clarke Welders now!

 

[GrahamGKD]

Also the spool/spindle was missing so I had to cut a hole of wood about 3/4" thick to thread on and support my wire reel, I've then used a large washer and two nuts to hold it in and stop the nut tightening further. Do you think this will work long-term?

I think the locknut idea will work OK but it would be better if you had a spring of some sort in the system. I used a couple of locknuts and a spring for a small reel adaptor and it works OK. A 16mm bolt is the right size for those reels.

 

[madkayaker]

I will have a rummage In my shed at the weekend I might have a spool holder and side panel as I had a Clarke 90 that the magic smoke came out of and I think I just put the bits in the corner

 

[ronsealdeath]

Thanks so much, let me know if you find them and if i can buy them off you. The spring is a good idea too thanks I'll see if i can get something suitable to fit one.

My next question (sorry) is where do you guys buy sheet metal from? Do i need a wholesaler or ironmonger or similar? Never bought steel before so not sure where to go! Thanks for your help so far
Al

 

[GrahamGKD]

I get most of my steel in full sheets from a proper steel stockholder. I'm sure I've seen it mentioned on here that some car parts places stock some sheet suitable for car repairs? You could look out a metalworking shop local to you and see if they will let you have some offcuts for practice or small jobs? Otherwise there is always ebay or internet sellers like metals4U. I was lucky to find an ebay seller who is just up the road from me so, with collection, the prices are reasonable for sizes I don't want to buy in larger quantities. In general, you will find that you are offered better prices if you buy in larger quantities.

 

[madkayaker]

Had a quick look this evening an no joy but there is still one place to look in the shed!

 

[ronsealdeath]

Thanks GrahamGKD, I had a look on ebay and even with delivery it seemed ok price-wise. I had a look and there is a large metal stockist near me, I wasn't sure if it was trade only or something but I guess they would sell me some sheets, business is business! Will give them a ring.

I realised just that I have a tailgate from a TD5 Disco in the garage, I bought it for the window glass so its surplus. The inner skin is steel so I think I will clean some paint off it, cut out some sections and try and weld them back in for practice . It seems a shame as its in perfect nick but there you go.

Thanks madkayaker for looking.

Regards
Al

 

[Cobbler]

Hi Ron, it's always worth keeping your eyes open when you pass a skip, old filing cabinets, metal shelves etc. all can be re-used. I was asked if I had any use for some pressed steel shelves the other day, I grabbed them & took a grinder to the rolled edge & ended up with 6 sheets 4' x 18" For nothing. As the adverts say, "every little bit helps"

Good luck with it
Cobbler

 

[ronsealdeath]

Good idea Cobbler, thanks!

I received some service parts from weldequip today and it seems my welder is either from the ark or a bit modified and non-standard.

The swan neck doesn't appear to be compatible with the one I bought and also the liner has a push fit on my torch rather than a nut like the new one. I noticed the torch has a button and no trigger as well. I just e-mailed weldequip to see if they can swop the swan neck and liner against a new torch; sod it, I may as well get it working as well as it can if I am going to spend good money on gas, wire and materials. I ordered a new earth clamp off ebay too. I kind of knew it would end up costing more than £47 but there you go

Has anyone seen this kind of torch before? (pic)
There is a fan in there but it was buckled and fouling the heatsink so I guess it may have burned itself out unless it only comes on at a certain temp?
Its a bit dusty in there so some compressed air should clean her out a bit!

 

[pondy]

i have a torch like this one

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hobby-Mig...329?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item23217352d1

as far as i could see the plastic liner could not be replaced (not sure if it had a nut on the top) pulled the plastic one out and put a steel one in and held with a cable tie and its never been in issue. will also need to use your old power cable as i cut abit off the end for my euro torch conversion. the gas hose comes out the back about an inch, works fine with large bottles but will be an issue for disposable bottles. also have a new shroud and 2 tips

any good?

 

[ronsealdeath]

i have a torch like this one

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hobby-Mig...329?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item23217352d1

as far as i could see the plastic liner could not be replaced (not sure if it had a nut on the top) pulled the plastic one out and put a steel one in and held with a cable tie and its never been in issue. will also need to use your old power cable as i cut abit off the end for my euro torch conversion. the gas hose comes out the back about an inch, works fine with large bottles but will be an issue for disposable bottles. also have a new shroud and 2 tips

any good?

Hi there Pondy thanks for this offer. I use the little disposables at the moment and can't see me affording the upgrade anytime soon (new baby). When you say the hose comes out of the back, do you mean the torch itself? Would your torch not work at all with disposables?
Cheers

 

[pondy]

the hose goes into the welder and along the lengh of the machine ands out the back, extends around 1 inch. it would work with with the dispoable bottles, you would need to extend this hose or use your old one. i use mine with pub c02 bottles, cost me £10 a bottle. the hose from the bottle regulator has an adaptor to connect to the large hose.

the steel liner will make your machine much more usable

 

[ronsealdeath]

Thanks Pondy, I contacted weldequip and it turns out my torch is totally non-standard and the machine is therefore a bit of a dogs breakfast. I thought about it and have ordered a new torch based on me trying to get the welder working well first time. Not the cheapest option but I thought that as the welder was so cheap and otherwise is in working shape, I'd treat myself!

Thanks for the offer!