earth clamp position

[bugsntinas]

hi all just joined and after a little advice please.bought a mig welder a couple of months ago but have been putting off using it but the time has come to bite the bullet.i am going to be welding a round plate over the spare wheel well in the cortina and was wondering where i should put the clamp as there won't be any edges available nearby?
also i've seen that it needs to go on shiny metal but being a newbie is that shiny on both sides for the clamp?
cheers in advance.

 

[gordon stephenson]

Hi Bugsntinas,
Earth clamp on one side of the welding area will be fine, Why not weld a vertical tab to the disc for the earth clamp, this can be ground off when the job is finished, (I'm presuming that you don't have a magnetic clamp or you would just use that)

 

[bugsntinas]

thanks for the suggestion.sometimes the simplest of things are over looked

 

[Bsmith]

I oftens put a scrap off-cut of mild steel in the earth clamp and weld it to where convenient

 

[Bsmith]

and grind it off later when the jobs done, like Gordon says.

 

[madkayaker]

have seen plant fitter lads just mole grip a cable lug to a piece of scrap then weld on and grind off

 

[bugsntinas]

thanks all.i'll cut a bit of metal off of the old mk5 and weld it to the panel.

 

[pedrobedro]

Or bare a piece of metal in the boot floor and put a strip of metal in your clamp then drop something heavy on the strip to hold it to the bare section. It will probably weld itself down when you arc up.

 

[cookie munsta]

Welding in vehicle, might disconnect battery, safety first and all that. Probably won't worry you if you keep earth clamp close to job, but i find it 'cheaper' to dis connect and re connect etc,

 

[bugsntinas]

Welding in vehicle, might disconnect battery, safety first and all that. Probably won't worry you if you keep earth clamp close to job, but i find it 'cheaper' to dis connect and re connect etc,

again cheers for the suggestions.will defo disconnest the battery(no computer in my old cars)
now one more totally stupid question.what is the chipping hammer actually used for?

 

[Wozzaaah]

It's for chipping the slag off of MMA (arc, stick) welds. The flux forms a skin (called slag) on top of the bead which you remove afterwards or in the case of a good weld it peels away by itself.

Not sure why you've got one with a MIG though, is it a gasless machine?
What make and model is it?

 

[bugsntinas]

ye it's a gasless one made by wolf i think it's a 135 amp.the hammer combines a wire brush as well,nice and cheap.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Gasless (flux cored) welding produces a similar slag to MMA welding though I gather (not ever having done it and probably never likely to) that the slag is a lot easier to remove.

Just a word of advice, gasles machines are generally not recommended for car body stuff, they run 'hotter' than most gas machines so can be difficult to use on thin steel.

 

[madkayaker]

chipping hammers are also good for weld testting less so the ones combined with the wire brush difficalt to get a good swing

 

[bugsntinas]

cheers again for the help.