first time welder please be gentle

[markythesparky]

first time i have tried welding i have some car body work to do picture of first attempts
welder clarke 135te turbo
switches set at min and 2
gas argon mix
wire 0.8
wire speed betwwen 5 and 6
gas set at 25psi
tried on some thinner old body panel with a lower setting and had some burn through would i be better with 0.6 wire for body work or do i need to turn the gas up

 

[slim_boy_fat]

would i be better with 0.6 wire for body work or do i need to turn the gas up

Those look pretty good, what's the reverse look like? You could try tacks well spaced apart to minimise burn-though and heat distortion - even waiting a few seconds to let them cool a bit. Then gradually go back over again, 'rinse & repeating'.....

 

[Wallace]

You may be using too much gas, can you post a photo of your regulator setup?

 

[tom2207]

Fine start , I personally would stick with 0.8 wire , play with your settings and stitching technique , play with a copper backer too ,
practice and patience , it will win the day the secret is to enjoy what your doing and enjoy the results and that way it wont become a chore.

 

[markythesparky]

gas settings

 

[Wallace]

The second gauge is absolutely useless for setting flow rate, how did you arrive at that setting, can you hear the gas gushing out?

You can set the flow rate by sound, you should just be able to hear it at the nozzle. If you wind the wire feed tensioner off to stop the feed and back the regulator off too, then pull the trigger and increase the regulator so you can just hear the hiss. Reset the wire feed tension and run a weld, check the quality. If there is any porosity, increase the regulator a little more. A flow meter will pay for itself in gas saved.

 

[markythesparky]

do you mean like this one i got with welder but regulatoris 10 y

ears out of date

 

[Wallace]

do you mean like this one i got with welder but regulatoris 10 yView attachment 255139 ears out of date

No, that's pretty much the same as your other one except for the scale. An add on or peashooter like these:

 

[markythesparky]

just swapped the gauge over and 20psi is 20cuft/hour or as near as damn it.

 

[Wallace]

They are not particularly accurate, can you hear the gas flow?

Another way is to turn the gas down until the weld quality deteriorates then up it a bit.

 

[markythesparky]

yes you can hear gas flow

 

[markythesparky]

having another play was wondering how much penitration am i looking for picture of back side

 

[Lordspectre]

Like Tom said above a copper backer is a great idea for that thinner material to prevent burn through. I personally prefer 0.8mm+ wire to use and it just feels right. If you stick with the 0.8 I'd maybe try doing stitch welds and going back over the missed parts with another stitch if needed as the previous cools

 

[markythesparky]

hate to keep asking silly questions i have been trying plug welding not sure what the back is supposed to look like picture of back and front right hand is front 1mm sheet