Hi everyone

[Milliways]

Hi this is my first post and a big hello to you all out there

I recently bought a mig welder from a friend (Kestrel 100) for use on some bodywork issues i have on my car. My father was a fitter welder and will be teaching me how to weld "properly" when he comes back into the country, so i am getting all the things i need to get it up and running.
He told me about flux cored wire, although the welds arnt as good, it will save money on gas and the welds will be fine for what i need.
My welder has 0.6mm welding tip and i cant for the life of me find anywhere that sells flux cored wire in this size. The closest i have found was 0.8mm so i now need to get a 0.8mm tip, but heres the thing... i have no idea wot size thread the tips are, it doesnt say on the tips i already have. does anyone know wot size thread the Kestrel 100 tips are?
Thanks again
All the best.
Dave

 

[Robotstar5]

Hi Dave, welcome to the forum, at a guess I'd say M5 thread for the tips, easy way of checking is to try screwing one into an M5 nut?.

 

[Milliways]

Hi Dave, welcome to the forum, at a guess I'd say M5 thread for the tips, easy way of checking is to try screwing one into an M5 nut?.

Heya, thanks for the info, i went to mole vally farmers and got a set. I just matched them up by eye
I got 0.8mm and 1mm tips, also 8mm flux cored wire. Just waitin on the mask now... Then i can start makin stuff!

 

[Wozzaaah]

Welcome from another Wiltshire-ite.
Mole Valley are ok for emergencies but Devizes steel supplies are well worth a visit.
They'll cut anything you want to length, their prices are fairly reasonable and they have a massive shop above the workshop selling pretty much anything you'll need.

 

[Cobbler]

Hi there,
Someone will be along in a minute with the correct answer, but I seem to remember you use a larger tip with flux core wire. I haven't used it in years, but I think you will need the 1mm tips.

Regards

Cobbler

 

[Wozzaaah]

Yes, 1mm tips.
There's no such thing as 0.6mm gasless wire, I reckon it would be too soft to feed.
That machine is gas only but you may get away with using gasless wire, it's worth a try.

 

[Milliways]

Haha its worth a go! Thanks for the info about that place in devizes, the wife wants me to make a deliveries box so it will save us going to the post office every other day she can design it and hopefully i can put it all together.... Even if i mess up it will be a good learning curve

 

[Wozzaaah]

It's worth popping over there just for a nose. They're a really friendly bunch.
Leave your cards at home on the first visit though, it might get expensive as you'll see so many things you suddenly realise you 'need'.

 

[stuvy]

It's worth popping over there just for a nose. They're a really friendly bunch.
Leave your cards at home on the first visit though, it might get expensive as you'll see so many things you suddenly realise you 'need'.

take his advice there always something on the passenger seat once iv been down the local tool shop that i didnt think i "needed"

 

[Robotstar5]

take his advice there always something on the passenger seat once iv been down the local tool shop that i didnt think i "needed"

The 6 foot blonde counter assistant?

 

[Milliways]

Heya.
I got all the bits together and found my dads old welding helmet so i decided to give it a whirl
Basically it looked like rabit poo! arcs fine but its almost as if the wire comes out too slow and i get a "machine gun" effect from it so i sped up the wire and the thin metal i was practicing on just got cut in half lol.
Would this be due to the gasless wire or maybe i have no idea what i am doing lol.
i'v read that the machines that can use gasless wire have the ability to change the polarity or something like that... is there a way of doin this with my welder? (kestrel multimig 100)
Thanks for all the info!
Dave.

 

[stuvy]

The 6 foot blonde counter assistant?

as long as its an XX chromosome then she can hold the bits to save them diving into the passenger footwell