Just Bought A Clarke 150te

[undertaker]

Hey! My first post

I've recently bought a Clarke 150te and have been playing with it on the free disposable co2 cylinder that came with it. Can weld 2mm box and angle upwards with it without a problem but I am having issues now with 1.2mm sheet

Got a Land Rover that I need to replace the sills and inner wings and boot floor on so thought I'd get this new welder. In the past I've had an old stick and a gasless mig all which made great pigeon **** so they were disposed of at a recent car boot sale to purchase the Clarke.

I can lay down good welds joining box and angle etc but the sheet just blows through an makes a terrible mess. I can weld a line onto the 1.2mm steel though with no problem. It is when it comes to joining 2 pits either overlap or butt.

I have got a few sheets of the steel here that I am going to use to make up the sills and arches with but until I can weld the 1.2 comfortably, I am not touching the land rover!

The gas I am using is a size X cylinder of argoshield light from BOC.

Sorry about the rant lol Any help would be appreciated

 

[grim_d]

Are you using it on the lowest setting? If you are using 0.8mm wire perhaps it is a little aggressive at this thickness?

Also are you trying to run beads or using the pulse/thin metal technique?

 

[Engineer]

Hey! My first post

I've recently bought a Clarke 150te and have been playing with it on the free disposable co2 cylinder that came with it. Can weld 2mm box and angle upwards with it without a problem but I am having issues now with 1.2mm sheet

Got a Land Rover that I need to replace the sills and inner wings and boot floor on so thought I'd get this new welder. In the past I've had an old stick and a gasless mig all which made great pigeon **** so they were disposed of at a recent car boot sale to purchase the Clarke.

I can lay down good welds joining box and angle etc but the sheet just blows through an makes a terrible mess. I can weld a line onto the 1.2mm steel though with no problem. It is when it comes to joining 2 pits either overlap or butt.

I have got a few sheets of the steel here that I am going to use to make up the sills and arches with but until I can weld the 1.2 comfortably, I am not touching the land rover!

The gas I am using is a size X cylinder of argoshield light from BOC.

Sorry about the rant lol Any help would be appreciated

http://www.uklegacy.com/forums/index...opic=5740&st=0 have a read through that thread. Turbo7379 seems to be having pretty much exactly the same problems as you, and offers some helpful advice.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Start off at lowest power and a fairly low wire speed, 0.6 wire and just go up in very small incremements until you get it right, I should imagine the amps would be at the lowest settings and any adjustment is made on the wire speed.

I doubt you will be able to spark up and keep going on a continuous weld, the heat will beat you and blow through.

Use something as a heat sink behind if you can.

 

[Chickenjohn]

On a 150TE, assuming yours has six power settings like mine, 2 MAX should be about right fot 1.2mm sheet. As said above, use 0.6mm wire, not 0.8mm and try the "thin metal" technique (although I find you can run a continuous bead without blowing through using a 150TE on 1.2mm- all down to technique.)

 

[chunkolini]

I did loads of welding on 1.2mm sheet with my old Clarke (RIP).
I was welding long seams continously and stitch welding them.
Us low power, fine tune the speed and practice practice practice. I think I was not using the lowest power settting, but was using 0.6mm wire with Argoshield light.
Here is Cocky Locky named by my son before he became an obnoxious teenager.

All 1.2mm sheet, with seam welds along the join between the body halves.
I did this the hard way, I had not discovered pulsing the trigger.

Chunko'.

 

[undertaker]

Using 0.6mm wire. Had the welder set to whatever was in the little booklet. Will have to have a play about tomorrow

Just been out at made up a cylinder holder to bolt onto the wall that'll hold 2 cylinders chained securely.

All is fine, will just need to fine tune I reckon

 

[malcolm]

Post some pictures of your welds if you can. It is common for people new to mig to hold the torch at too shallow an angle and/or too far away from the work which reduces the scope for adjusting anything else. Photos would help figure out whats causing you trouble.

Also might be some helpfuls for setting up here: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/tutorial.htm

 

[philsmin]

I've managed to do bodywork with my 150TE, have to use the lowest setting and a pulsing technique otherwise it just blows holes, i'm using it gasless though atm so would probably be better with gas

 

[undertaker]

was a little bit norty and have been out in the workshop playing

Pulsing seems to have cured the problem I'll try and get a few photos up in the morning! Cheers

 

[NeilH]

even my little clarke 100e blows holes in 1.2mm if i dont pulse the trigger.

 

[octo0072000]

and with the dreaded disco tin worm you will find you have to cut back more than you think place called yrm metal solutions make a kit of all the bits apart from boot floor about £250 for the lot sills inner wings rear cross member body mounts all good fun


just type into the search box (Disco repairs) loads of threads on it here's one for starter's

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=21642

 

[undertaker]

and with the dreaded disco tin worm you will find you have to cut back more than you think place called yrm metal solutions make a kit of all the bits apart from boot floor about £250 for the lot sills inner wings rear cross member body mounts all good fun


just type into the search box (Disco repairs) loads of threads on it here's one for starter's

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=21642

That's where body mounts have come from

 

[Chickenjohn]

I've managed to do bodywork with my 150TE, have to use the lowest setting and a pulsing technique otherwise it just blows holes, i'm using it gasless though atm so would probably be better with gas

Yes, gas is gentler, I only have to go down to the lowest settings when welding a lawnmower bucket or a Japanese car!

 

[octo0072000]

body mounts

That's where body mounts have come from

when you fit the rear body mounts from ymf weld them fully before fitting them
the disco i have here as a scrapper has had a rear cross member from them and boot floor from paddocks from memory but 18 months on body mounts have collapsed cross member is ok just the mounts it was carrying a big bouncy castle around in it

here is a funny bit if you have a disco with both rear body mounts on the rear rotted of broken it's only an advise on the mot stupid of what that is coming from a test centre test allows for one body mount on each side to be broke etc