Newbie with all the tools but not a clue

[biker1981]

Hi,

I have just bought a Clarke Gas/No gas welder 100en

I have a mini and need to put in some new pannels, i have tried to practice on some 1.2mm steel and although I can get the two peice to be stong I keep getting holes or nibbling on the enged.

I have tried loads of combination of wire speed and power, the power is just 1 or two and high or low.

Any advice where i'm going wrong... just started welding ok and then ran out of wire DOH!

Can i just weld and gind and weld and grind?

 

[cumbriasteve]

In reality some 2mm would be better to learn on, allows you to get the feel with less risk of blowing through, once you have some decent welds going and feel comfortable then move to the thinner steel.

Yes for practice you can grind, clean up and reuse as much as you want.

If you are using gasless wire it's a bit more difficult than gas

 

[biker1981]

Ho hard is it to add the gas, I have a hose out the back do i just buy gas and solid wire? do you just turn the gas on when you weld? Lol i aint got a clue?

So if i weld and grind weld and grind... is that good enough for a car floor?

 

[cumbriasteve]

You will need co2 or argon /co2 mix, the disposables are expensive and a waste of time in my opinion.

bottles can now be obtained from independant suppliers and usually run at about £30 a year rent and £30 a refill but do last for ages.

Cheaper option is a pub bottle of Co2, mine costs £11 a year rent and £11 refill.

You would need a regulator for either of these and a connector to alter the thin pipe comining out of the back to the right size.

Sounds a bit of hard work but so worth it in the long run.

So...Pub gas £30, regulator £25 and pipe adaptor say about a tenner.

As long as you are sure you are getting penetration on your vehicle welds it's fine to clean them up with grinder and run another bead along.

 

[biker1981]

here are some pics, i welded both sides, if this is good enough to grind and phill i might just run with this....

would it be easier if I got thicker wire?

 

[biker1981]

better pic

 

[cumbriasteve]

Difficult to judge really, if it had penetrated you would have only needed to weld one side, a lot of car repair sections won't allow welding on both sides.

It depends if it is cosmetic repairs or structural, if cosmetic then grind it back and do a destructive test on it..one half in a vice and batter hell out of it to see how strong it is, if it holds then it will do I suppose, although a Mini is one car that uses most of it's body panels for designed strength.

What steel is that? it appears to have some sort of finish on it, unless it's the photo and my eyesight playing tricks, even new steel should be cleaned up as much as possible.

 

[biker1981]

I will post some pics tommorow when I have another go, It seemed really strong i only welded the other day to practice.

the steel was just bought off ebay marked... "steel for car body work"... lol i'm a realy beginner

I need to weld as sill on a mini and a floor pln so was tryin to do butted up joints

Also meant to say find it really hard to see through the mask I have to a point i'm blind untill the mig is on

 

[cumbriasteve]

The best money you could spend would be an el cheapo auto darkening mask, mine was £25 off Ebay and worth it's weight in gold...welding is so much easier.

Steel off Ebay? can't see that being cheap, no local stockist or scrappie, I got 5 sheets of 2mm about 3 foot square for £8 from mine