CaptainBalrog
New Member
- Messages
- 19
- Location
- Belfast Northern Ireland
Hi
So i have a few very old vehicles. My mechanicing is good enough to keep them alive but they've started to rot.
So i thought i'd try to learn welding.
I did some research and ordered a Clark 105 but i was sent a Clark 106. Not sure if it was a mistake to keep it at reduced cost.
Anyway i've been practicing all week but I'm struggling desperately. I started off trying out test welds on .8 sheet mild steel. They were a disaster. I was using the hollow no gas flux that the welder came with and after a good bit of reading i realised it's maybe not the best way to go. There was blowing through and a few small mountains and lots of welds that looked like a bird had done them as it flew by.
So i bought a bottle of argon/co2 and swtched to .6 wire and tip. And now, where before i was at least getting a steady wire speed, now the welder goes off like a machine gun!
It's the inconsistency that makes it so difficult. I'll get it to do one very nice weld with good penetration and no porosity or blowing through. And then i'll do another one next to that one and the machine gun effect will kick off again! This didn't happen with the no gas setup, however all the welds were horrendous with it!
I've the gas flow set to 10. Anything above that doesn't seem to make a difference. The gas does really help with being able to see what's going on though.
Here's the way i was set up today (still with the same result)
.6 wire and tip
gas at 10
.8 mild steel sheet scraps
Here's a list of things i've tried:
Loosening the wingnut that holds the wire spool
Tightening and loosening the tension on the rollers
Trying closer and further away from the surface with the tip
Increasing the gas to 15
Moving slower. Or faster.
I don't know if it's a valid test but i pulled the trigger with no earth and watched the wire coming through and when not welding it's fine.
Just as i'm typing this i'm wondering if the sheet metal has any kind of coating? I've seen in many a youtube tutorial that folk buff the work piece with a wire brush attachment before welding. Could it be that that's causing the wild swing from great to horrific?
I'm wild frustrated with this. It's not that it's hard. It's that it's inconsistent which makes it really hard to figure out. It's actually a lot like trying to figure out why I'm rubbish at golf! Maybe they're connected.
So apologies for all the waffle and in summary: I can do a decent weld, and with the exact same setup just moments later i can't produce a terrific shower of sparks and machine gun like hammering. It's like the abs comes on.
Would really appreciate some wisdom here as i think i've more chance of driving 300 than producing consistent welds as things are.
So i have a few very old vehicles. My mechanicing is good enough to keep them alive but they've started to rot.
So i thought i'd try to learn welding.
I did some research and ordered a Clark 105 but i was sent a Clark 106. Not sure if it was a mistake to keep it at reduced cost.
Anyway i've been practicing all week but I'm struggling desperately. I started off trying out test welds on .8 sheet mild steel. They were a disaster. I was using the hollow no gas flux that the welder came with and after a good bit of reading i realised it's maybe not the best way to go. There was blowing through and a few small mountains and lots of welds that looked like a bird had done them as it flew by.
So i bought a bottle of argon/co2 and swtched to .6 wire and tip. And now, where before i was at least getting a steady wire speed, now the welder goes off like a machine gun!
It's the inconsistency that makes it so difficult. I'll get it to do one very nice weld with good penetration and no porosity or blowing through. And then i'll do another one next to that one and the machine gun effect will kick off again! This didn't happen with the no gas setup, however all the welds were horrendous with it!
I've the gas flow set to 10. Anything above that doesn't seem to make a difference. The gas does really help with being able to see what's going on though.
Here's the way i was set up today (still with the same result)
.6 wire and tip
gas at 10
.8 mild steel sheet scraps
Here's a list of things i've tried:
Loosening the wingnut that holds the wire spool
Tightening and loosening the tension on the rollers
Trying closer and further away from the surface with the tip
Increasing the gas to 15
Moving slower. Or faster.
I don't know if it's a valid test but i pulled the trigger with no earth and watched the wire coming through and when not welding it's fine.
Just as i'm typing this i'm wondering if the sheet metal has any kind of coating? I've seen in many a youtube tutorial that folk buff the work piece with a wire brush attachment before welding. Could it be that that's causing the wild swing from great to horrific?
I'm wild frustrated with this. It's not that it's hard. It's that it's inconsistent which makes it really hard to figure out. It's actually a lot like trying to figure out why I'm rubbish at golf! Maybe they're connected.
So apologies for all the waffle and in summary: I can do a decent weld, and with the exact same setup just moments later i can't produce a terrific shower of sparks and machine gun like hammering. It's like the abs comes on.
Would really appreciate some wisdom here as i think i've more chance of driving 300 than producing consistent welds as things are.