Very first weld attempt - Clarke 151

[Shaggy33]

Hi All
Finally switched welder on for the first time and had a go and wanted to report findings and kindly ask for any advice.
Settings as follows;
Gasless with 0.9mm wire
Feed - started at 6 but then went down to 5
Switches - A/3/Min
Material - 2mm mild steel
Upgraded Earth Clamp

I started with simply running torch down a piece of the steel to see if I was getting penetration. Then I tried to spot weld a small piece of 2mm onto a larger piece.
the first thing I noticed was splatter, and I mean A LOT of splatter! It was shooting all over the place.
I also found that the welding was inconsistent eg one weld would be better than another even though I thought I was doing it the same way.
Here is a couple of pics of my attempts (top and underside).
Any comments and tips helpful

 

[mowersman]

Best tip, get some gas...
Its expensive initially but worth it. I learned with the same machine using gas-less, before getting gas. It makes it so much better to use. If you really want to use gas-less, are you using the stuff that came with the machine, that it poor, even by gas-less standards. Other than that, it looks a lot lot better than my first attempts.
Andrew

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

but bird's sh*t looks better than ur first attempts andrew

even co2 is miles better than gasless and cheaper

 

[Shaggy33]

First weld

Thanks guys. To be honest I was going to go with gas but thought I'd try without first but am now convinced it's the way to go as everyone says its easier with gas.
Think I'll just go for more expensive disposable gas for now and see how it goes.
Is it worth me changing wire from the stock supplied one?

 

[keith19]

Pardon me saying so, but I think your welds have more to do with lack of gasless technique, or technique generally, than with the fact that you are simply using gasless wire.

Gasless wire is more difficult to get used to, and needs plenty of practice, but it's all too easy to blame the gasless wire. Remember these are your first welds.

Re technique, the top bead is strung out and varies in width quite a bit, suggesting the torch has been moved along too quickly, and/or with varying arc length. Because there is a lot of smoke and spatter with gasless, at first it's easy to think you have to move the torch faster, because there seems to be a lot going on.

Re the tacks, that pointed bit of metal is not the best size or shape to begin to practice tacks on, especially gasless tacks, which tend to be hotter than gas ones. Small pieces of scrap get hot very quickly, even when only tacking. The angle of the torch is important too; it is easy to blast the top piece without touching the bottom. It is always best to start on the biggest plate and work over to the smaller, and off again, even when they are both the same thickness.

So don't take too much notice of first welds, either with gasless or without. They are just that, first welds. They provide a starting point, and you adjust speed, technique, and machine as necessary and move on. Remember there are guys on here who repair motor vehicles with gasless, so it's just a matter of learning how to do it.

Plenty of folks who for one reason or another haven't got to grips with gasless are quick to condemn it. Same as with arc welding, really.
Study the gasless tutorials, here and on other welding sites, and on youtube. Use the rest of your reel to learn something, even if you think you'll be moving over to gas later. Gasless can be fun!

 

[Shaggy33]

first weld

thank you for that very helpful post which I totally take on board.
can I ask a couple of questions?
when I was installing the wire I accidentally let the tension in the wire go and it unravelled itself a bit. I did my best to re-wind it but it was still a little loose when I loaded wire into welder. will this affect the quality of the welding?
also I don't know what tension the wire needs to be at so I just tightened tightened the knob as I saw fit. is there a good way of setting this accurately?

 

[keith19]

Re losing tension in the wire when loading, just keep an eye on it for the first five or ten minutes of welding; it might 'birdsnest' if it is too loose, that is, unravel itself off the spool and tangle up. Make sure the adjuster in the reel holder is set so it doesn't allow much over-run when the reel is turning. If it over-runs with loose wire on, it could birdsnest.

When you speak of setting the wire tension are you talking about the reel tension, as above, or the wire feed tension on the wire rollers?

If setting the feed rollers they should not be very tight, but tight enough to grip the wire and pull it through, turning the reel as it does so without much effort.
The classic advice is to turn the welder on, and with the earth clamp well out of the way, hold a gloved hand about 6 - 9 inches in front of the torch, and pull the trigger. Catch the wire with your gloved hand and hold it. The wire should stop because the rollers should now be slipping. If the wire continues to billow out of the torch the rollers are set too tight. Reset the rollers more loosely until the wire stops when you hold it.

If you have to set both reel tension and wire feed tension together anytime, always set the wire feed tension first, then the roll feed.
Getting the wire set right sometimes needs adjustments to both of these, as it is possible to loosen off the rollers, then find they now aren't pulling the reel around, so you then have to loosen the reel tensioner a little, etc.
Any bother, just check out the wire adjustment tutorials on here and even the adjustment videos on youtube, and you'll soon fall into the way of it.

 

[Shaggy33]

First weld

Thanks Keith...again,