welding rod to metal hose clips

[rolysatch]

hi

i'm a complete novice with welding and have bought a secondhand sip migmate 130. i need it for a particulart job that i'm having dificulty with and i was wondering if anyone can give me any advice.

i'm trying to weld an 8mm mild steel rod to the back of 2no 50mm galvanised hose clips like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160628323417?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 pic attached shows roughly what i'm trying to achieve, the clips are approx 1mm thick. i've tried it but can get a decent weld, but as i say i'm a complete novice, but i thought i would check incase i should be using a special technoque or something to weld these together. anyone got any ideas?

any advice appreciated, thanks in advance

 

[Engineer1964]

You won't be able to weld on galvanised hosed clips without causing a mini explosion of spatter, and destroying the hose clip.

You need to sand all the galv off and try again with a really low setting

 

[Robotstar5]

First, grind off the galv on the area to be welded then bias the weld to the thicker (8mm) material. Although you won't get much penetration with a 130Amp welder

 

[RonA]

I whole heartily agree, based on personal experience the galvanised finish on your clips is the source of your problems.

 

[octo0072000]

might be better of using stainless clips not galved ones
try these
http://www.westfieldfasteners.co.uk/HoseClip_Mikalor_Supra-W4.html

 

[rolysatch]

btw i called it galvanised it's actually bright zinc plated, but still zinc coating so i assume your answers still apply. i thought something was a miss, i'll try cleaning off the galvanising and try again. as far using stainless clips if cleaning off the galv is unsuccesful, can i still use co2 and steel mig wire?

one other question, i loaded a new roll of cheap 0.8mm steel mig wire but it's really springy and just unwinds off the roll really easy, is this always the case or is it the wire i bought that's the issue?

thanks for all the help

 

[steveo3002]

cheaper wire tends to be like a birds nest , best stick to decent stuff if you can

 

[rolysatch]

yeah birds nest is the right description it went everywhere.

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

Any mig wire will.

 

[Sean]

there is a tutorial about setting up the mig look at the green bar at the top of tis page/window

you need to screw up the thumb button screw and tension spring otherwise the roll of0.8 will act like a cl;ock spring and unravel you must keep hold of the live end till its trapped by the feed roller

Amongst the many faults of the SIP is the way the spring bites the alloy thumbscrew and it unwinds if you feed the wire the wrong way. File the burr off the spring and put a thin washer either side of the spring.

The torch liner is often too short and there is a gap where the wire leaves the roller before going into the liner - it can change when you put in a new wire wound liner

Birds nest sorted

As for the job, your unlikley to run a bead on that job Id just hit a large tack either side of the clip start the buzz on the rod and as it builds move it on to the edge of the clip then do the same from the other side. BZP jubilee clips seem to weld quite nicely at least the ones that are holding the patch on to the exhaust always seem to

 

[pedrobedro]

one other question, i loaded a new roll of cheap 0.8mm steel mig wire but it's really springy and just unwinds off the roll really easy, is this always the case or is it the wire i bought that's the issue?

thanks for all the help

It's probably lack of tension on the spindle nut holding the reel on. It should bind so the wire stays tighter on the reel. If you ever take a reel off before it is empty make sure you secure the end before you let go of it or you will have a battle on your hands.

 

[mike 109444]

If you look at the edge of the wire spool you should see a small hole to poke the wire through when removing a part used roll. Poke wire through and fold back to stop it coming unwound.

 

[chunkolini]

A fiddly job for a newcomer to Mig welding.
First as said grind off the galvinizing.
Then clamp a piece of thicker metal on the inside of the jubilee clip (called 'clip' from now on), a piece of strip or tube. Something to act as a heat sink and stop the thin metal of the clip just melting to hell.
Clamp the round bar on the outside of the clip. Then with the welder on a mid setting start welding onto the bar. When the arc stabilises to an even crackle move the torch onto the clip and quickly focus the end of the wire onto the clip (you should see the weld pool move onto the clip) and Stop and maybe repeat after it has cooled a bit. Do both sides of the bar like this.
it will take a lot of goes to get it right, so practice on bits of scrap first.
When done tear it to bits and see if it up to the job. And do it again.
Welding a large solid section onto a thin strip is not easy.
Good luck.