Davo
New Member
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- 1
I have purchased a Clarke 130EN Turbo Gas/Gasless in an attempt to restore a 1976 VW Camper.
Not being an experienced welder I though that gasless might be a cheaper option. Anyway I had a practice on some metal today and had....well mixed results. When laying some practice welds onto pieces of 1mm mild steel trying the zig-zag method I kept blowing holes, however just simply dragging straight down I think I produced some decent welds. I thought I'd try a couple of butt welds and it was holes a plenty.
I have spent much of today reading up on welding and I reckon that gas welding may be the way forward, however the booklet supplied with my welder is, well, not the most informative piece of literature.
QUESTIONS:
1) - Is it possible to butt weld 1mm mild steel with gasless or am I flogging a dead horse?
2) - To convert my welder to gas, what regulator should I buy (I realise this depends on gas)?
3) - What gas is best....after reading up an Argon/CO2 mix seems to be the one I need, but should I get the disposable bottles (how long will they last?) or shall I opt for a bigger one?
4) - How can I protect the back of the welds if I cannot get to them once in place....?
5) - If the back of the weld cannot be protected....could I just tack spots to secure the repair pieced in place, protect it, then smooth with filler rather than doing full seams?
Anyway, I am going to have another go with the gasless tomorrow and record the settings and post some pics.
Cheers for the advice.
Not being an experienced welder I though that gasless might be a cheaper option. Anyway I had a practice on some metal today and had....well mixed results. When laying some practice welds onto pieces of 1mm mild steel trying the zig-zag method I kept blowing holes, however just simply dragging straight down I think I produced some decent welds. I thought I'd try a couple of butt welds and it was holes a plenty.
I have spent much of today reading up on welding and I reckon that gas welding may be the way forward, however the booklet supplied with my welder is, well, not the most informative piece of literature.
QUESTIONS:
1) - Is it possible to butt weld 1mm mild steel with gasless or am I flogging a dead horse?
2) - To convert my welder to gas, what regulator should I buy (I realise this depends on gas)?
3) - What gas is best....after reading up an Argon/CO2 mix seems to be the one I need, but should I get the disposable bottles (how long will they last?) or shall I opt for a bigger one?
4) - How can I protect the back of the welds if I cannot get to them once in place....?
5) - If the back of the weld cannot be protected....could I just tack spots to secure the repair pieced in place, protect it, then smooth with filler rather than doing full seams?
Anyway, I am going to have another go with the gasless tomorrow and record the settings and post some pics.
Cheers for the advice.