JoelP
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| posted on 1/12/05 at 09:31 PM |
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blasted welders...
ive been in the garage trying to weld 5mm plate onto 3mm box section. I failed miserably...
The welder is a 135amp mig from machine mart. I blew two fuses whilst running it on full power, which is what caused me to give up finally, but i also
had a complete lack of penentration. To the extent that, with 4 tack welds, i undid the clamp and the plate dropped off!  So i got the blow torch on
it to preheat it, which made a significant amount of difference. One side looks firmly fixed now, though its a damned messy weld as ive lent my mask
to a friend  the blink technique isnt ideal.
Would degreasing or derusting the metal make much difference. Obviously it would be a good idea and good practice, but im terribly unmotivated at the
min 
I dont really know why im posting to be honest Maybe just to tell people that clark 135s are no good for big metals, or to mention how much
difference preheating it does.
I guess i really need to get that new welder i was on about. Im torn between a more powerful mig, for cheapness, or a tig. Trouble with tig is id have
to learn how to use it first...
Anyone interested in a group buy on a circa £6-800 tig?
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caber
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| posted on 1/12/05 at 09:38 PM |
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You really need to grind back to clean metal to use MIG, TIG or ARC if you want to join dirty metal use gas. Preparation is 90% of just about
everything and good welds by electric means are included. Also you could bypass the fuse in the 13A plug, if you're garage is properly wired you
are still backed up by a 30a fuse and you should have a pretty thick cable back to the plug, but I didn't tell you that neither will I be
responsible if you use such wreckless information!!
Caber
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Surrey Dave
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| posted on 1/12/05 at 09:47 PM |
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Is it safer to run a heavy duty extension lead out of a cooker point? , aren't they 45a?.......
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gary gsx
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| posted on 1/12/05 at 09:57 PM |
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I run my mig off cooker socket, Its 185 amp exstension lead gets a tad warm when its flat out only problem is weld on a sunday no roast
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Triton
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| posted on 1/12/05 at 09:59 PM |
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Buy a proper welder not a mickey mouse machine mart effort and all will be well
My Daughter has taken over production of the damn fine Triton race seats and her contact email is emmatrs@live.co.uk.
www.tritonraceseats.com
www.hairyhedgehog.com
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Petemate
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| posted on 1/12/05 at 10:44 PM |
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The welder you are using is great for car body panels - I borrowed on a few months ago when I put a pair of cover sills on the Metro for MOT. It was
great, not like the big b**ger we have, in the workshop, which we used to make the benches. It is good for thick metals but blows holes in car
bodywork. The old saying "horses for courses" rings true here. Best of luck - don't give up, just get the right gear for the job and
you'll be OK.
Pete
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froggy
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| posted on 1/12/05 at 11:05 PM |
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ive had problems with my 150 amp like that before .i now put down a a row of tacks all over lapping each other and it looks like a tig weld a
welding article in ppc said the same thing.ive got a cheap dc inverter but you need the foot pedal to make really pretty welds but you can make a
really tidy job of thin stainless with it!
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MikeR
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| posted on 2/12/05 at 12:31 AM |
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silly question, have you re-setup your welder? I was curising one night, never occured to me it was about 10 degrees colder than when i last used the
welder.
next night, set the damned thing up properly before i started and it ran like a dream.
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907
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| posted on 2/12/05 at 12:59 AM |
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STOP PRESS. Mickey Mouse wears a Machine Mart t shirt
Stop mucking about Joel. Go spend some money.
Paul G
 
Rescued attachment mickey-mouse.jpg
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02GF74
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| posted on 2/12/05 at 10:11 AM |
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hmmm, the wleding thickness stated is total i.e. includes both pieces. 150 A is about 4 mm; you are welding 8 mm; ain't gonna work.
use pop rivets 
I connect my MIG to the cooker otherwise it trips the garage circuit breaker.
If you use an extension, make sure it is uncoiled and loose.
[Edited on 2/12/05 by 02GF74]
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Locost?
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| posted on 2/12/05 at 10:17 AM |
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Along the same lines as MikeR's reply. Cold metal makes a hell of a difference to the quality of weld. Just leave two pieces of 3mm outside on a
frosty night bring them in and try to weld them. If your garage is cold as mine is at the moment getting good results from a small mig will be
difficult. The options are to warm the garage up or as you suggested to heat the area before welding. However I think you may still have problems
welding 3mm to 5mm with a cheap 135 amp mig. Having said that I have used a Cebora pocket mig turbo which is a 130amp mig on the whole of my chassis
and have found it coped admirably but I have used co2 rather than argon/co2 mix. co2 generally gives a messier finish but better penetration and it is
cheaper if you have a pub type co2 bottle and know a friendly fire extinguisher company. Hope this helps.
[Edited on 2/12/05 by Locost?]
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Peteff
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| posted on 2/12/05 at 10:46 AM |
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Get your mask back so you can see what you're doing. Point and squirt welding might look like tig to some but it is nothing like tig or mig,
learn to adjust your welder and put a run down. The blowtorch probably burned some crap off so the weld worked better, preheating shouldn't be
needed for mig on steel if your arc is good. If you get a tig and are welding 3mm to 5mm you could use it as a normal arc welder, much cheaper.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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02GF74
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| posted on 2/12/05 at 11:07 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Peteff
preheating shouldn't be needed for mig on steel if your arc is good.
steel metls at around 1,000 C, I can't see that a 20 C difference is gonna make much difference.
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andyharding
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| posted on 2/12/05 at 11:11 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by JoelP
Maybe just to tell people that clark 135s are no good for big metals,
Sorry to argue but I've welded 5mm plate to 5mm plate just fine with my Clarke 135!
Are you a Mac user or a retard?
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MikeR
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| posted on 2/12/05 at 11:57 AM |
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All i'm saying is it made a difference for me!
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gazza285
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| posted on 2/12/05 at 06:38 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
hmmm, the wleding thickness stated is total i.e. includes both pieces. 150 A is about 4 mm; you are welding 8 mm; ain't gonna work.
Slightly flawed thinking here. The maximum penetration depth needed is 2.5mm, assuming you weld both sides, to achieve full penetration.
Still have to agree that cheap migs are only good at wasting time and you would be better off with a decent arc pot set, I bought one of eBay for £40.
DO NOT PUT ON KNOB OR BOLLOCKS!
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Peteff
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| posted on 2/12/05 at 09:46 PM |
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I had an old oil cooled 140amp arc welder given to me by a local shop along with about 1cwt of rods of varying type and size which are in the airing
cupboard now. It's ages since I did any stick welding but I can put a run on 2mm steel with it without burning through. It's easier to use
the mig though, erfi 170 which will cope with 6mm on full power and still blow a hole if you hang about. The biggest offender I find is not cleaning
where you are working including under the earth clamp.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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