Decided on a 120 amp Inverter Welder (Clarke)What one did you buy?
I'll never have to whack it all the way up anyway
I don't know whether they've improved arc welders recently or it's the composition of the rods that has changed, but it's a lot easier than it used to be. I bought a 220A welder generator a few months ago and although I hadn't arc welded for 20 years, with a little practice I was laying some nice looking beads, with hardly any crust, and what there was more or less peeled itself off. Then I did what I'd really bought the machine for, namely to repair the centre pivot of a 'twister' dumper truck. It was a nasty job as the bearing had come loose in its hole and hammered the metal outwards leaving a gap. It was all 12mm and 18mm plate too, so I was expecting to need all 220 amps and more. However, I filled the crevices and made good the mountings with a mere 200 amps. It was all real metal too, as I discovered when I gave it a going over with a pointy hammer. I'm sure you can do more with less amps nowadays. Either that or the dials on older machines were a bit optimistic. So far it's lasted better than the previous repair I did with an oxyacetylene torch. I was thinking I'd get better amalgamation with a gas torch, but the welder seems to have beaten it on this particular job.Decided on a 120 amp Inverter Welder (Clarke)
10a to 120a
Probably be able to weld newspaper with it
Tried it with a 1.6 rod and it ran a lovely bead with minimum slag
It'll make me a better welder I think
Think it's a combination of both machine and rods, quality rods do make the finished job better I find
That bearing looks tiny
Yes, and for occasional users like me, making sure they stay quality rods is the big problem. The coating goes off over time as it absorbs moisture from the air. I read somewhere that you can improve older rods by baking them in the oven. I must try that with some of mine.
It's no wonder it broke if that's their best example of a cap weld.
Keep mine in the kitchen by the radiator
The photo makes everything look smaller. That bit of metal with the crack across it must have been 30 or 35mm thick, the propshaft was about the size of my shin, and so on. But I was surprised now small the bearing was by comparison.
The factory welds look quite smooth, so I'm guessing that the big slab of 35mm plate was put on as a previous repair, hence the rather turbulent bead.
Yes, I'm glad I got one when I did, because Hayter's don't seem to make them any more and they appear to be getting quite collectable. Some people are asking silly money for them. Here's someone after £3,000 for one:Good buy would be handy over here
But accurate otherwise? Including the LZ tat?Im not ginger or flame yellow blonde
