I'm taking the plunge and getting a new MIG welder. My Clarke90 is okay for thin metal but for making up my engine cradle it's a bit
marginal. Even on max power and moving very slowly I get poor penetration. It's also a bit tempremental and stutters quite a bit when welding (so
its very difficult to get a good bead). My brother's pretty good at welding and when he had a go with it he said quite a few un-typable things...
I've replaced the liner, nozzle and tip but it's still a bit borderline.
So..... what's a better choice?
I'm thinking something that will do 150 Amps? Duty cycle isn't super important and I'm not planning on building a battle-ship soon!!
Preferably < £200 (or £150 if the wife asks)....
How about a Mig-23?
Do you reckon you really need that much grunt for making an engine cradle out of 1.5mm tube and 3mm plate. (I assumed the above.)
That's what I have just made mine out of and I was in setting 4 out of 6 on ye olde Clarke 160.
Actually, scratch that, have just had a look on the mig-welding website and the calculator there reckons your machine is flat out at 2.3mm.
My old 160 is reckoned to be useful up to 4.3mm. Not that I have any intention of doing any such stuff.
Looks like you might be right.
FYI, this machine cost £50 very s/h.
For < £200 I'll take it. Would beat the tintop for the commute. Might take a bit of fuel though.....
Thinking about a Sealey 150A MIG. Just sneaks in <£200.
There is this
Ebay special but I'm a bit wary it might be cheap tatt.....
I was reading the MIG-welding website which showed that a Clarke90 is pretty much knackered penetration-wise > 2mm.... (which certainly appears to
be confirmed by my in-garage experience)....
[Edited on 2/1/09 by BenB]
quote:
Originally posted by BenB
There is this Ebay special but I'm a bit wary it might be cheap tatt.....
Yup. I spotted that one in the import. It'd mean I'd have to keep the Clarke90 for thin stuff. SIP's goes from 30-150A.... Tempting.... (min A on the C90 is 25)...
SIP have a bit of a bad name on the small mig front,clark is better,you can borrow mine if thats all ya need to do
This cradle is no ordinary cradle!! I think it's going to take about six months to finish- I wouldn't deprive you of your welder for that
long!!
To begin with I'm just modifying the old cradle so that I can access the crank pulley, wack a timing plate on it and work out (with a timing
strobe) what the standard ST ECU timing graph is like (as a safe "basic map" for the Emerald). Then I'm building the cradle proper
which will take the dry sump pump and gubbins as well as holding the EFi crank trigger wheel sensor. Then it gets really serious as the cradle has to
have the mounting plates for the M45 blower attached 
A DIY EFi conversion, DIY dry sump and DIY supercharger install should keep me busy with the
welder for a few months!!!!
hm,complicated
Seven years ago I bought me a Kemppi Super migger only to weld the chassis. Now I’m glad i’ve bought it, because when you have one, you’re gonne use it!
Try a steel liner in the Clarke. I bought a SIP 130 and was bitterly disappointed - it was no better than my old Clarke 90. I tried a new liner and no better then much later I put a steel one in - about 3 quid from Machine Mart. It's perfect every time now, no stuttering etc.
You know I might just do that Even if only so I can sell it on....