Clarke 130en and butt welding sheet metal

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Hi,I'm for sure not a great welder, but my problem is mainly with sheet metal.  I have a Clarke 130en with .023 wire and 75/25 argon.  The problem always is burn thru, regardless of how I set it....thats if I'm setting it correctly.  I'm currently work on replaceing a full 1/4 panel, inner wheel well etc. on my 70 Firebird and dont want to screw this up.  Plug welding isnt an issue its mainly the butt welds.I read somewhere that the Clarke has a pretty high setting even on low and that it might help if I switch to .030 or .035 wire....my question to everyone that butt welds sheet metal is, does this sound like it might work?  ( I cant afford a new welder...lol)What might the experienced ones here suggest i try?Thanks so much,Brian
Reply:Are you running a butt weld or a lap weld?  Are you trying to run full length stringers, or are you running short stitches?
Reply:try using a heatsink behind the weld?A butterfly without wings, is just an ugly bug
Reply:Brian, the size welder you have should work fine for what you are trying to do. You shouldn't be trying to make a continous weld, small tack welds work best. I like to fit up the butt welds with a slight gap around 1/32 to 1/16 the start tacking it in going from one end the to the other to keep the heat down. it doesn't hurt to have a wet rag handy to cool it down also. Keep moving back and forth until you have the patch completly welded in the start sanding to remove the excess weld, just becareful not to put too much heat into the weld with the grinding. go slow and it will turn out fine. the pictures a from a 1951 plymouth I restored but keep in mind the panel thickness on this old car is probably double what your firebird has. Attached Images
Reply:All of the above posted by others is good practical advice.Additionally, reversing the polarity (IOW--switch to the torch and power lead hookups--to whatnormally would be used for flux core), will produce less heat in the gas-MIG mode.Blackbird
Reply:Thanks guys,  I use short tacks always, it seems to happen at about an inch..I will try and shorten those down some more.  Overlaps are not as much as a problem, only a few times has it put a hole in the first layer of metal when over lapping it, and my guess is I either had it too hot or the wire pushed thru to make the hole.  For me, thats the hardest thing to distiguish is whether I'm buring it or the wire feed is too fast....Anyone thats says welding is easy needs their head examined!  I can do almost anything myself, this by far has been the hardest thing for me to learn!!Anyone think the thickening of the wire might help also to reduce the lowest settings heat?I think I'm going to use up a roll and a ton of scrap to practice....for like a Month!  lolBrian
Reply:Mised the second sentence of that....I do have mine set like they recomended with using gas....theres no harm indoing this?  For sheet metal the Clarke really does seem set to high on the low setting...Hmm, might try this tonight!B Originally Posted by dave powelsonAll of the above posted by others is good practical advice.Additionally, reversing the polarity (IOW--switch to the torch and power lead hookups--to whatnormally would be used for flux core), will produce less heat in the gas-MIG mode.
Reply:IMHO: 1" is too long for a butt weld. Look at Kibby's photo.9-11-2001......We Will Never ForgetRetired desk jockey. Hobby weldor with a little training. Craftsman O/A---Flat, Vert, Ovhd, Horz. Miller Syncrowave 250
Reply:do a lot of small button tacks and back step weld it. That is when you weld towards your first start rather than picking up from your stop.I would also try to lower the amperage and raise your gas to burn it hotter that way. You might even be able to just lower your gas a little and that might take some of the heat away. You should also use a heat sink like copper or aluminum and clamp it to the metal to keep it firmly against it.You could always take the easy way out and just finger pop the entire thing. Do a zillion button tacks on top of each other like your laying down a stack of dimes. Just spot weld it, move a tad bit forward and then spot weld it again. this will give the steel time to cool and it wont carry the heat with your weld as much.Main thing is letting it cool down in between welds and this takes time so don't try and rush it at all. If you turn your settings down really low and can't hold an arc then get your cup as close as you can. This will let you burn better with lower settings.