MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Help with Clarke MIG torch

A friend has a Clarke MIG 150 TE and the torch went into melt down for some reason and has burnt back part of the end of the torch where the tip screws in, also partially damaged by trying to remove the tip. I was wondering if someone had one of these or similar, SIP may be the same, if they could give me the dimension from the face where the tip fits to the start of the M8 thread for the shroud. I have a M8 brass bolt and can make a new end and silver solder it on but want to verify the dimension.
David Billington

Id shelf this unit for parts and get another one....if im not mistaken, it one is like $125

Remember... Spending 6 hours and $35 to fix the damage you still need to diagnoise why it stopped wire feeding... Common reason... The clutch feed ....

These little migs where never meant for big jobs, long lifes or to be repaired....you buy them cheap, use them for 5 hours and toss them in the local land fill, why ? Because there cheaper then renting a good one to do A small job like a fender repair.


Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Prop,

The damage is not too bad and I can repair it in an hour tops with no expenditure as I have the materials and the machining facilities to do it easily.

I have tested this welder on a few occasion and always managed to get it set to weld OK but the owner struggles. The intention of the repair is to have a small MIG for sheet metal repair down the local glass studio and I'll be doing most of the repairs. I could take my trusty 160A light industrial MIG of 25 years down but the place has been broken into a couple of times I don't want my MIG to stay there and be a potential target. The premises have been broken into twice previously when used by others and a MIG nicked each time and a few other tools. I intend to organise secure fixings for the decent items left but that'll take time I don't have at the moment. For the time being the small Clarke will do the repairs and nobody will weep if it goes missing, I think the owner might even throw a party to celebrate. I'll be doing the work gratis in exchange for its use. The part is even available on ebay for around £13 or so.
David Billington

Funny, people say that about my small cars. "Oh they are small and cheap, never meant to be used daily, throw it away and get something bigger".

David: if you have a new tip and the shroud, then when assembled the end of the tip should be flush with the shroud.

Some shrouds have a fibre insulator between the threaded bit and the actual shroudy bit, and for fine adjustment you can move the threaded boss inside the shroud. I don't think you're *supposed* to do this, but it works for me.
Growler

On my Clark 105e the tip is about 3mm set back inside the shroud.
Just trying to be helpful, mine collects a lot of crap in the shroud around the tip (cos I'm am Ammer chewer) and I use gasless. I have to continually clean it. The state of crud in here does affect the ferocity of the weld (I presume the temperature) and as there are only a few settings its easy to be too hot as a tack progresses.
Having said all that as I am tight I find its a very adequate piece of Kit, done a whole floor and bits of this car, a whole floor of a beetle and some other stuff. I think its very much about the operator as professional kit can take more abuse.
Anyways if you need more dimensions etc. just ask.
Dave Squire - Notts

The repair has now been done and the damaged part removed. The damaged section is show in the photo after being removed and shows how a hole has been blown in the side of the tube behind the copper MIG tip. I can only wonder what happened.

David Billington

Fortunately the threads involved are standard M8 for the MIG shroud and M5 for the tip so I had all the taps required. A suitable brass M8 hex bolt provided the basis for the repair and a bit of machining and silver soldering led to a successful repair. Total time about 1.5 hours so a bit over the 1 hour estimate but it works well again and will function for the sheet metal repair envisaged at the local glass centre.

David Billington

Nice!
Growler

Oh and as for what happened- I'm guessing weld spatter buildup inside the shroud, and then the shroud making contact with the work while welding. Possibly when the tip was getting a bit old and needed replacing.


Growler

BOC sell an 'Anti splatter spray' - stops it sticking to surfaces it notes on the spray bottle.
I was advised to spray (handpump spray type) a little inside the shroud - seems to make the splatter come off easier - does any one else do this ?

R.
richard boobier

Yes Richard I do it too.

BOC offered me a can of Anti-Spatter when I rented my first bottle of Argoshield, wouldn't be without it.

Machine Mart offer a hand pump bottle of the stuff, seems pretty goood to me.

David I think Growler (blimey Growler, nice to have the pleasure again after so long mate) has it right. I bet the built up spatter allowed the insulated cover to become conductive and encouraged sparking inside.

True confessions time, I swapped my bendy bit of torch for a new one from MM earliar this year because...

Just relined the torch too, the old liner got rusty wire inside and jammed up the wire. Wouldn't pull through in eiother direction.


:(

All great fun this migwelding innit?
Bill1

I have anti spatter spray but rarely use it as it doesn't seem to help much. What I do use for the torch tip is tipdip which is a thick green paste and you warm the torch tip and pop it in, seems to help keep the tip and shroud cleaner. I gave the owner some and she may have used it but not sure. I think the biggest problem is the owner has trouble setting the MIG with the right settings to get it running right and possibly had too low a wire feed speed resulting in it burning back to the tip. I'm just back from using it for some sheet metal repair and it worked fine once dialed in although the torch seemed more reluctant to turn on once a bit warm which made manual pulsing more difficult, will have to look at that. I was welding at a setting which would burn through if not pulsed. Biggest PITA though was the auto darkening helmet was playing silly buggers and not darkening or going fully dark to the extent you couldn't see the arc at all, it may have to go back. Next time I'll take my trusty old fixed shade filter down as back-up as it allows me to see the weld area more clearly than the auto helmet. I like the idea of auto helmets but find that I can't see the area around the weld nearly as well as a straight old fixed shade filter and if one can't see the weld area clearly the weld doesn't come out as well.
David Billington

This thread was discussed between 11/09/2012 and 22/09/2012

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS now