3 replies to this topic

[mark205gti]

Would a big workshop spot welder be suitable for mini panels? It comes with an array of arms to reach all places but the spot caps are 13mm diameter so I think these are too large for all seam widths on the mini, and also wouldn’t fit in the roof gutter? Maybe I could custom make some tapered electrodes but not something I’d want to do for the price of the machine.

What is the diameter of the electrodes on the Clarke models for comparison?

We can’t get the clarke handheld spot welders here in NZ so was considering this that We could sell on later and wouldn’t loose much money ( I have 4 minis to restore) and there’s a few others that would get use of it as well ie a bit of a consortium. But I think at 13mm the caps are too big. Or does anyone know how to get a Clarke cws13 spot welder sent internationally.

https://www.trademe....-3098621806.htm

[Johnmar]

Would a big workshop spot welder be suitable for mini panels? It comes with an array of arms to reach all places but the spot caps are 13mm diameter so I think these are too large for all seam widths on the mini, and also wouldn’t fit in the roof gutter? Maybe I could custom make some tapered electrodes but not something I’d want to do for the price of the machine.

What is the diameter of the electrodes on the Clarke models for comparison?

We can’t get the clarke handheld spot welders here in NZ so was considering this that We could sell on later and wouldn’t loose much money ( I have 4 minis to restore) and there’s a few others that would get use of it as well ie a bit of a consortium. But I think at 13mm the caps are too big. Or does anyone know how to get a Clarke cws13 spot welder sent internationally.

https://www.trademe....-3098621806.htm

My Clark spotwelder electrodes are made of 10mm round Copper. I imported one from the UK myself (the NL) by driving up there. But I guess if you find a trusted party in the UK, they can buy it for you and post it to you. Of course you'll have to pay the NZ customs for import/VAT.

You can also try to reach out to Matthys (they are not cheap, but have good service): https://www.matthys....0-230v-11438415

 

if you are adventurous you can even try: https://nl.aliexpres...0205956504.html

 

 

[weef]

I do not think that the Clarke spot welder and the GYS machine should be compared. The GYS is a full on professional machine and maybe more for production work rather than "home workshop" operations.. For certain the GYS will do the job and comes with many extras as you say but I do not think it to be a suitable tool for your application. 

The smaller hand held machines lend themselves better to the type of work you are proposing and the electrodes can be shaped to reach into hard to reach corners.

I am sure there must be a Sealey Tools distributor over there and they do a couple of machines an R122 and an R123  I think. Check them out.

As with all welding operations it is the weld preparation that is important, maybe more so with spot welding, the surfaces have to be clean and well clamped together. The action of the smaller handheld spot welders do give some clamping force but additional use of grips/klicos makes things easier. The duty cycle of the smaller units do limit the welding progress as they can get hot and need time to cool between welds.

[mark205gti]

Thanks team. I’ll see what I can get here then. They do seem expensive compared to what you can get in the UK.

And haha, I don’t think I’ll trust the AliExpress option unless someone thinks they’re the best thing since sliced bread.