Technical Educate me on Clecos please.

I’ve never used them before.
Will they work for a round 2 inch diameter patch? I need to fill a 2 inch hole in a location I’d have to spend a few hours making up a clamps to get to.
Thanks.

 

Magnet won't work?
Providing it's Ferris

 

I’ve tried magnets with my Mig before, honestly I don’t know what kind they are, but within a inch or so of the magnet, my welds and wire would go squirly. The ones I used were what I had, about 1.5 by 3 inches long. Maybe 3/8th inch thick. Too powerful maybe? Have a recommendation for a welding magnet?

 

Harbour freight sells cheap welding magnet's they look like the shape of a house.. three sides, triangle on top for 90° joints... Welding shop's will cost more an it's like impact socket's... Names really don't matter
Once you get it tac'd, try removing the magnet, You must have some Krazy strong one's

 

There are different sized clecos. At the airline I work for, they use the copper clecos. I believe that would be a 1/8th inch hole. Please check on the internet. You also need a pair of cleco pliers. They can be found for under $10. They allow you to put the cleco in the hole and take it out. Good luck.

 

I have a bunch of clecos around and the pliers. At work we used a lot of 3/32" ones and those take a #39 drill which is .098. The 1/8" ones take a #30 drill which is .128.

 

To butt weld you’ll need to cut a few small baker strips to use them. May get a little cluttered in a small area. But I’ve used em like that. Magnets work well.
I’ve used aluminum tape to hold pieces in place.
I’ve also used my stud gun to attach a stud or two to act like a handle so I could hold small pieces in place.
Another method for small plugs is to fit them tightly in the hole, hammer and dolly them into place. Ive welded trim holes by hammering the plugs in place for welding.

 

Are clecos durable? I am wondering how they would hold up if I used them to mount an aluminum air channel (on a car) that needs to be securely mounted while driving but also be readily removable. Mounting surfaces are hard to get to so I don’t want to try to weld on a threaded fitting and it’s too tight to get a nut and bolt on either side. If I could drill a hole in the channel and the mounting surface and just pop these in and out, it would seem ideal.

 

The small, round coin like magnets are very handy. Super low profile means they're not in the way as much as a regular welding magnet can be. Very inexpensive. They die easily if they get too hot though, so remove once tacked up. They're strong for their size, great for patch panels.

Chris

 

I dont think so.

The cleco type fastenings that have a knurled wheel to tighten (no tool /pliers required) have a stronger grip but nevertheless they're still just temporary assembly tools.

Sounds to me that you need to explore Zdus fasteners. Theyre exactly for applications like you describe.

Chris

 

Not strong enough to hold anything that would catch air while moving.

 

I’m a fan of Clecos and use them when welding patching and fabrication. I like to use them along with some rivet washers on the back side for more surface hold. I also use them with strips to hold patches and just have to weld a small 3/32 hole when done. I do recommend a whithey punch to put the hole t. This is a quick example of how I use them on some scrap pieces in the parts

 

I use Continentaljohn's method with larger scale panels, but with small hole patches such as your 2" patch I don't use the strips.
I use the silver colored 3/32" cleco's right in the weld seam (file a small clearance notch for the cleco shaft if the patch is super tight). I've made my own fender washers from metal electrical box knockouts drilled with a #40 drill. I duct tape the panel in place until it's cleco'd up. I use a fender washer on the inner and outer surface with each cleco. I tack in the patch then pull the clecos and tack where they were before finish welding. This eliminates the need to have to fill cleco holes in the panel and patch panel.

 

Thanks.
I feel smarterer now

 

They don't hold tightly enough for that.

You want rivnuts and bolts.

 

It is Dzus. It's a person's name.

They are named after the engineer that invented them:. William Dzus.

 

They won't work if you are trying to butt weld a round part in a hole. The cleco must penetrate both pieces of metal. You would need an overlap rather than a butt weld so a hole could go thru both parts. Something you might try is making a small flat bracket say 3" long with a hole in the center. Center the bracket on the patch and lightly tack it. Then the patch should set in the hole and not drop thru because the bracket legs extend far enough to hold it in place. Might even try putting a second bracket 90 degrees to the first one so its supported in both directions. Then tack your part in the hole by welding between the legs. Grind the tack weld out of the center of the legs and remove them, and finish welding the part.

You would probably be better off installing "rivit nuts" in the bracket. Then depending on whether its visible or not you could use knurled knobs (off ebay) or wing nut type of bolt.

 

If it overlaps and you make a series of holes thru the overlapped area ...funny you should ask this as just yesterday I watched a video on Clecos by Hamber @cornfieldcustoms...

I'll see if I can find it...

 

These were draw clecos, but they flew from Guam to March AFB, holding a leading edge panel on a wing of a B-52 D model one time! The crew wouldn't wait for the sheet metal crew to finish and were anxious to get home after 6 mon the deployed! We marshaled the airplane in and wondered what all those things were, sticking out of the raw aluminum panel oh the right wing. Spring clecos may have not heald, but draw clecos, tightened with wing nuts did just fine.

 

...Great stuff Mike...
​

 

A little more info on the washers please?

 

@cornfieldcustoms makes some great cleco tabs for holding patches together.

https://cornfield-customs.myshopify.com/collections/tools/products/4-hole-cleco-tabs

 

That's not totally true but as noted using them as a fastener is not a good idea...

 

I've used plenty of clecos and unless you're planning on having one every .5" it won't hold at speed.

 

Black spring clecos are 5/32" using a #20 drill and Gold spring clecos are 3/16" using a #11 drill

There are bigger spring clecoes but I am unsure of hole size...

Note the spring clecos are available in different lengths for thicker applications...measure you thickness and as alluded you can use washers or fab thicker washers with applicable hole size for cleco if needed...

 

All I was saying is when new they are quite strong and there would be a pitch depending on fastener dia. but nonetheless yes are only considered temporary holding devices for a fabrication setting...

It would be silly to use them for an on road application.

Your hole size for the cleco also affects its grip on things...to sloppy and they will possibly pop out...

 

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...nto-your-hot-rod.1185473/page-3#post-13506613

...I made my glove box out of aluminum and employed aviation techniques including #30 holes for 1/8" dome head rivets, a couple countersunk and even a pop rivet...

This is a typical use of Spring clecos

One thing to consider if welding near spring clecos is heat can affect the spring weakening its grip and rendering the cleco useless in a short period of time.

 

They are handy when installing a lexan windshield in a Lakester.

 

You can cut your circle patch but leave 1 or 2 "tabs" for the clecos. add a couple tacks then carefully zip wheel the tab off. A little pressure gets the tack'd area flush then after cutting off the tab you can tap the rest flush. Random web image below. I usually just stick the disk in place with some masking tape on the back and enjoy the stink when I weld it up!

 

You can buy washers specifically for clecos at the place you buy the clecos themselves as @continentaljohn has illustrated. You can also just use regular washers provided the hole size is the hole size the cleco uses...#40, #30, #20, #11...

I used to use dollar store washers as they were cheap and the correct size for certain clecos...washers can be aluminium or steel...you can take a piece of scrap aluminum .050" or so thick and lay out rows of .#40, #30, #20, #11...holes and cut them into washers...square doesn't matter...someone mentioned strips...you can leave them as strips if they fit without interference...I just kept them in a container. Alongside my work area...

If the holes are to big the cleco will not grip the washer...

Washers increase the area pulled together and also can add thickness of the cleco is loose due to grip length...