Advice With Stick Welding

[SargeRX8]

Well I tried to fiddle with my dads welder today. Its just a little stick welder, you connect the ground to the metal and the stick thing in the little claw thing. Anyway this is the first time Ive ever attempted to weld. I was just trying to get the arc going and create some spots then some beads. My spots came out alright and I managed to get one or two nice little beads but most of them came out like dick and I don't know why.

When I manage to get the arc going, it looks fine behind the welding mast, I can see the red glow of the metal and it looks like a nice bead has formed. I lift up the goggles and let the metal cool abit. I tap it with something to get the burnt flux stuff off only to see that there was no bead, just shitting little blobs. Ive attached some pix. You can kind of see where I tried to get a bead going but failed.

Is this something to do with my technique or something to do with the machine or settings? I'm using about 60amps maybe more, maybe less, I just tinker with it. The sticks I used were blue sticks about 2 - 3mm thick.That big fat weld I done looks great. It was the last one I tried before I gave up. After tapping it, most of it was that shit that flakes off and I was really disappointed. I'm out of sticks. What do you guys suggest to get and are they expensive?

Edited September 2, 2011 by SargeRX8

[Thelen]

go to tafe, learn how to do it properly and safely, and cheaply

[The Bogan]

You need to slow down and weave, small left to right movements, might need to up your amps a bit, plenty of you tube clips and internet tutorials, lots of practice helps.

You don't need tafe, I'm a first class metal worker but I could weld well before going to tafe.

Practice and you will be fine, look for penetration and after welding something up try and break the weld.

Did I say practice.

[89CAL]

agree with above, looks like you arent going slow enough, and perhaps arent moving the stick into the metal as it starts to disappear. By this I mean as your welding and the stick is melting into the job, it looks like your moving along the metal then moving back in with the stick, then moving along again, not doing both at the same time.

I dont stick weld often, I'd much perfer to Mig, but when I do stick I try to keep the motion as fluid as possible, slow and steady and all that stuff

I'm only a Diesel fitter but It all comes down to practice, I was fairly average at it when I started but just get some scrap metal and practice.

[turboedsloth]

It looks like your going too fast and the amperage is to low for the material your using. Blue welding sticks could be the wrong type for the material aswell.

If you practice more you'll pick the hang of it up, all about practice

[SargeRX8]

I think my first problem was amperage was too low. Sometimes I noticed the melted metal was not sticking to the surface I was welding onto, it was like rolling around, literally. My second problem is it was near IMPOSSIBLE to see through the lenses on my dads mask, I need to wait so my eyes can focus then touch a couple of times so I can see where I am. When I get the arc going I try my best to keep an even distance between the stick and the surface to maintain an arc but like you guys are saying, I must be moving too fast and not keeping a closer gap. Its just frustrating when I bump it and lose the arc and the stick sticks to the metal. Also annoying because I have to keep running inside and resetting out power board because it keeps going into protect lol. I think Ill connect it directly to the wall next time.

I have no idea what type of metal that was. I assume it was just steel, I don't think its galvanized or anything.

What kind of sticks should I get/be using if I am just working with steel? Could I use this welder to work with aluminium? I'm going to buy a few sticks and focus on controlling and maintaining the arc. After watching some videos on youtube, alot of guys say for practicing its best to start with straight line beads then move on to half moons and circles. My first few attempts just saw the stick sticking to metal causing black shit everywhere. Everytime I tried to weld two pieces together, the weld would stick to one side but not to the other one.

[GTR81]

Yeah man more amps, and as the other guys said go a lttle slower and try and maintain a consistent short arc length. Get comfortable (lean against the bench)

and use 2 hands, 1 on the hand piece and grab the electrode about half way down with your other hand (if you got gloves on).

[SargeRX8]

Yeah I always keep a set of gloves on. Went for another round today, more amps, didn't stick at all today. This photo was my first weld today! My uncle gave me some tips, I was doing little half moons in this weld. When using a new electrode, I am abit jittery because its long and wobbly but when it shortens up a little its great. Maybe I should hold the electrode but was scared of electrocution. Big amps here lol.

This is my picture now. Its not the straightest of beads as I am still abit shaky but I feel this is something I will be able to learn and do well for my self.

Any further tips or input would be great.

[turboedsloth]

from left to right first half looks a tad to fast, 2nd half looks good. Don't worry about electrocution holding the stick, if you have wet gloves then definetly don't weld, change your gloves etc.

All it takes is practice man, and if your uncle is giving advice thats pretty good also

[3BEPKA]

Few comments for the weld produced above.

Not enough amp

Make sure you drag the electrode not push

You have to pose on the sides to let weld metal fuse to the sides (see how you get slag inclusion on bottom toe of weld)

You need about 80% approach angle

Dont forget to push in electrode as you go

Make sure your lens is clean (specially front clear one)

Earth on - hand piece +

Use 2.5 mm rods low hydrogen 16TC are pretty good and not too expensive

Blue one are probably GP's and they are shit (there is 4 digit number on electrode if last two are 13,then they are GP's)

And as they said lot of practice,try using two plates and make t joint (fillet) and practice on that.

No you can not weld aluminum with stick only s/s and steel and i would recommend minimum thickness of material 2-3 mm otherwise you go TIG

Hope that helps

[SargeRX8]

Thanks for the advice man very much appreciated. I haven't checked the type of sticks but I do know they are blue satin sticks or something, similar ones are on eBay labeled as gp.

I follow most of the general and basic rules, my main concern is when I lose an arc or come to a stop, I am worried that there will be some slag left. My old man said that of I wanted to do pipe welding and what not(I am learning to so this so I can build my intake pipe btw) that I need to use a mig welder because starting and stopping the bead is not a good idea. Is this true? Most welds I see do look like one perfect bead all the way around but how the Fu Kai Klee do you get a single whole new around a pipe? Can I do it in halves? Tomorrow I'll cut up some steel and practice a t join. Then I'll hack up my old dump pipe and weld it back together.

[SNOQPY]

to do pipe work your better of using TIG how ever i use MIG most of the time on all of my metal work and stick on site. try keep the rod 1-2mm from the job and as most of the others have said slow and steady and lots of practice, each welding TIG, MIG, STIK and oxy welding all have their own technique.

good luck with it all

[kristafa]

go cut up a star picket or something thinner, try welding on that first.. at least you know it'll be unplated mild steel

at school we used to weld on 8-10mm plate and it definitely flowed pretty well so i'd question the material you're welding on

[32rrr]

2.5 rods need around 70 to 90 amps, 3.2's require 110 to 120 amps, get yourself a piece of scrap metal plate(20cmx20cm minimum) anything from 4 to 10mm will do and a small box of GP's and start off by just running bead on bead on bead untill you get the hang of it, its the easiest way to learn how to stick weld with the least amount of wasted material, once you've got that down pat you can go onto to practicing fillet welds. This is how i learnt to weld when i was 13-14 while on work experience through school, with in a couple days of this i was confident in my welding and the guys where happy enough with my improvements to let me stick weld on the jobs they were working on.

If the amp's are right you can rest the rod on the material after the arc has started and simply push the rod into the weld as you drag it along slowly.

Get on youtube and watch all the videos by welding tips and tricks, the guys a champ and explains things very well.

You dont need to go to tafe to learn how to weld, only to learn what you could do to improve your technique.

If your running out of ideas of where to get scrap material from go and visit the metal wholesalers in your area, if they have a big plasma/oxy/laser cutter setup surely there will be some scrap circles they'll sell you for 5bux

[tridentt150v]

One thing others have missed it preparation. You don't just stick two bits of metal together - you need to prep them first.

Get rid of all galvanising, chrome, paint and rust etc, try grinding a bevel in each piece so you have around 70% of the metal with a 'V' in it and leave say 30% so it butts up. You want penetration, welds just don't lay on top, they should melt the parent metal aka 'sink in'.

When welding don't allow your slag to cool down during a weld. If it does you should stop and chip it off, wire brush it and then take up where you left off. You can't weld over or near slag. When your good at it, you can control heat build up by using the rod and stop/starting your weld - but it is better if you can do this with amps. I've done it, but it was using a mates welder and he only had 8mm rods and I was only welding 3mm angle iron, so you have to play with it, otherwise you end up melting it and the metal all falling on the floor.

Don't do downwelds or upwelds until your really good at it. Try to only weld similar metals. Don't weld anything thinner than 2mm and probably 4mm until your good at it.

If you end up with any slag or splatter, use chipper and wire brush or angle grinder and get rid of it before you keep welding. If you have a slag inclusion in your weld you will have to grind that out and redo it before you continue. Some cheaper chinese rods - when your welding - you can see the slag falling into the weld as you go, you need a steady hand to push this around and control it. If your rods have been sitting around for a while they will have absorbed some moisture and will be harder to arc. Use a bit of scrap metal and burn the tip off by welding a 10-20mm run. Then transfer the rod and earth lead to your job and it will work fine.

Your blue rods could be satincraft - they are GP rod and good for a variety of jobs. Youtube is good for all this stuff, like others have said.

[KyuubiGTR]

The last bit of your weld you moved your rist instead of your arm and it was to fast but going from your first pic to this one your doing alright=)

[Bsa]

All depends on metal thickness for your amps you can use a 2.5 electrode at 50 amps if it's thin but for 6 to 10 mm plate I would recommend 65 to 95 amps with 2.5 rods with 3.2 rods I would use 90 to 120 it's just a matter of learning. I'm a trade qualified metal worker and I found these settings to work well over the years. Also make sure and rods arnt wet or never where or it will make it difficult. Slow right down and have your angle around 70 degrees to the plate hope this helps

[Bsa]

Also have the rod about 2 to 3 mm for the metal otherwise you will bury the arc and it will cut out Just need to controll the arc

[sluttydriftpig]

Read the back of the box and it will tell you all about the sticks your using and diferent arc setting's, also when u first put the stick into the handle scratch the tip of the stick onto the ground (makes a easyer ark) also if you dont have something to heat the sticks like a oven type thing stick the metal on the job without welding it and it will heatup and get rid of all the moisture in the flux then its a matter of getting a decent arc and pushing the stick in whilst dragging it at a steady pace.

on a realy good one the coating peels itself of as you weld

also alot easyer if ur using a Auto helmet where it blacks out by itself and charges itself whilst you weld

[sluttydriftpig]

Where abouts do you live? cover petrol i could drop around and teach you a few things?