WEINERDOGBONE

iTrader: (1)

I bought a small arc welder that's supposed to weld up to 3/16" steel.
So far, about all I can accomplish is to stick the welding rod to the steel repeatedly.

I can strike and arc but I can't keep it going for long. Should the welding rod stay in the pool when I create one? Should I be pushing the rod forward or pulling it towards me? Thanks for any input in advance.

slowncurious-87

what kind of rod are you using?

NicCantDecide

if its sticking, either you're holding the rod too close, the rod is too big, or the power's too low.

You're not really giving us enough info. There's a lot of good welding info if you search on google, tons of tutorials and general tips and tricks. You just have to make sure you have the right diameter and type of stick and you have your power settings dialed in properly for the piece you're trying to weld. Your welder should've come with a little card that shows power settings for different materials/thicknesses and maybe even different joints.

Team420

^x2. I just learned to stick weld recently, and I can tell you....you will be sticking the rod to your work a lot... the best tip I got..was to sort of flick the rod to get an arc... kinda like striking a match, and stopping short, If you are using 7018, it will be tougher....my advice... get some 6011 and start practicing on scrap, then look at the box of welding rod, and see what it says to use for amperage. Also...I have found that with those little buzz boxes, its best to use a 3/32" rod, the 1/8" usually requires almost max what your welder can do. Also...just to get the idea...you might want to go down to the welding supply store, and get some easy strike rods, they burn quick, and wont make the stongest weld.... but it was helpful to me during the learning process. Good luck

Also... what type of welder is it, and what adjustments are there?

WEINERDOGBONE

iTrader: (1)

The welder has an adjustment knob for amperage that allows selections from 30 to 95 amps. I have tried the 1/8" rod and the 5/64". It sounds like I need smaller rod to get the setting hot enough. Thanks for all the help.

whorider

Yeah try 3/32" rod and up the amps. Striking like a match works great also. Burn lots of rod. I tend to arc weld with a really short arc, the puddle will almost push the rod along. Just burn lots of rod, and have fun.

slowncurious-87

just turn it all the way up and go like hell.


j/k
dont do that

Team420

I have found the lincoln 6011 3/32 rods work best with my little buzz boxes. I think the suggested amperage is like 65-95amps, I usually go closer to the 65, unless I'm welding thick metal, then I go up to about 80amps... I have found that using too high amps, makes it harder to lay a nice bead.

WEINERDOGBONE

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the replies. I think I know which direction to go now. I do appreciate it.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Yep, smaller rod should help. General rule of thumb on amps vs. rod size it 1 amp per 0.001" of rod diameter. So 1/8" = 0.125" ~ 125 amps or so. A 3/32" rod would need around 90 amps more or less. 6011 or 6013 are decent rods as is 7014 for starting out with:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri....shtml#Welding

In my welding class, we started with 6010 and that is a tough rod to work with (hard to get a nice looking bead as it is a fast freeze material), then went to 7018, which is also tricky to work with - hard to strike and arc and pretty runny bead which makes for fun with vertical or overhead welding. Then once we got through all that, we were told that those rods are both hard to work with and when you try something else, it is so much easier to work with.

phildelfino

I acquired a bucket of welding rods. How do you tell if they are good and what size if they are not in any kind factory container?

Sorry for the small hi jack.

NicCantDecide

well you can measure the diameter to figure out the size

as far as what kind they are, the sticks are usually stamped on one end with a number, but anybody above the age of 30 probably doesn't have good enough vision to read it without a magnifying glass.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Usually the rod type is stamped on the fat part of the rod, usually in the form of "6xxx" or "7xxx". Measure the diameter of the bare end to determine the size. You can always throw them in a warm oven for an hour or two to dry them out and see if they work on some scrap material. When I got my first welder, the guy gave me an old 50 lb. can of old 601x rods and they seemed to work just fine.

phildelfino

Thanks, great assumption. I am 54 and do have old guy eyes.

eighty5yota

x2 on the 6011,6013 get the all position all metals rods from lincoln electric.

cant remember the name but you can weld most metals together.. except aluminum and i think stainless but cromoly is good

Al's Chop Shop

nobody else mentioned it... but never pull a weld. always push.

Al

WEINERDOGBONE

iTrader: (1)

I want to give a little credit to you guys. I wasn't having much luck with the little arc welder so I called one of my co-workers who has a son that teaches welding at the local community college.

He has a big freaking welder called a Miller Trailblazer. He took one took at my hobby welder and laughed his a$$ off. He said "You can't learn to weld on that toy". He then gave me about a 10 minute lesson with a real welder and I was able to weld up my bumper mounting brackets w/o much trouble.

You guys were right when you said get good tools and get someone with experience to show you how. I wouldn't have completed the welds on my bumper in 30 years of trying the way I was going.

whorider

Wrong. You only push a weld up hill. Other than that you should be pulling it or leading it. Just slightly, but, none the less leading it.