Ok...Someone please tell me what im doing wrong. I know how to mig and tig weld, I learned tig welding with aluminum, supposedly its the hardest to learn.
I cant for the life of me lay a bead with this stick welder! It is a pro-arc 1150, yes a tiny one... something like 115 amp, and it runs off a regular 110 outlet.
I am only trying to practice on an old rotor I had kickin around, I have an assortment of different rods.. the one that works best so far is a 6011, I cant read the #'s on the others, but the 6011 are about 1/4" diameter. and I have others that are much bigger, and a box of thin rods.
I guess my question is...am I wasting my time? Is this welder powerfull enough?
TIA....sorry for the newb question, but I have never used one of these before.

Ya...btw, now I know why its called stick welding...cuz your rod always sticks to the metal...lol

 

does it have heat settings. and do you have some thin stick to practice with? its a tad easier....

 

Never seen a stick welder worth a damn that didn't run on 220.

I would imagine with a 115 you'd want a very thin rod.

 

you need pretty thin rods for that stuff, even 1/4" is pushing it. You're not passing enough current to fully melt the stick. I'd imagine you're getting pretty cold, spotty, splattery welds?

Why are you stick welding anyway? Just use your MIG with fluxcore and no gas if you really want to

 

Yes, you would want 1/8" or even thinner rod for that, I carry some 3/32" rod for use on the trail with either batteries or my on board welder (also have the 1/8"). 6011 is a good easy to use rod, you need to run it with the electrode positive (work grounded):
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri....shtml#Welding

 

Yes, It goes from 10a to 100a, the thiner rod gets real hot real fast, and if it is on full blast, it actually drips.

yes.. cold splattery, lumps. I do not have any other welders... I just know how to use them...I worked in a metal shop for a couple years.

Work is grounded(actually bought a new clamp, cuz it didnt seem like it was grounding well) the 6011 is by far giving me the best "bead", but it is not consistent. Thanks for the link... I will check it out, and keep trying.
I got this welder from a friend, found another for $250 that runs on 220 and uses up tp 350 amps... maybe that is the solution.

 

I mean, if you know how to weld on the others, just keep practicing with that 6011 and youll get it.

In High school i started with stick, then went to mig then tig,
stick was the hardest i think.

If you have some cash lying around i would pick up that other welder.
Just my 2 cents

 

I have a 220 volt stick welder, I think it does 230 amps/AC and 140amps/DC and that works great with 1/8" rod. I think I paid around $200 for it with a boat load of extras.

 

i started learning a month ago and at first i was SO pissed cause i couldnt get the arc going, i had to take a bunch of brakes cause i was so frustrated. its like striking a match but instead of just swiping you swipe the stick on the metal and then stop half way and hold it a little bit away, i know its frustrating to say the least but youll get it. just keep trying. thinner electrodes are generally easier to weld with although i had the easiest time with a 6011 but i was at 160 amps. as for a welder id go pick up a little lincoln theyre not too expensive but theyre one of the top names in with hobart and miller.

 

Thanks for the tips guys. Im thinking that if I do buy a welder, ill prob get a mig, dont see much sense in spending $ on something I dont know how to use.
Just curious... but why would anyone use a stick over mig any way? I guess I heard that stick is easier to use(though I would never have guessed), and more versatile. Is stick really that usefull? Or do u need stick to weld real thick metal?
Sorry...I know...newb questions again.

 

A stick welder is more versatile as it doesn't require a separate shielding gas to lug around and you can weld in a wider variety of environments. Try MIG/TIG welding outside in a breeze.

When I learned to weld you were taught oxy/ac torch stuff first, then stick in all positions before you even got to touch a MIG/TIG.

I have a Millermatic 251 MIG machine that will weld 1/2" one pass.

Stick makes a lot more splatter, but it is more versatile than MIG, but you have to clean up the welds from the slag (as the flux is on the rod) with stick too.

I prefer MIG when working on vehicles, but stick is great for outside applications like repairing farm equipment (and you don't have to prep the metal as much with stick).

HTH

 

x2 and I hated oxy/ac, I was too eager to get on the arc and always burned holes with the oxy/ac.

 

For all my big projects I use a stick. I liked it because it is cheaper and much simpler than the mig (not many moving parts) It does require alot more cleanup of the slag on the weld and th shop floor But for the price it is great and you can do fine welds with it if you have enoguh practice. It is kind of daunting to use it at first, but once you do it, it is handy to know especialyl if you have to put a few batterys together in the field. You can get cutting electrodes and use the welder to blast throguh some metal, but it makes a hell of a mess. I have a small MIG for sheetmetal and small brackets. Stick welding gets alot of flack. It is perfectly fine to use for projects. I get the impression alot of peopel hate stick welders just because it is harder and they havnt gotten to use it proficently.

 

Yes it did...thanks

This is also what I thought... and even if after I learn decide to go back to mig, I still wanna know how.

 

It is good to know. I have been wanting to learn to torch weld so i can have that knowledge, unfortunately i have nobody that i know locally to show me. I dont have the time right now to take classes.

 

Look in the pawn shops swap shops etc. I have bought 2 small migs for under 150.00 in the last couple of years. One was a Lincoln 120 amp flux core wire setup it lays a pretty bead. IMO If you weld in a shop out of the wind thats all you need for auto work.

 

delete

 

6011 requires a whipping movement of your hand. Have to manipulate it alot. Ive poured alot, and i mean alot of 6011 welding at the shipyards for years...filling gaps up to 3/4 inch and using another rod as a filler, like tig. Rule of thumb, set your machine in amps to the diameter of rod. 1/8 rod equals 125 amps. adjust from there.

 

I will be doing most welding in my garage. I have been checking pawn shops(thats where I always go for cheap tools) and so far, all I could find was a big stck welder, and a lincoln heli-arc, which does all 3 arc welds, and is still about $800 even at the pawn shop. I will keep looking tho.

ok... I am guessing my 6011, is 3/16", or 1/4"... so I should be using more than 115 amps? If thats the case... maybe thats my problem...Im pretty sure I have the technique down, it just seems that I dont get a long enough arc, and I remember with tig... almost the same thing would happen if I didnt have enough juice.

 

try a 3/32 rod, 6011 or 7018 and run anywhere from 60-85 amps. 6011 requires wipping or circles, dont drag it. 7018 is kinda hard to start but lays a nice bead(under the heavy slag it lays down haha ), you can also drag it. for any vertical up or down weld or not flat weld use a 6011 or 6013. 1/8 is not really needed unless your weldinng over liek 1/4. there are a lot of littles thing to stick welding so do a little research before you keep cranking up the amps. I picked up my ac225 lincoln for like 180 OTD at home depot. it was a brand new never used return.