Thread: Stick welder questions

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I have been having trouble getting a continuous weld with that nice "roll of nickels" edge. I have been breaking apart my test pieces and have found that the weld isn't running continuous but rather has "breaks" in it. I guess I am just not sure how fast I should move the electrode. I backed off the heat and didn't melt through the last test I made, but I didn't get a good looking weld either. Should I be watching until I get a weld pool as wide as the finished weld should be and then moving and hesitating again, or once I get a weld pool at the beginning is it a continuous slow motion?
Thanks,
CHAZ

I'm probably the worst person in the world to give you advice on how to properly weld, but my welds do hold, but aren't very pretty. Let me give you my feelings, and then some of the guys who really know this stuff can correct you and me.

Don't butt the parts tight against each other. Leave a gap of maybe 1/8 inch so the molten metal can flow into the valley. After you strike the arc, lean the rod in a 45 degree angle and drag the rod in the direction of the lean, while zig zagging the rod slightly to one side of the puddle then to the other, like you are stitching them together. You have the right amps when you are getting a sound like eggs frying. Go at a slow speed and watch the puddle to see how it is joining the two pieces together. Weld with the pieces horizontal where possible, as it lays down better, especially for a beginner.

Also, wear long sleeves and heavy gloves, and long pants. I just did some cutting with the torch, was wearing nothing but shorts, so I have burns all over the tops of my feet from sparks going into my socks.

You will also get a very bad sunburn from the uv if you aren't covered up.

Now let's see how the experts teach us where this info is wrong, and how to do it better.

Don

Only, I will have to take another run at it and see how I do. It bothers me to be learning this now, because I have the frame all trussed up and ready to weld, but I am not doing it until I know I am not going to ruin it or end up doing it over. It takes a whole lot of BFH to get the parts to break free, so I think they are holding decent, I just don't like the way they look, inside or out.
CHAZ

....hey Hoof, ok, first off did you try running a bead on just one piece of steel, in the flat possition??? Please try this first. From reading your post I'm getting the impression that your going back and forth between each piece of steel as your welding??? Are you??? This is not right for the first pass {root pass}. Go in a straight line, if you burn through then either your heat is too high or your gap is too wide. But as I stated earlier you need to learn ONE thing at a time & the first thing is to try a single bead on one piece of steel in the flat possition! Ok, now strike your arc on the piece of steel like you were striking a match. When you strike it the rod will come up and away from the piece of steel so lower it back down until it's right above the steel. You will see a puddle so put your rod almost in it. Then {FIRST try this; slowly move the rod ahead. WATCH the puddle, it will move as you move the rod, don't get way ahead of the puddle, just stay in it. Now {SECOND try this way; now instead of keeping your rod in the puddle, move it ahead of the puddle & then back into the puddle. Right after you move the rod out of the puddle, WATCH the puddle, you want to move back into the puddle BEFORE it closes up. So just move slowly ahead, going into & out of the puddle. Remember you want to be back into the puddle before it closes up. If the puddle moves ahead of your rod then your going to slow. If your puddle closes before you get back in it then your going to slow..... Try these two methods & let me know how it goes..... Oh, the rod you have {6013} is made to go in a straight line as you are welding. 6012 is the rod they make for ossolating with {going back and forth into and out of your puddle as you move ahead} on an A/C machine. Were going to ignore this for now. I want to see which way {ossolating or not} 'feels' more confortable to you. So remember your going to just do a single bead in a straight line. I think may be what you've been trying to do is called a 'switch weld'. A switch weld is one of two ways to fill a large gap, BUT not for the first pass & CERTAINLY NOT what you do before you can do a single bead.....
Also for better control try holding the electrode part way up between the stinger & the end of the rod {this is with the hand that your NOT holding the stinger with}. So if your right handed then you are holding the stinger in your right hand & you are also holding the rod with your left hand. Your left hand is the one that you are controling the rod with. You have more control this way because it's a shorter distance between the burning end of the rod & your hand. Try this at first until you get the puddle control thing down pat. Oviously as the fire gets close to your hand you must move it up towards the stinger {oh the stinger is the devise that holds the rod. Not trying to insult your intellegence, but I'm not sure what terms you know/don't know.}.... Also what you can do is wear thinner type gloves for better control. Gives you a better 'feel' for what's going on. BUT keep in mind that thinner gloves can present a safety issue so be careful....
Oh & if you have no puddle because all the molten metal is just blowing all over the place then you are WAY to hot.
Also if your rod is super red hot, almost to the point of melting away when it's almost gone??? Then you are also too hot {machine to high}. Also for better control you can use the type of stinger that tightens around the rod end {it has a little hole that you stick the end of the rod in & then you turn the handle of the stinger to tighten the rod in} instead of the ones that just clamp on it.....
Get back to me and let me know how it's going. AND if your not trying what I'm sharing with you PLEASE also let me know this..... hope I'm helping, Bill

There you go Hoof, I knew a member who actually knows how to weld would come to the rescue. You and I are both learning something from billsbird.


Thanks guy,


Don

Thank you so much. I have been trying to weld two pcs. of frame rail, and I guess I got started off wrong by skipping the first step. I have plenty of flat pcs. to start with, I will do that next. Thanks for the explanation.
CHAZ