i'm just screwing around with some scraps until i learn what the heck i'm doing. this problem is really bugging me though. what am i doing wrong if the stick is sticking to the piece i'm trying to weld? i can't get an arc at all, it just does nothing, then if i let it touch it sticks to the metal and burns up the coating on the stick; then there's nothing on the stick to make shrouding gas and the stick is trash? i spent a little time on a TIG machine a while back and it was pretty easy, i actually made some decent-looking welds with good penetration. but with this little arc machine i picked up, i got a little welding done, but now i can't get an arc at all. BTW, this welder is new and i had an electrical motor and welder shop check it out and it's fine. 110V, 2.4mm stick 6011, if that helps.

 

You have to kind it strike the arc like you would a match. If you don't have your amperage high enough it can stick sometimes too.

 

well i got a couple splattery spot welds but after that i couldn't get it going again. so i don't think the amperage was too low since i got a good through and through weld at that amperage. what do you mean by "strike" an arc? like tap the stick against the work piece and immediately remove it to a close distance? something like that? i've tried lots of things and i feel dumb.

 

Like swinging/striking the electrode across the base metal, long arcing it to heat up the electrode then move towards where you want to start the weld.

Here's a how-to. http://www.norstate.com/st_arc.html

 

thanks. i guess i am doing it right; i'll just keep trying what i've been doing. maybe i'll try a different piece of metal - go find some more junk to work on.