hey guys i just bought myself a crappy walmart welder for 100 bucks its a 70a arc welder and i just came inside from my first play with it and i have a few quetions.

how do i prevent the stick from getting stuck to the pipe that i am welding im trying to make a line and then the thing gets stuck really hard and i have to pull the rod off the thing cause it start glowing.

how am i supposed to make an arc like at an angle how should i hold the stick to the peice im doing?

im using muffershop pipe to practice on i beleive its "aluminized" does that affect anything?

and also i think there are 2 sizes this welder can use of stick and it only came with the smaller one, how does the size of stick affect the welding?


thanks alot!

are there any faq's or rrefernces on the internet for learning how to do basic welding???

 

"how do i prevent the stick from getting stuck to the pipe that i am welding im trying to make a line and then the thing gets stuck really hard and i have to pull the rod off the thing cause it start glowing."

You have to strike the stick like a match and pull it away so its not touching the material you are welding, while still maintaining a gap for the arc, then you slowly feed the consumable stick. it takes practice, thats a common thing that happens when first starting.

 

thanks alot man so the stick isnt supposed to touch the metal the whole time?

 

I've found luck striking the arc by doing a quick tap or bounce of the electrode off the work piece so give that a try. As for keeping an arc going, you can usually get pretty close (around 1/16-1/8") to the puddle without having it stick on you. The important point is to not move faster than you should and keep coaxing the puddle in the direction you're going. I say coaxing because sometimes people go to fast if they think "pull" and then end up with a worse bead..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nickromeo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thanks alot man so the stick isnt supposed to touch the metal the whole time?</TD></TR></TABLE>
no touching the metal with the stick is what causes it to stick to the metal.. you can get pretty darn close put keep a small gap once you strike it and then do circles to get the bead... its hard to see the bead your making but try just to lay the circles right on top of each other filling it whatever gap you have.... hard to explain in writting, but just keep practicing, youll get it

 

i just came in from outside finished my practice for the day, you guys are really helpfull, i figured out how to keep the arc going like you guys said to stay really close but not touch the metal!

i know when its welding good when its going thru the rod really fast and when there is huge brite light, next step for me is to go to the store and buy a welding goggle becuase that damn sheild that came with it really sucks!

who ever knew that there was so much fun to be had with a little welder like this!

if i try to attack stainless do i have to get stainless sticks?

thanks alot guys all ur help is appreciated so much!

 

its kinda weird but i could kinda feel the stick being eaten up and i just knew to move the stick towards the arc it happened by itself i got really surprised!

 

yes, you have to use stainless rods, E316L 318L or something along those lines. just really depends on what your going to weld together. just check ebay.. I found a good deal on stainles rods to practice on. $10, 23lb of rods. still in the can...

heres a helpful sight for you to get aquinted with..:

http://www.esabna.com/EUWeb/AWTC/Lesson1_1.htm

 

This is awesome, I love seeing how excited people get when they realize how cool playing with molten steel is

Check out miller's website for some pretty neat information and pretty pictures as well

http://www.millerwelds.com/pdf/PrinciplesSMAW.pdf

That might help give you more information. Keep welding, and post some pictures! (I never get tired of this)