arc electrodes

[mik641]

hey what size electrodes do you reccomend for arc welding 1 inch square tube?

cheers

[robin]

2.5mm i would use but it realy depends on how thick the walls of the tube are and you can change the amps for better penitration if needed

[mik641]

what amps roughly?, im going to buy an arc this week

[robin]

what size welder or what size to use with the electrodes ?

[russo2]

watch sum vids on youtube about arc welding i would recomend go in by this rule
if ur metal for instance was 1/4 inch thick use 140amps
and so on
you may have to adjust your aperage depending on metal and weather conditions
as for electrode 6013 are easy to weld but require a longer process of small circle shapes to get a good bead
7016 would be good too but they are a little bit harder to use and are considerably harder hold a steady arc
just play around with your welder a bit it all varies with ur welding skills

[mik641]

cheers so you mean 1/3 thick you use 130amps?

[russo2]

tht would be true
but this is not a perfect rule
depending on how your weld look you may have to go higher or lower in the amperage

[mik641]

ok ive got some prices and sizes for some tube

25mmx25mmx1.6mm thick walls, is 130 amps enough power?

oh, and can you tack easily with arc welders ?

[mikeandike]

kinda. practice first and get a hang of starting the arc. U can either scratch it like a match or tap it. I personally find tapping the electrode to the metal easier.

[mik641]

i can arc weld relatively good so the other day at school we had the amps down real low and it was sorta creating little spots would this work too if the spots were bigger? the tacks would only be in place to get the frame squared up