First time welding!!

[landuse]

Pretty good, maybe need to work on your starts a bit as you can see where theres a gap.

Pin hole was at the stop. Otherwise, decent weld.

To keep rods from sticking with a cold start, I'll usually scrape it a few times on a piece of scrap steel (easy to do if you're grounding the table you're working on) to get it nice and hot before I start. A quick tap where you want to weld will usually get it going from there.

It's tricky to strike it and lift just enough to maintain the arc and land it in the right spot, although some of the more experienced guys can do it without a second thought.

I've actually tig welded a bit at my friend's shop, but only with aluminum. To me it seemed like one of those things you could do fairly easily if you just took your time, but needs a lot of messing around with and practice to be able to do it quickly at all.

Thanks guys. Some days are better than others. I also agree with Badot about scraping the rod on a piece of scrap at the start to get the electrode hot. I find that it stickes mostly when it is cold. It is a bugger though, cos when you do eventually get it off, some of the electrode has crumbled at the end, and it is then hard to use.

 

[devino246]

It is a bugger though, cos when you do eventually get it off, some of the electrode has crumbled at the end, and it is then hard to use.

Thats when you put that rod asside and get a new one. You can finish off that rod when your welding something thicker with more amperage.

 

[r_chez_08]

Mig is a glue gun compared to arc! I learned to weld on an arc welder. A year and a half later my welds are still terrible except on flat surfaces!

 

[machinist@large]

Thanks guys. Some days are better than others. I also agree with Badot about scraping the rod on a piece of scrap at the start to get the electrode hot. I find that it stickes mostly when it is cold. It is a bugger though, cos when you do eventually get it off, some of the electrode has crumbled at the end, and it is then hard to use.

Go with the smallest dia. rod you can on small stuff; trying to hang a picture with a sledge hammer is a certified exersize in frustration. If It's bigger stuff, you can always multi pass it to build up the joint. You'll have a lot easier time trying to start your arc, a lot less distortion, etc. Once you have your technique down, it's a lot easier to step up to larger dia. rod than it is to try to start with a big dai. rod trying to weld small/ thin stuff. This is just like learning to read and write; PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. If you learned how to read and write, you can learn how to weld.

 

[machinist@large]

Thats when you put that rod asside and get a new one. You can finish off that rod when your welding something thicker with more amperage.

Right idea! If you're going to store it for a while, get yourself a couple of rod storage tubes; the kind that have the screw type top with the gasket. Nothing is more of a (relative) pain in the than trying to weld with damp rod.

 

[landuse]

Thats when you put that rod asside and get a new one. You can finish off that rod when your welding something thicker with more amperage.

Go with the smallest dia. rod you can on small stuff; trying to hang a picture with a sledge hammer is a certified exersize in frustration. If It's bigger stuff, you can always multi pass it to build up the joint. You'll have a lot easier time trying to start your arc, a lot less distortion, etc. Once you have your technique down, it's a lot easier to step up to larger dia. rod than it is to try to start with a big dai. rod trying to weld small/ thin stuff. This is just like learning to read and write; PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. If you learned how to read and write, you can learn how to weld.

Yup, I normally just reach for another rod and carry on welding. I sometimes get my wire cutters out and cut the rod back to where it looks fine to use again.

I have also found that the thinner rods work better for me. I am using 2mm diameter 6013 rods