My 2 cents from a 40 year bridge welder. The whole reason to watching the puddle while welding is to regulate the speed at which you drag the rod across the plate. Too slow and the puddle gets wide and surrounds the rod then gets in front of the rod, and too fast and your puddle starts to separate.
Great advice 👍. That’s why a skilled welder can run varying amperage setpoints/weld on varying thickness metal and still produce the same width weld. You need to know what the correct size puddle should be (comes from experience) and then you control the puddle via speed. Thanks for your 40 years of working on bridges 😎, we could use your skills up here in Wisconsin where everything is falling apart lol.
Thanks! This sounds like the secret sauce! Focus on the puddle. Like, eliminate other distractions/problems … fix everything else in advance, then once you start, just “work the puddle.” I need the practice “striking an arc” first … but as soon as I can reliably do that, I’ll be burning down some rods getting the feel for “working the puddle” … travel speed, etc. Y’all on RUclips teaching us are awesome … but I’ll have to put in some hours too. 😊
Thanks for the plain spoken highly detailed tips. So many other pro welding instructors neglect to be this thorough, or maybe they just want us to sign up for their online courses where they will dish it out .
Thanks for the kind comments. I am glad you find the tips helpful. When I get into my lap/fillet/butt weld videos there will be a ton more useful stuff. 😀
Glad to hear it helped you out 😀. The start of stick welding is rough, it’s a whole lot sticking rods and frustration. The key is to not give up and tell yourself it’s a skill just like learning to write. Once you get past the initial rough patch it will be much faster skill development. If I can do it you can do it.
I actually start to weld because I was trying to build a motobike for my own and bought a stick welding machine. I did a terrible job when first started but eventually I hold the frame together. I since realized I got to learn this skill seriously haha. @@makingmistakeswithgreg
Schools don't teach this well! Incredible detail! Explanations are superb and the tips and tricks are what we beginners need... Cannot thank you enough for this series!
Hey Greg. I'm nearly 75 and I just bought myself a stick welder. I've always got a project on but somehow never learned. Anyhow I just wanted to thank and congratulate you on your presentation style. I will have an opportunity to get some practical experience with a welding mate of mine but I will be doing my homework beforehand based on your lessons. 'Stick' to it mate - Pete from Australia
It’s never too late to learn 😀. Just focus on being smooth and consistent. Expect to be frustrated a fair amount but that will go away as you get better 😀
I want to thank you for all your efforts to share your knowledge! I'm retired and am starting a new hobby and have been struggling. After watching your videos I'm making progress faster than I thought possible. Thanks again!
I am glad to hear that. Once you get a few things just right everything works. It honestly comes down to being slow, steady, consistent, and smooth on movements. If you tell yourself that every time you weld and focus on trying to do those things, the quality of your welds will improve greatly.
If you do a whole plate or two of starts and stops by the end you will be a lot better. It’s no fun to do that much of something that tedious but it’s worth it, trust me 😀
YOU, SIR, ARE LIKE A BREATH OF FRESH AIR !!! Hopefully the third world countries watch your videos! Their whole beads are tacks! I've been arc welding since I was in the seventh grade in shop, in Junior High School. My Dad raised me in a machine shop. He taught me silver soldering, sillfoss, brazing, as well as welding steel with wire coat hanger. I was fluent with oxygen/acetelyn torch. I didn't know about electric welding nor cutting torch till junior high school. Dad had me fluent in all his equipment by the age of 10 years old. I took machine-shop in school and worked in machine job shops ending up in tool and diemaker/tool designer. My hobby has always been steel smith. My Mother told me that if your work is something you thoroughly enjoy, you'll never WORK another day in your life. That turned out to be true. I was volunteer fire and rescue from age 16 thru age 37. I stayed in God given Tool & Jig Design, aswell as Machinist. When I got a chance to get a job in a large company as an Electrician, I took the training and did that foralmost 40 years, keeping my machinist/ Steel-Smith, Sharpening, Leathersmith, Tool & Jig design and light fabricating tillI was in my sixties, and have slacked off a lot of all of it, now that I have retired, and are in my seventies, but I do enough to keep myself busy. I don't charge anybody anything...it's more hobby now and therapy to stay sane. I'm still designing tools and items for folks, just for the love of doing it !!! I'm telling you this to let you know, I appreciate what you're doing for people that JUST DON'T HOLD THE CONCEPT. If you will put a C-camp style Vice Grip on the log of your channel stock at an angle sticking up on the side toward your camera. You can just just hold down the vicegrip to the table to rock your channel surface toward the camera, without burning yourself or overheating your glove. I love your content and your ability to teach! Your knowledge of the craft is apparent. THANK YOU. I subbed. Bill, from Tn. 🇺🇸
Thanks for sharing your history, it’s not to much unlike mine. Sounds like you absorbed as much info as you could, learned as much as you could, and weren’t afraid of a challenge. The world needs far more people like you now doubt. I am hoping to inspire the next crop of people to pickup tools and make something of themselves and the world around them 😀
I am an absolute greenhorn-beginner retired Filipino-Canadian in the Philippines (presently). My first weld was to make a metal sawhorse using 16mm concrete rebars. Absolute greenhorn failure. Well, learned something valuable on your videos. I didn't even know there are several types of electrodes and ampere range. I just bought the electrodes and welder after watching several short welding video for beginners. That welding fiasco was 3 weeks ago. Thanks a million for telling us not to give up. That's it. Golden advice. I will continue welding as soon as my feeling-sand-in- my-eyes condition is gone (wore a face shield too). God bless
Thanks for the kind words and welcome to the world of welding. The more you know the better you will be at welding 😀. When learning to weld the most important thing is to not give up. There will be a ton of failures and struggles while learning, but as long as you never quit you will eventually get it. Also, as a tip you might find helpful, regarding welding rebar, many types of rebar are deemed unweldable. Some bar has high carbon content and the weld can become extremely brittle to the point it breaks easily. In the states here weldable rebar typically has a -w on the part number.
No problem 😀. I enjoy making the videos because it gives me something to do and I enjoy reading comments like yours where I know the info is helping. I have one video going live tonight that covers some details I forgot to mention about how stick welders work (and some other key points). By Sunday this week I will have 2 more videos up dealing with how to do lap welds and butt welds 😀. There will be a ton more videos on stick welding in the next few weeks.
I'm learning (always learning) and love burning rods, just starting to find small jobs. But if I don't get routine torch time in, then I notice mistakes repeating. So, this series is very much appreciated. 21:30, super instructive; thank you
Thanks for the kind words and I am glad you learned a lot. You have the right attitude, always learning is the way to go. I have an untold number of hours just burning rods and I am still improving my skills. The great thing is you don’t have to be the best to make really good welds. One of the things I am working on is a guide with tests that people can follow to determine when they are ready to take on actual jobs/liability work. I think it will help people gain confidence in what they do and build skills 😀
Been wanting to get into welding for a number of years..but for 26 of them I was living in the woods living a very much off the grid life..living out my rucksack and with only my dog for companionship..I met my partner helene two years ago and have been living with her ever since..sad to say I had to say goodbye to my best friend (my dog fred)just before Christmas last year..so now I have a stable enough life style I would love to get into welding and finally get started..I thought stick welding would be a great place to get started..thanks for the great introduction helped me understand the basics of where I need to start...many thanks steve
Sorry to hear about your dog, and I have a lot of respect for living off the grid. I am glad to hear you want to give welding a shot. Its a very valuable skill to have to be able to fix/make stuff, and if you like relying on yourself, it will open up all sorts of new doors. Definitely look at starting with stick or flux core. Both are fairly easy to get started, very useful, and fairly economical. Both can also weld outdoors/without shelter, and dont require extra shielding gas. The key with learning either is expect to be frustrated for a while when you learn, but the payoff for not giving up is the ability to make stuff and repair things. As a hobby its also very fulfilling, and gives a great sense of accomplishment. I wish you luck on your journey and feel free to ask any questions if you don't understand something 😀
Thank you for taking the time to reply back to me..really goes a long way in helping a guy like myself get into something new..very encouraging,thank you..and yes just need to decide on a machine..but it's a voyage I will get into in the new year..thanks for the help
No problem :). Part of helping people out/teaching is to inspire/motivate. Any time I can help someone out that's learning a new skill or trying to better themselves I will.
Thanks for the kind words 😀👍. Expect to be frustrated with stick when learning but once you can get the rod started reliably and you can make a few inch long straight/clean weld you will be on your way to being able to weld some cool stuff together.
Greg your a very good instructor, you take the time to explain details and problems that may actually accure, a lot better than what was taught when in shop class in the mid to late 60.
Your explanations are so clear and detailed so that the whole process now makes more sense - and I actually took welding in college! I never could figure out why my welds were one way or the other until now! Thank you so much for your ever so patiently delivered information! This changes everything. :)
For anyone new to welding I suggest OJT (On The Job) vs welding school. I began as a welders helper back in '72 at a shipyard in Greenville, Ms. I passed my first field UT (vertical uphill) 7018 welding a "cooling grid iron" onto the inside wall of the fuel tank. The welder was too fat to fit through the fuel tank porthole. My summer there working I never took a break or lunch but instead practiced welding. I've been to a technical college here in N. O. La. two semesters (2015) only to practice on my TIG as I am not independently equipped for other than SMAW, GMAW, FCAW (innershield). A school is okay if you've no other way to learn as you train. OJT will teach you things that book doesn't. Don't be afraid to ask questions particularly if you think it's stupid because there are no stupid questions, only the questions you don't ask.
I am certified AWS D1.1/5.20 "unlimited thickness, all positions g1,2,3,4". My test was on 1" pl, full penetration (no backing strip) 3g4g, guided bend (not root bend or face bend). I'm 67, and I'm oilfield trash.
Brilliant series on welding man. Have a cheap AC unit I bought for the farm a while back but never had the time to pull it out, and neither of my folks know how to, so this has been an incredible start to a crash course.
I am glad that I have been able to help 😀. Even though I haven’t done many videos with AC polarity, much of the info still applies. If you have any questions/struggling with anything feel free to post a question on any video and I will answer it :0.
Thanks for the informative videos! I was getting frustrated until watching your videos several times and realized I had a death grip on the stinger and my travel speed was way too fast. Please keep adding more.
The death grip is a hard one to get over, I have to realize I am doing it and tell myself to relax sometimes. It makes it far more difficult to move your wrist and hand because of how tense everything is. As far as moving too fast, that’s what everyone does when learning lol. Just by slowing down and giving it time will drastically improve things. Going fast drags the arc along, but it doesn’t leave any metal. That’s why people who try to learn 6010 and 6011 struggle so much at first, because it requires even slower forward speed than 7018. If a person is moving too fast for a 6013 or 7018 they are moving 2x too fast for a 6010/11.
I mostly don't like 6013, with it's sneaky slag, but it's not a bad choice for learning. Thanks for your stick welding series, it is our most misunderestimated process. You are doing a really good job of giving people access to a very useful set of skills. There is one case where I do like it, as 1/16" stick on top of sheet metal. Harbor Freight has been keeping it in stock, so it's availabe. Also the mostly ceramic flux seems to have an almost infinite shelf life. The small 6013 bonds to the base metal OK, but it likes to sit on top, not burn in. To join two pieces of sheet metal, I would use small 6011, building up a bead of spot welds (slowly to control the heat). But, to build a reinforcing/decorative rib on top of sheet metal, that is strongly bonded to the base metal, 6013 with a dab-dab technique works well. Apparently in some of the poor tropical countries, 6013 3/32" (and larger) is about all they can get. The ceramic flux can survive tropical conditions. Also they can get thin square tubing. So they have developed a dab-dab method to control the heat. You strike the arc, create the puddle, and break the arc. You lean the stick about 45deg. in the direction of travel, so the arc force pushes back the slag. Then, before the metal fades to black, you strike the arc, and add the next bead. It's easy to restrike while everything is still hot. You create a continuous bead, one puddle at a time. There will be distortion, but you could hammer and dolly to counter that. (As the weld cools it shrinks so you hold a dolly (hand-anvil) under the metal, and tap on it from above with a hammer, and this stretches it out again.) You don't need a fancy set, the face of a 3 or 5 lb. sledge from a yard sale can be your dolly, with any hammer. (This is a skill you build by doing, just keep working at it.) As an example project, I have wheel barrow that is made of thin metal. It is starting to get a bit rusty, so it needs a tune-up (clean and paint). I want to weld in some 1/8" steel where the bucket bolts to the frame. But I know the thin steel will crack at the weld because it will flex, and the thicker plate will not. If I run some 6013 ribs out from the corners and maybe the middle of the plate I can eliminate that issue. You do this underneath, so the inside can be smooth. You could make it as decorative as you want, add your initials, etc., etc. Just some thoughts. I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the stick welding series. These are the kind of video you can watch more than once. Thanks again.
I agree with all your thoughts. 6013 seems to have a lot of flux that just runs ahead of the rod easily. I never get slag inclusions with 7018 and 6010, but 6013 It can happen easily on fillet welds. 6013 really shines on sheet metal like you said. It’s easy to restart, and those little 1/16th rods seem to run good. I have tried the 1/16th 6013, 6011, 7018, and 7014 rods, the 6013 and 6011 are definitely solid options. The mini 7018 rods suck for sheet metal in comparison.
No problem, I am glad the video helped you out 😀👍. Expect to be frustrated a lot when learning to stick weld, but with a bit of practice it will come together for you 😀
Just started watching this video series, lots of great info that others don’t have. Makes me want to get the welder out and try again . I’m understanding the process better on to the next video
Glad it helped you out 😀. Stick welding has a steep learning curve at the start, but it really just comes down to getting small variables just right. Being smooth and consistent takes time because you have to teach your hands how to move and do it enough that they automatically move the way you need them to. You can do it😀
No problem. I won’t sugar coat it, learning to stick weld is rough at the start. It’s basically a ton of failures and mistakes. The key is to not give up, keep trying, and try to be as consistent as possible. Think of it like learning to ride a bike or learning to spin a basketball on your finger. A bunch of things need to be just right for it to work. With time and practice you will get it 👍
Thanks for the kind words, I have a lot more videos coming to help people get up to speed on stick welding. I want to see people building stuff and not being frustrated lol. 👍
Thanks for the kind words. I will be having a ton more stick welding videos out in the next 2 weeks that will involve welding joints, building stuff, and repair 👍
Thank you. I don’t really consider myself much of a teacher, I just look at things and share what I am thinking inside of my head lol. My inner monologue is pretty active most of the time lol.
Hi! I would suggest to also try another thing with 6013 - arc control by microregulating arc length. This is important to understand how the arc behaves and what one can do with it. Use one hand to hold an electrode as a pen* (well, not exactly, just as if you try to support a rod at a point about 2-4 inches away from the tip) and other hand to hold a stinger so that it takes away almost the whole weight thus allowing the first hand to easily make fine movements with fingers. Touch the base metal with clean rod tip, it will probably not start immediately and will try to stick. Lift the electrode tip slowly. If you're careful enough, at a small distance the arc will be trying to start multiple times by individual current bursts. At a certain distance the arc will start to burn continuously, but before that, it is possible to regulate the frequency of bursts or kill it entirely and start again just by precisely changing the distance from the electrode tip to base metal with sub-millimiter movements of the electrode. Hopefully this excercise would help to feel the scale of movements necessary to regulate arc length afterwards in continuous burn mode.
In newer videos I did do arc footage and I also bought a new camera to get better footage. Unfortunately it’s difficult to go back and update older videos, but if there is something you want me to shoot to help you in specific, let me know.
Yah, I like it! Lockpickinglawyer style. Just the skills on video, the knowledge and wisdom on audio and no narcissist's ugly mug . Nobody needs to see your face to learn how to weld. Those who think their face adds to their video probably has a thing for himself and maybe should pursue a different kind of video on a different app. It's amazing to me how many dudes think they have a face that needs to be shared with the world when they really should focus on showing us the skills and the work. I'm sure you're a handsome man but that's hopefully not we all showed up for. Well done, sir. It's a long video but I didn't see anything here that isn't useful information. Your thought process is well laid out and makes lots of sense. Thank you , oh wise craftsman.
Thanks for the kind words and your thoughts. A friend of mine asked me why I don’t show my face, her words were “you’re a tall good looking dude, nobody would complain”. The truth is I don’t want any fame, and I like being a “nobody”. A lot of my avoidance comes from projects I have been involved in locally. I had hundreds of people trying to meet me and even the news wanted to put me on the tv. A news paper article was written on something I did and things kind of blew up after that. All I really want to do is inspire people and help people believe in themselves. Personal fame doesn’t do anything for me. At some point it might be difficult to not be well known, guys at my new job found out I ran a RUclips channel and I never told them, they recognized my voice lol.
@makingmistakeswithgreg I'm with ya. Everyone wants to be famous....except LPL, You and I... apparently. I say it's way better to not be recognized. Regardless of how well liked you are, with lovers will inevitably come haters. It's much easier if the haters never see your mug. Thanks for replying. Us little people appreciate it. (Not a miget/dwarf reference)...lol
Since you have provided us with great tips on welding. I should probably drop a few on videography. You mentioned using ND filters, did you try to lower your aperture and exposure in combo with using an ND filter? I myself am able to get arc shots with a ND512.
So that video is pretty old and since it was done I changed a ton of stuff. I filmed it with iPhone and a cheap fixed shade lens. I now have a few very decent mirrorless cameras, ND filters, and a actual laptop to edit on 😀. I haven’t done much arc footage lately because I have focused on a lot of testing videos. I will be getting back into filming arcs soon, I am glad to have way better equipment than a year ago 😀
Watch the series and practice a bunch. By the end I assure you that you will be able to build stuff 😀. Just tell yourself that it’s ok to be frustrated and expect to fail a lot. Sooner than you realize you will be doing really good. Just don’t give up 👍
Is it bad practiset to use your other hand, and then stabilize the rod fx half or 2/3 down to have more fine control of the stickend in the pool.. I can see you don't 8:13 but it likely comes with routine this aspect of having tip-control on a long rod, all the way up from the main handpiece....
Great question, here are my thoughts. It’s not bad to do that, and I will do that from time to time. You have to be careful because some rods will smoke your gloves due to the heat, and it can put you in a bad position where you need to feed more rod but you’re fingers are in the way. I tend to use the rod like a pool stick and rest it on a finger on my non electrode holder hand. I run the rod ontop of a finger (typically index). Doing this stabilizes the rod and allows more freedom of movement.
I took welding in High School, and I was never good at it. I confess going into it thought I would enjoy it. Partially in my teachers defense, he had 30 students, but partly in my defense, he seemed to pay attention and focus on the students that were skilled at welding...which hurt the students that needed correcting on their techniques. 30 years later will try again and hope I can build a trailer with acquired skills....fingers crossed. My first question is why do some guys straight drag the stick, some guys make Cresent moon drags, some guys circle drag, and some guys zigzag drag? Is the goal to make the weld look like a row of overlapped/ stacked dimes?
So how you describe welding school was similar to my experience years ago. 30+ students and one instructor. If you were better than average you got minimal help, if you were average you got some, and if you couldn’t strike an arc you got more. Some students were well known to the instructor so the instructor spent the most time with them. I took 3 classes, finished 15 weeks worth of work in half the time, and decided to buy a welder and teach myself rather than going to school. To answer your question regarding why some people manipulate rods when welding, I have some thoughts: this is actually a pretty complex issue. With stick welding the strongest weld is done with a simple stringer weld with proper amperage. Weaving will cause a reduction in strength due to the solidified grain structure. If the weave is less that 3/8ths wide or so there won’t be a huge reduction in strength. A 1/2inch wide weave will have a reduction that would likely lower the test results below the minimum spec for the rod. What you need to understand is many people have bad habits with welding. Universally doing anything other than a straight in weld at a consistent pace will lower penetration, and make the fusion inconsistent. The reason this isn’t a huge issue in many cases is because what people weld isn’t exposed to high enough forces that it matters (aka weld failure). On higher liability jobs it’s very common to not permit anything but stringers. Where things get interesting is rods like 6010 run better when you whip/manipulate them. 6010 is used to fill gaps and whipping out of the puddle allows the puddle to freeze allowing a person to weld a gap shut. Because the molten puddle freezes so fast it captures the movement, and can look like a “stack of dimes”. So part of the manipulation is done for the look of the weld. However, the rod runs better when you do this because the flux burns off more consistent Where this becomes an issue is when people use short circuit might and try to emulate the look. 6010 has very aggressive penetration, short circuit might doesn’t. When you run settings cold enough to stick dimes with mig, you make very cold, poorly penetrated welds. That’s not the case with 6010.
28:24 … I’ve heard AC welding, when the voltage flips it clears impurities out of the weld … apparently, that explains using AC on aluminum, but not DC. neat that an AC welder can work better on rusty surfaces. … When I’m ready to upgrade, AC / DC multi-mode unit, and maybe HF start seem most interesting. 😮 ooooh, the foot pedal is super interesting, but *way* too expensive. 😆
You are correct, with Tig the A/c has a cleaning action. In specific the EP polarity where the electrons flow from the steel to the tungsten is when the cleaning happens. To a certain extent it does happen with stick when you weld DCEP (most stick rods). However the cleaning will only really happen in areas that have gas shielding, and the arc tends to be so short with stick (with molten metal crossing it from the rod tip) you just don’t get the “etch zone” like you do on tig. Aluminum also captures this far better than steel, as far as being able to see it after welding.
Im seriously relieved seeing a serious like this. I'm a guy who lives in apartment and I have my welding stuff at my parents. And I'm building things for my apartment to level up and stick and flux is i feel all i need. Though for welding aluminum like small shelves...i havent done the research.. for utility shelves out of thin scrap aluminum (for trays) do you recommend i get aluminum stick rods or go to something else??? Again i have junk think aluminum im going to bend and make organizers for a toolbox. I thought about just riveting the corners together still I want to learn a bew skill. Thsbks in advance if you reply!!! Subbbed!!!
So aluminum stick rods are extremely difficult to use. I have a shorter video on using them, and out of all stick rods they are probably the hardest to use. I do believe what you’re talking about could be done but it would be a challenge. Riveting them together would be far easier and could look ok. You could also use aluminum brazing rods from Hobart and a small oxy/map gas torch to do it as well. It can be rough not having a proper work shop and not having your tools handy. I’ve been there and it’s no fun. However with a little bit of ingenuity and hard work you can do a ton, so make sure to not get overly discouraged. What matters most is the effort to build stuff and to fix mistakes to make things right. If I built amazing stuff with minimal tools, so can you 😀
This is going to sound strange, but depending on your ability to handle frustration will determine a good starting rod. Ultimately most welders only use 7018 and 6010 rods for most everything. If you believe you’re going down the path of welding a lot, starting with those could be done. Unfortunately both those rods can be hard to start, and 6010 won’t run on many welders. They both can be very frustrating to learn with. That’s why I generally suggest for people to buy 20lbs of 3/32 diameter 6013 rods and absolutely master flat position arc starts, welds, and tie ins. It’s far less frustrating of a rod to run than many others, and perfecting it will directly cross over to 7018. So realistically I would start with 6013 and focus on being as consistent and smooth as possible 👍
@@makingmistakeswithgreg thank you. Your videos are fantastic. I have been teaching myseft on a wire welder but want to learn stick to build a pipe fence. I will be watching your channel, already subscribed.
So that longer egg shape will tend to change to more of a round shape if you slow down (aka it gets wider) or if you run higher amperage. And it is so hot it loses the solidification line. The hotter you are the less discernible the line between solid and Liquid Metal will be.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg Thank you man! The other day I welded for the first time and my beed was running a little tall, at 90amps on a 6013 2.0mm. The shape looked good but just tall, is this normal? I'm not sure if you mention this elsewhere, but how far away should the rod be from the work peice? Thanks again man I really appreciate it !
If you’re using the proper rod size for the material, and the amperage that is correct for the rod, when you strike the arc you have time to wait before you start moving. During that time the weld pool grows and it will help you see where things are at. You also need to steady your hands and get in a position so that the rod burns off in the direction you want it to. If you’re using a fixed shade changing to an auto darkening hood will help. Beyond that a lot of practice should get things to work for you.
Great question, at this point this is all I have. As I produce more content I will likely start 1-2 other channels just to keep things easily accessible for people. I will be doing video series on how to buy/take care of older homes, restoring historic buildings, building off road vehicles/off road education, and all sorts of things. In the off chance I sound like someone else on another channel it’s probably because they too are from Wisconsin and suffer from excessive beer/cheese intake. It creates a particular accent that’s easy to pinpoint lol.
Haha yep, probably eating the same beer and cheese as me. We are a bit crazy up here. We sound alike so the rest of the country knows what they are in for if we travel outside of state lines 😅
Occasionally I will pinch the stick to make it easier to start a arc or to help position it if it’s a tight area with limited access. Keep in mind the rod gets hot and you could burn your fingers. It’s bad to get into the habit of doing it because you eventually want to get to the point where you have the skill that you don’t need to rely on “help”.
7018 is notorious for starting porosity. The cause of it really comes down to two things: 1) the rod/flux hasn’t created enough shielding gas at the start to properly shield the molten metal from oxygen, and 2) The molten metal solidifies too fast at the start trapping escaping gas before it can escape. To fix this you can strike the arc 1/4in to 3/8th of a inch ahead of actual the start of the weld, slightly long arc it, and quickly move the rod back to the actual start then weld. The whole thing should be done fast. By doing this gives the rod some time to warm up, produce shielding gas, and will generally solve starting porosity. If the machine has adjustable hot start turn this on a bit higher and it will help a lot. Keeping rods in a rod oven will also help. Personally I got away from starting porosity by using esab 7018 prime rods. They have a graphite tip that aids in starting and virtually eliminates starting porosity. I recently had to do some repair jobs with old oven stored Lincoln Excalibur rods and had bad starting porosity even with long arcing them a bit. Bad rods can’t be brought back by a rod oven. If you’re buying them for yourself I highly recommend the esab 7018 prime rods.
Beginner with a cheap stick welder. It's so hard to get a feel for it. Starting and then dragging while adjusting hands while not really being able to see anything but bright light and have the rod shrink down...I'm gonna keep at it though
Here is the truth (and I won’t sugar coat it lol): learning to stick weld is very tedious and difficult. It’s 99% failure and 1% progress for a while. Psychology plays a role in learning to weld, you have to convince yourself to not give up despite progress seemingly not happening. If you keep practicing, sooner than you realize your worst welds will be better than your best welds currently. It’s 100% worth it to stick with it until you are able to reliably make decent welds. Tell yourself to be smooth and consistent, and that you need to move fairly slow while keeping the rod in tight. With many rods resting the edge of the flux on the plate as you weld is ok. You got it, keep up practicing 😀👍
That's everybody at first. Welcome to the club. That's the whole fun of learning to weld, you gotta stick a rod or get burnt a few times to get the experience. Just learn to be as comfortable as possible.
If it’s a stick welder you can probably still weld with it even with no readout or setpoints lol. Probably tough to dial in just right but doable with experience.
What brand of rods? (They look like, uh, Hobart. Are they?) Reason why I asked is that the Lincoln rods (straight rutile, supposedly) have less bite and more slag, while Hobart rods supposedly are similar to the “fabled Rutile-Cellulose” rods that are common in much of Europe. Those have less slag and more “bite” (penetration) - and can “sorta-substitute” for 6011s if your welder *really* dislikes cellulosic rods, like my now-defunct inverter stick welder - the much-missed “toaster.” Want another “toaster” (more the portable size than anything else) - but going “Swedish” (ESAB - couldn’t recall the name) means lengthy saving up for near $900+!
It could be a couple reasons. Some rods have easier slag removal than others. Depending on how smooth of a weld you put down (how consistent it is) will make a big difference is slag removal. If the bead is rough it will give the slag a ton of places to grab onto and it will not want to come off. If you’re welding with 6010 or 6011 those really need a wire wheel on a grinder to clean off. Also, if you’re welding on thinner material it will be harder to remove the slag. This has to do with the heat causing it to stick. On 3/16th or thicker it should be fairly easy to remove.
Try bending your rod, or if you insist on using those garbage stingers, put your rod in the holder with the handle up, not down where it can interfere with the weld
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
My 2 cents from a 40 year bridge welder. The whole reason to watching the puddle while welding is to regulate the speed at which you drag the rod across the plate. Too slow and the puddle gets wide and surrounds the rod then gets in front of the rod, and too fast and your puddle starts to separate.
Great advice 👍. That’s why a skilled welder can run varying amperage setpoints/weld on varying thickness metal and still produce the same width weld. You need to know what the correct size puddle should be (comes from experience) and then you control the puddle via speed. Thanks for your 40 years of working on bridges 😎, we could use your skills up here in Wisconsin where everything is falling apart lol.
Thanks! This sounds like the secret sauce! Focus on the puddle. Like, eliminate other distractions/problems … fix everything else in advance, then once you start, just “work the puddle.”
I need the practice “striking an arc” first … but as soon as I can reliably do that, I’ll be burning down some rods getting the feel for “working the puddle” … travel speed, etc. Y’all on RUclips teaching us are awesome … but I’ll have to put in some hours too. 😊
Thank you, that makes several things make more sense
Do u have a mask on
If yes, how do u see? Brand new
Your my welding instructor. Can’t thank you enough .
You’re welcome, I am glad the videos have helped you out to learn a new skill 😀
@@makingmistakeswithgreg You are the best teacher. These videos are excellent.
Thanks for the plain spoken highly detailed tips. So many other pro welding instructors neglect to be this thorough, or maybe they just want us to sign up for their online courses where they will dish it out .
Thanks for the kind comments. I am glad you find the tips helpful. When I get into my lap/fillet/butt weld videos there will be a ton more useful stuff. 😀
Very excellent totorial!!! Step by step I now understand how to practice. Never seen any totorial this good!!!
Glad to hear it helped you out 😀. The start of stick welding is rough, it’s a whole lot sticking rods and frustration. The key is to not give up and tell yourself it’s a skill just like learning to write. Once you get past the initial rough patch it will be much faster skill development. If I can do it you can do it.
I actually start to weld because I was trying to build a motobike for my own and bought a stick welding machine. I did a terrible job when first started but eventually I hold the frame together. I since realized I got to learn this skill seriously haha. @@makingmistakeswithgreg
This is a Masterclass! A very rich and satisfying lesson. You are a good man Greg....thank you🎉
Schools don't teach this well! Incredible detail! Explanations are superb and the tips and tricks are what we beginners need... Cannot thank you enough for this series!
You’re welcome and thanks for the kind comment 😀. I am glad the videos have helped you, that was my goal 😀
Hey Greg. I'm nearly 75 and I just bought myself a stick welder. I've always got a project on but somehow never learned. Anyhow I just wanted to thank and congratulate you on your presentation style. I will have an opportunity to get some practical experience with a welding mate of mine but I will be doing my homework beforehand based on your lessons. 'Stick' to it mate - Pete from Australia
It’s never too late to learn 😀. Just focus on being smooth and consistent. Expect to be frustrated a fair amount but that will go away as you get better 😀
I want to thank you for all your efforts to share your knowledge! I'm retired and am starting a new hobby and have been struggling. After watching your videos I'm making progress faster than I thought possible. Thanks again!
I am glad to hear that. Once you get a few things just right everything works. It honestly comes down to being slow, steady, consistent, and smooth on movements. If you tell yourself that every time you weld and focus on trying to do those things, the quality of your welds will improve greatly.
Best puddle vid I've seen! Thank you. I learned so much. Improved my welding so much.
I am glad to hear your welding has improved 😀
Thanks for "Sticking" around and showing how it done. Now I got to work on my starts and stops
If you do a whole plate or two of starts and stops by the end you will be a lot better. It’s no fun to do that much of something that tedious but it’s worth it, trust me 😀
YOU, SIR, ARE LIKE A BREATH OF FRESH AIR !!! Hopefully the third world countries watch your videos! Their whole beads are tacks!
I've been arc welding since I was in the seventh grade in shop, in Junior High School. My Dad raised me in a machine shop. He taught me silver soldering, sillfoss, brazing, as well as welding steel with wire coat hanger. I was fluent with oxygen/acetelyn torch. I didn't know about electric welding nor cutting torch till junior high school. Dad had me fluent in all his equipment by the age of 10 years old. I took machine-shop in school and worked in machine job shops ending up in tool and diemaker/tool designer. My hobby has always been steel smith. My Mother told me that if your work is something you thoroughly enjoy, you'll never WORK another day in your life. That turned out to be true. I was volunteer fire and rescue from age 16 thru age 37. I stayed in God given Tool & Jig Design, aswell as Machinist. When I got a chance to get a job in a large company as an Electrician, I took the training and did that foralmost 40 years, keeping my machinist/ Steel-Smith, Sharpening, Leathersmith, Tool & Jig design and light fabricating tillI was in my sixties, and have slacked off a lot of all of it, now that I have retired, and are in my seventies, but I do enough to keep myself busy. I don't charge anybody anything...it's more hobby now and therapy to stay sane. I'm still designing tools and items for folks, just for the love of doing it !!! I'm telling you this to let you know, I appreciate what you're doing for people that JUST DON'T HOLD THE CONCEPT.
If you will put a C-camp style Vice Grip on the log of your channel stock at an angle sticking up on the side toward your camera. You can just just hold down the vicegrip to the table to rock your channel surface toward the camera, without burning yourself or overheating your glove.
I love your content and your ability to teach! Your knowledge of the craft is apparent. THANK YOU.
I subbed.
Bill, from Tn. 🇺🇸
Thanks for sharing your history, it’s not to much unlike mine. Sounds like you absorbed as much info as you could, learned as much as you could, and weren’t afraid of a challenge. The world needs far more people like you now doubt. I am hoping to inspire the next crop of people to pickup tools and make something of themselves and the world around them 😀
I am an absolute greenhorn-beginner retired Filipino-Canadian in the Philippines (presently). My first weld was to make a metal sawhorse using 16mm concrete rebars. Absolute greenhorn failure. Well, learned something valuable on your videos. I didn't even know there are several types of electrodes and ampere range. I just bought the electrodes and welder after watching several short welding video for beginners. That welding fiasco was 3 weeks ago. Thanks a million for telling us not to give up. That's it. Golden advice. I will continue welding as soon as my feeling-sand-in- my-eyes condition is gone (wore a face shield too). God bless
Thanks for the kind words and welcome to the world of welding. The more you know the better you will be at welding 😀. When learning to weld the most important thing is to not give up. There will be a ton of failures and struggles while learning, but as long as you never quit you will eventually get it. Also, as a tip you might find helpful, regarding welding rebar, many types of rebar are deemed unweldable. Some bar has high carbon content and the weld can become extremely brittle to the point it breaks easily. In the states here weldable rebar typically has a -w on the part number.
Thanks for putting out this series, Greg! For beginners like us, having tons of details is so helpful.
No problem 😀. I enjoy making the videos because it gives me something to do and I enjoy reading comments like yours where I know the info is helping. I have one video going live tonight that covers some details I forgot to mention about how stick welders work (and some other key points). By Sunday this week I will have 2 more videos up dealing with how to do lap welds and butt welds 😀. There will be a ton more videos on stick welding in the next few weeks.
I'm learning (always learning) and love burning rods, just starting to find small jobs. But if I don't get routine torch time in, then I notice mistakes repeating. So, this series is very much appreciated. 21:30, super instructive; thank you
Thanks for the kind words and I am glad you learned a lot. You have the right attitude, always learning is the way to go. I have an untold number of hours just burning rods and I am still improving my skills. The great thing is you don’t have to be the best to make really good welds. One of the things I am working on is a guide with tests that people can follow to determine when they are ready to take on actual jobs/liability work. I think it will help people gain confidence in what they do and build skills 😀
Another great video. The story behind the pitfalls and why they occur are worth everything. Thanks again and keep the videos coming
Been wanting to get into welding for a number of years..but for 26 of them I was living in the woods living a very much off the grid life..living out my rucksack and with only my dog for companionship..I met my partner helene two years ago and have been living with her ever since..sad to say I had to say goodbye to my best friend (my dog fred)just before Christmas last year..so now I have a stable enough life style I would love to get into welding and finally get started..I thought stick welding would be a great place to get started..thanks for the great introduction helped me understand the basics of where I need to start...many thanks steve
Sorry to hear about your dog, and I have a lot of respect for living off the grid. I am glad to hear you want to give welding a shot. Its a very valuable skill to have to be able to fix/make stuff, and if you like relying on yourself, it will open up all sorts of new doors. Definitely look at starting with stick or flux core. Both are fairly easy to get started, very useful, and fairly economical. Both can also weld outdoors/without shelter, and dont require extra shielding gas. The key with learning either is expect to be frustrated for a while when you learn, but the payoff for not giving up is the ability to make stuff and repair things. As a hobby its also very fulfilling, and gives a great sense of accomplishment. I wish you luck on your journey and feel free to ask any questions if you don't understand something 😀
Thank you for taking the time to reply back to me..really goes a long way in helping a guy like myself get into something new..very encouraging,thank you..and yes just need to decide on a machine..but it's a voyage I will get into in the new year..thanks for the help
No problem :). Part of helping people out/teaching is to inspire/motivate. Any time I can help someone out that's learning a new skill or trying to better themselves I will.
Oh my. I just rec'd a stick welder yesterday. This is EXACTLY what I need to get started.
Glad to hear the video helped you. Stick isn’t hard, just prepare to be frustrated for a bit. Once you get a hang of it you’ll be doing well 😀
Best explanation of the weld puddle I have found thank
Your are an excellent instructor. Even a dummy like me can follow. Thank you!
Thanks for the kind words 😀👍. Expect to be frustrated with stick when learning but once you can get the rod started reliably and you can make a few inch long straight/clean weld you will be on your way to being able to weld some cool stuff together.
Greg your a very good instructor, you take the time to explain details and problems that may actually accure, a lot better than what was taught when in shop class in the mid to late 60.
Thanks for the kind words. I am just happy to be part of helping people learn new skills 😀
Your explanations are so clear and detailed so that the whole process now makes more sense - and I actually took welding in college! I never could figure out why my welds were one way or the other until now! Thank you so much for your ever so patiently delivered information! This changes everything. :)
For anyone new to welding I suggest OJT (On The Job) vs welding school. I began as a welders helper back in '72 at a shipyard in Greenville, Ms. I passed my first field UT (vertical uphill) 7018 welding a "cooling grid iron" onto the inside wall of the fuel tank. The welder was too fat to fit through the fuel tank porthole. My summer there working I never took a break or lunch but instead practiced welding. I've been to a technical college here in N. O. La. two semesters (2015) only to practice on my TIG as I am not independently equipped for other than SMAW, GMAW, FCAW (innershield). A school is okay if you've no other way to learn as you train. OJT will teach you things that book doesn't. Don't be afraid to ask questions particularly if you think it's stupid because there are no stupid questions, only the questions you don't ask.
I am certified AWS D1.1/5.20 "unlimited thickness, all positions g1,2,3,4". My test was on 1" pl, full penetration (no backing strip) 3g4g, guided bend (not root bend or face bend). I'm 67, and I'm oilfield trash.
Brilliant series on welding man. Have a cheap AC unit I bought for the farm a while back but never had the time to pull it out, and neither of my folks know how to, so this has been an incredible start to a crash course.
I am glad that I have been able to help 😀. Even though I haven’t done many videos with AC polarity, much of the info still applies. If you have any questions/struggling with anything feel free to post a question on any video and I will answer it :0.
Thanks for the informative videos! I was getting frustrated until watching your videos several times and realized I had a death grip on the stinger and my travel speed was way too fast. Please keep adding more.
The death grip is a hard one to get over, I have to realize I am doing it and tell myself to relax sometimes. It makes it far more difficult to move your wrist and hand because of how tense everything is. As far as moving too fast, that’s what everyone does when learning lol. Just by slowing down and giving it time will drastically improve things. Going fast drags the arc along, but it doesn’t leave any metal. That’s why people who try to learn 6010 and 6011 struggle so much at first, because it requires even slower forward speed than 7018. If a person is moving too fast for a 6013 or 7018 they are moving 2x too fast for a 6010/11.
I didn't even know u had this Course On Here till now...... I'll Watch...
Awesome video teacher, look forward to the rest of your classes. Best Education videos 2024 hands down!
Love the eye on the stinger!
Haha glad someone noticed that, excellent attention to details 😀
Great video - welded up a small boat trailer very recently after getting a cheap stick welder. Wish I’d held off as I’m much neater now!
Practice makes perfect. The great thing is even less than perfect welds tend to be pretty strong 😀
@ 👍
Another great lesson Greg. Thank you.
No problem 😀👍
Brilliant series Greg so far
I mostly don't like 6013, with it's sneaky slag, but it's not a bad choice for learning. Thanks for your stick welding series, it is our most misunderestimated process.
You are doing a really good job of giving people access to a very useful set of skills.
There is one case where I do like it, as 1/16" stick on top of sheet metal. Harbor Freight has been keeping it in stock, so it's availabe. Also the mostly ceramic flux seems to have an almost infinite shelf life.
The small 6013 bonds to the base metal OK, but it likes to sit on top, not burn in. To join two pieces of sheet metal, I would use small 6011, building up a bead of spot welds (slowly to control the heat).
But, to build a reinforcing/decorative rib on top of sheet metal, that is strongly bonded to the base metal, 6013 with a dab-dab technique works well.
Apparently in some of the poor tropical countries, 6013 3/32" (and larger) is about all they can get. The ceramic flux can survive tropical conditions. Also they can get thin square tubing. So they have developed a dab-dab method to control the heat. You strike the arc, create the puddle, and break the arc. You lean the stick about 45deg. in the direction of travel, so the arc force pushes back the slag. Then, before the metal fades to black, you strike the arc, and add the next bead. It's easy to restrike while everything is still hot. You create a continuous bead, one puddle at a time.
There will be distortion, but you could hammer and dolly to counter that. (As the weld cools it shrinks so you hold a dolly (hand-anvil) under the metal, and tap on it from above with a hammer, and this stretches it out again.) You don't need a fancy set, the face of a 3 or 5 lb. sledge from a yard sale can be your dolly, with any hammer.
(This is a skill you build by doing, just keep working at it.)
As an example project, I have wheel barrow that is made of thin metal. It is starting to get a bit rusty, so it needs a tune-up (clean and paint). I want to weld in some 1/8" steel where the bucket bolts to the frame. But I know the thin steel will crack at the weld because it will flex, and the thicker plate will not. If I run some 6013 ribs out from the corners and maybe the middle of the plate I can eliminate that issue. You do this underneath, so the inside can be smooth. You could make it as decorative as you want, add your initials, etc., etc.
Just some thoughts. I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the stick welding series. These are the kind of video you can watch more than once. Thanks again.
if it's one puddle at a time, it's not continuous. If it's all connected though, it is contiguous.
The result should be contiguous and continuous, but the process is discontinuous. It really does help control the heat.
I agree with all your thoughts. 6013 seems to have a lot of flux that just runs ahead of the rod easily. I never get slag inclusions with 7018 and 6010, but 6013 It can happen easily on fillet welds. 6013 really shines on sheet metal like you said. It’s easy to restart, and those little 1/16th rods seem to run good. I have tried the 1/16th 6013, 6011, 7018, and 7014 rods, the 6013 and 6011 are definitely solid options. The mini 7018 rods suck for sheet metal in comparison.
What I don't understand is " most misunderestimated". Does that mean it's underestimated or overestimated. Moe, Larry the cheese.
@@gnatgnutz7139 underestimated and overlooked
Appreciate your detailed video. I'm a beginner, and this truly helped me out a lot. Thanks!
No problem, I am glad the video helped you out 😀👍. Expect to be frustrated a lot when learning to stick weld, but with a bit of practice it will come together for you 😀
Just came upon your channel and glad I did. great advice! Subscribed and will continue with the series. Thank you for putting this content online.
You’re welcome 😀
Awesome series! Thank you!
Great aeries. I'm a fairly new Tig water. Never stick welded but I want to start doing it with my welder so this is great information.
Just started watching this video series, lots of great info that others don’t have. Makes me want to get the welder out and try again . I’m understanding the process better on to the next video
Glad it helped you out 😀. Stick welding has a steep learning curve at the start, but it really just comes down to getting small variables just right. Being smooth and consistent takes time because you have to teach your hands how to move and do it enough that they automatically move the way you need them to. You can do it😀
Great job Greg ❤
Thanks 😀👍
I have been struggling to weld. Thanks so much for
video.
No problem. I won’t sugar coat it, learning to stick weld is rough at the start. It’s basically a ton of failures and mistakes. The key is to not give up, keep trying, and try to be as consistent as possible. Think of it like learning to ride a bike or learning to spin a basketball on your finger. A bunch of things need to be just right for it to work. With time and practice you will get it 👍
This information is awesome!! Thank you so much!!
No problem I am glad the video helped you 😀
Thank you for the pressantation. Very clear and very helpful.
Glad it helped you out. Stick can be super frustrating to learn, just don’t give up and keep at it. It won’t be long before you get decent 😀
Great instructor thanks very much
No problem, thanks for taking the time to better your skills 😀👍
Thanks for the video. Good work!
Thanks for the kind words, I have a lot more videos coming to help people get up to speed on stick welding. I want to see people building stuff and not being frustrated lol. 👍
very good explanation easy to understand thanks
Thanks for the kind words. I will be having a ton more stick welding videos out in the next 2 weeks that will involve welding joints, building stuff, and repair 👍
Thanks for sharing.
No problem 😀👍
Thank you for your great content. Admire your teaching capabilities
Thank you. I don’t really consider myself much of a teacher, I just look at things and share what I am thinking inside of my head lol. My inner monologue is pretty active most of the time lol.
Hi! I would suggest to also try another thing with 6013 - arc control by microregulating arc length. This is important to understand how the arc behaves and what one can do with it. Use one hand to hold an electrode as a pen* (well, not exactly, just as if you try to support a rod at a point about 2-4 inches away from the tip) and other hand to hold a stinger so that it takes away almost the whole weight thus allowing the first hand to easily make fine movements with fingers. Touch the base metal with clean rod tip, it will probably not start immediately and will try to stick. Lift the electrode tip slowly. If you're careful enough, at a small distance the arc will be trying to start multiple times by individual current bursts. At a certain distance the arc will start to burn continuously, but before that, it is possible to regulate the frequency of bursts or kill it entirely and start again just by precisely changing the distance from the electrode tip to base metal with sub-millimiter movements of the electrode. Hopefully this excercise would help to feel the scale of movements necessary to regulate arc length afterwards in continuous burn mode.
thank you,i really need this ❤
No problem 😀👍
Be nice to see the welding through the helmet. Subscribed and learning. HOOAH!!!
In newer videos I did do arc footage and I also bought a new camera to get better footage. Unfortunately it’s difficult to go back and update older videos, but if there is something you want me to shoot to help you in specific, let me know.
Great instruction, thank you!!
You’re welcome
Yah, I like it! Lockpickinglawyer style. Just the skills on video, the knowledge and wisdom on audio and no narcissist's ugly mug . Nobody needs to see your face to learn how to weld. Those who think their face adds to their video probably has a thing for himself and maybe should pursue a different kind of video on a different app. It's amazing to me how many dudes think they have a face that needs to be shared with the world when they really should focus on showing us the skills and the work. I'm sure you're a handsome man but that's hopefully not we all showed up for. Well done, sir. It's a long video but I didn't see anything here that isn't useful information. Your thought process is well laid out and makes lots of sense. Thank you , oh wise craftsman.
Thanks for the kind words and your thoughts. A friend of mine asked me why I don’t show my face, her words were “you’re a tall good looking dude, nobody would complain”. The truth is I don’t want any fame, and I like being a “nobody”. A lot of my avoidance comes from projects I have been involved in locally. I had hundreds of people trying to meet me and even the news wanted to put me on the tv. A news paper article was written on something I did and things kind of blew up after that. All I really want to do is inspire people and help people believe in themselves. Personal fame doesn’t do anything for me. At some point it might be difficult to not be well known, guys at my new job found out I ran a RUclips channel and I never told them, they recognized my voice lol.
@makingmistakeswithgreg I'm with ya. Everyone wants to be famous....except LPL, You and I...
apparently. I say it's way better to not be recognized. Regardless of how well liked you are, with lovers will inevitably come haters. It's much easier if the haters never see your mug. Thanks for replying. Us little people appreciate it. (Not a miget/dwarf reference)...lol
Thank you..inspiring...and really well exsplained
You're welcome 😀
Excellent. Thank you
Grate video once again. Thank ypu.
good stuff, keep going
Yes this is the kind of detail I need to know how to adjust from the errors and know what is happening, Thanks.
Glad it helped you 😀. Stick welding is all about getting the little details right. It’s a challenge but with practice it becomes much easier.
I'm not in a welding class, but am trying to understand the process of welding. This is excellent! Very informative and clear. Thanks!
You’re welcome 😀. If you have any questions feel free to ask, I would be happy to answer them 😃
I for some reason love me some 6013, most people don’t care for it but it works great for me. Even better than 7018 sometimes
I think it really comes down to the rod. I have had some that perform better than others. For certain jobs (like thinner metal) it is a life saver.
Since you have provided us with great tips on welding. I should probably drop a few on videography. You mentioned using ND filters, did you try to lower your aperture and exposure in combo with using an ND filter? I myself am able to get arc shots with a ND512.
So that video is pretty old and since it was done I changed a ton of stuff. I filmed it with iPhone and a cheap fixed shade lens. I now have a few very decent mirrorless cameras, ND filters, and a actual laptop to edit on 😀. I haven’t done much arc footage lately because I have focused on a lot of testing videos. I will be getting back into filming arcs soon, I am glad to have way better equipment than a year ago 😀
Only in 1.5 and im hooked
Watch the series and practice a bunch. By the end I assure you that you will be able to build stuff 😀. Just tell yourself that it’s ok to be frustrated and expect to fail a lot. Sooner than you realize you will be doing really good. Just don’t give up 👍
Is it bad practiset to use your other hand, and then stabilize the rod fx half or 2/3 down to have more fine control of the stickend in the pool..
I can see you don't 8:13 but it likely comes with routine this aspect of having tip-control on a long rod, all the way up from the main handpiece....
Great question, here are my thoughts. It’s not bad to do that, and I will do that from time to time. You have to be careful because some rods will smoke your gloves due to the heat, and it can put you in a bad position where you need to feed more rod but you’re fingers are in the way. I tend to use the rod like a pool stick and rest it on a finger on my non electrode holder hand. I run the rod ontop of a finger (typically index). Doing this stabilizes the rod and allows more freedom of movement.
Thank you
No problem 😀👍
Love it!
i love it
Csn you please make a video about weld puddles on a flux core
I took welding in High School, and I was never good at it. I confess going into it thought I would enjoy it. Partially in my teachers defense, he had 30 students, but partly in my defense, he seemed to pay attention and focus on the students that were skilled at welding...which hurt the students that needed correcting on their techniques. 30 years later will try again and hope I can build a trailer with acquired skills....fingers crossed.
My first question is why do some guys straight drag the stick, some guys make Cresent moon drags, some guys circle drag, and some guys zigzag drag? Is the goal to make the weld look like a row of overlapped/ stacked dimes?
So how you describe welding school was similar to my experience years ago. 30+ students and one instructor. If you were better than average you got minimal help, if you were average you got some, and if you couldn’t strike an arc you got more. Some students were well known to the instructor so the instructor spent the most time with them. I took 3 classes, finished 15 weeks worth of work in half the time, and decided to buy a welder and teach myself rather than going to school.
To answer your question regarding why some people manipulate rods when welding, I have some thoughts: this is actually a pretty complex issue. With stick welding the strongest weld is done with a simple stringer weld with proper amperage. Weaving will cause a reduction in strength due to the solidified grain structure. If the weave is less that 3/8ths wide or so there won’t be a huge reduction in strength. A 1/2inch wide weave will have a reduction that would likely lower the test results below the minimum spec for the rod. What you need to understand is many people have bad habits with welding. Universally doing anything other than a straight in weld at a consistent pace will lower penetration, and make the fusion inconsistent. The reason this isn’t a huge issue in many cases is because what people weld isn’t exposed to high enough forces that it matters (aka weld failure). On higher liability jobs it’s very common to not permit anything but stringers.
Where things get interesting is rods like 6010 run better when you whip/manipulate them. 6010 is used to fill gaps and whipping out of the puddle allows the puddle to freeze allowing a person to weld a gap shut. Because the molten puddle freezes so fast it captures the movement, and can look like a “stack of dimes”. So part of the manipulation is done for the look of the weld. However, the rod runs better when you do this because the flux burns off more consistent Where this becomes an issue is when people use short circuit might and try to emulate the look. 6010 has very aggressive penetration, short circuit might doesn’t. When you run settings cold enough to stick dimes with mig, you make very cold, poorly penetrated welds. That’s not the case with 6010.
28:24 … I’ve heard AC welding, when the voltage flips it clears impurities out of the weld … apparently, that explains using AC on aluminum, but not DC. neat that an AC welder can work better on rusty surfaces. … When I’m ready to upgrade, AC / DC multi-mode unit, and maybe HF start seem most interesting. 😮 ooooh, the foot pedal is super interesting, but *way* too expensive. 😆
You are correct, with Tig the A/c has a cleaning action. In specific the EP polarity where the electrons flow from the steel to the tungsten is when the cleaning happens. To a certain extent it does happen with stick when you weld DCEP (most stick rods). However the cleaning will only really happen in areas that have gas shielding, and the arc tends to be so short with stick (with molten metal crossing it from the rod tip) you just don’t get the “etch zone” like you do on tig. Aluminum also captures this far better than steel, as far as being able to see it after welding.
Did you say art camera or arc camera?
Im seriously relieved seeing a serious like this. I'm a guy who lives in apartment and I have my welding stuff at my parents. And I'm building things for my apartment to level up and stick and flux is i feel all i need. Though for welding aluminum like small shelves...i havent done the research.. for utility shelves out of thin scrap aluminum (for trays) do you recommend i get aluminum stick rods or go to something else??? Again i have junk think aluminum im going to bend and make organizers for a toolbox. I thought about just riveting the corners together still I want to learn a bew skill. Thsbks in advance if you reply!!! Subbbed!!!
So aluminum stick rods are extremely difficult to use. I have a shorter video on using them, and out of all stick rods they are probably the hardest to use. I do believe what you’re talking about could be done but it would be a challenge. Riveting them together would be far easier and could look ok. You could also use aluminum brazing rods from Hobart and a small oxy/map gas torch to do it as well.
It can be rough not having a proper work shop and not having your tools handy. I’ve been there and it’s no fun. However with a little bit of ingenuity and hard work you can do a ton, so make sure to not get overly discouraged. What matters most is the effort to build stuff and to fix mistakes to make things right. If I built amazing stuff with minimal tools, so can you 😀
Is there a particular rod you recommend for a first time stick welder to practice with?
This is going to sound strange, but depending on your ability to handle frustration will determine a good starting rod. Ultimately most welders only use 7018 and 6010 rods for most everything. If you believe you’re going down the path of welding a lot, starting with those could be done. Unfortunately both those rods can be hard to start, and 6010 won’t run on many welders. They both can be very frustrating to learn with. That’s why I generally suggest for people to buy 20lbs of 3/32 diameter 6013 rods and absolutely master flat position arc starts, welds, and tie ins. It’s far less frustrating of a rod to run than many others, and perfecting it will directly cross over to 7018. So realistically I would start with 6013 and focus on being as consistent and smooth as possible 👍
@@makingmistakeswithgreg thank you. Your videos are fantastic. I have been teaching myseft on a wire welder but want to learn stick to build a pipe fence. I will be watching your channel, already subscribed.
Does that egg shape round out if you're running the beed too slow?
So that longer egg shape will tend to change to more of a round shape if you slow down (aka it gets wider) or if you run higher amperage. And it is so hot it loses the solidification line. The hotter you are the less discernible the line between solid and Liquid Metal will be.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg Thank you man! The other day I welded for the first time and my beed was running a little tall, at 90amps on a 6013 2.0mm. The shape looked good but just tall, is this normal?
I'm not sure if you mention this elsewhere, but how far away should the rod be from the work peice?
Thanks again man I really appreciate it !
I am struggling to get a weld started because I can't see until the arc appears and this could be anywhere except where I want it.
If you’re using the proper rod size for the material, and the amperage that is correct for the rod, when you strike the arc you have time to wait before you start moving. During that time the weld pool grows and it will help you see where things are at. You also need to steady your hands and get in a position so that the rod burns off in the direction you want it to. If you’re using a fixed shade changing to an auto darkening hood will help. Beyond that a lot of practice should get things to work for you.
Do you have multiple channels? Like an airgunning channel for instance?
Great question, at this point this is all I have. As I produce more content I will likely start 1-2 other channels just to keep things easily accessible for people. I will be doing video series on how to buy/take care of older homes, restoring historic buildings, building off road vehicles/off road education, and all sorts of things.
In the off chance I sound like someone else on another channel it’s probably because they too are from Wisconsin and suffer from excessive beer/cheese intake. It creates a particular accent that’s easy to pinpoint lol.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg hahaha ya Wisconsin airgunner channel is what i was referring to 🤣 😂
Haha yep, probably eating the same beer and cheese as me. We are a bit crazy up here. We sound alike so the rest of the country knows what they are in for if we travel outside of state lines 😅
Can you hold the actual stick for more control?
Occasionally I will pinch the stick to make it easier to start a arc or to help position it if it’s a tight area with limited access. Keep in mind the rod gets hot and you could burn your fingers. It’s bad to get into the habit of doing it because you eventually want to get to the point where you have the skill that you don’t need to rely on “help”.
Thanks
I have a problem with porosity in the beginning of my welds using 7018. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix?
7018 is notorious for starting porosity. The cause of it really comes down to two things: 1) the rod/flux hasn’t created enough shielding gas at the start to properly shield the molten metal from oxygen, and 2) The molten metal solidifies too fast at the start trapping escaping gas before it can escape. To fix this you can strike the arc 1/4in to 3/8th of a inch ahead of actual the start of the weld, slightly long arc it, and quickly move the rod back to the actual start then weld. The whole thing should be done fast. By doing this gives the rod some time to warm up, produce shielding gas, and will generally solve starting porosity. If the machine has adjustable hot start turn this on a bit higher and it will help a lot. Keeping rods in a rod oven will also help.
Personally I got away from starting porosity by using esab 7018 prime rods. They have a graphite tip that aids in starting and virtually eliminates starting porosity. I recently had to do some repair jobs with old oven stored Lincoln Excalibur rods and had bad starting porosity even with long arcing them a bit. Bad rods can’t be brought back by a rod oven. If you’re buying them for yourself I highly recommend the esab 7018 prime rods.
Beginner with a cheap stick welder. It's so hard to get a feel for it. Starting and then dragging while adjusting hands while not really being able to see anything but bright light and have the rod shrink down...I'm gonna keep at it though
Here is the truth (and I won’t sugar coat it lol): learning to stick weld is very tedious and difficult. It’s 99% failure and 1% progress for a while. Psychology plays a role in learning to weld, you have to convince yourself to not give up despite progress seemingly not happening. If you keep practicing, sooner than you realize your worst welds will be better than your best welds currently. It’s 100% worth it to stick with it until you are able to reliably make decent welds. Tell yourself to be smooth and consistent, and that you need to move fairly slow while keeping the rod in tight. With many rods resting the edge of the flux on the plate as you weld is ok. You got it, keep up practicing 😀👍
That's everybody at first. Welcome to the club. That's the whole fun of learning to weld, you gotta stick a rod or get burnt a few times to get the experience. Just learn to be as comfortable as possible.
I’m learning a lot from you, much appreciated
No problem 😀
My dads old welder doesn't show how many amp's you have, only a knob witch you can infintly turn 🤔
If it’s a stick welder you can probably still weld with it even with no readout or setpoints lol. Probably tough to dial in just right but doable with experience.
What brand of rods? (They look like, uh, Hobart. Are they?)
Reason why I asked is that the Lincoln rods (straight rutile, supposedly) have less bite and more slag, while Hobart rods supposedly are similar to the “fabled Rutile-Cellulose” rods that are common in much of Europe.
Those have less slag and more “bite” (penetration) - and can “sorta-substitute” for 6011s if your welder *really* dislikes cellulosic rods, like my now-defunct inverter stick welder - the much-missed “toaster.”
Want another “toaster” (more the portable size than anything else) - but going “Swedish” (ESAB - couldn’t recall the name) means lengthy saving up for near $900+!
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
My slag does not lift like yours , all Sam as yours but have to really hammer to chip away why is this
It could be a couple reasons. Some rods have easier slag removal than others. Depending on how smooth of a weld you put down (how consistent it is) will make a big difference is slag removal. If the bead is rough it will give the slag a ton of places to grab onto and it will not want to come off. If you’re welding with 6010 or 6011 those really need a wire wheel on a grinder to clean off. Also, if you’re welding on thinner material it will be harder to remove the slag. This has to do with the heat causing it to stick. On 3/16th or thicker it should be fairly easy to remove.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg does pecking at the bead mess with the density of the weld?
Turn the dang amperage up then 😂
Try bending your rod, or if you insist on using those garbage stingers, put your rod in the holder with the handle up, not down where it can interfere with the weld
i love it
Thanks
No problem 👍👍