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On my fifteenth birthday (January 2005) my uncle got me a Craftsman 30-200 amp stick welder and ive been using it alot but still cant get a good bead going and I've been welding about 3-4 times a week usually on just random stuff, and I've tried going in circles with the stick on the pieces I'm welding and some other things. anyone got some tips ? I've heard that if you can weld with a stick you can weld with just about any otherwelder, is that true ?
Reply:What's wrong with the beads? Can you post a photo?Owner of Welding Wiki,The free wiki based resource for weldor's around the world.http://www.weldingwiki.comWe have cookies!
Reply:i just cant get a good smooth one. and how do i post pics cause i got a pic but cant get it in here.
Reply:well my pics are too bigLast edited by JS905; 11-12-2005 at 10:57 PM.
Reply:...make them smallerOwner of Welding Wiki,The free wiki based resource for weldor's around the world.http://www.weldingwiki.comWe have cookies!
Reply:I would say its true that stick is one of the harder types.. but thats IMO.Amperage?  Stick type (6011, 7018, etc??)
Reply:Or you can email me some photo's, i'll make them smaller, and put them on my server... [email protected] of Welding Wiki,The free wiki based resource for weldor's around the world.http://www.weldingwiki.comWe have cookies!
Reply:I bought a Lincoln wire feed welder after using an old AC stick welder for years. After using the Lincoln for about 3 years I had a project that I wanted to use the AC welder on. Oddly enough my welds with the AC were much better than ib the past. They used to suck. It seems that somehow the wire feed welder taught me to use the stick welder better. Saying all that to say, i wonder if its better to learn on a stick welder and THEN go to something easier or start with the easier one and then go to the harder one.Other than taking a class all you can do is practice and compare your welds to ther good ones on the web site.I'm not a Engineer, I just play one on the weekend.
Reply:my uncle got me the welder from one of his friends cause he never used it anymore and i just figured out why. my friend chris's grandad is a professional welder and he tried welding something with it and couldnt get a bead and i can olny get a bead with the heat really high on a 6013 rod and sometimes melt the rod if it sticks and we turned the heat down and it wouldnt even weld so im probably getting a new wire feed welder for christmas but i dont know what kind i want yet. id rather have a miller or a lincold got any ideas ...
Reply:Yeah get a stick welder    of course theres always the idea, if you want a beer get a miller, if you want to weld get a lincoln     yes I know that will get a fight brewin up wilder than the hatfields and mccoys.   before you deceide what machine you want, or ask us for advice.  First determine what do you want to do with that machine.  Its more important what size and type of welder than who makes it.  Though still Id stick with miller and lincolnCHRIS
Reply:Stick to the main machines, red or blue it doesn't really matter. But get a stick welder with Tig capablities, left start for the Tig is all you'll need, because it will only be a matter of time before you want to have a play with the Tig. If you can master these two proccesses you can weld with anything Stephen
Reply:now theres a mans man tellin a man how to do it right...hehe  I agree with wirehunt just my 1/2 cent lolCHRIS
Reply:is this welder any good? http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...1-2&lpage=none
Reply:or this one http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...170&lpage=none
Reply:If you want my opinion about that machine youd be better off saving your money and buying beer.  That machine is a cheap off brand.  Its too small and too low of current settings for what you will most likely be needing.  HOwever, I still dont really know what you will be using this machine for. However, I dont believe mig is in your price range personally.  The trouble here is that when a machine says its good to 1/8" lets say. Its really not good at 1/8", but it will do it under the right conditions.  Usually you need 240V to get into a machine that will any good.  A mig welder and a stick welder of equal price the stick will always yeild a better value in amperage.  For an occasional user, unless your planning to do thin stuff this is the proper way to go.  ANd for that user who wants to do thin, unless he wants to do nothing but thin, he either needs a larger mig, like a min of a 175/185 or up to a bigger 200 amp, or he should consider having two machines, a small lil mig with no power but can weld the thin, and a stick welder of the 200 amp ac pursasion with a DC rectifier.  I hope I dint confuse you here.  A machine like the lincoln AC/DC tombstone is noting more than an AC machine and they add whats called a rectifier.  Electrically I dont know what it does specificially, but basically it changing from AC - goes back and forth pos to neg 60 times a second, to DC - goes in one direction all the time...either your pos or your neg.  The DC on these machines looses a bit of amperage.  So the machine on AC will pull 200 amps.  BUt the DC will only get 120-140 or so.  However, you can get by with 3/32 rods and a few 1/8" of most any rod.  7018 for instance, although you can run 1/8" id just assume 3/32,  course if you want to pay a tad bit extra buy the 7018AC rods and you can run the 1/8" and it helps.  Still though your on the upper end of the dc scale, and switching over to ac might be necessary.  Therefore I prefer to run the 3/32" 7018 on these machines and run it dc reverse or electrode pos.  For doing thin stuff, I prefer the 6010/11 series rod.  Though the 6013 is real good for the thin stuff.  I have no fear running it on 1/16", but I use 3/32 for this as well and all.  Hope this helps.  Happy thanksgiving allCHRIS
Reply:ok well im plannin on getting the lincoln 225 amp stick welder or just get a lincoln pro mig 175 unless i can find a good deal on a miller but i really like lincolns
Reply:yeah,  but dont forget if yu get that cracker box get it wiht DC.  Costs a lil more, not much and definately worth it.  But if you absolutely cant no real sweat, but you will enjoy the dc better.  For the record a good friend of mmine.  He did a 1/2" plate test, 6011 root wth a 7018 fill and cap....he did this with a Lincoln 225 AC machine and it was 3G vertical up.  He passed with it too.  One of the funniest things iver ever heard but its true.  There dandy lil machiens.CHRIS