Need help-- I am clueless

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I built my own house minus concrete work,repair my mowers,am a qualified electrician and millwright.So what is my problem: I have no clue how to weld.I did buy a 225/125 AC/DC stick welder off a buddy years ago that was brand new when he was moving and never used it.Is this one OK to start to learn on ?  What I am going to play with is to weld some 5/8" nuts on the top of 1/2" rebar to make trap stakes for coyote.It does not have to be pretty so How do I start ?  What size rod should I buy ? How do I practice making a bead on a piece of steel ?   Any help is aprreciated.  Thank You    Ed Milk
Reply:Well, thats a nice buzzbox. If your having as much trouble as you say, try burning some 1/8 6013 on AC flat on a bench. Remember Amps- The box will tell you the normal range for the rod your burningAngle- If your welding flat, your rod should be at around 75 degrees, and pointing toward weld poolArc- Arc Gap is essential, Im finding. Too big and you have no control, too tight and the rod may stickSpeed- Travel speed of rod. You should watch the pool build to about 1.5x the diameter of the rod your using.I am no professional, but these are the guidelines I follow at School. There seems to be so much to pay attention too, at first. Slowly much of it becomes second nature...Lincoln Power MIG 210 MP ( boat anchor )Lincoln Weld-Pac 100 HDHobart IronMan 230Cutmaster 42Jackson NexGenSumner Ultra ClampsDWM120
Reply:If you know aboslutely nothing then you should start by reading everything you can and watching any videos you can. You didnt state wether cost is an issue. If you have a little money to invest it can go a long way. I just responded to craigslist post for someone wanting to get a quick crash course in welding. I Charged the guy $30 for an hour(it was more than an hour) came to his house and showed him first hand  what the equipment does. This may also work for a local small welding shop. Or you can invest in a class at the local tech school.It all depends on how much money/time you want to invest. Haveing someone teach you first hand is the quickest but costs a little. After you have gotten a general idea you can start burning rod. Go to a local sheet metal fabrication place and ask them if you can have some scrap to practice with. They will probably even cut it into strips for you. Then just practice till you feel comfortable.I dont think I will go into how to strike an arc and run a bead because if you cant find that in a google/youtube search then you just arent even trying. I will though include this handy quick reference I found on a google search and you can too if again you try. Attached Images
Reply:Stick is a good leaning process. I'd also agree that some instruction would help immensely, either by finding someone who is knowledgeable or taking a formal class say at a tech school at night. I'm not sure what you are exactly trying to accomplish. Welding on nuts so as to not mess up the internal threads can be tough for someone starting out as you learn to control the heat. Also rebar can be a crapshoot to weld, some is hard and brittle and will not weld worth $hit, and other pieces will weld ok. Theres no real good way to tell what you have till you weld it. Using rebar to learn will be tough if you end up with bar that doesn't want to weld and the welds keep breaking. Is the fault your's or is it the bar? You may find plain round hot rolled bar a better choice if a bit more expensive. You can reduce the cost of the HR buy buying it from a steel supplier rather than at Home Depot and buying full lengths.6013 is a decent beginners rod, as is 7014 (my preference for helping guys learn). One big issue most guys have is that they want to move too fast as they weld. Slow down. Post up some picts of your attempts and include the machine settings, rod type and size as well as material and thickness and we'll help you out. Also if you haven't already add your location to your User CP in the top left corner. That way we can all tell where you are from. You may find someone here thats local and willing to help you learn..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan