light gauge with stick welding

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Hi, Everyone I"m another new member to your forum with a question  I"m a fairly decent farmer welder  but all my welding experience has been with ac stick welders I was thinking about buying a mig to weld light material tractor cabs etc  then I was looking at lincoln literature on the D C invertec v155-s and wondered if they could weld light gauge with stick welding  It says they produce from 5 to 150 amps DC and they can be powered  by a generator So that could be handy on a farm I would surely appreciate  any coments or advice  Is mig a better option ? probably cost less ? but that small lincoln would be a nice handy machine I look forward to hearing anyones experance on this.  Thanks Josey
Reply:I had similar questions and frustration trying to well light gauge stuff with a stick welder.  I tried very small rods like 1/32 -- still got burn through on a fairly regular basis.  Bought a 110 volt Lincoln mig welder and I've really enjoyed the experience.  Just bought some 24 gauge sheet to try this weekend.  This will be the thinest stuff so far,but I think I'll be successful.  I did buy the higher end machine with infinite wire speed (amp) control.mig welding  is great!  I use the stick for the heavy stuff that the light duty (110 volt) isn't meant to do.Bob
Reply:the stick can work on light gauge, try changing the polarity to DCEN if you are using a DC machine and the rod will burn coolerSteve Hot Rod HooliganMiller Maxstar 200 STRCampbell Housfeld Flux Core 80
Reply:It can be done easily....with tons of practice that is. I have taught two members here to weld 16ga with a 3/32 6011 and 6010....even with 1/8 and have zero burn thru.QamuIs Heg qaq law' lorvIs yInqaq puS
Reply:Stick welding thin material has a lot to do with the quality of power source being used.If the Invertec v155-s can emulate the arc characteristics of a DC generator, I would say it would stick thin material, no problem.Good Luck
Reply:Hi again,  Thanks for all the replies,  I see it can be done with a  bit of know how :Could you explain your technique and what kind of welder you are using Maybe I could master it too? Thanks  Josey.
Reply:Originally Posted by caldwellcplI had similar questions and frustration trying to well light gauge stuff with a stick welder.  I tried very small rods like 1/32 -- still got burn through on a fairly regular basis.  Bought a 110 volt Lincoln mig welder and I've really enjoyed the experience.  Just bought some 24 gauge sheet to try this weekend.  This will be the thinest stuff so far,but I think I'll be successful.  I did buy the higher end machine with infinite wire speed (amp) control.mig welding  is great!  I use the stick for the heavy stuff that the light duty (110 volt) isn't meant to do.Bob
Reply:For 16 ga, I start at 55-56a DCEN and go from there with a 3/32 6010 or 6011. You have to move quickly and whip. It takes some practice, but can be learned. Denrep, the technique will transcend any machine quality. I learned and did quite a bit of this with a red tombstone and a Miller T'bolt. Machine quality doesn't mean a thing if you don't know how to do it.;....then once you know how to do it, the machine type won't matter. You simply adapt to the machine's arc.QamuIs Heg qaq law' lorvIs yInqaq puS
Reply:do you mean what model welder? he states he bought a lincoln.225NT bobcatAEAD200LEScott 125mm175, mm252 w 30A, PT225mm211, TA 181iHyper Therm 380, cut master 529100X & XX, Digital Elite6 Victor setssmith little torch, meco midget kalamazoo band sawsteel max saw evoulution circular saw
Reply:Originally Posted by DDA52For 16 ga, I start at 55-56a DCEN and go from there with a 3/32 6010 or 6011. You have to move quickly and whip. It takes some practice, but can be learned. Denrep, the technique will transcend any machine quality. I learned and did quite a bit of this with a red tombstone and a Miller T'bolt. Machine quality doesn't mean a thing if you don't know how to do it.;....then once you know how to do it, the machine type won't matter. You simply adapt to the machine's arc.
Reply:Originally Posted by jbmprodshave you tried 1/16" 6013 @ 25-30 amps dc+? never tried it with dc-. guess i'll have to give that a shot. thanks for the tip.....jim
Reply:Originally Posted by DDA52It can be done easily....with tons of practice that is. I have taught two members here to weld 16ga with a 3/32 6011 and 6010....even with 1/8 and have zero burn thru.
Reply:Why not just use OA? It's more versatile and is very easy to use on sheetmetal.
Reply:In my case, it was not an approved process for galv sheet and it was highly impractical as we were doing multi story curtain wall work. My guess it would also have been way too slow.QamuIs Heg qaq law' lorvIs yInqaq puS
Reply:I regularly weld 18 ga with a lincoln hobby welder.  I have pictures of some 14 ga tubing on here somewhere.  the thing with sheet metal you want to start with the edge and carry the heat into the panel where there is a larger heat sink area.  I will see if i can find those pictures.
Reply:here they are.  you will notice I started at the edge and carried the weld to the center.  some have commented on them before about doing it in one pass.  I am not saying it can't be done, but you run too big of a chance of blowing the edge due to carrying too much heat.  A comple of simple rules in welding sheet and you will be golden.  Start on the edge, don't carry too much heat, and balance your welds to minimize warpage.
Reply:Originally Posted by JoseyHI, Bob How did  Your mig handle the 24 gauge material? What make of welder did you buy?
Reply:Originally Posted by caldwellcplI had similar questions and frustration trying to well light gauge stuff with a stick welder.  I tried very small rods like 1/32 -- still got burn through on a fairly regular basis.  Bought a 110 volt Lincoln mig welder and I've really enjoyed the experience.  Just bought some 24 gauge sheet to try this weekend.  This will be the thinest stuff so far,but I think I'll be successful.  I did buy the higher end machine with infinite wire speed (amp) control.mig welding  is great!  I use the stick for the heavy stuff that the light duty (110 volt) isn't meant to do.Bob