First Time Stick Welding

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Well I'm only a Sophmore in HS but I love welding and plan to use it in my career.   Ive know how to MIG weld for about 2 years and Ive gotten pretty good at it considering it was a teach myself deal.  But now that I can take welding in school i finally got to you the stick for the first time ever.It was defiently alot different, with MIG you can rest the wire on the spot to weld, flip your mask and go but you cant do that on stick.  You've got to say close but if you get to close you lose the arc and flash it to the base metal.I forgot to get pics with my phone but i will do tomorrow for sure.  Hes got us just running beads in angle iron right now but its not working so great.  Ive got the the hang of striking the arc, heating my metal, forming the pool but i cant seem to push the pool.  I was just thinking about it and i was pulling the whole time, am i supposed to push?Also, i get alot of splatter and a wide, flat bead that seems to just heat the base metal up and that about it.
Reply:Well,  with a stick you will want to pull the rod.  You will have a little more spatter with the stick than you will with a mig.  as far as the running beads in angle iron thats your teachers deal and I am sure he has a reason for it.  I would think you could tell alot more about your bead on a flat plate.  As far as the lot of spatter, wide flat bead with not alot of penetration, You might be holding too long an arc.  What size and kind of rods are you using, and at what amperage?   A stick is a little tougher to learn than mig is, but keep at it and you will be laying nice beads in no time.  ~JacksonI'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:Which rod are you using?  what size? ac or dc? polarity? what amperage?   Bye the way, my teacher in HS also had me fill in angle iron with hot-rod iron.  We then cut them in several places with the bandsaw, acid etched them, and then tried to count the inclusions.  You had 3 8" long pieces of 2" angle steel, filled them to the top, and then cut them into 2" long pieces.  The teacher had us count each others inclusions, and flaws within the welds, and the people with the best welds got to move on to the tig machine.  the others got to move on to 7018 instead of 6010.  Anyway...  give us some pics !!  Happy hot-roddin!  Brian Lee  Sparkeee24
Reply:Not 100% of this but i almost want to say 7011? or somthing like that. an like 3/16?  sorry im not sure.DC Negative Polarity (+) and 125 Amps.I was rushed today so no pics, plus i would have been embarrassed, way of my game today.. 35 student, 8 welders total, 4 down, alittle rished.
Reply:No need to be embarrased, Dirt.  We all started out somewhere.  Besides, it's not where you start, that's the important part.  I remember starting in a similar class when I was in high school.  Our first class started with the instructor telling everyone, "don't use the electrode for anything but welding.  No scratching, no picking noses, and no poking your neighbors."Just weld as often as possible and find a book and read up on what you need to be doing when you are not in class.  Oh, yeah, and post your progress.  Folks here are very good at helping new guys who are interested in learning.  It's like playing a sport, the better you get, the more you will enjoy the process.Last edited by smithboy; 08-31-2005 at 06:19 PM.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Ok, Thanka alot guys.I love welding but its just fustrating learning somthing new.  Ill grab picks for sure tommorow.Also, weve watch some movies witht they like barely tap it and the slag comes off in like 2 big pieces yet mine it seems like im taking to the grinder to clean it up, any thoughts?  Thanks Alot!.
Reply:well I would imagine you are using a 6011 which in my experience is not going to clean up as easily as some of the heavy fluxed rods like a 6013, 7014, 7018.  It takes time to learn stick, don't get frustrated and keep us informed on your progress with pics and everyone here will be glad to offer advice as you need it.  Good luck ~JacksonI'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:Dirt - if you're really serious about trying to ace this class and really progress welding-wise, get Mom and Pop to spring for a stick welder at home!  If Dad has a MIG already (I assume that's where you learned to MIG?) then the expense of a cheap inverter-based stick power supply isn't going to blow his hair back.  At the least, hit up your local hardware store and get a DIRT-cheap buzzbox - some kind of 120V or 240V AC stick setup, which you can sometimes find for under $100, and run beads on scrap plate or angle iron in the garage.  For $500 you can get yourself a darn fine inverter-based stick setup with all the wiring, work clamp, electrode holder, etc. and it'll prove useful as time goes on.Hell, if I was a Dad I'd LOVE it if my son asked me to take him to the hardware store or local welding shop so he could pick out his first welder.One small warning you might want to listen to - if you don't want to make LOTS of new "friends" then don't tell anyone when you buy a welder...   Good luck, Bro!MR
Reply:I work out at a ranch and i learned there.  Lots of poles, fences, its all metal and all needs to be welded.  But i really do like the cheap welder idea... i price em out wheni get home from school today.
Reply:try a slight circular motion, you can watch as the puddle freezes, then you move forward.  Also, once you get the puddle going, you can "whip", and then "pause", and so on and so forth, so you sorta drag the puddle forward as you go along.  Here is a good vid of it:http://www.weldinginspectionsvcs.com/SMAWVideo.htm2002 VW Golf TDi1994 Audi S4
Reply:We didnt get to weld today so no current pics..I did weld once after this pic was taken and personally i think i improved alot.On some of the metals, it just melts it away and theres nothing to weld together.Thats the only decent pic i got..Its with my camera phone so sorry :S
Reply:From that pic it looks to me like you are holding to long of an arc.  try holding the rod closer, and watch for a puddle to form then you can try to drag the puddle.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:yea, i saw the puddle yesterday...i remebered reading in the textbook that circles are bad.. but the book is like 20 years old... so the first week i didnt do circles but i think they turned out pretty good
Reply:SMAW is an older process, so I wouldn't think that the new books have much more good information then older books in this matter.  The only difference is the technology of the machines producing the arc voltage/current.  Things like adjustable arc start, and stiff/soft arc variables are much more common with the newer inverter technology.  setup on the machine is a lil different, but the techniques with the rods are nearly identical.  Happy welding!  I would think what your seeing on your pieces is from arc wander also.  Too long an arc.  You may consider checking out Miller, and hobart websites for learning information about stick welding.  Miller and hobart have some really god books too.  I would recomend getting Lincolns welding bible also.  It's huge and packed with information.  Very usefull.  Some very simplistic, some almost seems greek, and everything in between.  Happy welding!  Brian Lee  Sparkeee24
Reply:You've absolutely got to get some of the basics committed to mind before you can even attempt to perfect your weld bead profile. I know the number one thing new guys want to get right after is pickin up the stinger and dragging some rod. Then they proceed to try to match some pretty bead they saw somewhere. Number ONE item on your list is to find out what type of rod you have in your hand. Know the characteristics of that rod, how it is supposed to perform, and how it is to be used. Do not strike an arc till you know what the heck to expect. There are key points like 'fast freeze', 'fast fill', 'contact rod', 'non-contact', bla bla bla. Learn those.   For most of us there are only about four rods!!!! Don't wait for the video at school, dig this info up before you get back to class. Dubya dubya dubya lincolnelectric dot com. Go there now.   Last edited by Sandy; 09-04-2005 at 01:01 AM.
Reply:In rethinking this scenario, (and after having an awesome/crappy welding project day myself, I am reverting to the kiss method.  If I were you, I would start with one size and type of rod, and that's it.  Get a perfect consistent bead with one rod, on one type of base metal.  What you nead to learn first, is how your manipulation of the rod, and your seting on your machine effect the weld.  It's hard to do that if you change rods, or base metal, or machines... and such.   While your learning, if you want to try something else, only change one variable.  There are sooooo many variables in welding, that it's easy to get lost in which one you changed caused what.  For instance, today, I was mig welding, and I wasn't even thinking about how it was getting breezy.  The inert gas "bubble zone" I call it, was blowing away, and about every 1 1/2" I would get a crackly, sparkly, 1/2" around sparkler looking glob of metal spit.  Talk about porosity.  When I can take a set of side cutters, and peel off the porous bubble.  BLAH!  then, an inch away, it was beautiful, good penetration too.  So even I forgot to KISS.  All I neaded was a tarp to block the breeze. Instead I fussed over mig gun/gas pressure/this and that...  Anyway, thought I'd share my interesestingly rough afternoon.  On the other hand though, I have 6 pieces that all came out cut within 1-1 1/2 degrees tolerance from perfect 22.5 deg cut.  For me, and my lack of welding table, that is fantastic!  I am just now getting to experience quality tools.  My new bandsaw ROCKS!  So I have 6 pieces all welded together in 2 sets of three, and they all match perfectly!  I Love that!  Just some have porous spots...but this is for a welder/gas tank/plasma cutter/torch set cart.  We're not talking rocket science   Happ0y welding kiddo, and keep up the enthusiasm!  Brian Lee Sparkeee24  PS  my ol shop teacher made us burn through 10 pounds of 6011 rod before touching any other rod in the shop.  It was a good idea now that I think about it