Stick Welding is Old School... And It Rules

Lets talk “Old School” for a minute. Even though it seems “old school” , stick welding is far from being obsolete. Stick welding is what the old timers still call "arc welding". In the hands of a skilled welder, it really has its advantages. There is no shielding gas to get blown away by the wind, its cheap, its portable , the equipment is really simple. It is very versatile. You can weld different metals simply by changing the rod. The metal doesn’t have to be all that clean. I could ramble on and on but you get the point.

One of the best deals on the planet is a 200 amp buzz box. You can find them on craigslist or Ebay all day long for less than 200 dollars. They are called buzz boxes because of the sound they make. The cheap ones only have A/C current but that is all you need to weld all kinds of stuff. My first buzz box was free. A friend gave me his 30 year old JC Penny buzz box when he got a new Lincoln 225 for Christmas. It worked great even though the rods tended to stick at first. Once I stuck them and they heated up a bit they started better the second time. Hey that’s why they call it “stick” welding right?

Steve Bleile's Arc Welding Series

Here is a Trick for Better Restarts with 7018 electrodes

This is the reason why 7018 welding rods are so hard to restart!...And if you peck and tap when you restart you have to peck so hard that a lot of flux cracks off the tip of the rod and you get a little porosity on your restart.

To fix this.....

Just scratch the rough file with the tip of the rod a few swipes until you can see shiny bright metal.

Now you can restart the rod without pecking like a Chicken.

Sometimes Watching a video like the one below can give you a head start on stick

Are you afraid to invest in a Stick Welding Video? What a cheap ass!!

A lot of people don’t know about the small diameter rods that are available. You can get 1/16 inch rods that work a lot better on sheet metal than the bigger ones. In fact if you practice a bit, the little rods work almost as well a mig welder for thin sheet metal. You can order them online or get them at the welding supply. Home depot doesn’t carry them.

1/16" Auto Strike Rods Welding Rods Small Parcel:Ships in 3 to 5 days These easy to strike welding rods are great for beginners. They require low heat and are ideal for autobody spot - welding. Will weld 18 to 12 gauge steel and work with all brands of welders. Specifications: *1/16" Welding rods *Recommended welding current is 45 - 70 *Weight: 0.37 lbs. *Warranty: 1 year limited *Dimensions: 13.25" H x 1" W x 1" D Weight: 0.42 lbs

If you have been having trouble sticking rods with your small stick welder, the small 1/16 rods like the ones pictures above can be a HUGE help.

For heavier welding a good ole 7018 rod is hard to beat for strength and appearance. A 1/8 inch rod only needs about 100 to 130 amps to run smoothly so a 200 amp buzz box easily handles 130 amps. There have been a lot of welding businesses that started with only a cutting torch and a buzz box. 6011 rods work well on rusty metal and for downhill welding. The ripples are a little rougher and the slag is a little harder to chip, but they penetrate like a mug. For sheet metal 6013 small rods are the ticket. That’s what I hear anyway, I try to avoid 6013 rods because they trap slag on downhill runs.

A lot of the welding on power plants and paper mills and high rises is still done with stick. The reason? It works. Its portable, Its reliable and Its proven. In contrast to mig welding, stick welding has sort of a built in control: you at least have to have the machine hot enough to keep the rod lit. That in itself almost ensures some amount of penetration.Mig welding on the other hand is infinitely adjustable. The welder is free to set voltage and amperage very low, even on thick metal and the appearance of the finished mig weld is not a good indicator of the quality of the weld.

Hot tips and tricks for stick welding

Using an extra rod to fill gaps,

If you are stick welding / arc weling and If you have an unusually big gap to fill, grab another rod and feed it with your other had like you would if you were gas welding. Make sure your gloves are dry so you won’t shock the piss out of yourself.

Don’t fear the amperage

On overhead stick welds, I have seen a lot of folks cut the amperage down thinking it will help keep the weld from sagging. Negatory good buddy, you need it good and hot just as if you were welding flat. That way you can keep the arc real close the puddle will drive it home and flatten out from arc force.

The angle of the dangle

On overhead stick welding / arc welding especially, don’t get carried away with angle of the rod. Keep it dead nuts straight in or 5 degrees one way or the other. This is a big deal. Most of the overhead welding I see that sucks can be blamed on too much rod angle. When in doubt , dead nuts straight in is hard to beat.

Screw 6013’s .

Throw the little pieces of crap away. I’m serious. They suck, and the only purpose they serve is to help you learn how to weld. Just like Arnold Schwarzenegger said “milk is for babies, when you grow up you drink beer”. 6013s are for babies, when you grow up you use 6011 and 7018.

6011s and a buzz box

Give me some 6011s and a buzz box and I will be as happy as a pig in sh...… 6011 rods dig thru paint and rust and run good downhill. What more could you ask for?

Oh yeah,,, Don’t forget 7018 rods run just fine on a buzz box. And don’t forget about 3/32 7018 rods . 3/32" rods are much easier to control on overhead and vertical welds and the slag chips easy if you don’t suck too bad at welding.

One thing I have not been able to work very well is aluminium stick welding. I will keep trying and when I get something that works, I will post it here.

Need to stick weld / arc weld on your Tig machine? If you only need to burn a few rods then don’t even bother hooking up a stinger. Just use your Tig torch with a 1/8” or 3/32”collet setup. You can even use the foot pedal if you want.

Coming soon... How to hook up a tig torch to a DC arc welderOk I am really dragging my ass on this one. But I will do it soon.I am writing a reminder on my hand right now.

Electrode Identification System

Mild steel electrodes are identified by a system that uses a series of numbers to indicate the minimum tensile strength of a good weld, the position’s in which the electrode can be used, the type of flux coating, and the types of welding currents.

E6012 The letter E prefixes the number and represents the electrode. The E is used as a prefix for any filler metal that uses electricity to perform a weld.

E6012 The first two or three numbers indicate the minimum tensile strength of a good weld, for example E60XX, E70XX, E110XX. The tensile strength is given in pounds per square inch (psi.). The actual strength is obtained by adding three zeros to the right of the number given. For example, E60XX is 60,000 psi. and E110XX is 110,000 psi.

E6012 Refers to the metal welding position. The number 1,2,3, or 4 to the right of the tensile strength designation gives the position...1= all positions - 2 =horizontal or flat - 3 = flat only - 4 = all positions but vertical down.

E6012 The last number indicates the major type of flux covering and the type of welding current.

0 - DCRP 1 - AC/DCRP 2 - AC/DCSP 3 - AC/DC

4 - AC/DC

5 - DCRP

6 - AC/DCRP

8 - AC/DCRP

DC = direct current

DC/SP = direct current straight polarity

AC =alternating current

DC/RP = direct current reverse polarity

Understanding Electrode Data

Tensile Strength The load in pounds that would be required to break a section of good weld that has a cross-sectional area of one square inch.

Yield point,PSI The point in low and medium-carbon steels at which the metal begins to stretch when stress is applied, after which it will not return to its original length.

Elongation The percentage, a two inch piece of metal will stretch before it breaks.

Charpy V-notch ft.lb. The impact load required to break a test piece of welded metal. This test may be performed on metal below room temperature, at which point it is more brittle.

Alloy Elements and Their effects on Steel

Carbon (c) As the percentage of carbon increases, the tensile strength increases, the hardness increases, and ductility is reduced.

Sulphur (S) It is usually a contaminant and the percentage should be kept as low as possible, below 0.04%. As the percentage of carbon increases, Sulphur can cause hot shortness and porosity.

Phosphorus (P) It is usually a contaminant and the percentage should be kept as low as possible. As the percentage of phosphorus increases, it can cause brittleness, reduced shock resistance, and increased cracking.

Manganese (Mn) As the percentage of manganese increases, the tensile strength, hardness, resistance to abrasion, and porosity all increase; hot shortness is reduced.

Silicon (Si) As the percentage of silicon increases, tensile strength increases, and cracking may increase.

Chromium (Cr) As the percentage of chromium increase, tensile strength, hardness, and corrosion resistance increase, with some decrease in ductility.

Nickel (Ni) As the percentage of nickel increases, tensile strength, toughness, and corrosion resistance increase

Molybdenum (Mo) AS the percentage of molybdenum increases, tensile strength at elevated temperatures and corrosion resistance increase.

Stick Electrode Selection--Choosing the right Stick Rod

Type of Current: Can the welding power source supply AC only, DC only, or both AC and DC?.

Power Range: What is the amperage range on the welder and it’s duty cycle? Different types of electrodes require different amperage settings even for the same size welding electrode.

Type of Metal: Some welding electrodes may be used to join more than one similar type of metal. Other electrodes may be used to join two different types of metal.

Metal Thickness: The penetration characteristics of each welding electrode may differ. Selecting the electrode that will properly weld on a specific thickness of material is very important.

Weld Position: Some electrodes will weld in all positions. Other electrodes may be restricted to the flat and horizontal or vertical positions, or only the flat electrodes will weld on metal that is rusty, oily, dirty or galvanized with sufficient penetration.

No. of passes: The amount of reinforcement needed may require more than one pass. Some welding electrodes build up faster and others will penetrate deeper. The welding slag may be removed more easily from some welds than others.

Temperature: Welded metals react differently to temperature extremes. Some welds become very brittle and crack easily in low temperature service. (when welding in cold temperatures, you should pre-heat the metal, and after the weld is made it should be covered or shielded from the cold to allow it to cool slowly).

Mechanical: Mechanical properties such as tensile strength, yield strength, hardness, toughness, ductility, and impact strength can be modified by the selection of specific welding electrodes.

Distortion: Welding electrodes that will operate on low-amperage settings will have less heat input and cause less distortion. Welding electrodes that have a high rate of deposition (fills joints rapidly) and can travel faster will cause less distortion.

Welding Clean-up: The hardness or softness of a weld greatly affects any grinding, drilling, or machining. Also slag and spatter removal affects the time and amount of clean-up required.

Most Common Steel Stick Welding Electrodes

E6013 The E6013 electrodes are designed to be used with AC or DC, either polarity current. They have a rutile-based flux (titanium dioxide). The electrode has a very stable arc that is not very forceful, resulting in a shallow penetration characteristic. This limited penetration characteristic helps with poor fitting joints or when welding thin materials. Thick sections can be welded, but the joint must be grooved to allow for multiple weld passes. A thick layer of slag is deposited on the weld, but is easily removed, and may even remove itself after cooling. These electrodes are commonly used for sheet metal fabrication and general repair work. These electrodes are not designed for welding downhill and will trap slag easily. (They work well for learning to weld, but after that move on to real electrodes)

E7018 The E7018 electrodes are designed to be used with AC or DC reverse polarity currents. They have a low hydrogen based flux with iron powder added. The E7018 electrodes have moderate penetration and buildup. The slag layer is heavy and hard but can be removed easily with a chipping hammer. The weld metal is protected from the atmosphere by the slag layer and not by rapidly expanding gases. The E7018 is very susceptible to moisture which may lead to weld porosity.

E7024 The E7024 electrodes are designed to be used with AC or DC, either polarity current. They have a rutile based flux with iron powder added. This welding electrode has a deep penetration and fast fill characteristic. The flux contains about 50% iron powder, which gives the flux its high rate of deposition. The heavy flux coating helps control the arc and can support the electrode so that a drag technique can be used. The drag technique allows this electrode to be used by welders with less skill. The slag layer is heavy and hard but can be easily removed. Because of the large fluid puddle, this electrode is used in the flat and horizontal positions only.

Stick Welding Amperage Guide

Here is your chance to Ask a Stick Welding Question. Some frequently asked Stick welding questions: Explain the benefits of stick welding versus tig welding. What are the advantages of mig welding versus stick welding? Where to I get rods for aluminium stick welding? Any Tips for Stick welding test Vertical?