u know how u peck and the flux comes off if too much comes off u just throw the rod away instead of pecking gently scratch the rod along the piece of metal kinda like a file it work then u can save a lil money instead of using it on wasted rod use it to buy u something a little bit better than that cracker jack box u keep bringin up i mean yea thats alright to start with but once ur good u can move up to improve ur arcing skill u kno what i mean???i started welding when i was 10 when i was twelve my dad bought me a motor driven arc welder for my b-day my point is u dont have to have the fanciest things just make do with what u got i dont have anything fancy but i willl 1 of these days hopefully i hope my tips will help u out a lil bit
p.s I <3 welding haha welding forever