Cutting with a stick welder?

[woodlandfarms]

So I was wondering if anyone has used their stick welder to cut. I have an old Lincoln (ACDC 225) and on the panel it mentions stick cutting. But I have yet to find any sticks that do this, no any further instruction on the net.

I would love to have a plasma cutter, but I also have a wife.

Carl

 

[J_J]

So I was wondering if anyone has used their stick welder to cut. I have an old Lincoln (ACDC 225) and on the panel it mentions stick cutting. But I have yet to find any sticks that do this, no any further instruction on the net.

I would love to have a plasma cutter, but I also have a wife.

Carl

Carl,

Yes, you can use copper coated carbon rods to cut/gouge.

Gouging Rod, gouging rods, copper coated carbon rods, jointed , flat pointed copper

Gouging Rods - Engineers Edge

SUPERBLAST Cutting Rods -- Cut fast without Gas

 

[easygo]

You can also take an E6011 electrode soak it in water for a minute or two before inserting into rod holder and crank up the amps. That will give you a very crude but effective cutting tool. The surface after cutting will be rough and will require a fair amount of grinding. I never tried it with material thicker then 1/4" but it should work.
There are specialty cutting electrodes made for stick welders, but I hear they are pricey.
Edit: Duh... They are in the link provided by J.J.

 

[NSBound]

I used mine just with a 6011 rod and cranked it up and cut an old garage door into 2' pieces that I could put out in the garbage. It worked, and they took it. :thumbsup:

 

[Kays Supply]

There is an attachment called an air arc torch. I have used one many years ago. If I remember correctly, you put one of the carbon rods in it and connected it to your air compressor. It would cut about anything , SS , cast iron , mild steel , copper , etc. We used it to cut a SS tank up with cast iron rings around it. It was crude, but much better than a cutoff saw. Also, I don't think it was really expensive.

 

[yomax4]

What you are looking for Is a product I used to sell Called Cut Rod. It is a Harris Welco Product. They also offer Chamfer Arc Rods for Gouging out welds. Just for your Stick Welder. Lincoln Electric has bought Harris Welco and they are too Dumb to keep it alive so it is dying. You may still have time to source these rods before they go bye bye. They have killed a bunch of cool products already..Someonh mentioned Arc Air Gouging rods but that is not what you are after. There is also an Exothermic Slice Totch that uses Magnesium Rods with Oxygen Blown through them and they will cut " Anything " Boulders, Bridges, Asphault etc.

 

[PILOON]

Eutectic also produced a cutting rod that I used with my AC welder.
Needed high amps, kinda pricy but did a fine job, however it leaves a rather ragged cut but OK for demolition type work.

 

[yomax4]

Yeah, There are a dozen Cut type Rods out there. None will replace Oxy-Fuel or Plasma. Welcome to Evolution.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Thanks for all the feedback.

I looked up the air arc stuff, and it looks like they take a pretty high CFM compressor, and aren't that cheap.

I will check with Airgas and see if they have the cutting rods. I have a large piece of Ibeam I found on the property that might go to making a logsplitter if I should choose to shorten it.

 

[J_J]

Carl,

I have one of those Exothermic Slice Torch kits. The rods are not that expensive. They take about 80 lbs of oxygen. They burn fast and furious, and will cut just about anything. It uses a special holder to secure the rod and and protect your hand, and allow the oxygen to go through the center. You then strike an arc using the ground block and a car battery, and you are off and cutting. Some people call then jet rods. Any welding supply should have them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZYJx3fQdo8&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ISCd2YJ_Rc&feature=related

 

[yomax4]

I have an Arc Air Slice Torch. ( Exothermic). Yes it it 80# Oxy. Just used it to cut Rebar that hade some thin Concrete on it. What a Beast..

 

[DanD78]

Can you haul the beam to a local shop and have it cut in a band saw or torched. As others have said the cut quality will be very poor.

Dan

 

[woodlandfarms]

Yes on hauling, and I am not sure I am going to cut this long beam up anyway, may just buy a short peice.

I am going to pass on this air torch. Maybe get a set of those cutting rods for a just in case scenario (to use with my welder normally with no air support) and go out and buy a used oxy setup. There are a bunch for sale on Craigslist...

 

[Runner]

I have a Craftsman carbon arc torch that is made to be connected to the leads on an arc welder. This unit is about 50 years old and uses pencil shaped copper coated electrodes. I have used it to cut pieces apart that were previously welded together and it works, but is pretty much a brute force type of thing.

Not sure if carbon electrodes in this size are still available, but I'd like to have some more on hand if I can find them.

 

[yomax4]

You can buy Arc Air Carbons Made for Gouging with an Air Arc Torch. They will work good on your ( Nearly Collectable ) Carbon Arc Torch.
:thumbsup:

 

[sweettractors]

When I first started farming, I used pounds of the 6011's with my Lincoln 225 with good results. I did not need to buy a torch for many years later, when I started my business. Ken Sweet

 

[whistlepig]

Arc-air is a pretty serious operation if have you ever see it done. It will remove a tremendous amount of metal in a very short time. It works very well. It will also blow molten the size of marbles in an uncontrollable spray for thirty feet. One has to have a very large area with nothing that can catch on fire when using arc-air. Not something I would want to try in my garage.

 

[crusty 1]

Ditto on the 6011 soaked in water a few hours,not pretty but does the job with what you have,I,m all about easy and cheap

 

[Big Wave D]

Worked for an Excavating company. Every new bucket they bought for a Bobcat was cut to pieces and reworked per their own special design. (Rather slick, had a cutting edge front and rear, made grading a breeze)

Anyway, like some others have said, the guy who always altered the buckets used one of those Air Arc units. I seem to remember that it made a really nice, clean cut without a lot of grinding.

It seems like you'd need a commercial sized compressor to keep up though. It'd be rather slow going with even a larger home owner sized air compressor.

 

[Kernopelli]

Here's a thread I started a few months ago about the carbon arc torches you may find interesting/helpful

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/162602-carbon-arc-torch.html