Cutting with a stick welder?

[Gary Fowler]

Woodlandfarms: buying a used rig on craigslist might be ok, however, Be careful of buying the bottles as lots of those folks that say they are owned really are leased and the gas supplier wont fill them. I too bought from Craigslist and I lucked out on my setup and the local supplier had no problem swapping them out, even though they were due for hydrotest. They charged $25 per bottle to retest my bottles, took my old bottles and swapped them out with theirs.
I have seen on this forum that some folks good hoodwinked both by the seller and the welding supplier. They paid the seller for the bottles and then the welding supplier seized their bottles when they took them to fill claiming they belonged to another supplier and were stolen. I find this a little strange that they would do that rather than just refuse to fill them. I am not sure what I would have done in that case, but likely someone would have had a knot on their head if they tried to seize my property that I had bought in good faith, unless they had a badge pinned to their chest and a gun at their hip.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Hey Gary.

Thanks for the advice. I have realized that for the next two builds It is easier for me to have the metal shop cut what I need up than learn a new trick.

But great advice if / when I go buy an OA setup.

Carl

 

[rdbigfarmboy]

I dont have a torch. I cut with the hobart AC225 and 6011. Ive built dump trailers, cut down and rewelded truck frames and lots of other stuff. When I need a precise perfect cut or hole I take it to a welding shop.

 

[creedfl]

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.

You can also find old Carbon rods @ Theatrical Lighting supply houses. They work as well & a few of these places will give away broken ones & old stock, since they aren't used much anymore.

 

[rankrank1]

E6011 or the expensive cutting electrodes are the way to cut with your tomstone. Rod manipulation technique is even described in old lincoln manuals.

Arcair systems or gouge cutting takes monster sized welder bigger than your tombstone.

Twin carbon arc is very useful as a free way to heat metal for bending, free rusfed nuts, brazing, silver soldering, etc. Twin carbon arc is not for cutting though. Your buzzbox will easily power twin carbon arc.

 

[yomax4]

If anyone would like to try the Carbon Arc process. P.M. me and I will send you some carbons. I have a few boxes of SAE and metric that could go to someone who needs them. Actually carbons work well for welding around worn holes and I have a pile of assorted sizes for that too.

 

[Baby Grand]

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.

I used this years ago to cut stainless castings in prep for welding modifications. Cranked the DC stick machine to max amps (300?), hooked up the air and blasted away. Works by blowing molten metal out of the arc area rather than burning, as near as I can tell. Works great, but like whistlepig says, you'll need a clear field of fire. And some protection from the radiant heat.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I used this years ago to cut stainless castings in prep for welding modifications. Cranked the DC stick machine to max amps (300?), hooked up the air and blasted away. Works by blowing molten metal out of the arc area rather than burning, as near as I can tell. Works great, but like whistlepig says, you'll need a clear field of fire. And some protection from the radiant heat.

Arc-Air guns are still the best thing to remove old welds without damaging the parent material. In the hands of a skillful operator they work well but can do a lot of damage when improperly used. You do need an open area that is non-flammable and possibly a fire-watch person with a hose to keep all the sparks wet down which could be anywhere from grinder sized sparks to globs of molten metal depending on your power source availability. 300 Amps is about the minimum you would want for efficient operation but lower amps would work also, just be a lot slower. Before I got my Oxy-acetylene torch, I would use 6010 rods with straight polarity for cutting metal and making holes, not the best but will get you by if you have nothing else.

 

[rankrank1]

... I would use 6010 rods with straight polarity for cutting metal and making holes, not the best but will get you by if you have nothing else....

6010 will work too if you have lots of amps on DC available on your welder (to the OP remember that 6010 is a DC only rod and you do not have lots of amps available on the DC side of your welder).

However 6011 is what most of us will want to use for improvised cutting since we usually have 225-235 amps at our disposal on AC and only 125-150 amps on DC at our disposal on the common buzzbox welders that are the most popular. (6011 is for AC and will burn equally fine on DC so it is the best choice for most).

 

[Shield Arc]

I always tried to avoid these things, but they do work great! If there was ever a place to wear ear plugs, running one of these is the place. :laughing:

How to Carbon Arc Air Gouging... - YouTube