Welding Rods for beginners

[daugen]

PJ, we'll have fun together and make lots of sparks.
yeah, I have heard comments that outside of Unfriendly Politics, the most passionate TBN members are in the welding forum. Then I suppose it's whose truck is better in Transportation.
What I worry about is folks jumping out of Unfriendly Politics, with their hair on fire, and then try to discuss the pros and cons of welding rods. Everyone has to be careful about this and as a non contentious person I'm grateful that hasn't happened here. I'm all about having fun and learning new things. And you really do learn a lot here.
Bottom line is I don't think any of us are that skilled or that smart that we can't hear someone else out politely. Now if they are saying something utterly or dangerously wrong, well speak up.
But to call someone a fool or whatever, worse, a liberal..... well it really needs to stay in that forum and not leak out. A puddle does not care what the politics are of the guy on the other end of the stick.

 

[PJSprog]

Yeah, it didn't get political, just offended by opinion.

... and you know what they say about opinions ...

There are people here who have clearly been welding at a very high level for a very long time. I'm all ears (well, it's the internet, so technically all eyes).

 

[scdeerslayer]

I keep my 7018 in a gasketed sealed rod holder and call it good. I make an effort to not take out more 7018 rods than I will use right away and keep the container closed as much as possible

That's what I decided to do as well.

 

[scdeerslayer]

I've always used a band saw for cutting metal. A porta band for quick stuff that doesn't have to be precise or square, and a horizontal band saw for more precise cuts. Then clean the burs with a bench grinder. A chop saw is probably faster on the big stuff but when I experimented with a chop saw blade on a mitre saw there was a lot more burs to clean. With the horizontal band saw you can set it up to cut and let it cut while doing something else.

 

[k0ua]

I've always used a band saw for cutting metal. A porta band for quick stuff that doesn't have to be precise or square, and a horizontal band saw for more precise cuts. Then clean the burs with a bench grinder. A chop saw is probably faster on the big stuff but when I experimented with a chop saw blade on a mitre saw there was a lot more burs to clean. With the horizontal band saw you can set it up to cut and let it cut while doing something else.

Yep, a bandsaw is a good investment. I got one as soon as I could afford it. Much safer too, no sparks flying all over the shop.

 

[gsganzer]

Yep, a bandsaw is a good investment. I got one as soon as I could afford it. Much safer too, no sparks flying all over the shop.

I have a 14" abrasive wheel chop saw, a portaband, O/A torch and now a Makita cold saw. I bought the abrasive wheel chop saw I about 15 years ago. It's a nuisance and I always cringed using it. I'll sell it now that I bought the cold saw. With the new cold saws, an abrasive wheel chop saw is obsolete, unless you just need something cheap.

A horizontal bandsaw is nice, but I think I have enough options to work around it for now. A portaband and a cold saw works for most everything I have to fab.

 

[daugen]

cold saw? Like one using a diamond slotted blade like I just bought for my grinder?

what is a plasma cutter, a hot saw?

 

[daugen]

Ok, I'm pretty sure I have a grip on the numbers of the rods I need.
Now, some experience will come in, which rod manufacturers are consistently high quality?
Are there name brands all you experienced guys say sure, it's xyz?

I can buy by price for training, but when the game is on, what should I use?
What I really should also have asked is does it matter for a beginner like me?

 

[shadetree]

I'll leave that for the guys that know. It is really nice to be able to let your hair down (see I can remember back 40 years) and trust these guys to let you know what works for them. I thank all of you for letting me be a part of this great group even when I know nothing.

 

[gsganzer]

cold saw? Like one using a diamond slotted blade like I just bought for my grinder?

what is a plasma cutter, a hot saw?

There's another TBN thread discussing cold saws. Cold saw thread

They're also called multi-cut saws because they can cut multiple materials (wood, metal etc.) They run at a slower RPM then an abrasive saw and a more precise cut with less dressing (weld prep) required to clean the cut end.

 

[void777]

I've always preferred Lincoln brand but go to a welding supply house they can better advise you if you can explain what your working on and give you prices on what you need hope this helps.

 

[flusher]

For stick welding try welding two-handed for more control over rod angle, gap distance and speed.

If you're having trouble getting decent stick welds, cut the rod in half and learn with these shorter rods.

7014 and 7024 are "drag" rods. You angle the rod about 30 degrees from vertical and drag the rod along the workpiece. These rods are easier to use for a beginner and are useful for making capping welds over 6010 and 6011 root passes.

Good luck

 

[crystallake]

Starting out, hold the rod between your thumb and forefinger to help you control. Just be sure to have your gloves on, no danger other than the heat. It wont bite you. Other hand of course on handle of stinger.

 

[daugen]

Starting out, hold the rod between your thumb and forefinger to help you control. Just be sure to have your gloves on, no danger other than the heat. It wont bite you. Other hand of course on handle of stinger.

so as long as I have my gloves on, I can hold the rod in my teeth?

good advice, thank you. It's all about smoothness and consistency, though I admit I'm a little short on understanding how deep the puddle should be based on the
thicknesses of the metal and what if there are multiple metals joining of different thicknesses. I guess if it all leaks out the bottom
I'm going too deep...or too hot.
I like the idea of dragging a rod to start; I could always caulk better that way vs pushing it.

If I cut the rod in half I'll be extra careful not to cook my finger crystallake; I realize the other end is hot but heat for sure travels.

 

[k0ua]

If you cut your rods in half, you can usually get by without holding the rod with fingers of the other hand. I still sometimes hold the full size rods with my fingers to get started. You just gotta know when to let go.

 

[Deere Dude]

I still sometimes hold the full size rods with my fingers to get started. You just gotta know when to let go.

That is really easy to figure out. Don't need much coaching on the release timing.

 

[Oldpath05]

7014 and 6011 are two of the best rods to have around, 7014 is a strong rod, great for tacking, welding on clean-ish steel. 6011 is a good rod to have for welding over crap, rust etc, and best for filling gaps, it can weld down beads or up, also good for cutting steel if no torch. When my last stick welder burnt up I was in the mist of trying to find out what's the difference between 6010 and 6011 rods, what little I used 6010, I didn't notice much difference, when I buy another stick machine I'll re-test the two.

Now a ? for the welder extraordinaire on here, what do the numbers mean in 6011 and 7014 or which number means All Position?

 

[bcp]

What the numbers mean:

AWS Classifications

Bruce

 

[Eric Salop]

PJ, we'll have fun together and make lots of sparks.

What I worry about is folks jumping out of Unfriendly Politics, with their hair on fire, and then try to discuss the pros and cons of welding rods.

Hair on fire ? If you find that happening too often, try turning the amps down a little


As a newbie stick welder too, only having played at it for about a year, I will let others comment on choice of rods as there are many on this very helpful welding forum much better qualified than me to offer you rod advice (anyway, I live in England where everyone learns to weld with 6013).

What I would say is that the only thing that really matters at first is practice. The scrap pieces you have been given will be perfect for that. As Newbury says, for the moment put out of your head all thoughts of trying to repair anything until you get the hang of things, or you will almost certainly get disappointed with the results. Practice on scrap, then practice some more. After that, do some more practice. Keep at it a little each day if you can.

If it appears that it is all going wrong and you begin to wish you had bought a mig instead, don't give in, just go back inside for a while and watch this brilliant training video by Steve Bliele Arc Welding Lessons - YouTube.

 

[daugen]

Eric, thanks for the link. Excellent video, easier to see what's going on/properly filtered than other YouTube videos.
I took a lot of notes. I have more than a dozen pieces of scrap metal to train on. Might start on that today or tomorrow.