What do you think of this stick welder?

[Haywire]

There's a Scott-Gross welding supply in town, but the last time I was in there, they mostly catered to oxy-acetylene and mig users. Maybe they'll have some. If not, I'll look around or maybe order online. I read a comment on a welding site that one guy looking for 6010 was told that it was just for pipe fitters and they only had it in 50lb boxes.

Ian

 

[Haywire]

Yep, all Scott Gross shows, at least on their web site, is 50lb cans of 6010. I bet I don't find it there.

Ian

 

[moored4]

I never was a fan of 6013, if it was removed from the planet today I wouldn't mis it a bit.:laughing:

Vertical up with Lincoln's 6013.

Can you do that with out those little swrilies in it!!! :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: nice

 

[Haywire]

Called Mark and ordered the 200 today. I also went by the welding shop and picked up a 5lb box of 1/8" 6013 and 7014. They had 6010 but only in 3/32. Will that be fat enough for playing around with 3/8" and 1/4" mild steel?

thanks,
Ian

 

[Shield Arc]

3/32 6010 or 6011 has it's place, but with you just starting out I wonder if you might have a hard time seeing what's going on. Might even be hard with 1/8, (for now) I wonder if you pickup a few pounds of 5/32 if it would help you to see the very sought after "stack of dimes" look?

 

[R W]

6013 & 7014 are easy rods to use with AC or DC and have proved suitable in a great many applications.
Have not found 7016s easy to use even with a good DC welder.
Did one job with 7018s, from memory they were better to use than a 7016, was using them with a 400 amp Lincoln. (4 cylinder Perkins engine).

 

[R W]

Not quite as easy to use as a regular oxy/acet torch, but exponentially cheaper to use as compared to oxy/acet for an infrequent homeowner user like me for heating things.

Can you still buy the correct carbon rods for these?

 

[Haywire]

3/32 6010 or 6011 has it's place, but with you just starting out I wonder if you might have a hard time seeing what's going on. Might even be hard with 1/8, (for now) I wonder if you pickup a few pounds of 5/32 if it would help you to see the very sought after "stack of dimes" look?

I was afraid that 5/32 rod might need too many amps for the metal I have to play with. If that's not a problem, I'll have another look.

Are you guys finding 6010 to be more expensive than 6011? Tractor Supply could order it, but for $7 more for 5lb than the rest of the common stuff. $20+ per box.

I've read that 6011 doesn't work as well with DC as it does with AC, something different in the flux. Is the difference enough to hinder me learning on it or does it make sense to put out the effort to find the 6010?

thanks,
Ian

 

[rankrank1]

Can you still buy the correct carbon rods for these?

Yes and No.

The preferred version of carbon rods for Twin Carbon Arc are no longer made in the US, but do appear on Ebay all the time although I have never purchased any (Note: They are sometimes are even advertised as movie projector rods and usually come from Austria or Germany. FYI: Old cinema projectors or WWII era anti-aircraft search lights used similar technology principles). I hear this preferred rod version works best in a Twin Carbon Arc torch but have never personally tried them.

I simply use the Copper cladded carbon rods that are made for Carbon gouging like used in an ArcAir type gouging torch for crude cutting. Although I have have heard that these rods do not work as well as the preferred rods, they are the only type that I have ever used and do seem to work okay for my needs. This type is readily available anywhere in the US. At $9 to $12 a box of 50 rods, they are very affordable and last a long time. I usually get careless and actually break a rod before I ever fully consume it, but have learned to be more careful so no longer a problem. Rods are available in different diameters, but I would not go much bigger than 1/4" (might be okay with 5/16") for an average AC buzzbox. Now if you have an old Lincoln Idealarc or Miller Dialarc which is much more welder than a buzzbox then you can possibly go even bigger rods. I usually use 1/4" rods. I have not expmeriented alot, but flame shape can be altered by changing rod approachment angles.

Twin Carbon arc is not for everyone, but for an occasional user like me it is as close as I will ever get to a free lunch. I actually have an old oxy/acetlyne rig that I mothballed several years ago. I simply got tired of the expensive lease on bottles, buying the expensive gas (Acetylene just increased another 40% by the way due to the shortage), or always running out on the weekend when everyplace is closed for refills. If you purchase bottles, the places near me would not fill them so I ruled that out. This selective filling by suppliers seems to have let up some since TSC recently started carrying bottles and gas. That all said, an oxy/acet rig can be very expensive to own. Definitely worth it if you use it a lot, but not worth it to the occasional backyard hobbyist like me.

 

[lostcause]

I was afraid that 5/32 rod might need too many amps for the metal I have to play with. If that's not a problem, I'll have another look.

Are you guys finding 6010 to be more expensive than 6011? Tractor Supply could order it, but for $7 more for 5lb than the rest of the common stuff. $20+ per box.

I've read that 6011 doesn't work as well with DC as it does with AC, something different in the flux. Is the difference enough to hinder me learning on it or does it make sense to put out the effort to find the 6010?

thanks,
Ian

if you go to any big box store that sells the minimum of welding supplies, you'll find 1/8" 6011 and 7018. that should tell you something. it doesn't mean that they are always the best choice for any given application, but they are certainly the most common. i grew up around a farm, and it was always an old ac only welder, and an old box of 6011 rods. the very non-technical reason (from an old timer) was that 6011 will weld steel through a quarter of an inch of cow****. it's pretty true really. it will strike and maintain an arc on all manners of rusty and coated metals easier than most any other rod.

you can do perfectly acceptable repairs and fabrication with them, though another rod (and/or dc welder) may allow a skilled operator to produce a more aesthetically pleasing weld. i've used 6011 on dc and it works fine. i think the best thing you can do is to try a box of each of a few types and see what you you like best for the work you do. rod and polarity choices will not make you a better welder instantly. if you have trouble making a good weld with 6011 on ac, then you won't magically make a good weld with a different rod on dc. it's the technique you pick up along the way that will allow you to make the good welds. certainly, once you have some practice, you will probably find that dc is slightly easier to work with.