How to use a stick welder? – this question might bother you sometimes, especially when you are just involved in the welding industry. You have tried it for the first time, but you find it more challenging than you think.
Well, it is not worth worrying anymore because we will give you a better understanding of a stick welder and its usage within the article below. Scroll down to find more.
Table of Contents
What Is Stick Welding?
Stick welding is considered the most prevalent method among arc processes used for many home-related and workshop welding projects. It helps you to join a variety of metals by using an electrode and electric current at the weld pool. Specifically, the stick welder will supply enough power to heat the wire until it melts to join all the parts together.
Stick welding can handle thick materials perfectly, so that’s why it is applied extensively in the construction industry and other heavy-duty applications. Also, this type of welding is so versatile that it can work well under windy, outdoor conditions.
There is a wide variety of stick welders available on the current market so you can easily purchase one to carry out the welding job. When it comes to the way of using a stick welder, scroll down to dive into this matter.
Take Note Before Starting
Learning A Stick Welder’s Parts
Typically, a stick welder comes with some basic parts, including:
- Leads: They work as conductor cables to send the electricity to the welded material.
- Stinger/Rod Holder: It holds the welding rod or electrode melting under the electrical arc to make the weld.
- Ground Clamp: It is used to ground the connection between the stick welder and the welded metal to complete the circuit.
- Welding Electrodes: They are wire rods which are covered in a flux coating. When the rod melts, this coating will burn off, resulting in carbon dioxide production to avoid the condition of oxidizing or burning up of the base metal.
Wear Safety Gear
In fact, you cannot use a stick welder without putting safety gear on.
The reason is that this welding process emits lots of UV light and radiation, which can affect your eyes severely. It is not an exaggeration to say that the feeling when you look into the arc is the same, compared to when looking into the sun.
As a result, a welding helmet is a compulsory thing. Also, we highly recommend wearing heavy leather gloves, a leather apron and synthetic fibre clothes. Besides UV light and radiation, large amounts of sparks and heat are flown into space through stick welding.
An Ultimate Way Of How To Use A Stick Welder?
Clean Your Materials
Even though a stick welder is capable of handling rusty, corroded, dirty materials, you had better clean them as you are still practising the right way of usage.
Let’s use a dry and oil-free rag to wipe the surface clean, then grind the metal’s side which is being welded. Don’t forget to rub the connection areas for better conductivity in the next step. After that, use clamps to fix pieces of metal in place.
Make A Connection
You have to connect the leads and ground to the metal you are handling. Then, let’s check the electrodes you will use to set the amperage. If you have no idea of the range, you can split the difference. For example, the electrode needs from 75 to 125 DC, let’s set the welder to the mid-range of 100.
Create An Arc
After determining the direction you will create an arc by putting the electrode tip against the metal, completing a circuit, and pulling it back quickly. Once the arc fires up, drag it back to the proper arc distance, which is equal to the electrode diameter. And keep maintaining this distance throughout the process. During this part, make sure to keep a consistent angle too.
Determine The Proper Speed
If you move too slow, all the areas around can be burned, leading to a weak weld. On the contrary, going too fast will make you not penetrate the overall welding area of metal. That’s why you need to adjust the speed accordingly.
Clean The Weld
Finally, after the weld is finished, you can use a wire brush to wipe off the slag to see how the result is.
Final Word
The beginners may struggle with using a stick welder at first, but they get used to it quickly over time. We do believe that the way of how to use a stick welder will never bother you anymore after you read our detailed guide above. If you find this article useful, share it with friends who have the same demands.