Stick Welding Tips and Basics

If you want to learn stick welding it will take practice and a little patience to learn to do it in a way that will produce fine welds. This is an important thing to remember although some people may say they never had to practice much.

Stick welding is one of the basic methods of welding that many students learn as they are just beginning to learn welding. This is also a method of welding that is high in demand because people need this help whether they are working iron, pie, boilers or building ships.

You will find that you will need the skills of all types of positions including flat and horizontal and ventricle or overhead welding. All of these will take some time to learn and some will be more challenging than others.

Here are some tips to help you make a better weld:

1. The right electrode for the job -- many people aren't sure of the size of the electrode they should use and this is important to know. The size of the electrode will depend on the situation you are welding within. In this situation you will be fighting against gravity if you are doing the weld vertically so you will want to use an electrode that is AWS classified as 7018 because they are low in their powder content.

2. A weld shelf makes a good guide -- if you are doing vertical or horizontal welding you will need something that the electrode can follow so you don't loose any of it to gravity. You can do this by creating a serious of little shelves so you can do a section at a time so that you can continue to work above a weld that you have already laid. This will create a situation where one puddle will freeze in time to hold the next weld.

3. Don't undercut if possible -- this can happen because you have to weave the electrode and sometimes your work may be gouged and not have enough fill metal. When this occurs, you will be working against gravity because it will work to pull your fill metal away from the space you are working. You can reduce your puddle size to help you have more control in this situation.

4. Stay away from weird sizes for your metal -- most metal will come in specific sizes that are always common. These metals will be easier to find and you can weld them fester. Stick with the ones that are AISI-SAE 1015 to 1025 so that you can be sure that you have what you need.

5. Make sure you know your arc length -- a good rule of thumb is to use an arc length that is the same distance from the metal as your electrode's thickness. As an example, if you have an electrode that is ¼" thick, then have your arc ¼" thick. Also remember that as you use the electrode, you will have to move it closer to the metal.

These tips will help you develop a more even weld and keep things more controlled.