stick welding

[desertsport]

I have a stick welder, and have been practicing for a while. but I am now looking for some tips, and tricks to make some better welds.

One question I have is there a way to clean the steel before I weld, Or do I even need to???

Thanks for the help.

[MuddMachine]

Getting all the mill scale and/or rust and/or crud off the steel would give you a much better weld. I'd suggest to keep practicing in the form of "padding"... take a piece of 1/2" plate or thicker, about 6"x6" in size and run beads on it, keep running beeds till it's built right up. Once you have that down pat use the same approach except in a horizontal position, then verticle, then overhead. Stick isnt as easy as mig. Takes alot of practice but the resulting weld quality is worth the effort.

[rustedJeep]

Having clean steel will make a huge difference in how it welds. Experiment with dirty / rusted steel, and then again after you clean it up with a wire brush and you will see the difference. A few minutes of time in cleaning prep is worth it.

[guidolyons]

Wire wheel on a 4 1/2 grinder works like a champ to clean up rusty steel before welding. Works good to clean off slag too.

Keep laying beads

[desertsport]

Yea I have been laying beads on a peice of scrape steel that has been given to me for a few monthes now. Just laying one bead after another. The person that gave me the welder showed me a little when I got it, but am now looking for some more tips. What Im getting from you guys was just keep practicing, which is what he told me to do. he used to weld ships togeather at a ship yard, so I trust what he says, but does live some distance away. .

The steel is in a L shape that a lot of large holes were drilled through, I was told to try to fill in the holes and to make the peice of steel one large solid peice of steel, one bead ontop of another. I still think he is crazy telling me to fill it all in and make one 2" think peice of steel.

But maybe you can help with some more specific questions.

I need some teqniques on filling holes. I can lay a bead well but when it comes the try and fill in holes Half the time I can fill it in, and the other half of the time I make the hole larger.

I keep turning the welder to 90, What happens to my welds If I turn it up or down.

what happens if you weld ontop of schlag, if you didnt chip it off at all or if some small peices didnt get taken off.

And most importantly is there a eaiser way to get schlag off.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by desertsport

Yea I have been laying beads on a peice of scrape steel that has been given to me for a few monthes now. Just laying one bead after another. The person that gave me the welder showed me a little when I got it, but am now looking for some more tips. What Im getting from you guys was just keep practicing, which is what he told me to do. he used to weld ships togeather at a ship yard, so I trust what he says, but does live some distance away. .

The steel is in a L shape that a lot of large holes were drilled through, I was told to try to fill in the holes and to make the peice of steel one large solid peice of steel, one bead ontop of another. I still think he is crazy telling me to fill it all in and make one 2" think peice of steel.

But maybe you can help with some more specific questions.

I need some teqniques on filling holes. I can lay a bead well but when it comes the try and fill in holes Half the time I can fill it in, and the other half of the time I make the hole larger.

I keep turning the welder to 90, What happens to my welds If I turn it up or down.

what happens if you weld ontop of schlag, if you didnt chip it off at all or if some small peices didnt get taken off.

And most importantly is there a eaiser way to get schlag off.

Wire wheel on a grinder takes slag off easily. What machine are you using? what rod? what size? Dont weld over slag, period. Filling in holes with stick isnt the easiest thing to do. One thing you could do is get a peice of brass and place it under the hole. THe weld wont stick to the brass but it will stick to the steel. Otherwise, weld around od of the hole but keep moving so it doesnt burn through.

[MuddMachine]

Originally Posted by Brad

Otherwise, weld around od of the hole but keep moving so it doesnt burn through.

Yes, move quick, small stringer type beads with a very short arc. Short as possible. It takes alot of practice to be a good stick welder. When I first started I burned plate after plate for 9 hours a day . Took me 6 weeks of this to get a 4 position stick ticket. That didnt mean I was good, just good enough to get a ticket. Keep practicing.

[desertsport]

I let you know what welder and rods im using now. The girlfriend wants me to spend some time with her now. thanks for the help so far. talk to you omarrow.