Thank you so much!

Same here....I bought the TIG course and it has been a huge help...I review the videos while practicing.

Same here, having electrical background I needed “little bit” of theory and practical pointers as well. For me his online course was excellent and at 68 I actually learned a lot. But as he says, practice, practice and then - voilá, it all comes together. 👍

I've started practice 3 weeks ago, and I switched from weldingtips andtricks to this channel and also discovered Making mistakes with Greg channel. I feel like wt&t is to advanced for me (probably I'll return to it in the future) but TimWelds and Making mistaked with Greg are perfect for noobs like me (great explanations of the basics). After three weeks of watching and practicing I put together my own welding cart and it rolls! YT is great

I'm going to look into that

I've tried some 7014, they're really user friendly. Easy like a 6013, but not as much of an issue with the slag.

​@@TimWelds why they aren't the best?

That's really interesting; I never knew why they were so popular. I agree 100% with both of your takeaways. Thanks!

Not sure what more to add. Looks like ESAB w/ its cigweld brand pretty well dominated your welding territory. Maybe your area was niche & limited to blue & gray electrodes. Cigweld has a full range of filler metal choice. Some competition (if economial) might of been more healthy for the consumer. Cheers from sunny Florida.

@@miszced ESAB was pretty much unknown here till quite recently. We saw some lincon and a couple of other US brands, but only in the big end of town. Back in the 70's and 80's CIG was pretty much the only game in town. Untill a french company, then branded as "liquid Air" came to town, you where buying your gas from CIG. Even then we where paying extortionate rental on your bottles. It's only in the last 10 years of so we have had a number of independent gas suppliers come on to the market to bust up the rip off duopoply They always had a full range of CIG rods, but out side the specialist welding trade, we had Satincraft 13's and GP's and that was about it. A lot of that is because unless you where a high end welder you where welding AC Because of the very strong market position Satincraft 13's are very much over priced. I can buy good brands of 6013's for half the price, generics for even less, these days and now you can buy a good range of rods without going to a specialist welding shop. That said the average hardware shop will pretty much have 6013's and maybee somethung that equates to a GP or 6012. . Stick welding is not the BIG thing is is in the US. MIG and TIG has replaced stick and OXY in the vast majority of cases. . Like plasma cutting has replaced gass cutting in everythung but heavy work.

@@soundman6645 yes, familiar with Air Liquide & AIRGAS plus LINC. As far as the demise of stick welding process ... it's still here! Besides being a mature product, innovation continues with cost cutting & competitive benchmarking. The leap-frog* happened when the covering of stick electrode became the core of a steel sheath into gas shielded, selfshielded & metal core tubular wires for semi or automatic arc welding. * bit of an over simplification

Thanks!!!

Thanks a ton! That could be a prett cool way to gouge, I may have to look into that. I've only used air carbon arc gouging, but it's been a decade since I did much of that...don't miss that process much.

Thanks a ton! It's great to be back publishing on the regular!

If you're having trouble lighting a 6013, consider using a different welder. Cheers!👍

Absolutely! Thanks!

Thanks!

Thank you so much!

What brand electrode do you buy?

Lol, what ever I can get in outback Australia 😂

Agreed! I enjoy a piece of rough concrete for this. Have you tried the unimig rods?

@@JC-dc7ez I have had a go at one of the opposition rods, cannot remember which brand. Was pretty good except overheads. I use nothing but Hyundai mig wire, great stuff

@@martinthompson4462 i will get myself a role and check it out. Thanks

Thank you!

The courses come with lifetime access so you can work at your own pace and come back to the materials at any time!

Unfortunately, this will probably not work very well. The reason has to do with the fundamental design of power supplies for different welding processes. MMA uses a constant current power supply, where MIG uses a constant voltage supply. The reason for this is that you don't directly control arc lenth with a wire feed process like MIG, so the power supply has to reach a stable point. With a constant voltage supply, power is increased with a short arc length to increase it and is decreased when the arc length is long to reduce it. Thus it will reach a balance point. The MMA power supply will not do this as effectively.

In general, Stick welding as a welding process can be very strong. Industrial equipment is repaired with stick welding all the time (by professionals). The more important aspects are: operator skill and competency in metal fabrication/engineering design. The strength/resilience of a completed welded project can highly depend on how the joints/geometry of the structure is designed, as well as the quality of the welded portions that tie it all together. So it begs the questions: Do you already know how to stick weld? Are you experienced in metal fabrication? Are you familiar with creating/evaluating the integrity of a concept structure that is to be welded? If all that is new to you, it might be best to seek advice from someone who is familiar with similar type work and possibly get their advice/input. Hope this helps.

Material prices have skyrocketed since a few years ago, so that could definitely be their price, but I don’t buy a lot of thick plate, so I’m not sure. I’d shop it around a little, check with local shops and maybe go a bit thinner/smaller if that would serve your purpose.

Honestly you could use almost any rod. If you’re learning 6013, I’d just use that.

Right on! 🔥🔥🔥

Tig.

Thanks! I have metric units in the courses, but the units aren't really the main point. I teach based on principles so that you can figure out the quantities yourself. If you try them and find that it's not the right fit for you, just send me an email and I'll refund the cost, no hard feelings.

Thanks! The 7018AC rods are formulated for arc stability to sustain an arc when the AC sine wave is not at it's peak. This can also help with some cheaper inverters. Another issue I've run into with some cheaper inverters is that the output is a bit lower than the readout, so you may just need to crank it up a little higher than expected.

@@TimWelds cool man, thanks for the response.

One obvious benefit to a 7018AC is "touch restrike", liken to the 6013.

there are video's on youtube of guys using small 6013 electrodes for what you're asking about .

I prefer 6011 on cars. Especially on vintage stuff and 6011 cleans everything.

Thanks! I would recommend DCEP for 7018. Striking an arc is largely a matter of practice. Arc Force will increase amperage when your arc length becomes short (the machine senses this from a change in voltage, which is proportional to arc length). It doesn’t do much for 7018, but is more helpful on cellulosic rods like 6010/6011. If your machine has a hot start setting, that would help quite a bit.

@@TimWelds Thanks! Okay - I meant to say DCEP - but will make sure. To be honest, I do not know if I have Hot Start on my good fancy machine (the manual is not very good in my opinion). It is a YesWelder 250P AC/DC.

When I first started learning to weld, I got rod 7018 stuck 9 times outta 10... Ugh😢

99 out of 100 here - not exaggerating! Still true. @@lamey99

That’s why they call it stick

I’m with you on the TIG. 😃 I’ve honestly never used 7016, but I might check some out.

If I'm not mistaken, 7016 is just like 7018, but its flux lacks iron powder, so it doesn't have as high of a deposition rate as 7018.

@@elkvis May be. It forms glass-like slag that needs to be hammered off, but that's very easy. Also starts and restarts are simple, I've been shocked how good it welds too. The main benefit is precision with which welder can lay it down. It has become my go to electrode for home applications when it's windy or I'm out of flux-core.

Most electrode manufacturers have developed a 7018AC. They are generally featured w/ touch restrike, equivalent deposition rates to std 7018 & easy slag removal with better arc control in positional welding. 7018AC is better on AC (Buzz Boxes*) & may help with arc blow. *maybe a better choice of words, Hobbists with low output power sources

It’s 3/8” thick. Depending on what you’re doing, 1/4” could be fine. If you’re welding steel, a steel plate would be fine as well. The one I have is just a random size drop remnant that I happened upon for 25 bucks a few years ago. You can order one from an online supplier, but it’s probably worth calling a few local metal suppliers or fab shops to see if they’d sell you a rem that’s around what you’re looking for.

@@TimWelds wow only 3/8? i was guessing 5/8

I came across this one from Justin’s (the fabrication series) store. weldmetalsonline.com/products/bench-top-welding-plate It’s a bit thinner, but seems like a decent price if you’re still looking. I have a discount code there ‘TimWelds’ that can save a few bucks.

@@TimWelds sweet. I’ll check it out. Thanks!

That's one of a kind for now; my amazing wife had it made for me for Christmas last year.

Hi Nana, I’m happy to help! I found your account, however it looks like you haven’t purchased any courses yet. I just sent you an email, please reply and let me know how I can help. You can reach me at the contact email any time for quick support with any of these issues. Thanks!

Thanks for your interest in the courses! Yes. The courses are online and you work at your own pace. The one-time course purchase gives you lifetime access, so you can go back and review the lessons and exercises anytime. Check them out at courses.timwelds.com.

That's one of a kind for now; my wife got it made for me for Christmas last year.

Thanks! When I went to welding school, they actually had us dip our 6010 rods to help them maintain an arc with their early generation inverter machines...turns out there's a background setting that just needed to be changed, but no one realized that at the time. I haven't tried it since then or compared the spatter, that'll be an interesting experiment.

@@TimWelds Thank you for the reply.

For sure! Sometimes it’s the small things that make life easier.

Not always, it depends a lot on the brand

Yes, they’re built specifically for beginners. 👍

Thanks! I'll give that a try. It was definitely roasting that 1/8" plate by the end of the run.

@TimWelds might take a few tries but you'll get it. Shouldn't be any blistering at all on the back side. You can do it vertices up as well

Dat? Lemme axe you a question. Wha u meen by dat?

Thanks! I was running reverse polarity (DCEP) for all of the welds.

Aww did not know that's what that meant Dcep. Bought them several times and wondered why they splattered so bad discovered it that way lol

I don’t think I said it can’t, 7018 is probably the best peeling rod out there. It depends a lot on the brand of rod, joint type and position as well. You can have a completely acceptable weld that isn’t a peeler.

Fully & 110% agree. Great for fillet welds & downhand (flat) welds. It's also called a dummy rod. You just couldn't go wrong with it.