Thanks for the kind words. Thanks for taking the time to up your knowledge by watching videos. Your quest for knowledge combined with practice will make you a great welder if you keep up with it 😀

No problem 😀. You’re in for a ton of struggle and a lot of frustration, but that won’t last long. Once you can run a few straight beads that are consistent in size start to finish you will have a door open up for you for the ability to weld stuff together. That’s what makes learning to weld worth while, when you can do a good job and make things 😀

I agree, a big thank you from Germany!

Thanks for the kind words 😎. My channel is fairly new and due to relocation I haven’t posted much for a couple weeks. KZfaq seems to heavily favor content output and typically shorter videos than I make. Once I get through all the editing backlog and issues with moving (2 times in a month) things should be smooth sailing. I am mostly unconcerned about how big or small my channel is, I am mainly focused on making stuff to help people out. I do it for the simple reason that I like helping people. Realistically it’s my hope that I can inspire people to believe in themselves and take risks. I wouldn’t be much of a teacher if I didn’t provide some motivation to go with the lesson 😀

Glad to hear it, keep up the good work 😀

Thanks for the kind comment and welcome to the cool people that can or want to weld club 😀. I am glad you’re learning, and you’re doing the right thing, researching info to reduce the mistakes. The truth is stick welding is all about consistency. Tell yourself this every time you weld: “be smooth, be consistent, and move slow enough that the molten puddle stays the same size”. If you are smooth and consistent in moving your weld will reflect that 😀

Glad to hear your starting out. The biggest things I tell everyone is you need to expect to be terrible for a while and you have to plan on being frustrated quite a bit. Progress is slow and tedious at first, but once you get good at the basics you will be making stuff in no time. Focus on being as consistent as possible. Smooth consistent travel speed is the key.

Thanks for the kind words. The wattage is definitely increased with 6010 over other rods given the rod diameter. Cheap welders simply can’t produce enough voltage at low amperage to run the rod. This is the same reason why many cheap welder struggle to start rods, as soon as they strike an arc the voltage drops so low it’s hard to maintain an initial arc without sticking the rod. Better welders and welders running on higher voltage (especially 3 phase) can produce much higher voltages out, which is why they tend to be much easier to start an arc with.

You’re welcome, glad I could help😀

6013 will be less affected by arc force due to the difficulty in closing the arc gap. Basically the flux won’t burn off fast enough to create a tight arc gap. It also doesn’t have a very violent digging arc, and deposits more metal than 6011 which makes it harder to tighten the arc. On a scale of 1-10 for arc force a setting of 7 on a 6013 is probably a 2 or a 3 with a 6011. You also won’t be able to see much more penetration with 6013 because it simply doesn’t gouge into the plate as much. Think of 6010 as a rod that’s 80% electric arc that’s gouging the metal out and 20% metal deposition. 6011 is about 60% gouge, 40% metal. 6013 is around 40% gouge, 60% metal deposition. 7018 is about 20% gouge, 80% metal deposition. Increasing arc force will have far less effect with rods with tame arcs, it tends to just make the molten pool hotter and more liquid. With aggressive arc rods it tends to make them uncontrollable on the high end lol.

I am glad it gave you some useful info. I think that’s why Miller calls their “arc force” setting “dig” and not “arc force”, to keep things less confusing. I know I was really confused when I learned to stick weld about arc force because nobody explained what it did or why you want to adjust it. Basically run 6010 on “high arc force” and 7018 on “low” lol. I am doing a video coming up where I run 6010 rods at multiple arc force settings to see the actual differences, same with 7018. That should show first hand exactly what is going on. It should be fun 😃

Thanks for the kind words. I am glad the video helped you out 😀

No problem, glad the videos helped you out 😀

You’re welcome 😀

Thanks for the kind works and congrats on starting stick welding. Expect a lot of failures and frustrations during the learning process. Just tell yourself every day this: “I need to move smooth and consistent in speed. I need to strike a arc, establish the molten puddle so that it’s clearly visible, and slowly drag it along making sure it stays the same shape it started out at”. Focus on trying to move as consistently as possible, and you will get results fast. Also, don’t give up either, it takes quite a lot of time to get decent, but when you do, a whole new world will open up for you. Especially because what you learn in stick does transfer to other processes, which means mastering stick will allow you to get good at all other welding processes faster.

@@makingmistakeswithgreg I will take this to heart and I will stay committed to it. We just got to keep going and keep growing right? I truly appreciate your kind words and taking time out of your day to reply You truly are appreciated. I really look forward to seeing where this takes me. I will let you know when I graduate and get it going. I will continue to watch your videos that will never change. Stay blessed brother

Haha that’s only one state away (I’m in Wisconsin) so I am pretty close for sure 😀

So I have a video where I welded some thin square tube material. It can be found kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aaxmjNSfl7upmI0.htmlsi=z856LLLNqg39QXyQ . Now for welding inside corners, that comes down to a rod angle change. It is possible to weld continuously around a inside or outside corner with stick. You must change your rod angle fast as you round the corner. This will require you to move the stinger a significant amount. It’s not easy and requires some practice. Certain rods are easier to do this with than others, 6013 will have a high likelyhood of slag entrapment. 6010-11 will be easy however the possibility of undercut will be high. Based on what you’re doing you may be using too big of a rod. If it’s thin tube 1/16th rods are the way to go. You also must understand that stick welding is significantly harder to weld thin wall square tube than something like flux core wire. It requires far more skill, and the window of what works is very small because the arc force of stick tends to melt holes. Is it doable? Yes absolutely it is with stick. However it’s 10 times easier with flux core wire.

@makingmistakeswithgreg Thank you so much for getting back to me with so much knowledge. Went to look for my invoice and notice that I'm welding 3/4" 18 gauge galvanized and 1" 16G galvanized. Pretty thin stuff. Don't worry, I'm welding with abundant ventilation. I gave up on 6013. Nothing but slag inclusion. 6011 3/32" works better for me; lots of holes, ugly welds, out of square window bars, and some of them turned potato chip on me. Aye, I'm working on it. I didn't see 1/16" rod when I went shopping. I bought almost every rod type and size they had. It's expensive when you don't have the proper wisdom as to what to buy. My local trade school doesn't offer welding after working hours. I went to a few welding shops and asked if I could come and hang around and they told me they're too busy. So, KZfaq it is! I tried 7018 for the first time yesterday. Went to buy a 20 ft length of 1/4"x2" flat bar and cut several 6 inch coupons and man. That 7018 is tough to start, but once you get it going, it's going!!! Got my first slag peel last night... I'll continue practicing on that thin gauge stuff. It's really tough, but I'm a glutton for punishment and after reading that MIG is easy I went for stick welding as my first welding experience. Thanks again, man. I really appreciate it. I'll continue practicing on rod angle with the 3/32 6011, if I can't find 1/16". Thank you kindly

If you can find 1/16th rods they can make thin material possible to weld. 6013 tends to get slag inclusions pretty bad. They produce a lot of flux for a given rod and that flux loves to run in front of the rod. Running more amperage helps with this, but more amperage will blow holes in the metal lol. One thing you can try is running DCEN polarity with 6013. DCEN produces a taller less penetrating bead, which is handy for thin material. I still think you need to look for 1/16th or 5/64 rods to tackle thin stuff. Amazon has them and occasionally box stores have them (tractor supply and harbor freight).

That sounds like a cool project 😀.

😀👍

You’re welcome 😀

If you're looking for a good stick welder, my honest opinion is the esab rogue 180, or 130. They are expensive, however if you can find one used you can generally save 2-300$ (right now there are 2 for sale near me for 550 to 600$ for the 180). The reason I recommend the rogue is for the following reasons: 1) they are unbelievably energy efficient, I just tested the rogue I have and they are between 84 and 93% efficient on 120 and 240. This means that you can get 110 to 120 amps out on a 20 amp 120v circuit, which allows you to run 6010 or 7018 1/8th rods on 120. 2) they will run 6010 and 6011 rods perfectly, and both of those are useful. 3) they are small, light, and rugged. They are well built and easy to use too. You wont be disappointed in it. On the opposite end of the spectrum the harbor freight titanium 225 is also a excellent stick welder. Portable, and it welds great. It will also run 6010 rods great. They sell for around 250 to 275 which is a excellent price for their capability. The main things you lose over the rogue welder is output. The rogue will put a honest 120 amps out on 120v, the titanium 225 is limited to around 70 amps. Most cheaper stick welders will struggle to output more than 85amps on 120, which really limits your rod choices (3/32 6013 or 6011 is about it with the titanium 225 on 120v). The titanium 225 also has a shorter warranty, is built less durable, and is much simpler in control (no adjustable hotstart, arc force, etc). However the truth is it still is a excellent stick welder, and if you were to spend the money on it and the price difference between the rogue was spent on steel and rods, you would be a far better welder that just buying the rogue. I would highly recommend staying away from cheaper stick welders. Your yes welders, arc captains, etc, all of those lie about output specs, the setpoints are off, they wont run 6010 (and barely run 6011) etc. If you really want to learn stick, you need a welder that can at least run 6011 well. That harbor freight 225 will not hold you back like most of those amazon specials will. Which is pretty crazy to say since it is a cheaper harbor freight welder lol.

The best place to start in my opinion is the harbor freight titanium 125. It can be purchased for less than 150$ and is actually quite capable. If you like welding and want to try other forms it still pays to keep the titanium 125 because it’s so useful.

You’re welcome 😀

I have been fooling around with a new camera and lens, Future videos after this are better, but upcoming ones should be a lot better 😀

Most stick welders arc force set higher will make it much harder to stick. For a rod like 7018/6013 where you keep a consistent arc gap you won’t notice much of any difference in the weld with higher arc force settings. They just don’t penetrate much due to the nature of their design. In a way it does act like a cruise control, but more or less with wattage (or heat input). In very simple terms 90 amps setting x 20 volts running voltage (with arc struck) equals 1,800 watts (90x20). With high arc force setting as the voltage drops it ups amperage so at say 18 volts it outputs 100amps (18x100 or 1800 watts) With low arc force settings (or welders with no adjustments) it would drop to say 18volt 90 amp which is 1620 watts, or much lower heat input. Arc force can often be adjusted to actually put more wattage out the tighter the arc, which gives you the control to to really dig a weld in deep. Two other things worth mentioning: 1) a higher arc force setting than “low” on a 6013 or 7018 rod would make it easier to run the rod while learning because you would be unlikely to stick the rod. This is also why many old stick welder machines are favored by people as being “smooth runners” because of their built in amp/volt curve that effectively works like arc force (along with very high open circuit voltage). Lastly I didn’t mention it in the video but stick is a constant current process so the voltage is variable and controlled by the arc gap (like with tig) and the amperage is constant. With wire welding you run fixed voltage and variable amperage. That’s why arc force control won’t work with mig.

@@makingmistakeswithgreg , thank you for the followup explanation. Would inductance be the cruise control for Mig?

Hopefully this helps you better understand what’s going on: Stacking dimes is pretty controversial, and I will explain what’s going on. Certain processes produce a dime stack look because of how they function. Tig produces a distinct ripple/dime stack because of how you push filler into the molten pool. 6010 rods tend to produce a dime stack because the molten puddle freezes so fast any movement is captured. On face value you need either a fast freezing puddle or to manually add filler to get the look. The 3rd way to achieve the look is to run cold enough settings that it’s possible for the molten puddle to solidify fast enough to produce a dime look. This is what guys commonly do with gas shielded Mig. This might look good however the actual weld performance will typically be poorer than just running a plain bead. The reason is running colder settings for looks reduces penetration/fusion and will thus produce weaker welds. Not to mention the amount of reinforcement (aka thickness of weld) varies heavily with a dime stack which can reduce strength. 6010 has 2-3 times the penetration/fusion depth of short circuit Mig, a dime stack with it doesn’t produce poor penetration, which is why it’s commonly seen run that way. It also happens to weld better when manipulated vs straight in. Basically there aren’t detrimental side effects to making a dime stack look with it. I have done testing regarding this to some extent. These videos kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ntl8h5V4vpeycWw.htmlsi=dSOYyiw6Q-8YsGwP , kzfaq.info/get/bejne/q96YhLFqyN61l5s.htmlsi=9e1DaL6mL7RZOSHR (and the next one in the series) I talk about issues with certain manipulations. In my testing doing a circle e undoubtedly reduces penetration. Weaving back and fourth will do the same thing. Doing a slight stitch back and fourth with Mig wont affect the penetration much provided you don’t ride the puddle. Generally speaking you should run straight welds and avoid weaving. I am in process of shooting a huge comparison video showing a ton of different welds and break testing all of them. This is where you will likely see massive differences in overall strength. Stay tuned for the videos regarding this because they will show why it’s smart to avoid certain things.

So I have a bunch more MiG videos I am editing and I will get into tig. I am actually far more skilled in tig welding than all other processes combined, and because it’s the least commonly used for the average person I wanted to cover it after the others. Tig welding is actually a very easy process to become competent at, believe it or not it’s easier to be functionally useful at tig than both stick and mig. The reason I say that is to be good at stick welding you need to be able to make defect free welds with 6010 and 7018 in all positions along with the same with 308/309 rods. It takes far longer to achieve that than it does to be able to tig weld stainless and steel with tig in all positions. To be able to tig aluminum and all conventional materials in all positions is also easier that learning to wire weld with all conventional modes of transfer (mig, flux core,dual shield,spray arc, etc) on all materials, because of how much you need to know with wire to achieve that. The hard part with tig is practicing enough to be able to move your hands properly. Once that is reasonably mastered tig becomes easy. My guess is by the start of February I will be doing tig videos 😀

So the stick process runs CC (constant current) variable voltage unlike wire process that runs CV constant voltage. With arc force settings turned up high the welder will output more amperage than what it’s set for, so say 120 amps vs 100. You are correct in your thinking that as the arc gap closes it boosts amperage but the voltage drops, so the effective wattage of output may stay the same. In theory this would be correct however it really depends on the particular welder and how high of arc force. I have a feeling above 30-40% arc force the output wattage will go up. So say 90amps x 20 volts with low arc force tight arc gap (1800 watts) will probably become 110x 18 volts (1980 watts) with high arc force. A 10-20% arc force probably wouldn’t do much to increase output much. A 60% setting definitely would. Keep in mind 60% is typically 60% of the range of adjustment, not 60% more amperage from setpoint. Max arc force on a machine is probably a boost of 30 or 40%, and the 0 to 100% range is of that 30-40 % range, if that makes sense. Every welder has differing names/functions for arc force settings /setpoints. The whole point of the low end of arc force is to create enough amperage so as the arc gap tightens that the rod doesn’t bridge the gap and short out the arc. Since you can’t increase the voltage with stick (voltage is controlled by the arc gap) the only way to increase heat is with more amperage. Increasing arc force beyond a normal range has a benefit with particular rods of really digging into a plate via pushing the rod in. It also allows you to run slightly reduced amperage so that your arc gap can be controlled to increase or decrease heat input. This is primarily with 6010, 7018 tends to not like high arc force as much. The best way to experience the effect of arc force is to take a 1/8th 6010 rod and set the amps at 90 with the arc force at like 80%. When you strike the arc and weld like normal there won’t be a huge difference. If you try to push a bunch of rod in you will watch the molten puddle get big and way more heat come out of it. The rod will melt off like a crayon on a hot pan, making it almost impossible to cause a dead short. Since there is still a arc gap there will be voltage, and the excessively high amperage will prevent the voltage from dropping below a certain point more than likely. This is simply because there is so much current and thus heat in the area of the tip of the rod, that the little 1/8th rod stays liquid/falls apart. With 7018 the extra flux (which actually helps deposit metal) ends up absorbing much of that heat, which is why arc force has far less of a effect on 7018. You simply can’t tighten the arc enough to get the same effect as 6010, the flux doesn’t melt off fast enough. On a final note many rods run on DCEP polarity. This is important because electrons flow from the work piece to the tip of the electrode. The electrons striking the tip imparts more heat into the rod than the work (vs DCEN) which also contributes towards why high arc force makes it hard to direct short a rod out. Hopefully all that makes sense, clearly you have a ton of knowledge about electricity so you will find welding pretty easy to understand what’s going on.

If you’re talking about dryer outlets universally they should be wired with two black wires, a white wire, and a green wire. The two hots are interchangeable, you need both to produce 240v. The white wire is a neutral and only is used to have 120v. This is disregarded to run a 240v welder. 240v outlets are internally labeled in some form. Normally the hot terminals are gold screws and the neutral is a silver screw. Sometimes the terminals are labeled hot for the hot wire. Oven outlets must be wired properly or an oven won’t work. Google “oven outlet” wiring to see the way it should be wired.

So I owned the 180 but mine I believe only went to zero (first gen maybe?). The rogue 200 I own now goes into the negative which is pretty wild. I actually had the same question when I realized it actually went negative because I have never seen a welder that would go negative. Your question brings up an interesting thought. I amp clamp metered the rogue 200 and found it ran at 8-10amps higher than its setpoint. The arc force was at +3. Arc force boosts amperage over setpoint based on how tight of an arc you hold. If -10 (or whatever it goes to negative) is zero boost, it might output exactly the setpoint. At zero it might be 5%. With 7018 there won’t be a huge variation in amperage because it doesn’t dig like 6011 or 6010. With 6010-11 I generally ran 6 or 7. I will have to experiment with an amp clamp and settings to see what’s going on.

So you technically could do that, and it could work. If it worked out to be stronger than just 7018 all the way out would completely depend on how that weld was stressed. For simple poor material repairs (like railings and fences) I tend to use 6010/11 because it’s much easier to control. If I had to weld say a big plow frame for a dump truck, I would use 7018 start to finish. I really need to do a video on how to determine a proper way to tackle a project for the best outcome.

I am doing a follow up video with welding exhaust with stick. It’s common to use a 5/64 6013 on DCEN (vs DCEP) to get reduced penetration. You can do a series of spot welds on thinner material fairly successfully. Where I made a mistake was I approached thin metal with stick from a running bead perspective. Had I approached it as a spot weld my results would have been much better. The hard part for me is because I am very good at tig, I would have absolutely no reason to stick weld anything thin, or even stick over flux core wire. Anyway I will definitely be revisiting this because I like a challenge and getting. Better at obscure things. I will even be doing a oxy fuel thin material too.

@@makingmistakeswithgreg sweet! I don't think it was 6013 I was using though. And I was able to run beads an inch or two long. I'm taking about welding basically the chrome plating together as the rest was rotted away since the seventies sometime. I personally suck at Tig. I just started that though. Mig is relatively easy though I don't usually do it. Flux core is my jam. Lol!!! I flux core body panels (pieces of washers dryers or cabinets) onto my van all the time. I started getting back into stick once I bought my TIG machine. It goes both ways. And spot welds I think. It's a monsterous P&H from the 60s I think. 500 amp Tig? Yes sir, got that right here! It looks like a Kelvinator fridge.

There are a ton of old rods that existed for special use that aren’t AWS classified. Basically to call a rod a 6013 you have to pay the American welding society money. Therefore many companies made rods that are “non classified” to save money. I personally have some called “problem solver” and “rust buster” which are realistically just 6011 and 309 stainless lol. Well I wonder if the rod you used wasn’t just a unclassified rod. If it wasn’t 6013 the only other modern rods that I think could weld thin metal are 7014, which has mild penetration profile and arc. I will be experimenting with a ton of rods coming up. As a matter of fact at the end of the month I am going to do a huge video comparing all common stick rods in a shootout style video. I know the p&h machine you’re talking about. My neighbor worked for p&h making cranes a long time ago and he took one home with him. He told me p&h couldn’t find a welder that met their specifications so they made them (or had them made). You’re not kidding on the size of the unit, I have a 1942 kelvinator and it’s the same height lol 😂. I personally find tig to be the easiest welding process. People say I am crazy for that but let me explain: To get good at all welding positions all materials (steel/aluminum/stainless) and put down defect free welds it’s way easier than the other options. Mig requires knowing short circuit for thinner metal, spray arc or flux core for thicker, spool gun for aluminum, and has so many different gas blends depending on what you’re welding that to be truly competent takes far more time than tig. Tig just requires more hand eye coordination by far and a steeper initial learning curve. I also like flux core wire, both gasless and gas shielded. It has great penetration, is easy to use, and welds uphill easier than stick and mig.

@@makingmistakeswithgreg Yeah flux just works. I can carry a red box with wires sticking out of it anywhere and weld rusty plate or painted sheet metal together in the worst, windiest conditions. That's why I like my flux core anyway. I finally got a better mask for Tig so maybe I'll be able to see what I'm doing. That'll help my hand eye coordination probably. My foot eye coordination is still going to be an uphill battle! The rods I was given had a number on them but it was something weird. Like 5017 or something. He said he had to special order them because no one stocked them. And yeah regarding the P&H I'm in Milwaukee so right down the road from P&H. It was originally at Allen Bradley. They gave them to the welders (if they wanted them) when they upgraded to smaller machines. The guy said he came home a couple days later and found it swinging from a tree in his front yard! I'm going to have to check into my inventory and see what all I've got for rods now. I blundered into the remenants of a hydraulic shop, included in that is a hundred or two pounds of rods and a 35x70x1" thick welding table... Love getting stuff, hate moving it.

@@makingmistakeswithgreg That was a very interesting write up. About 45 years ago, I welded up rear mudguard mount on my brothers Honda S90. I was doing some form of rod melting a few days a week so 'in practice' (plus my eyesight and hearing were a LOT better) It was probably around 0.020" thick and I remember 1/16" rod with a cheap buzz box on minimum setting, probably 20A (I didn't know what I didn't know so just did it) Few years later, I learned to use Oxy/DA gas weld but was still self taught so picked up the usual bad habits. Anyway, I now have an older Craftsman AC buzz box with DC terminals. (what I could afford at the time) Only have 7018 and 6013 rods, (welding suppliers in Central Florida seem to charge a massive premium for anything else) Pretty lousy at welding as I may not switch it on for months or years at a time and I know you can easily get out of practice . I'm finding 1/8" rods are heating up too fast and getting red hot, even on relatively low AC amp settings. (60-90 amps) Is it arc length too short or do I have a fundamental misunderstanding of settings? (would I be better off using DC?) I haven't checked yet but have you done a very basic set up for those of us without a Miller or Lincoln? (I see you have a cheap vs expensive but it looks like a newer inverter welder?) Thanks for the video's, I don't learn too well without seeing whats happening

The weld pool is highly dependent on the rod used. A clearly defined puddle can be seen with 7018, 6010, and 6011. 6013 and 7014 is tough to see. 7024 is very difficult to see. In my earlier videos I had a cheap camera to shoot arc footage so it’s not as clear in the video as it could be. In the near future I will probably shoot a video to help clarify weld puddles of the different welding processes.

So stick has a tendency to “stick” but don’t be discouraged. Here are some tips, hope they help: I assume you’re using 3/32 rods and not 3/8th? 3/8th rods would be huge that’s why I ask lol. With 3/32 7018 you want to set your welder to 90-110 amps as a starting point. If you are too low (70-80) it will be far harder to start. Many stick welders have fairly low “open circuit” voltage, aka without a arc struck the voltage is low on the output. Low voltage (sub 40 volts) makes it much harder to start the arc. If you touch a 9volt battery terminals to your skin (must be dry) you won’t get shocked. Chain a few of them together to hit 70 volts and you will get a shock. The higher the open circuit voltage the easier it is to start the arc. 7018 generally starts easy and restarts are harder. If you botch the first strike the second attempt will be much harder. It helps to file the tip a bit on a restrike to get it to start. Some 7018 rods have a tip of graphite which makes it really easy to start the arc. Harbor freights, esab 7018 prime, and others. Those rods are far easier to start. With all that said if you’re fairly inexperienced it’s far easier to start with 6013. They are very easy to start and restart. Nothing wrong with learning the basics with a 6013, especially beads on plate. Remember too, you don’t suck, you’re just inexperienced. With a bit of practice you will get significantly better, trust me. Even if it takes you a week straight to get the starts down solid with 6013, in a week from now you will have significant progress. Practice a bunch and compare where you are in a week to where you are today. There will be progress 😀

@@makingmistakeswithgreg this is the kind of training that people would actually pay for man. you can get paid for this kind of information. keep up the good work. I'll try that. Thanks a lot. Now I got to go buy myself some 6013

I am here to help 😃

I only did a few videos with AC so you are correct I was welding on DC. The issue I have with AC is that my dynasty welder produces a AC that is nothing like a buzz box, so I didn’t want to shoot a bunch of videos on a/c only to have people wonder why their welder won’t run certain rods on ac. I did do a few of them though. The main difference with AC is penetration tends to be less, and you don’t have arc blow 😀