Hi. I do DIY work on my car as a hobby and I got to a point where I need to pick up welding - sounds like fun! I want to weld a diff in my track fun car and then do some bodywork and structural frame welding on my camper van.
I realize I have to practice a lot before I even attempt to do any of the above.
I bought a stick welder even though it's unsuitable for the thin metals used in cars - I like its' portability and it's probably best to learn as it's harder.
I picked an old exhaust and just tried to start and hold an arc for a bit - I hoped this would be a reasonable first goal but I got really frustrated as I could not even do that . I kept "sticking" my electrode to the metal, grr. Then I grinded off the surface of the exhuast and cleaned it with an "engine cleaner", wiped it off and hooray I could start an arc ... well, until I realized Im always burning through the metal - same when I got down to 45A :/. I was really annoyed with myself but I guess burning through is exactly what happens when stick welding a thin metal so I just have to find some fat scrap metal to learn on.
Well that was a long story.
TL;DR ... my stupid questions:
1) Do you guys think it's a good idea to learn stick welding to a reasonable level (I have no professional aspiration, just DIY) before moving on to mig? That is, get some fat scrap metal and learn stick welding first.
2) When I stick the electrode - what should I do - just jerk it violently? I noticed the flux on the end of the electrodes go off and when that happens the electrode is useless - it keeps sticking. Should I just swap electrodes, wait for the old one to cool down and then use pliers to cut the end without flux?
3) How do you determine correct Amps?
4) How long does it generally take for a welder to heat up/cool down to the set amps?
5) I live in the city center and have no garage/worshop ... I can only use a "squat workshop" near the city on weekends. When I move on to mig, can I store the co2 bottles in my cellar or flat without any worries?
Thanks!
I realize I have to practice a lot before I even attempt to do any of the above.
I bought a stick welder even though it's unsuitable for the thin metals used in cars - I like its' portability and it's probably best to learn as it's harder.
I picked an old exhaust and just tried to start and hold an arc for a bit - I hoped this would be a reasonable first goal but I got really frustrated as I could not even do that . I kept "sticking" my electrode to the metal, grr. Then I grinded off the surface of the exhuast and cleaned it with an "engine cleaner", wiped it off and hooray I could start an arc ... well, until I realized Im always burning through the metal - same when I got down to 45A :/. I was really annoyed with myself but I guess burning through is exactly what happens when stick welding a thin metal so I just have to find some fat scrap metal to learn on.
Well that was a long story.
TL;DR ... my stupid questions:
1) Do you guys think it's a good idea to learn stick welding to a reasonable level (I have no professional aspiration, just DIY) before moving on to mig? That is, get some fat scrap metal and learn stick welding first.
2) When I stick the electrode - what should I do - just jerk it violently? I noticed the flux on the end of the electrodes go off and when that happens the electrode is useless - it keeps sticking. Should I just swap electrodes, wait for the old one to cool down and then use pliers to cut the end without flux?
3) How do you determine correct Amps?
4) How long does it generally take for a welder to heat up/cool down to the set amps?
5) I live in the city center and have no garage/worshop ... I can only use a "squat workshop" near the city on weekends. When I move on to mig, can I store the co2 bottles in my cellar or flat without any worries?
Thanks!