hi all im new to welding and to this site. i am an apprentice pipefitter/welder and recently brought an arc welder off my mate for a tenner! ive been going alright getting used to it. its similar to a clarke i.e big handle on front to adjust amps. i brought a new earth clamp as the one was pants and it already had a murex style rod holder. i brought some 3.2 rods from screwfix a few weeks ago and cannot get on with them at all, they are really hard to strike and they seem to go out when i cant see that im doing anything wrong. i have been also using some oerlikon 2.5 rods my mate gave me and they seem to be fine. im not sure if the rods are rubbish or i am (probably the latter) any advice would be muchly appreciated
george
george