lincoln stick welder

it depends what model it is. in welding school, i learned how to stick weld on a few old lincoln stick welders with the big crank for amp selection. those were realy nice machines, durable too.

when i was in the market to buy the welder i have now, i looked into several different makes and models. basicly it boils down to:

if its the AC only stick welder, i personally dont like it. there are only a few rods out there that are readily available for AC only use. while AC has its moments to shine (like a more evenly penetrating bead with smaller amounts of splatter) it does have its limitations. those would include the danger of it mainly. if your having to be on top of your workpiece or if the location is damp AC is not the way to go because of the increased chance of electrocution. use DC+ or DC- instead.

DC-/DC+: with these two settings, i can more easily fine tune the welder. a setting on DC+ will give a great weld penetration, but also has a little more splatter. the arc jumps from the electrode (stick filler metal) to the workpiece. there is also a lower chance of electrocution from a DC setting than with AC
DC- will give a nice bead with less splatter, but does not penetrate as deep as DC+. the arc jumps from the workpiece to the electrode. this can be more helpful if needing to weld something with sheet metal.

there are more rods out there that i have dealt with that preform best when used in DC+/DC- like 60105P+++++.

i would definetly say that i like the 220v welders better. a welder works by taking high voltage, low amps and turning it to low voltage, high amps. amps are what do the welding not volts. a 110 may be fine for small jobs arround the house (ornamental fenceing etc) but is not recommended for plate thicker than 1/4".

the welder i have is a Lincoln stick welder with a setting for AC, DC+ and DC-. i use the DC+ the most. one feature that i do not care for on my peticualr model is that the amp selector "clicks" into place instead of being infanitely adjustable. most of my welding is done with 60105P+ which is a very forgiving rod, so it doesnt bother me too much. i still would love to have the ability to "dial it in" and be "right on the money" with my amperage selection.

i know this is a lot of info, but i hope it helps.
stewie
 
I have the AC/DC model buzz box or shock box some call them. New they go for 400 to 500 something. I got mine used for 150 and it was a heck of a deal. Rod was the first thing I ever learned to weld with and that was a long time ago but after some new fresh rod and some scrap metal it’s been a kick to weld with. Learn rod and mig is way easy to do.

Ya if it’s just an AC unit might pass unless it’s like 100 bucks or something to learn with.

get The ACDC start learing with some 7018 and just go to town with it.
 
free is a great price. if your using low hy (7018 Low Hydrogen Rod) be sure to use forced ventalation (a fan blowing the welding plume away from the welders face and hood). the fumes from that rod can be more toxic than some of the other rods. i think Manganeese (sp?), but i cant sware to is as i dont have a MSDS at home.
 
I love the old ac/dc model the newer ones are not so sweet and more likely to overheat. the ac model cant be hurt I have one at work that we use purely because it is there and more fun to use than the miller mig on some of the older equipment. the duty cycle on it must be some where near if not 100% because just yesterday at full out put I ran through 11 sticks handed it off to one of my guys who ran 20 or so then back to me for the rest of a 10# box with maybe a minute between rods while we built up the bucket teeth on a cat 950g
 
My old man has a crazy old rod welder looks like something out of fankinstine or some sience flic. you have to plug into the selection you want and then it has this big crank arm for another selection thing. Still runs like the day he bought it, but it's one BIG welder.
 
Go to Lowes...
I got this book called Welders HandBook
A guide to plasma Cutting, Oxyacetylene, Arc, MIG and TIG Welding.
by Richard Finch

Easy to read and understand

You wont be sorry you spent the $20!
 
MTN4X4 said:
how do you pick rods,
whats size metal to what size rod.
how thick to how thin can you weld with a stick welder?
Click to expand...

there are many factors to consider when selecting the right rod to use. some rods have more tinsel strenght than others. some rods can only be used in cirtain possitions (like 7024-jetrod because the flux is slow freezing) while others can be used in any possition. some rods like 7018 (low hydrogen- low hy) are prone to prosity, and dont like too much of a gap so they are not often used on something like an open grove but joint, but make great fill and caps. a good all purpose rod is the 6010, 6011 series. they have a celulose based flux, are relatively fast freezing and can be used in any possition. the drawback is that it is harder to get a pretty bead with them, and the slag can be a pain to get off sometimes.

of course the material being welded may require a special rod- like cast IRON requireing a nickle rod etc.

the pipe welders i work with as an apprentice typically use a 6010 5P+++++ root, and either the same for fill pass and cap or 7018 for fill pass/and or cap.

the size of rod depends on what your welding, and what gap you have. most of the time for a open groove butt joint, a bevel is done on the metal and the "point"- or razor like edge- is ground down to where it is 1/8" thick and they use a 1/8" rod. i have seen where errors in prefabricated components left a gap larger than 1/8". for that they used 5/32" or even 3/16" rod. some of the welders would use 1/8 rod for the whole thing because it is the easiest to work with. most of the guys i worked with prefered to use 5/32 fill and cap, but it is a little harder to get to look pretty. a general rule of thumb i use is that if my bead is going to be wider than 3x your rod diamiter, you need to go to a larger rod.

a class in welding- even just the beginning classes- would be bennificial to anyone who wants to do welding. sure, just about anyone can lay a bead, but its knowing the finer points that make the difference. check at your local community collage to see when a welding class is offered.

hth stewie
 
i agree. a weling class is the best way to learn the finer points of welding. i also like 6010 5p++ and its a very good rod, but i usually put a bead of 7018 over the first pass at a slightly hotter temp. 5p burns deep and slow, but can pull out of the metal at stress. it is also a very good filler rod. i have a miller bobcat 250 self contained and have burned 1.5 inch plate easily, but remember to ALWAYS beval the edges on thicker pieces, and pre-heating is a good idea too, evean if your mechine can handle it.
 
it really depends on what you are welding and your budget, if you can afford a mig welder but you already have a stick and never do any thing light then stick it all and borrow the mig if you need to mig something little, or buy the mig and weld almost everything with it and let your stick machine just rot wasting lots of money until you need to stick something or buy a tig and let it sit till you need to tig or stick or blah blah blah.... you have a stick, use it for what it will work for and some time in the future get a mig.

my .02
 
Bryson said:
Sticks a great way to weld a fence or trailer outside, but almost nothing automotive should be sticked (IMO). Gas sheilded MIG is perfect for 99% of anything you'll ever want to weld. Thats not to say that stick can't be used, but MIG is the prefered shop weld.

Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

stick is the best process to use outside. but there are some automotive applications where stick is prefered.

Wolfie said:
Depends on what the shop produces...
Click to expand...

Bryson said:
If your shop has no walls, or rolls on wheels then stick is excellent! ;)
Click to expand...

if the shop doesnt have walls, or if it has a great ventilation system (or even swamp coolers blowing on the welder) then stick is quite benificial.

for a short while i welded up recievers to go onto trucks and vans. the shop was an old rail road warehouse and didnt have many walls, just a large roof. each welder had a swamp cooler blowing on us to help with the arizona summer. the trailer hitches were stick welded using an 24" long 7024 rod- jet rod- for great penetration and strength.

stick has a place in the off road manufacturing process as well. a lot of our aftermarket products can be stick welded. when you get into thicker items like skids and such, stick welding can give you a stronger bead and better penetration without having to do multiple passes as with mig. but stick is not the best process to use on sheet metal. for that mig would be best.
 
stewie said:
stick has a place in the off road manufacturing process as well. a lot of our aftermarket products can be stick welded. when you get into thicker items like skids and such, stick welding can give you a stronger bead and better penetration without having to do multiple passes as with mig. but stick is not the best process to use on sheet metal. for that mig would be best.
Click to expand...

That depends entirely on what machines your comparing. We have MIGs in our structural steel shop that will run up to 700 amps. All we use, even up to 2" plate is MIG'd. Why? speed speed speed. and we're in a somewhat controled enviroment. Stick doesn't even compare in penetration with a properly setup spray transfer MIG setup.

IMO, stick ONLY has a place in applications where there is a possibility of porosity due to a lack of sheilding gas... as in a breezy enviroment. Otherwise MIG will kick its ass every time. Some old timers swear by stick, but thats simply because thats all they've used.
 
not true. with mig, you have to run up to THREE times the heat to get the same penatration. ok if you can spend upwards of five to ten thousand times the price of a good stick. the reason many shops use mig is the speed like you said, but like you said, you are running upwards of 700 amps, where for the same thickness of steel you only would need about 300-350 amps. with thicker plate, you also need more weld for the same streangth as stick, unless your company is forcking out a lot of money for very high doller wire. I too worked in a structural steel welding shop, and i dont know about you, but they used the cheapest, s***iest wire they could get their hands on. the stuff wouldnt even beed right.
 
Wolfie said:
not true. with mig, you have to run up to THREE times the heat to get the same penatration. ok if you can spend upwards of five to ten thousand times the price of a good stick. the reason many shops use mig is the speed like you said, but like you said, you are running upwards of 700 amps, where for the same thickness of steel you only would need about 300-350 amps. with thicker plate, you also need more weld for the same streangth as stick, unless your company is forcking out a lot of money for very high doller wire. I too worked in a structural steel welding shop, and i dont know about you, but they used the cheapest, s***iest wire they could get their hands on. the stuff wouldnt even beed right.
Click to expand...

I'm actually the shop manager of this shop, and will only purchase the higher quality wire. We run lincoln's ultracore for 90% of the stuff we do. I've honestly never seen stick produce the penetration nor puddle size that high amp wire feed.

The company is www.corteksystems.com if your curious.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

bradleyheathhays
Sourcing a used AW4 transmission for my XJ
Replies
7
Views
328
lawsoncl
L
P
Notch Custom X-Max Slider Questions - or other recommendations
Replies
2
Views
202
Paradiddle
P
Anak
Any Tips on Tire Machines?
Replies
6
Views
379
Anak
Anak
I
WTB: 8.25 27 spline differential
Replies
0
Views
105
Idaho XJ Guy
I
M
Correct rim size for a 265/70r17 tire with a 4” lift
Replies
10
Views
203
75SV1
7
Back
Top