Stick welding tips to clarify a ton of common issues 

Thanks for the kind comment and thanks for your subscription 😀. I am sure you will learn a ton from my videos, and if you don’t understand anything make sure to post a comment in a video and I will be happy to answer it. Also, I am glad you decided to pickup a new hobby, and learning as much as you can. You will likely learn fast and be able to make some cool stuff. I myself passed up welding for 20+ years when I had the chance, but it’s never to late to learn. 😀

Thanks for the kind words 😀. I felt pretty happy because I feel like I really drove home/proved the point that just being smooth and consistent is what matters more than anything.

Glad you liked it 😀.

Thanks for the kind words 😀 you will be able to do a lot with what you have. It’s easy to focus on expensive machines and equipment, but the truth is the person using the welder matters more than the welder. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to do a bunch of flux core welder videos with the titanium 125, a lot of people have them and they are capable of helping a person build so much cool stuff. It’s not easy learning and perfecting a skill like welding, but having a solid base of understanding will drastically help.

Thanks for the kind words 😀. You’re exactly right, it’s impossible to share all that knowledge of all the videos in a short time, nor would you want to try. One of the downsides to very complex topics like welding is that there is no easy/fast way to become extremely competent. It takes absorbing a small bit of info consistently over a long time for success. Trying to take it in too fast is simply overwhelming. Looking back at all my videos it’s kind of amazing for me to see how much information I have shared and that’s literally only scratching the surface of the topic lol. The great news is the videos will be there for you in the future and with practice you will drastically improve since you have more knowledge about what you’re doing. It’s not about where you start, it’s where you wind up, so stick with it and you’ll be doing real good before you realize it 😀.

Thanks and I am happy to be able to help

Thanks for the kind words 😀. I feel fortunate that I can share useful info that is helping people out 😀

You’re welcome 😀. It’s hard to balance/focus on so many things at the start that it’s overwhelming. Once you find a nice steady smooth pace to move a rod at everything becomes easier. 😀

No problem 😀

You’re welcome 😀

I have a couple MiG videos out in the next week, and I have another flux core coming out in about 7-10 days, where I will compare flux core to MiG 😀

@@makingmistakeswithgreg Awesome man, buy some anti spatter spray before the comparison please. I’m a firm believer in the anti spatter spray. Especially on bare metal like you do the tests on… It makes a world of difference.

@@jimmywilson1388 the stuff I have I think is made from cooking grease, it turns black when heated and smells like old fryer oil 😅. I will have to find some different stuff 😃

@@makingmistakeswithgreg Yes sir, I got the Hobart brand from tractor supply… Idk if you guys have tractor supply up north but they carry Hobart stuff and I think they have the Fourney flux core welder but I’ve heard it absolutely sucks compared to the titanium 125. I think it’s the DC inverter that makes the titanium better.

@@jimmywilson1388 if the forney isn’t a inverter it’s power output will struggle on 120 wall outlets. The titanium 125 is just efficient enough to weld 1/4in steel on a 20 amp breaker. A transformer machine would trip a breaker trying to weld 1/4in steel no doubt. I really like hobarts fab shield 21b flux core wire. It runs really good. I also like Lincoln’s nr211. Rod wise hobarts 7018 is ok, it tends to have far sticker starts than most rods I have ran.

No doubt a bunch of rods will iron out a lot of details. To put it in perspective I think I ran 16-18kg of rods just on flat and horizontal plates in school before I touched a single actual “join two pieces together” weld. The better you are at running a straight weld that is consistently equal in height/width/etc the better everything else will be. Master the simple so the difficult becomes easier 😀

@@makingmistakeswithgreg I have some spare cash to buy a good welder(£3k), but I am unsure what to get, getting decent with stick now, want to get into Tig, mig would be nice, but have a cheap transformer one for the garage which does ok. Settled on Fronius range, but I still dont know whether to get Ignis, Artis, or even transteel, or magicwave 2200 from fleabay, not even sure what current output I need, been doing pretty good with 160A so far. Problem is, I want to get into general repair and maintenence so no idea at this stage what current I need, then we have voltage compatability, do I really need 110V in the uk for site work or is just 240V ok. Help!!!! PS thanks for your help so far greg, you are a star!

No problem, glad they help 😀. 6013 is a fine place to start. They run on any welder, are very easy to start and restart. As you progress you will likely find that 7018 and 6010/6011 will be your more common rods. However 6013 doesn’t make a bad looking weld (I much prefer it to 7014 honestly) and if you never switch to other rods you can still make a ton of stuff 😀

@@makingmistakeswithgreg I sort of look at the 6013 as the "training wheels" for me right now. I've stuck a few 7018's to the practice plate as well. 🧲 I bought the ESAB 180 as my first welder and I'm really happy with it. A good piece of equipment for me to grow into. Right now, I'm just enjoying the process of learning Stick. I figured if I started with a MIG unit that I would likely never learn it.

@@hicap06 great way to look at it. That esab 180 is a awesome stick welder. I built my Jeep with one of those 😀. It has a hot start feature, make sure to play around with that when running 7018s, it will help a lot. Also that welder will run 6010, so make sure to practice with 6010 in the future 🔥.

So I will have a video coming out on this topic soon. Many people do the “MiG like tig” and it’s not a good habit to get into because your welds will have to be cold to do it. It’s ok to oscillate while wire welding but turning settings down for the sake of making a visual look is asking for trouble. You will see in the video exactly what I am talking about 😀. It will be out in a bit over a week.

I do have some tig welding videos but they aren’t the best quality (but still have a lot of valid info). If you look on my channel back about 5 months ago you will find them. Soon I will have a site that will have a simple menu to pick what process you want, some other details, and all relevant videos will be displayed (with links). It will make it very easy to find relevant content without having to search much. I will be going back into tig in about 5 weeks and do a complete walk through on it with welding ever position on varying thicknesses.

I have not done a stainless stick video, and I will be honest…. I am not that good at it 😅. I tig weld everything stainless, and I am very good at that, but I simply don’t weld on thick enough stainless to have the experience with stick. I am sure I can run some solid beads, but I know vertical up is basically the puddle lying to you. Worst stick welds I ever ran (after I could weld decent) were 309 or 312 stainless rods on mild steel to stainless. I could have done better with a oxy fuel torch and a aluminum rod 😅. I will definitely have to do some practice with it though, I am going to do a how to repair cast iron video which 309 and 312 stainless stick can be used (I generally use 55/99 nickel or braze. No idea how to tackle water dripping out of a pipe you’re welding on stainless 😅. Maybe it will help it “wet out” better lol. Do you run uphill a lot? Ever get surprised at how a weld looks compared to what you thought it would?

@Making mistakes with Greg I won't even try stainless stick uphill. On these pipe repairs it's usually downhill stringers, or a long series of stitches uphill. As far as welding on leaking pipe, so far I've found you just have to put a bead in there, even if you have to grind porosity out then go over it again, it may take a few tries but eventually you get a clean(ish) weld in there. This is thin wall stainless pipe, paper mill stock lines, and water lines mostly.

@@philthyphil3324 gotcha. I am definitely going to have to tackle some stainless stick in the future. I already know I am going to have to work a bit more than normal to get that dialed in lol. I have a ton of 312 stainless rods I never used, I will have to go through my storage box and see what I can find of 308 /309 😀.

The big round table is a temporary sewer lid (manhole lid). Due to a screw up the wrong size was ordered and I got it for scrap price 😃. Hard to beat big/thick steel for a welding table lol.

Feel free to ask questions, I will be happy to help 😀. To answer your question, most rotors are cast iron. The problem with welding on them is the weld will likely crack off the rotor because it is brittle. It is possible to weld cast iron, but not with normal rods/procedures. Your best bet is to find a way to get a 6x6in 1/4in thick piece of steel or bigger and just run beads on it for multiple layers.

@@makingmistakeswithgreg OK. Many thanks for the reply! I'll round up some 1/4in steel instead of using the rotors. I'm anxious to start some projects but quickly realized I need to learn a lot more and practice a ton before I can do it right...

@@mixpick138 it’s hard to do monotonous practice plates. The better you are on practice plates the better you are on everything else, so just remind yourself that you just need to build a bit of skill first. When you can put down consistent width/height beads that are wetted out decent you’re ready to start building stuff. Don’t be afraid of using a grinder either. If you put down a bad weld fix it 😀. You got it 👍

When welding outside it will help a lot to use something to cover the light from behind the hood. Pancake goods and welding face masks are goofy looking but they make it much easier to see what you’re doing. It would also help to use a higher end auto darkening hood like a Viking 3350 or miller digital elite. They are expensive but the visual quality is unmatched. They pop up for sale new or nearly new for around 150-200$ pretty often around here. Not cheap, but better than from a online store.

I made a slight mistake, the helmet is adjustable 9 to 13 but you are spot on about light from behind the helmet. A better helmet with a bigger visor could be on the cards but the pancake might be a step too far. However you have set me thinking.

@@brianhowe8896 pancakes look funny but for outdoor work they work great. My eyesight is still pretty good but all the backlight outside makes it harder than it needs to be. Anytime I can’t see what I am doing probability goes way up that something isn’t going to go well lol.

@@makingmistakeswithgreg As an experiment I packed the back of my helmet, as you suggested, with the soft protective motor cycle helmet bag I use for it and you are right again, a definite improvement due to less light getting in.👍

I put it on the list, I will get to it but it might be a bit 😀. It definitely is an important part of welding. For the time being I will tell you this: the ABCs of welding are important. “Always be comfortable” is key. Do dry runs before you start welding. If you just start welding without making a simulated pass, you may find out in a hurry something isn’t right (welding whip/hose is caught on something, you can’t position your hands correctly to make a proper pass, etc) and botch the weld. I can’t count how many times stuff like that happens. The other important step besides making dry runs is to focus on being loose and consistent. Holding a death grip will prevent smooth movement. Be relaxed, make sure to breathe, and be smooth. Smooth and consistent movements (tell yourself that while welding) are the key to making consistent welds.

@@makingmistakeswithgreg Thank you for all your advice . Because of your videos I started welding as a hobby . I find it very relaxing . Your one of the few who’s willing to help guys like me . God Blessed