Been practicing slot welds and for the life of me cannot get this to work. The best luck seems to be when I punch 2 holes adjacent to each other to create a "slot" (as opposed to grinding a line). Still, the majority of the time the slag ends up under the top sheet. Thanks for the prior ti...

Thought of another question. This is for the car body and most of the welding would be on panels that are perpendicular to the ground (and the slot would run left to right). I've been practicing butt welds by pointing the rod UPWARDS as I move across, but what should the rod position be for slot wel...

Thanks! I gave it a quick try. I see the light! I used a 1/16" rod and there was way too little metal filling the slot so I will play around with different combos of gap width and rod size. As for trying 6011, I thought it was a deeper penetrator than 6013, so it wouldn't be good for sheet meta...

Ah, so "slot welding". Thanks! Does this imply that stick welders are not good for plug welding? If the slot is 1/8" wide, should I be using the smaller 1/16" rod? Seems like you may not be able to get up close into the slot with a 1/8" rod. Is an inch long SLOT weld on shee...

weldin mike 27 wrote:please only coat the back and then weld the front

This is prob what I'll start with and hopefully the tests will show it is good enough, at least further from the welds.

The body coating is some thing you absolutely not want to apply before welding. The heat turns it liquid and it will find your joints in no time after striking the first arc. That is something you apply after welding thru a small hole you plug after with plastic plugs. I plan to use Masterseries an...

Thank you. I have so many follow up questions and I may present them here over time, but I'll keep it simple for now... One of the replacement parts has the black e-coating. I've read the e-coating is weld-throughable with a stick welder, true? I plan to stick weld a few short lap joints and a bunch...

I have new replacement panels for my car that will be welded to rusty metal (after cleaning). I've heard the primer on these types of replacement panels are a crapshoot and probably wouldn't survive the heat of a stick welder. Should I sand down to bare metal and use weld through primer, as opposed ...

19 gauge is really thin, around 0.043" - this is not something you want to weld with stick. I realize this is not ideal but it seems there are plenty of people (maybe old schoolers) who say go for it. I know it is delicate and has to be done a little at a time so as not to warp and/or blow thr...

Newbie. Been mildly successful practicing beads as well as butt joints of thin sheet metal with 6013 dcen. I'm moving on to practicing T-joints and that feels a lot harder because I can't get the puddle right into the corner. Conceptually, I'd guess it would be easier than butt joints. I have tried ...

But anyway it can still be done using the 1/16 or 3/32 rods with much practice by doing stitch welding, 1/2" or applying tacks one at a time letting it cool for a few seconds before the next application. Been successful with these approach and it helps prevent warping. ;) Try it so you'll see ...

The root penetration in the pictures, though not consistent, shows what you're looking for. The weld (root) on the right has about 2/3 of it's length as "spot on". You wnat to see the sharp line of the joint vanish completely, and just a wee bit of material pushing through (back-side rein...

Bump. Hoping for some input on the welds a couple posts above. Much thanks.

Here in AUS, there is a huge difference in quality between brands. Thanks, will look around. For now, here is my humble attempt with a butt joint on 20 gauge sheet metal. I know it's sloppy but wanted to get the ball rolling on getting specific input. These are 2 separate runs, about an inch in len...

I have a small inverter a little larger than the one you have (Not HF) but of similar origin. I have enjoyed my welder and for thin material try a couple of 1/16 6013 Rods on DC ENEG. I do use a Taiwan made 200 amp DC stick welder for thin walled projects using 1/16" or 3/32" 6013 rods, b...

First off, you wont find eye rolling here. Not on a newb anyway. Wow, thanks so much to everyone for the quick and encouraging responses. I posted this on another welding forum (which shall remain nameless) and haven't gotten a response in weeks. I wonder if it's because something like this is happ...

Self-taught newbie... yes, insert eye rolls here. But practicing lots and reading up to educate myself. I have the Harbor Freight 80amp inverter welder. I'd ultimately like to use it on 20 gauge sheet metal butt joints up to 1/8" tubing lap joints on my car. I am hoping to hear encouragement fr...