Welding Tips and Tricks

I'm about to start my first weld.

I've watched a lot of how-to videos and I think I have everything figured out to start except one thing.

What do you do with the stinger/rod when you're paused between welds to say flip the work piece over? Should I turn off the welder? Should I put the stinger down on a non-conductive surface? Can I put it down on my work table?

Since I'm so new, I don't know if just putting it down or through one of the holes in my work table would cause it to strike/start an arch.

Thanks!

Take out the rod from the stinger or put it where it can’t contact the work pieces, or anything grounded by your ground clamp ( bench top or other). This would also include your welder or cart, due to the fact that your welder body/ case and the cart it sits on will likely also be grounded through the internals of the machine. Throw down a 2ft sq of 1/4 inch plywood drop it on that , all good.

With all the digital machines these days and all the fancy buttons, I've often thought how nice it would be if there was a "Hold" button or something similar on the machine to temporarily disable the stinger for those times when you are running SMAW fairly close to the machine and don't want to keep taking the rod in and out of the stinger to set it down.

Spartan wrote:With all the digital machines these days and all the fancy buttons, I've often thought how nice it would be if there was a "Hold" button or something similar on the machine to temporarily disable the stinger for those times when you are running SMAW fairly close to the machine and don't want to keep taking the rod in and out of the stinger to set it down.

There is, it's on every stick welder ever made. It's called the work clamp. Take it off the work. Either way, something must be done. Most stick welders by default are "hot" as soon as they are turned on. Even TIG welders that have stick weldinig mode, or multiprocess welders, have the leads "hot" soon as it is in stick mode.

Spartan wrote:With all the digital machines these days and all the fancy buttons, I've often thought how nice it would be if there was a "Hold" button or something similar on the machine to temporarily disable the stinger for those times when you are running SMAW fairly close to the machine and don't want to keep taking the rod in and out of the stinger to set it down.

i think there is the odd tig/stick machine where you can use a tig on/off switch while in stick mode. i'm not sure if that was an intended feature or not. some also have the HF enabled for stick to.

would be cool to setup a stick machine with tig switch and HF. really handy for those small repair jobs.

tweake wrote:

Spartan wrote:With all the digital machines these days and all the fancy buttons, I've often thought how nice it would be if there was a "Hold" button or something similar on the machine to temporarily disable the stinger for those times when you are running SMAW fairly close to the machine and don't want to keep taking the rod in and out of the stinger to set it down.

i think there is the odd tig/stick machine where you can use a tig on/off switch while in stick mode. i'm not sure if that was an intended feature or not. some also have the HF enabled for stick to.

would be cool to setup a stick machine with tig switch and HF. really handy for those small repair jobs.

Oh it can be done alright, but the voltages for TIG are usually lower than what is required for stick, so I could maybe see arc-snuffing problems if that is the case. I do have a TIG on/off switch I could hook up to my 220A TIG/200A stick welder..

My TA 186 has most of those features built in. It’s even got a feature that if the rod is stuck/ grounded out for (I think 30 seconds) it shuts off the output. In stick mode.

Oscar wrote:

tweake wrote:

Spartan wrote:With all the digital machines these days and all the fancy buttons, I've often thought how nice it would be if there was a "Hold" button or something similar on the machine to temporarily disable the stinger for those times when you are running SMAW fairly close to the machine and don't want to keep taking the rod in and out of the stinger to set it down.

i think there is the odd tig/stick machine where you can use a tig on/off switch while in stick mode. i'm not sure if that was an intended feature or not. some also have the HF enabled for stick to.

would be cool to setup a stick machine with tig switch and HF. really handy for those small repair jobs.

Oh it can be done alright, but the voltages for TIG are usually lower than what is required for stick, so I could maybe see arc-snuffing problems if that is the case. I do have a TIG on/off switch I could hook up to my 220A TIG/200A stick welder..

wasn't meaning the stick in tig method but rather proper stick voltages. some machines seam to only switch over the voltage and gas supply and not turn off other features.

tweake wrote: wasn't meaning the stick in tig method but rather proper stick voltages. some machines seam to only switch over the voltage and gas supply and not turn off other features.

Ah, gotcha.

If your using a tong type electrode holder, hang it on the hook/handle on something nearby. If your really worried about it, remove the electrode from the holder.

Is it safe to remove the rod with my hand (wearing a glove)?

BeefSupreme wrote:Is it safe to remove the rod with my hand (wearing a glove)?

I have no issues doing that. Only when wearing thick stick welding gloves. Don't attempt that using your lady gloves while the rod is still hot, or you'll welcome yourself to burn city.

Yes unless there wet or sweaty.