Welding Tips and Tricks

I've watched a thousand videos and read tons of stuff but I haven't quite figured out if the best way to "feed" the rod is by either just dipping it into the puddle or actually feeding/pushing the rod into the puddle.

Can someone weigh in on what the best technique is? I've found that pushing the filler rod in tends to get stuck on the edge of the puddle when the rod is partially fused to the not yet molten metal of the puddle. Dipping the rod would be the better route but not sure if dipping the filler rod into the puddle is what is supposed to happen.

thanks in advance,

E

I don't think there's a best technique, it depends on how much filler you need to add and how you want the weld to look like. Pushing it lets you add more rod, good for welding aluminum or if your filler rod is smaller than you'd like. Dipping it gives tighter ripples. If your rod is sticking, you might be feeding too much and cooling the puddle.

I think red_sir has it pretty much right, but when your rod sticks to the edge of the puddle, it is becuase it cools the puddle, and the solution to this is to simply turn the machine up if you can, or let the heat build in the puddle by moving a little slower.

AC or DC ? In ac , stacking dimes is the usual way, giving you a slight pre-heat before adding more rod, dcsp using Helium burns hot and feeding the rod seems to work a lot better keeping the fill and material cooler