Hey Guys,

When I took a couple of semesters of welding classes a few years ago, I practiced alot of MIG welding on tubing. I also learned stick/arc welding, but never got a chance to practice stick welding on tubing. I managed to blow several holes in tubing when practicing with the MIG, so I can imagine it must be even more difficult to use stick on tubing. Since I'm too poor to dish out the bucks for a decent MIG with gas setup, I'd like to try practicing with my Lincoln AC 225 stick/arc welder.

Any tips from stick welding pros on welding tube with a stick welder? What electrodes and heat setting would you recommend? What about when welding tubing to 1/4" plate? What tips, advice and electrodes and heat would you recommend for that?

And since we're on the subject of stick welding, what about sheetmetal, like for a floor board? I realize the potential for blowing holes is much greater with sheetmetal when using stick. Bite the bullet and get a 110v MIG for sheetmetal, while leaving the stick for the heavier duty stuff? Or is there a chance to do it right with some practice that doesn't entail spending more on scrap sheetmetal than it would be to just buy a 110v MIG?

Thanks for any tips, advice, suggestions and recommendations.

You have to have a tight fit to keep from burning through, or if you dont have a tight fit or your buring holes in teh steel your either going too slow or you have teh amperage turned up too high.

Thanks for the reply, Mike. When you say "tight fit", do you mean the distance between the electrode and the welded-on metal, or do you mean the butt weld itself needs to have a narrower gap?

When I was practicing on tube with the MIG, I didn't really butt weld them. I just put practiced by putting the end of the tube up against 1/4" plate and did more of a lap weld, for lack of a better description.

I meant a tight fit between the pieces your welding, so the gap is small as possible. You cam have a big gap and still get a good weld without burning through but it takes practice and experience to get it done right.

Gotcha. Thanks for the tip. I realize it's going to take practice, but thought I'd ask for tips and advice first in the hopes of lessening the amount of practice tubing I'll be wasting (paying for) as I practice. Thanks again!

You're gonna burn up a lot of scrap, no way around it if you want to get good. Practice on non-critical projects and don't be afraid to cut stuff up and do it again, several times. And remember, pretty isn't as important as strong. Make it solid first, pretty will come with time.

In addition to making sure the parts fit as well as possible, make sure your surfaces are as clean as you can get them. Sure, stick welding works on dirty metal, but it works a lot better on clean metal.

You're gonna burn up a lot of scrap, no way around it if you want to get good. Practice on non-critical projects and don't be afraid to cut stuff up and do it again, several times. And remember, pretty isn't as important as strong. Make it solid first, pretty will come with time.

In addition to making sure the parts fit as well as possible, make sure your surfaces are as clean as you can get them. Sure, stick welding works on dirty metal, but it works a lot better on clean metal.

Thanks for the advice. And yeah, I guess I'll have to suck it up and accept the fact that I'll be going through alot of scrap while practicing.

Anyone have any advice on what size rod and heat setting to use for .120" wall round tubing? I also plan on welding it to 3/16" and 1/4" thick plate and angle iron. It's a Lincoln AC 225 stick (SMAW) welder.

go to a welding shop and get the thinnest rods they have. then what ever amp rating those rods have start at the lowest setting. then start practicing.

on the welder they have selected amps for metal thinckness its essential that you have a clean surface for your weld containates with jepordize the structual intergerity of the weld

1/4 inch plate with stic welder 90 amperes 6011 rod

Thanks for the tip, Jopes. By the way, love your Bronco.

Thanks for the advice, badass. I guess with 1/4" thick plate, I'll shoot at the plate, not at the tubing, then push the molten pool from the plate to the tubing.

I use 5/32" 7018 for almost everything and just adjust the speed and heat for the different thicknesses. I have used 3/32" 6011 rods and they are great for doing tack welds because they light real easy and make a nice undercut if you have the amps up so when you weld it with the 7018 rod its nice and smooth, your not putting a bead over a bead if you know what I mean.

Excellent tip, thanks Mike.

Yeah, I have to do some patching of the floor panels in a couple of weekends. I picked up the thinnest 6011 rods I could find but im still worried that ill just blow holes through the floor with my 110v Lincoln.

-Matt

Try a 6013 instead of the 6011.
Its designed more for easy use and pretty welds, and it does not burn as deep as a 6011 will.
On thin sheet metal you will probably get more strength with a 6013 anyways, because your going to have to move real quick with a 6011 to keep from burning through, especially on the edges. With the 6013 you can slow down and concentrate on the bead more and still have the amps turned up high enoufgh to get a good weld. Plus the shield is very easy to get off. One tap with a hammer and it comes off 6 inches at a time. A 6011 weld you have to pound on it and then all it does is come off in pieces.

We have to remember that I have a set amperage on my welder. It just "flips" on. Its been pretty handy on dads farm, but limited on Bronco projects. Ill take your advice on the 6013's.

-Matt

you have to be careful on the sheet metal, b/c with the stick you can warp it pretty easy.

scott

I've only MIG welded sheet metal. I guess with a stick it would be best to tack weld it first, then do a short pass on one side, let it cool, then do another short pass on the opposite side, let it cool, and keep going like that to keep it from warping, right?

sounds good but use very short passes. takes time and may not be pretty but that is what grinders are for(can also warp with grinder too if not careful). floor boards may not be as important as fenders but if you want things to fit together right, not warping the sheet metal is the best thing to do.

scott

BTW. I picked up and tried out some 6013 3/56 rods. Worked like a charm.

-Matt

in the bodyshop we only use mig but there are other ways of doing floor pans

on the sheetmetal.. have you thought about brazing? with sheetmetal you might get a better result than with a stick... i put some in a camaro this way, they turned out nice

second how about epoxy.. on MANY newer cars the manufacturer recommends that patch panel, quater panels, and roof skins be epoxied in (glued) for several reasons... i have personally used this stuff serveral times and can tell you when they say it is stronger than a weld... they ain't kidding... you can get this stuff from a auto bodyshop supplier or over the net

lastly if your going to use the stick i would recommend the smallest 6011 rod you can find and keep a wet rag handy (always do this welding sheetmetal) weld sheet metal in very short lengths at a time (1/4") then through the wet rag on it to dissipate the heat... it will take awhile but doing a good job with sheetmetal no matter what method you use does



wow.. and i just notice that i didn't scroll down all the way to see that you got it done... freaking noobies :doh0715: oh well

I haven't gotten mine done yet. But thanks for the most excellent info!

I never thought about brazing, only cuz I don't know anything about it! And I never thought about epoxy for the same reason, although it sounds interesting. What about welding a few 1/4" areas here and there, and then filling the rest in with epoxy? Would that work?

I haven't gotten mine done yet. But thanks for the most excellent info!

I never thought about brazing, only cuz I don't know anything about it! And I never thought about epoxy for the same reason, although it sounds interesting. What about welding a few 1/4" areas here and there, and then filling the rest in with epoxy? Would that work?

sure...

depending on how clean you want the install (trail rig or show truck) i wouldn't rule out epoxy and rivets as well..

but the epoxy alone will be stroger than the rivets or weld... the stuff available at autobody supply stores that is made for the application is stronger then the metal you are bonding with it... i have epoxied stuff on and used it as a anchor on a frame machine and it will tear the metal before it breaks the bond.. if you do it correctly, prep for the epoxy is the key to getting a strong hold... bare clean metal with NO oil or other contaminants on it

in the bodyshop we only use mig but there are other ways of doing floor pans




Pop rivets, 22ga weldable steel, top o line sillycone caulk, and undercoating....works like a charm

sillycone caulk

just as a side note... be carefull with anything that contains silicon... silicone and just about all paint products (primers/bases/clears...etc) don't get allong chemically and won't stick to each other or will cause your paint to fish eye like there is no tomorrow... armor all also contains silicon (and a zillion other products) that will cause a body shop to have screaming fits if they aren't carefull in the paint booth

make sure your your caulk is paint friendly :twotu: your undercoating will thank you

small tack welds. like start 6 inches apart then 4, then 2...basically you just keep heat down as said and then grind

im gonna buy a lincoln stick welder to make some sliders, bumpers and other fun stuff then i think i might buy a cheap harbor freight mig just to do minor body work, i figure 100bux for a peice of shit welder is worth not going thru the hassel of doing it with stick

im gonna buy a lincoln stick welder to make some sliders, bumpers and other fun stuff then i think i might buy a cheap harbor freight mig just to do minor body work, i figure 100bux for a peice of shit welder is worth not going thru the hassel of doing it with stick

Since my first post, I've gotten a chance to stick weld pipe with a Lincoln AC/DC 225 stick welder. It worked like a charm, and I didn't blow any holes through the steel. Still haven't tried sheetmetal yet, though.

it welds tube and pipe pretty well but i was just fixing shit where i worked that held plants up... so it didnt really matter how the welds looked. im just worried about melting holes in the body of my truck fixing the rust

metal1313

Buy a stich welder, to go with the Lincoln, and turn the amps down

im gonna buy a lincoln stick welder to make some sliders, bumpers and other fun stuff then i think i might buy a cheap harbor freight mig just to do minor body work, i figure 100bux for a peice of shit welder is worth not going thru the hassel of doing it with stick
http://fullsizebronco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67165

Heres the one I got for sale...its on ebay but as the other thread says, I'll cut FSB a break.