welding rods....?? help

[Sandboxcowboy]

Have acquired a small 100 amp stick welder from my dad and want to try and use it before buying a mig, which i have hundreds of hours using(shit simple)
i have spent many hours brazing using oxy-acetly also.

SOOooo which rods should i be buying for sheetmetal repair, 1/8" clean steel, 1/4" clean steel, which ones are good for penetration, and which look good for top pass.

right now ill be just fiddling around with sheetmetal repair and some light steel work. NOthing structural yet until im confident on the penetration.
What and where to buy small packs of decent rods to get me started?? best way to keep the humidity out of them also.

any tips or tricks to help a fellah out or links anyone has used.

move this topic if ive put in wrong section!
thx
justin

['Roach]

Oct 1, 2010 9:21:11 GMT -4 Sandboxcowboy said:

Have acquired a small 100 amp stick welder from my dad and want to try and use it before buying a mig, which i have hundreds of hours using(shit simple)
i have spent many hours brazing using oxy-acetly also.

SOOooo which rods should i be buying for sheetmetal repair, 1/8" clean steel, 1/4" clean steel, which ones are good for penetration, and which look good for top pass.

right now ill be just fiddling around with sheetmetal repair and some light steel work. NOthing structural yet until im confident on the penetration.
What and where to buy small packs of decent rods to get me started?? best way to keep the humidity out of them also.

any tips or tricks to help a fellah out or links anyone has used.

move this topic if ive put in wrong section!
thx
justin

I'm going to let the welders answer the rest, but the best idea I ever hard about storing was to get yourself an old, broken bar fridge and a 60 watt lightbulb. Put bulb in fridge and wire it so it stays on. Just enough heat to keep the moisture out of the rods

[Dewie]

Oct 1, 2010 9:40:58 GMT -4 'Roach said:

I'm going to let the welders answer the rest, but the best idea I ever hard about storing was to get yourself an old, broken bar fridge and a 60 watt lightbulb. Put bulb in fridge and wire it so it stays on. Just enough heat to keep the moisture out of the rods

I'm missing the light bulb... hmmm

[Sandboxcowboy]

ive heard that doesnt work so well on todays newer higher tech rods.....? anyone shed light on this?

[The Garagemahal]

Ya we store ours in an old fridge with a light bulb

7018, all around welding rod or 6011

[theonlybull]

fridge works great, with a bulb of course.
for a true exray weld, they need to be straight out of the package, at the proper temp, or baked in a rod oven at a certain temp for a certain length of time..... no worries for what your doing

100amp, ac or dc?
personally, i like 7018. never had much love for 60xx rods, but they do stand dirt and rust better then the 70xx.

best to look for 3/32" dia rods (2.5mm) even then, you'll be pushing the limits of your machine for some welds.

[93grand]

I used 3/32 6011's with a 90A welder not to bad

[justajeep]

If it's an AC only machine, make sure you get 7018AC rods, they will work great for what you are doing.

I use Nova Industries Blue Steel rods, equivalent to a 7018, but are even nicer to weld with.

[Sandboxcowboy]

hmmm ill hafta check the welder out......... keep posting!!

[Sandboxcowboy]

so i tried find out what i have , no luck. quite old machine but in great shape but all it says is Mastercraft arc welder 100 amp. PN-58-8008-0

im guessing its an AC machine. any way to tell by what happens when i start wleding?

[justajeep]

I think you can be 99% sure it's an AC machine.

[Sandboxcowboy]

now, who has the best price in town for regular sized boxes of rods?

[Hawkes]

Oct 2, 2010 9:35:39 GMT -4 Sandboxcowboy said:

now, who has the best price in town for regular sized boxes of rods?

PA has lincoln rods in 1 lb and 5 lb boxes. I've never bought them at a welding supply place.

[Sandboxcowboy]

$28-30 a box seems like goin price for 5 lbs?