Note that stick welders can be used to weld steel, iron, aluminum, copper, and nickel. For example, if you want to weld a piece of steel that is 1 in (2. 5 cm) thick, the recommended amperage level will be around 200 amps. Another example of a recommendation you might see on a chart is 125 amps for 1⁄8 in (0. 32 cm) aluminum.
If you want to make minor adjustments to the heat when you’re stick welding, you can just pull the welding arc back to make the welding puddle hotter and wider. That way, you don’t have to change the machine’s amperage in the middle of welding.
The stick welding chart you use to set your machine’s amperage for the material you’re welding should also recommend an electrode size.
For example, if you’re welding steel that is . 125 in (0. 32 cm) thick, set the amp dial to 125 amps. Note that you might find you need to adjust the amperage after you start welding. You might get a better weld on different types of metals by using slightly higher or lower amperages. You can use a MIG welder to weld a variety of metals including carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, magnesium, copper, nickel, and bronze.
For example, if you usually weld metals that are between . 125 in (0. 32 cm) thick and . 150 in (0. 38 cm) thick, use . 035 in (0. 089 cm) wire because the amp range you usually weld at is around 125-150 amps.
For example, if you’re welding at 125 amps and using . 045 in (0. 11 cm) wire, set the wire speed feed to 125 ipm. Note that some newer machines might just have a dial with different thicknesses on it. You can simply turn this dial to the thickness of the material you’re welding to set amperage and wire feed speed.
As a general rule, the thinner the metal you are welding, the lower the voltage you will use to weld it. For example, you might use a 21-23 volts to weld 1⁄2 in (1. 3 cm) aluminum with a MIG welder. You might use 32 volts to weld 1⁄2 in (1. 3 cm) stainless steel.
Stubbing is when the welding wire isn’t burning quickly enough and is hitting the bottom of the weld pool, which you can feel as you weld.
Finding the right gas flow is pretty much a matter of experimenting. The goal is to provide enough gas flow to protect your weld from air, which can contaminate it. For example, if you’re welding in an open, drafty area, you can try a gas flow of 50 cfm. If you’re working in a closed shop, you can try a gas flow of 15 cfm.
When you manually adjust the heat on a TIG welder you are really turning the amperage up or down. Some TIG welding machines also have amperage controls on the machine itself that allow you to set more precise amperage settings, but this depends totally on the make and model of the machine. Some examples of metals that you can use a TIG welder to weld are steel, aluminum, magnesium, nickel alloys, brass, copper, bronze, and gold.
A general rule of thumb is that your weld bead’s width should be about as wide as the thickness of the metal that you are welding. For example, if you’re welding 1⁄2 in (1. 3 cm) thick metal, and your welding bead is only 1⁄4 in (0. 64 cm) wide, try slowly increasing the heat until the bead widens out to about 1⁄2 in (1. 3 cm).
For instance, if you are welding 1⁄4 in (0. 64 cm) thick metal and your welding bead is 1⁄2 in (1. 3 cm) wide, try lowering the heat until your welding bead is only about 1⁄4 in (0. 64 cm) wide.
