Can I Stick Weld Razor Blades? | Thin Steel Stick Welding Tips

[@TimWelds]

You can learn to weld. I'll show you exactly what to do in my affordable online welding courses at courses.timwelds.com.

[@arnoldaltjr.2099]

The guy that taught me (early 60's) could weld a beer can to 1/2" plate with a stick welder. Nice clean weld. I was never that good. In later years I had a guy working for me that would bend a 7018 1/8' rod backwards and do vertical ups in a mirror. I did master that one.

[@ParadigmUnkn0wn]

Beer cans were steel back in those days, so before some keyboard warrior comes along, yes it's possible.

[@thesage1096]

@@ParadigmUnkn0wn i was actually wondering about that thanks man

[@autodidacticartisan]

What do you mean by bending it backwards? Like in a U shape?

[@arnoldaltjr.2099]

@@autodidacticartisan Yes..

[@Aoxhw]

Everyone loves it when I pull out my gag 1/2" thick soda cans

[@spiderlovesbeerotto2892]

I’m blowing thru on all my square tubing I was wondering if 16 gauge was to thin but you just proved to me that it’s me, not metal, rod or welder. I’ll keep trying. Thanks for the videos.

[@FireGodSpeed]

Same lol

[@mantrajack3549]

Tim! I'm just on the very beginning of my stick welding (or just welding) journey and I've run through a lot of your videos recently. All of them are brilliant and loaded up with useful informations, but this one is just insane. :) I would never believe that it's possible to weld such thin materials with stick, until I saw your vid today! :) It seems that you not only have a gift of being a talented welder, but also a great teacher! Thank you so much!

[@truckerray7533]

I'm also right where you are & agree. I wannuh try these thinner metals & the razor blade challenge. I've been practicing on stick welding for about a month now with an old Lincon buzz box from the 70's that my dad used. My brother has been welding for 30 yrs & he's been giving lessons. I'm having a blast

[@Indigenous_Patriot_1175]

❤❤❤

[@jaksonpritt5920]

Same for me now, ya know lol just starting out ok really but got potential

[@darzo7527]

Dude, has anyone ever told you, you are an amazing teacher..?? Well you are an amazing teacher

[@frankkante7850]

THAT changes Everything !!! Very cool. Please more of thin material. Absolutly amazing. Great job !!

[@robertames4055]

Went to the weld school back in the nineties , stopped welding to work as equipment op. /CDLA driver, these vids are perfect for refresher and even learning new stuff. Thanks man!

[@Chadwhansen3232]

Did you go to heavy equipment operator school to?

[@jaxongerace9664]

Im going down a similar path any advice?

[@ambroscustom]

Beautiful explained, I did alot welding on 1mm stainless but that polarity tip is awesome for sure, I never used that trick. Thanks for letting us know.

[@peterdouglas4073]

It works, the bought a $99 inverter ark welder. 1.6mm rods, 20amps, electrode reversed and the frame wall thickness is 1.5mm or less. Thanks TimWelds.

[@iancaseley705]

I watched this because I can't afford a tig or mig but I do want to weld thin tube. An amazing video and very educational. Thank you for going to the effort of producing this video. I'll be watching more.

[@JamesCouch777]

I've successfully welded car fenders and other car body parts with a stick welder and it is challenging.

[@TimWelds]

Tons of respect for those skills! I've only welded auto body with MIG.

[@JamesCouch777]

@@TimWelds It's actually easier with a brazing torch and brazing rod or coat hangers 😊.

[@bobs12andahalf2]

Last summer I picked up a stick welder for the first time in 20+ years. Had a bit of thin rod left over from a small fab job so decided to try repairing some old thin sheet metal barbecues that were lying around. Blew a few holes but for the most part it worked pretty good!

[@randyherringshaw6325]

@@TimWelds Unfortunately I know firsthand that it's difficult to say the least... To put it better, trying to stick weld body panels is about as hard as wiping with rice paper and trying not to punch through it with a finger!!!!🤦🏼‍♂️ With patience and practice, A LOT OF PRACTICE, it is possible, but it's a serious pain in the @$$ until you get the hang of it.

[@starwars910]

@@randyherringshaw6325 thin metal requires a much faster travel speed. I like welding on super thin metal but I prefer using tig. Stainless stick is always a great challenge

[@diegoribeiro7513]

Great video buddy!! Another way to weld thin material is to raise your amps to the recommended (6013) range and make really fast dots, it works fine mainly when you are welding galvanized material and need to burn through. This method works when you are welding out of position too, like that impossible angles and weird positions. You have to set your amps high and work fast. Anyway, this is just the way I do it when need to. I wish the best luck to you, your business and family, keep up the good work

[@Dzonnyg]

At work I often need to stick weld stuff that really should be welded using a different method and the fast dots trick saved my life so many times! Especially useful when welding upside down or vertical in a tight place on a half rusted vent pipe :D

[@robertblackshear8963]

Glad to see someone else who knows that trick. Just dot very quickly. It works like a charm.

[@robertblackshear8963]

@@Dzonnyg Indeed. It's very effective.

[@LuisLopez2]

6013? How about the same thing with 6011? I've been trying to do this and got a few welds looking very MIG-ish using 0613, but most of them failed miserably. the minimum amperage for a 3/32 0613 from Harbor Fraud is 70, while the minimum amps for 0611 is 40.... it just seems to me like the threshold for burn through with 0613 at 70 A is so freaking small. blink once and you are burning holes. (on the funny side, the square tubing I was using to test this ended up sounding like a maraca with all the slag and splatter that ended up inside of it)

[@andygeorgiou2846]

Another tip welded to a great tip. Nice 👍

[@T3glider]

That was awesome! There is a great video on KZbin showing an expert that did rocker panel rust repair using a stick welder. There are horses for courses, but when you only have one old nag, you ride it!

[@RC-Heli835]

This is amazing! Most all of the thin stiff I have worked on was where we were trying to avoid buying a 1300.00 muffler for a piece of heavy equipment. I used oxy/acetylene torch, filler rod and sometimes I needed thin metal to patch with. I was able to get many many years out of mufflers most would throw away.😃

[@zyb2]

Thanks a lot for including metric measurements! Great video!

[@danielchambers1958]

I love stick welding, but it is so challenging on thin stuff..... thanks for the info!!!!

[@TimWelds]

Definitely agree...it’s kind of like walking a tightrope. Thanks Daniel!

[@johndowe7003]

I just do little welds so the base material doesn't overheat

[@datadavis]

Its good to know the extremes! I've welded for 13 years and i don't see myself having the patience to stick weld razor edges though! I readily admit I'm not good enough😂

[@markashlock9017]

Well I for one am impressed!!! Dang!!! There’s a lot of tig welders that have a hard time pulling the “razor blade” trick. Good job and good vid. Thanks!!!

[@xblizbroke]

One of the biggest misconceptions I see is thinking amperage/voltage is equivalent to heat. TIME=heat. When I was learning I burnt up more parts by running too low and having to travel way slower which gives the heat more time to build and spread, making the metal softer and increasing the chance that you will blow through or have your puddle collapse. Control of your weld relies on being able to melt the material as locally as possible and have it freeze quickly. It's really a Goldilocks situation. Too much current and you can overwhelm the material, too little and you end up slowly making soup.

[@TimWelds]

That is a great point. I have a video on my list about heat input to demonstrate that very thing and also how it plays into distortion. Thanks for the comment!

[@hughbrown1531]

This just clicked something in my brain. Thank you.

[@mitchellharris4040]

I've always ran fast with my welds. I usually have thin/rusty metal to deal with. Right rod angle on 7018, and just drag it. Pace is based the backflow of the flux. 👌 I learned that off KZbin. 🤣🤣 People don't believe me. But it's true. When I tell my "helpers" that, they are sceptical. Next day, they are thanking me.

[@silentpoet75]

I think the real value of the razor blade challenge is pushing your skills to that level. It makes other stuff much easier. I have not attempted it stick, but I have put a lot of beads in and attempts at beads. It has greatly improved my tig skills. I may have to take my 1/16 6013 rods to school and try it.

[@Interdiction]

Or use razor blades not UTILITY KNIFE blades ,There is a world of difference

[@silentpoet75]

@@Interdiction I can tig razor blades. But have not got them stick welded. This past week I tried box cutter blades with stick as my other comment mentions. Took about an hour or so of work, but got one with a pretty decent bead considering the material. Good penetration and no warpage. For actual razor blades the problem is maintaining an arc at 15 amps or below. I don't know if I could keep the arc going at 10 amps or so that the razor blades would require. I am close, but I am not sure with my current welder and rods it will happen. I did get some Lincoln and Forney 6013 1/16th rods to try.

[@kesmik]

Thank you for translating to mm! ;D

[@snaildaddy]

Yes, great having metric as a reference!

[@vs-yt5tc]

merci

[@ilikewaffles3689]

Nah, just use correct (freedom) units.

[@jamescrud]

You can also just multiply by 25.4. Being bilingual has advantages.

[@BrettDalton]

Great info. I am not a great welder but 80% of what I weld is 1.6 or 2mm, often gal. I mostly use electrode negative as it avoids blowthroughs but might switch back and give it another go

[@jalebeverson6768]

I had to watch this after reading the title, reminded me of when I was an apprentice it was like a claim to fame if you could tig weld 2 coke cans together at the base, although I never attempted it myself. (I've just now decided I'm gonna give it a crack on Monday). I figured I'd watch the intro then skip to the end to see you attempt to or successfully weld the razor blades, but to my surprise it was informative and engaging through the whole video, well done mate, subscribed! I'm a sheety with 14 years experience but never done learning. Looking forward to seeing what knowledge I might be able to gain from the rest of your channel! Keep it up

[@TimWelds]

Thanks! Pop cans are fun, but they do stink pretty bad sometimes from the plastic liner.

[@AR.Kos.1818o4]

I've just started to learn how to weld (7 days) and I was actually struggling with understanding why i wasn't able to achieve anything other than blow torch fury (burn through). No only did this point out my exact errors but also clarified many of my further questions related to the subject matter.... my issue was mainly my rod size and amp's, 2.6mm rods nailing a thin tube on 90amps was probably destined to fail 😆.

[@robertblackshear8963]

Absolutely.

[@melgross]

I’ve never seen a stick welded razor blade. That’s a riot Tim.

[@CHRISDJS72]

It’s not even a razor blade though, it’s stanly knife blades, a razor blade is loads thinner

[@TimWelds]

Thanks Mel. It was a fun experiment, even if it isn’t very practical.

[@jmitchell6094]

@@CHRISDJS72 it’s not Gillette, but we know what he’s going for. Not like he’s being intentionally dishonest. Everyone’s seen the Tig welders doing stuff like this to show off. It’s very nice to see someone pull it off with SMAW.

[@johndowe7003]

@@TimWelds have you ever welded two pop cans together?

[@scottsteinhoff5151]

Thank You! For the awesome video. It all makes sense. You have improved my technique immensely.

[@dfu1685]

I just got my first stick welder, which is the inverter style and this makes a whole lot more sense than what I was doing! Ha ha ha! Thank you, Tim. Much appreciated.

[@erictaylor5854]

Thanks for making this. I'm about to stick weld some exhaust and I feel a little mors confident after watching this.

[@Dzonnyg]

Now it's my turn to do that in a few days and this is how I prepare

[@luciusirving5926]

Bean cans have the thinnest steel you'll ever try to weld. Personally, if the metal is that thin, then I would rather pop rivet it instead. Thanks for sharing even though I prefer riveting to welding on sheet.

[@docteurdre8450]

I’m fairly new in the stick welding environment. I learn a lot with your video and your explanation. Thanks for your help and good video.

[@thomaslewis9526]

Very nice work! There are a lot of hobby welder videos showing a 6013 dab-dab method. This method can be effective to patch up rusted out lawn mower decks, wheel- barrow tubs, etc. Some makers test by cutting open these welds todemonstrate pretty good quality. You drag the rod to push the slag away from the leading edge and let the puddle cool, but not go dark, so the arc immediately restarts. I can see why this would make a commercial welder (who charges a professional rate, has rivals and a reputation) uncomfortable. But it has its place in a world where lots of little things just need to get done. It's sad that this is becoming unusual, it used to be very common. I'm going to explore 6011 sheet metal welding this year. I found, and lost track of, a video where a young man welded up a beautiful steel box with 18ga (1.2mm) steel using 3/32 6011 at 35A. He had some sort of modern inverter welder, but did not mention if he used Electrode Negative (very good idea). This is below the recommended low end of the range, but the aggressive arc of the 6011 seems to make it possible to keep the arc going. He did a continuous bead at a moderate speed, and it had the coarse ripple of 6011, but it was narrow and he didn't burn through even once. He also welded one side with 5/64 6013 at 38A. This time he did burn through, at the end of the run, but couldn't tell untill he chipped the slag. 6011 is a fast-freeze electrode, and welders have run miles of root-pass beads without burning through. Also you will hear old-timers talk about only having this for exhaust/muffler and auto/body work. Also, you can buy this size anywhere. I remember from the narration and comments that machines vary widely in their success with this method, so you just have to give it a try. So I'm going to drag out the old buzz-box, and the new Amazon $100 feather-weight and see what happens. If anyone who actually knows about this stuff wants to weigh in, at least some of us would be very grateful. Maybe we could get Tim to make us a video.

[@pondacres]

Using al for heat sink, brilliant! Great video, man!

[@TimWelds]

Thanks! 👍

[@DavidStirm]

I did my first exhaust with a stick welder when I was a young man. I felt pretty ba it's all I had and I made it work it sounded great no leaks had to have them loud mufflers 🤣

[@toma1883]

I did a similar deal a few times as a kid, my parents ran very large delivery routes for a local paper under contract using their own vehicles. So when mufflers exhaust pipes or anything like that would break it was up to me to fabercoble back together so I used a fair amount of wire brushing and 6010 1/16th ( I know this is 6011 www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/hobart-6011-stick-electrode-welding-rod-1-16-in-1-lb-3948299?cm_mmc=organic_feed-_-GoogleShopping-_-Product-_-3948299) all on DC negative that in combination with a really low amperage can get you some decent welds on super thin semi rusty crap.

[@sumduma55]

Years ago, they used to put a layer of aluminum on exhaust piping for corrosion resistance. I don't know if that is still a thing or not now as everything seems to be bolt together and its simpler for me to just replace rather than fix. If I'm doing a custom exhaust for something, it is stainless steel for me. Anyways, if someone runs into the aluminumized steel, it can appear to need more amps to start the weld than it does to do the weld. This will lead to a bunch of cold welds that don't stick in one extreme to blow through holes and a lot of frustration on the other end. So if you are having issues on exhaust pipe, try cleaning the metal really good with some Emory cloth or sandpaper ( maybe even a wire wheel) to remove that thin layer of aluminum around the weld joint.

[@DavidStirm]

@@sumduma55 thx bud!

[@randyherringshaw6325]

@@sumduma55 From my experience in the automotive industry now they just use a galvanic zinc oxide to coat the exhaust system, that is IF they even decide to try and prevent rust at all. These days most corporations just seem to be worried about making as much money as possible and not about product longevity. After all, they can't sell more exhaust systems if they don't rust off of vehicles for 10 to 15 years or longer... SMDH

[@swampypolitics9574]

@@randyherringshaw6325 alot of that is actually due to government regulation driving up costs. Alot of climate change regulation is going to rape the car industry soon. The coated pipe is so much more than non it's not even funny. A little more is expected. But it's only because of over regulation. Ofc they want to make as much as possible. That's every business. But alot of the time they start cutting stuff out because of regulation costs. If those costs weren't there then they would use the better material and still be able to keep the car somewhat affordable

[@arisskarpetis]

You have given the advice of running 6013s hot. Good advice. Solved all my fusion problems. Level up. 100 to go.

[@martynohara8101]

I really appreciate your instructions and I will certainly be practising your technique. Could you please try stick welding aluminium ( I'm an Aussie) at various thicknesses down to 2mm. You have one of the best, if not the best, detail on instruction for welding on KZbin - keep it up! When I teach some friends to weld iI will be using your channel.

[@jgregory935]

Great job, i knew most of the techniques, but i did not know about the heat sink great job cheers!👍

[@LinusScrubTips]

Everyone said no, you show yes! Welding floors in my jeep with stick is going to be my first project after practicing.

[@quickshot4050]

I work making safes with sheet metal and galvanized, and what a welder there showed me is if you do it a bit hotter and faster it will warp less and you will burn through less then if you ran cold.

[@cameronbartlett856]

I never knew about the aluminum trick! That's pretty cool and very useful!

[@ddruckmu]

Cool, now do 90 degree razor blade weld. That one I find the hardest keeping the heat even between the horizontal side, usually on some heat sink and the free standing vertical side with thin metal using 6013.

[@pilfee]

Can we use a table fan to take away the heat from the work piece while welding. Thanks is advance

[@dewinterpego5638]

Hi Tim, thank you for this cool exposé, you explain it very well. Cool that this can be done, I learned a lot. Just one tip maybe if I may, it might be a good idea to do a quick recap of the 4 tips at the end of the vid, since repetition is a key to learning. Thanks for showing mm's thats great! Good luck with your channel

[@TimWelds]

Thanks! Great suggestion!

[@g.tucker8682]

I agree with the recap idea, big time! Very good suggestion. Thanks for another great and clear video, Tim

[@ericfrymire5682]

When you welded the 0.6mm plate, did you use hot start or arc force at all?

[@billalexander949]

I love this channel. Your instructions and explanations are so helpful. I'm just starting out myself and have already burned holes in some square tubing. I appreciate all that you're doing here. Thank you for your willingness to share such valuable information.

[@henryrossouw930]

Great welding.The thinnest Iv gone was 1.6mm.Great presentation.Keep them ciming.

[@jamal69jackson77]

Wow, I did not think that was possible with stick. You are quite the welder. Looks like I need to improve my skills a lot. Great video!

[@Hellsong89]

Was really surprised as well, though i have stick "welded" thin 1mm sheets in pinch with stick, using 1.6 rod, like i would everything else, just make multitude of tag welds to build up the material, since there will always be holes when i'm welding. Ether holding too long in same place or running too high of amps, essentially lack of skill really, but good to know this is actually possible if you have skills. Gotta try that reverses polarity trick next time and figure out where i put my copper plate peace, i used one when welding car sheet metal with mig back in the day.

[@jamal69jackson77]

@@Hellsong89 lol yeah, I'm really good at burning holes through thin metal. I use Miller welders, I guess I just need to learn the power settings and polarities as well.

[@rtv1196]

That was really cool. Greetings from Ukraine!

[@johneric3886]

Excellent communication skills, you come across very professional and caring!!!!

[@martialme84]

Hey i did like this video and i´m now lettin you know by hittin the thumbs up. Love your stick welding videos. A lot.

[@sanjurokawatabe7067]

Thanks for the alluminium cooling support trick! I have one special situation: I have to weld thin-walled square hollow bars. Ther are around 1.6-1.8 mm thick. However, the production of welding rods that are 1.5mm thick has ceased, and no longer can I get it here in Serbia. I have only 2.5mm thick (if you count the slag, it's 4mm thick electrode). Second thing, remote location, and a friend has only one... questionable cheap welding inverter. Cost is around 160 dollars. Thirdly, we have to use extension cord of a lownmower... that is over 40meters long. And the electric power is unstable, since we are using a electric line from bathroom... So, its a biiig challenge, and I think that this trick with heat mitigation with aluminium will help me greatly! Thanks a lot!

[@niravelniflheim1858]

I'm 100% gonna have a go at that razorblade challenge! Love it ❤

[@Boogeyman1862]

I was taught to weld using 16ga sheet and a 3/32". 6013 rod. We weren't allowed to use thicker material until we passed all of our welds on thin sheet.

[@TheGhujg]

I was recently wondering if welding razor blades was possible, I wanted to modify my blowgun darts so this is perfect thanks!

[@j.shorter4716]

I’ve been thinking about welding a longer heavier shaft to my darts for penetration on small hogs. Are you talking about welding new blades onto the dart?

[@hunterheadley3178]

@@j.shorter4716 they actually have their own broad head darts that are longer and heavier, tim wells has killed animals way bigger than hogs with them

[@j.shorter4716]

@@hunterheadley3178 I saw super long darts in a recent video of his but didn’t know if they were home made or if they could be bought somewhere

[@hunterheadley3178]

@@j.shorter4716 you can buy them on amazon or find em on ebay

[@vaultsama6593]

If you believe strong enough you can weld anything even a broken heart

[@rickw4160]

Until you buy a miller and then your wallet breaks

[@Sketch1994]

Unfortunately noone knows what filler to use for that yet.

[@rickw4160]

Lol.. not exactly but if you heat up stone enough it will melt. You can then technically fuse it together

[@koistinen9368]

not about beliving. all about practise and craftman skills.

[@c50ge]

Did they teach you that in welding class?

[@breantelennerddelrosario1690]

thank you for your video sir, now i can practice welding my thin sheet metal in the storage room hope to make something good out of it

[@cruz305]

I love the intro shot. I was imagining "timwelds" pop up in red then cooling down.

[@ANWALOUIS]

I'm new to welding and have the same Dekopro. Was this all on 220v or 110v? Also the amp range chart does it apply only to 220v?

[@dailyactivities2610]

The voltage you’re running on shouldn’t effect the amperage and weld quality correlation. 220v will allow you to use the full amperage range of your machine usually for rods bigger than 3/32. Everything he did here should easily be able to be done on just 120v.

[@tedbastwock3810]

Extremely well explained. Thanks Tim

[@jondavidmcnabb]

Excellent breakdown and very educational! Good stuff!

[@TimWelds]

Much appreciated!

[@renelainez2526]

Been waiting for this video for ages!! What a great video and tips, thanks a lot!!

[@oldguyjourney]

Videos are excellent!!! Just bought a stick welder and going to try my hand in it. Only ever done wire feed flux core.

[@kentdixon5716]

Really enjoyed the Video, thanks for posting!

[@LuisLopez2]

Somewhere in the first part of the video I thought to myself "I wonder if you could use aluminum as a backing in order to draw heat away from the weld" ... and then, there was the answer, in all its glory... is a beautiful sunset. The Internet sages smiled upon me tonight.

[@senseipaans]

Great tips. Helped me realise some mistakes ive made. Ready to try again!

[@alphaclean3364]

Thank you for this video. I'm about to attempt replacing rusty floor pans in my truck but all I have is the same DekoPro stick unit. I think with some practice I can make it work for the ~18ga sheets

[@johndowe7003]

Just do spot welds all the way around the patch then fill in the gaps

[@silentpoet75]

I finally actually did it, stick welded box cutter blades, mostly using your tips. The cheap Harbor Freight 1/16th 6013 were a challenge to keep lit without long arcing at 15 amps. I used aluminum blocks as heat sinks. I have 5 little blocks, roughly the same size as 123 blocks. So I rotated when one would warm up. It only took me an hour or so to get it mostly dead on and part of that was I hadn't watched this in awhile so I had to play with the amps. 30 was brutal to the blades. I hadn't stick welded in over 3 months. I still need to play around a bit more to get it dialed in. I believe I could probably do actual razor blade with a bit of practice and maybe better rods.

[@kkarllwt]

flat on a bench is one thing. Now, find some old lawn mowers with cracks and chunks missing at the wheel mountings. This is the thin metal welding that commonly needs doing.

[@TimWelds]

True story...repairs can be a real pain in the neck. Thanks for watching!

[@johndowe7003]

Add fishplates and it'll make things easier

[@g.tucker8682]

Another awesome video, Tim! That little chart you showed is really nice. Do you have a link to an image?

[@prow6586]

Great intro. Never seen that before. And thanks for all the info you give us regularly in your videos!

[@92frchld]

Thanks for the detailed video man. I just broke my mig in the middle of a body project on my jeep and was wondering if i could stick weld something this thin with my tig. Its to dirty to try tig so thats out of the question. Very helpful video. Thank you.

[@JSuparman]

Awesome! Great technics applied here. Congratulations.

[@loktom4068]

With your wealth of knowledge and great skill you are just amazing. It proves it's not just the fancy machines or tools make a real craftsman. It's the man himself. 👍👍

[@tjames22123]

From one Tim to another... Thanks!

[@FrankP83]

This is INCREDIBLE!Can be done this kind of welding with continuous wire welding?

[@snap-off5383]

A razor blade seems much thicker than the metal used on most consumer goods these days. I tried to reinforce a tubing strut for our above ground pool, hard to heat-sink flattened tubing. I ended up just laying a caterpillar bead on top of it with no penetration, then coming back through with higher heat, letting that caterpillar soak up most of the energy and trying for penetration at the sides. It was pretty bad, but I hadn't welded in 20 years, and back then when I did it, it was with someone's machine that they could tell me what amp settings to put it on. Navigating the settings on my own was pretty ugly. But I did get it done. Got to practice filling up holes on thin metal though that's for sure. I went with the same principle: lay a bead around the edge of the hole without much penetration, then come back with more heat to melt it all and strew it in a circle until the hole closed up.

[@karlmyers6518]

Spot on from England 🇬🇧 noob cub welder but your videos have really helped learning

[@chrisrowland3949]

One thing I notices on my welding machine is that it works better when I turn off "arc force". I think arc force pumps some extra amps into the electrode (over your setting) if it thinks the electrode is sticking. I have had MUCH better results with thin metal with this turned off (even though it may stick a little bit more). That took my welding up a few steps from "terrible" to "mildly embarrassing but functional"

[@robertblackshear8963]

Arc-force increase is best suited for thicker materials. You dont need it for any light gauge materials.

[@w_callaghan8300]

3:18 i got weld like the one shown in left. today i learned that if you have 2mm stick and welder has a setting for 2mm stick, it might not work. thank you!

[@glennlopez6772]

Thanks for the video! Have you made a video on welding stainless steel tubes?

[@tinkering123]

Always good advice. This is what I'm practicing, super thin steel. Gotta repair all those cheap Amazon chairs.

[@peterdzion5055]

Thank you I have been having trouble with this tiny Campbell 70 amp I got free and fixed it welds but I'm trying to make a flat top grill with it and I have super old rods from my grand father's he used to weld back in the 70s and 80s the rods where stored in aluminum tubes but the seal was popped on them and they got full of water and oil I'm super excited to start on my grill in the morning.

[@barabungan4652]

Thanks you for sharing your talent God bless you

[@parkarlsson7955]

Thank you! Great video! Nice tips, I am going to get my stick welder out and run it tomorrow! It has been inactive now for way to long! Subscribed!

[@aguilayserpiente]

Fine educatin. You are the wizard of thin material. My welding machine with 1/16" rod at 50 amps sparks like a Roman candle, either burning though the 1.5mm material or will not strike an arc.

[@woozhi9218]

Is stick welding strong in thin metal compared to using mig or tig?

[@DaleB809]

What do you suggest for a tig welder for a beginner to learn on. I bought the stick welder you are using in this video Thank you

[@ligmuhnugs]

I've always had a lot of troubke weldig thin with stick. This guy has a lot of talent. The most difficult part for me is striking an arc with such low current. On my crappy welder it either sticks or arcs and immediately goes out with such low current.

[@milwsdl39]

Great video as always question I’m kind of a newbie at this should I keep my welding rod somewhere less moisture they’re out in my shed to get a good use out of them thank you for the videos

[@ron1386]

Yes keep them in a better climate controlled area...

[@TimWelds]

It's definitely a best practice to keep your electrodes as dry as possible. In many industrial applications, certain rods are stored at elevated temperature to reduce moisture which can cause cracking on higher strength steels when they are thick. For most home use, you can get plastic rod storage tubes for about ten bucks that have rubber seals. That's what I use to store my general purpose electrodes.

[@randyherringshaw6325]

To dry electrodes I use a flat baking sheet to spread them out on and put in the oven. The recommended temperature is 180°-220°F except for 7018. If 7018 electrodes aren't sealed in a moisture tight container they should be stored in a rod oven at 250°F and should be used within 4 hours of being removed from the rod oven. Most welding rods are still good (even after getting damp) as long as the coating isn't damaged. If the flux is flaking off or visibly cracked it can cause a "wandering arc" and your weld quality will inevitably suffer.

[@JayJay-de8vq]

Great video! I have done alot of thin metal welding in auto body and later on more recently in a Tin shop we did not really deal with any thicker than 1/8th. Welded alot of 16 guage to make all sorts of sheet metal parts and guards and a lot of duct work and it was always galvanized and Stick with 6013 always worked the best and did not have to grind the galvanized edge to weld with stick so that made it basically as fast as mig welding with needing to grind it for mig.

[@DelisonJunio]

Hey, just stopping by to say that the fumes from welding galvanized are really bad for your lungs. Take care of your health cuz you can't get it back if something happens -- just a little advice from someone half a world away. Peace 🕊️

[@JayJay-de8vq]

@@DelisonJunio Hello sir! Thank you for the kind words! We use the speedglas helmets that have the pump unit you wear on belt or back pack style with a tube going to the enclosed helmet it provides filtered fresh air and also have fans and exhaust fans. The union safety rules and also osha rules would not allow us to do it any other way but safe. That galvanized is very weird when welding it makes almost a spider web kind of white material when it is welded. It is very strange and unhealthy like you said. Anyone else reading this please keep in mine what He said and pass it along to anyone who may not know the dangers of welding galvanized material.

[@TimWelds]

Thanks for the tips! I try to avoid welding galvanized whenever I can because of the fumes, but they can be managed when necessary.

[@robertblackshear8963]

@@JayJay-de8vq Yep. It will give you flu like symptoms. Its gotten me a couple times in the past. Safety is a must.

[@factsNcomments-imho]

At 6:45, half mm plate, no not half but 1.5mm plate. Which is 1/16" of an inch. Great video! Very helpful, thx.😊

[@rpavlik1]

Neat tips! I'll have to pick up some of those 1/16 electrodes, looks handy for little stuff, and I'm cheap so I'll use thin materials a lot 😁. (I can probably do better with flux core on stuff that thin, but I feel like my deposition rate on flux core is pretty low, I don't get a lot of actual metal added compared to stick. Maybe it's my technique though) Really great to see a pro run 6013 on similar sizes as what I'm using, since I've got a 5lb box to burn through of them.

[@TimWelds]

Thanks! These little rods definitely don't deposit much material for how fast they burn off (at least compared to the rods I'm used to running), but they were fun to play with and I think they'll come in handy from time to time.

[@dillee9988]

Thanks, I want to weld up some rust spots on my car, I can't afford a tig or mig welder, so stick welder it has to be, my previous attempts was terrible, but I was welding with 3,5mm rods, now I'm going much thinner, so let's hold thumbs and I'm going to try the heat sink method as well. Thanks for vid.

[@TimWelds]

Good luck! When I have worked on auto body panels, I've cut out sections and welded in patches by putting a lot of small tack welds in with a MIG welder. Slag would make that less awesome with stick, but it probably could be done. One thing I did learn is that the replacement piece needs to fit extremely well. Thanks for watching and for the comment!

[@t_punk666]

I’m going to try doing some exhaust welds using these methods, hopefully it goes well. Thanks Tim! 💪

[@robertspeer8340]

You were talking about a chart, I am new to your channel and welding. How can I get a copy of your chart?

[@Echo_5_Charlie]

How do I set up my stinger and ground? Stinger in the positive and ground in the negative or...very very new. Been years since I set one up. I have a prime weld MIG180 but using stick or wire. Whichever is better for a rusted lawnmower deck

[@eduardochinchilla2198]

2 words. THANK YOU!! X 1000

[@WildAggie202]

6:12 wouldn’t you have wanted to use DCEN when you switched to 16ga and below for practical welding? I thought DCEN is for thinner metals. In my mind don’t thinner metals start at 16ga?

[@TimWelds]

You could. There’s no hard and fast rule, though.

[@MasterBojangles]

Bought the Deko and a 25ft 220 extension cable to run it to my dryer plug... Going to try my first weld repairing a broken mount on my mower deck... Thanks for all the great info!

[@Ty-ye8rd]

What time of extension? I found extension cables that work for this welder, but I’d still need an adapter for the outlet

[@MasterBojangles]

@@Ty-ye8rd Miady 25ft 50AMP Welder Extension Cord, 8 Gauge Heavy Duty Industrial NEMA 6-50 Welding Machine Cord with Lighted End, ETL Approved

[@MasterBojangles]

@@Ty-ye8rd both on amazon

[@MasterBojangles]

@@Ty-ye8rd or if you dont want the link HZXVOGEN Extension Cord Adapter 10-30P to 6-50R 30 Amp Dryer Male Plug to 50 Amp 1.5FT 10AWG Welder Female Heavy Duty Adapter Cable Arc Tig Mig Welding Machine EV Charger Generator Connector

[@bigboy1982]

I can stick weld a 0.7mm square tube using a 2.0mm rod, running at 55-60 amps depending on the machine. Spot welding is the key

[@DMrider09]

Thats tacking not welding

[@bigboy1982]

@@DMrider09 ok. If thats what it is🙄

[@robertblackshear8963]

@@DMrider09 Lol. But remember tacking is a form of welding lol.

[@copperchatter6890]

1:57 - If your clamp meter was set to ac and you were measuring the performance of an oil tub welder, then your RMS reading would have been accurate. In the case that your clamp meter was set to DC (I can't see. Bedtime viewing on android) then keep in mind that these inverters typically operate at over 100 VDC that is pulsed at frequencies in the KiloHertz range. The discrepancy is due to type mismatch. The only way to measure the inverter more accurately than it's built in indicator is to use a sensing transformer in conjunction with an oscilloscope. It is not the inverter's fault that you went about it incorrectly.

[@sfspencer1]

One of you most insightful videos. Thank you so much, sir