Tips for holding a electrode holder to make better welds

[@Anonymous_404_Not_Found]

Wow, gripping with 2 fingers and letting the other two hang off around the cord made a HUGE difference in control, thanks a bunch for the pro tip!

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

No problem 😀. I am the only person I know that does that and it works way better. You can control the rod angle far better and your wrist won’t lockup when you need to move it.

[@ypaulbrown]

dear Greg. great information as always, best wishes, from an old guy in Florida, Paul

[@Mm1twiggy]

“Dankie Meneer”. Thank you Sir in Afrikaans South Africa 🇿🇦

[@spaz881]

Just starting welding school and this video helped me a lot

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

Glad to hear that. If you catch yourself grabbing the stinger too hard consciously tell yourself to relax your hand. With tig it can also be an issue. Staying relaxed helps a lot 😀

[@spaz881]

@@makingmistakeswithgreg thanks greg! I noticed my beads were a lot better today in class! My teacher thought so too!! Having a weird time with the whip and pause technique using 6010, do you do whip and pause? I’ve seen other people do reverse clockwise circles but my beads look like snot, kinda draggy and not stacked like dimes. Also having a rough time using my left hand to sturdy my stinger hand (right handed) where do you put your left hand when welding? Thanks for any advice I appreciate it a lot

[@derekgreen7319]

I think the Berger stinger is pretty nice. I have them on two different welders. Mine have taken some abuse too.

[@dennisyoung4631]

How large in diameter are those? Some I’ve used are a bit large for me to be comfortable. Want some thicker-than-Tig gloves, too - but I tend toward the clumsy…

[@Cptnbond]

Hi Greg, thanks to highlight all details that is seldom discussed on any other YT welding channels. There would have been interesting to hear something about the cable dimensions, and what some call extra flexible welding cables - and if the latter type is worth the money. Cheers.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

Great idea, I will shoot a video on that because that’s important stuff 😀

[@mkearn724]

I prefer the tweco A523 ( basic 200amp) stinger with a #4 whip so that it’s lighter and flexible. I usually hold the stinger how you don’t like to lol. I keep my left thumb on or near the lever. When I chuck up a rod it’s either at a 45 degree angle, but more often than not I come right out the top and put a slight bend on it. For verts and overheads especially so that the stinger doesn’t get fouled up on a bottom flanger or anything.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

That’s the stinger I probably welded 80lbs of rods with in my first welding class lol. Definitely like it. I find it strange nobody sells it around here, it’s all the modern esab stingers or lencos. If how you hold it works, definitely no issue from me. Key thing is your comfortable and it works for you. My welding instructor (former boiler maker) stick welded only by holding in front of the handle towards the rod lol. I asked him “don’t you get burned” and his response was “only by my ex wife, but you get good so that doesn’t happen” lol.

[@yurimodin7333]

i put the HF one on my buzzbox and so far its pretty good

[@tallyman15]

Good information. My stinger that came with my Everlast welder seems ok, but I am new to stick welding so I would not know the difference.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

Everlasts stingers are pretty decent, some of them are a bit bulky. But if it fits your hand and has a decent jaw you’re good to go. The ones you mainly want to avoid are the cheap Amazon special ones. I swear it’s the same one on all of them and they suck lol.

[@stovolbelinche3178]

as a lincoln buzzbox or miller dynasty for repairs and lincoln buzz bix for my use i my finger on my stinger all finger it just sits on my hand under the latch

[@philthyphil3324]

Basic tweco 250 amp is my favorite, but It's all I've used besides the cheap one that came with my primeweld tig225x, and I hate that one.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

The prime weld looks like a knockoff Lincoln lol. The tweco 250 style is what I ran back in school years ago, probably was a 300+ amp version but same overall design. Hard to beat it. They last forever and feel good in the hand 😀

[@brnmcc01]

@@makingmistakeswithgreg I like the one that came with my Miller multimatic 215, I can't see a brand name on it, but it's comfortable, not too heavy, the cord is nice and flexible, and the brass jaws grip a rod really tight. It is a little hard to open the jaws, using 1 thumb doesn't work, but I guess a weak spring isn't good either. Then again, I've probably ran less than 10# of rods in it, so might not even be broken in yet.

[@shaneisaac1184]

Say Greg...doesn't the stinger fight a little when you twist to point your rod to the side? Let's say you are dragging from left to right but the stinger wants the rod to face straight ahead. Any tricks you know?😅

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

It definitely can fight you a bit. Some stingers have better jaws than others, and better clamping force. Cheaper stingers generally have two flat jaws that clamp the rod. Many “better” stingers have one flat jaw and one round shaped jaw that has a rough surface. That combined with a strong spring really helps keep the rod clamped where you want it. It’s also common outside of the USA to have stingers than are a literal clamp that you twist the head down to clamp the rod. Those you have zero issue with rods moving, but if you stick the rod you could be in a pickle if it’s clamped too tight lol.

[@petertyrrell6690]

Not that I prefer it, but I use a "screw type" stinger with my buzzbox, as the electrode is held more securely, and this enables me to break a stuck electrode free at the weld. It can get a little "hairy" though, if a stuck electrode doesn't break away easily, as I usually forget about unscrewing the stinger and keep trying to break the rod free. Meanwhile the electrode is red hot, and the buzzbox is complaining loudly at my abuse. 😮 Maybe a screw type stinger wasn't such a good idea. Nowadays, I mostly use my cheap Chinese inverter; it has anti-stick, and I use a clamp type stinger. 😊

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

What’s odd is a ton of welders overseas are shipped with the screw type stingers, but here they are almost non existent. The ones I have held are cool because they take up less space and could really help get into a tight spot. I had to laugh at what you said about having the rod red hot, definitely would create a moment of panic 😅. With stick stuck features I think the screw type are definitely worth looking at. I will have to give one a shot on my next welder 😀

[@nealk6387]

I too use a screw type. Bernard short stub is the name. What’s nice is you can extend your pointer finger down the side of the rod to steady it when needed. Good video! Thanks.

[@tntltl]

I have both and I like the screw type.

[@dennisyoung4631]

Gloves? Regular stick gloves are trouble if you are clumsy, Tig gloves too thin…

[@commietube4273]

🤯

[@pandavelli8176]

Do you have a basics of welding video?

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

I have a ton of both stick welding videos and flux core wire. The start of those two are these videos: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5O4fpWkZqenhpI kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXeYeYF_asl1kNU I will be doing MiG (gas shielded wire) shortly 😀

[@pandavelli8176]

@@makingmistakeswithgreg thx man

[@andyrojas289]

I just want to hold my stinger without burning my fingers