About Stick HF Welding

Posted by davisonmachinery on February 3rd, 2017

“Stick” or “arc” HF Welding is probably the most widely recognized type of welding. It probably should have been called “ark” welding, as it seems to have been around since the time of Noah. Stick uses a flux coating around its consumable rod to provide a shielding gas that keep impurities out of the molten metal. This makes it well suited to outdoor environments. Wind doesn’t blow stick gases away like it does with MIG and TIG. Stick offers good penetration and a good amount of weld control. Amperage is controlled at the machine and it can be done as a one or two hand operation. Some hobby stick machines can weld up to ½-inch thick steel. Stick welding isn’t the best for welding aluminum or thin materials. You can weld thin materials and aluminum with the proper rod, but it isn’t easy. While stick welding isn’t overly difficult, it isn’t overly simplistic either. When I asked Courtney about the difficulty level for a beginner using a stick machine, he laughed and replied, “It’s about an 8 out of ten on a scale of difficulty.”

Stick welding isn’t as simple as it would seem. Not only does the rod need to be moved along the weld path at a constant speed, you also need to maintain proper arc distance, as the rod gets shorter. This isn’t the only thing beginners have trouble with. Rod selection, machine setting, porosity problem and arc striking can prove to be problematic as well. A novice stick user equipped with a standard lens shield will literally be left in the dark while trying to get an arc going. While learning to weld on a stick machine made me a better welder, I wouldn’t start with stick machine again if given the choice. I still have my stick machine but only to piggy back a TIG inverter.More Tarpaulin Welding Machine on davison-machinery.com