Mike,

Thought that was you, I've seen you over on the RAMFM group.


The welder is a cheapie stick welder from wal-mart (please don't make fun
:P--I took it up as a hobby & didn't feel like investing $500). It's a
Campbell Hausfeld brand one. It has 2 settings for power output... 1/16"
and
5/64".

My brother has a similar welder, and honestly Mike, that's a compliment
calling it a welder. No dis respect, I just want you to realize that you
got what you paid for most likely. It will only run those 2 rods, and
probably not for long due to the duty cycle being really low(I would guess
about 20%, that means if you use it for 2 minutes, you have to let it rest
for 8 minutes).




The 1/16" is what I've been using lately.. 7014. The 5/64" is what I used
at
first and had more trouble with.. 6013.

All due respect to Steve B above, but I have the hardest time with 60
series rods and the easiest time with 70 series, go figure.



It plugs into a regular power outlet... so it isn't 220v (or whatever it
was).. 110v I assume? 115v? whatever it is (sorry, I'm dumb).

Umm... dunno what else there is to say about it. I'm not sure if it's AC
or
DC..

It will be AC.


Also... the surfaces I was
trying to weld were both pretty dirty.. including rust. I will clean up
the
surfaces next time or try a diff. cleaner material.


Get yourself a wire brush, either a hand held or one that will fit on a
drill or a grinder.

Thanks for the advice...
anything else I should be looking out for?


Hope you still feel that way after you read this.

Mike, I was at the Home Depot this evening and noticed that they have one
of the Lincoln 225 Tombstone buzzboxes for about $250US. I'm not sure what
you paid for yours, just a thought I guess.


Jim



-Mike

--
A happy kid behind the wheel of a 98 Mustang GT
Cold air intake
FRPP 3.73 gears
Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter
Full Boar turbo mufflers
Hi-speed fan switch
255/60R-15 rear tires
Subframe connectors


wrote in message
. com...
I've recently taken up welding just as a hobby... mostly out of
curiousity.
I have a small stick welder... anybody have any tips or advice for using
it?
It constantly sticks to the d*mn project & it's gettin real old real
fast.
I
"strike it like a match" to get it heated up... but maybe I just suck
;D.
Thanks in advance. Also, when I'm trying to weld.. do I hold the rod a
tiny
bit away from the metal? Or press it against the metal?

-Mike

--
A happy kid behind the wheel of a 98 Mustang GT
Cold air intake
FRPP 3.73 gears
Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter
Full Boar turbo mufflers
Hi-speed fan switch
255/60R-15 rear tires
Subframe connectors