Stick Welding SMAW Tips for Beginners

Watch if you are just starting out and are a beginner with stick welding. Bob has good tips for those just starting out with SMAW or those who need to brush up on their skills. Do you have some tips to add? Head to the comments.

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[dc]

One "trick" I use is a standard everyday red brick. It is a great block to run the rod across to scrape off the slag.

[chasg]

I want to say it's great to see a new video in which the presenter is speaking clearly and not trying to be cool. Just a simple good video. Thanks!!!!

[ifansyahreza]

welding video start at the minutes 6:19

[socal]

I'm a newbie and you're my go-to for clear instruction.

[LucillesParadise]

Im certified for smaw when im school in trade school way back when i was in Philippines. 10 yrs staying here in US i plan to buy a welding machine remembrance from my reels money. And want more ideas before i will start doing it. This very helpful for me.

[josephlance]

Thank you for being one of the few videos that shows your body position throughout the whole weld

[col.cottonhill]

I was just talking about how I didn't waste the extra time I found at home during the pandemic the last year and a half I said I'm not just going to waste this spare time. So I watched a lot of historical documentaries and learned some side skills and welding is one of them. I even got myself a TIG machine already spent alot and didn't get anything fancy. But I've got enough!

[TheDadPenfield]

My thoughts on what rod to use when:
6010/6011 run very hot and are used in pipe welding as the initial pass to burn through and form a keyhole and then fill in the keyhole. That is why you whip and pause with these rods. The other use is welding on galvanized steel. You need that heat to burn off the zinc. Some machines will just not run 6010 but will run 6011. Some codes require 6010. These rods are not very useful to a farm welder or home welder unless you are welding galvanized metal.
7018 runs cooler and deposits more metal and is stronger than 6010/6011. It is used in structural welds. People get confused about low hydrogen rods like 7018 and the need for keeping moisture away by baking them in a rod oven. You only need to bake them if you are welding a highly constrained joint of high carbon steel. For farm welding and hobby welding mild steel, use out of the can with no worries. It should be the go to rod for most projects.
6013/7014 are general purpose rods. They are the easiest to weld with and lay down a lot of metal and make the prettiest welds and are hot enough to burn away contaminates. They are frequently called farm welder rods. They are not hot enough to weld galvanized steel and not as strong as 7018. If your weld strength is not critical, you can use these. Even though 7014, is listed as all positions (because of 1as the third number), it melts at a low temp and makes vertical and overhead quite a challenge.
I hope this helps.

[ronshekelson]

If you have to use 6010 rods I would get 6010 5P+.. It starts easy and produces a smooth weld even on rusty material. The slag also removes easier than 6011 or standard 6010

[ypaulbrown]

Looking Great Bob, glad to see another one of your videos....cheers, Paul

[abdrahmanabdullah]

I hope you make a video on thin hollow square tubing

[halloweenchainsawsforgoo]

Bring back mancub red beard and Bob back permanently.

[PMANPMANPMAN]

Love the hoods dawg ! Weld a rail then go shred it !!!

[nuruzzaman]

I can do welding and I can do it slowly. I want to work in the USA

[mnew]

You worked with the pipelines at one point? Took me a sec to notice the pancake mask

[gregbetts]

looks like the first pass your rod angle changed from start to finished

[calebcrabbs]

What I do with my E7018 as soon as I’m at the end of the weld I hold it there and let it fill up for about half a second and then quickly flick the rod so you don’t have to fight it to restrike

[michaelshannon]

Hard to follow your weld a better lens would help

[stickwelding]

Nice job, can you make one video with 6013 electrode?

[georgegriffiths]

6013 best training electrodes for beginners