Skills · skill
Stick Welding
Joining · Intermediate
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Safety
- As MIG. Slag chips fly — eye protection when chipping. 7018 rods that have absorbed moisture crack the weld from hydrogen.
- Done When
- Slag lifts off in a curl by itself; underneath, an even bead with fine ripples and fused edges.
- Tools
- Inverter stick welder, 2.5–3.2 mm 6013 rods (7018 for structural, kept dry), chipping hammer, wire brush, helmet, gloves.
- Category
- Joining
- Summary
- Arc welding with a flux-coated rod that is consumed as it burns: no gas bottle, works outdoors and on rusty steel, and fits in a bag.
Steps
Set 90–110 A for 3.2 mm rod; earth on clean metal.
Strike like a match — drag the tip along the joint, lift to 3 mm to hold the arc.
Keep the arc short: rod length above the work about equal to its diameter.
Angle 15–20° in the direction of travel, and travel so the slag stays behind the puddle.
When the rod is short, stop; chip and brush the slag before the next pass.
Restart on the crater with a slight back-step.
The Science
The flux coating burns off into a shielding gas and a slag that floats on the pool, protecting it as it cools — which is why wind does not matter. The rod is the electrode and the filler at once. Different coatings (6013, 7018) give different arcs and different steel; the numbers are tensile strength in ksi and position.
How It Fails
Rod sticking to the work: current too low or arc too long. Slag inclusions from welding over slag. Undercut from too much current. Porosity from damp rods.
Referenced by
element
equation
Open on the Skills shelf — the interactive card, the filters, and everything alongside it.