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SMAW

Shielded Metal Arc Welding

SMAW – Stick Welding – Arc Welding, all the same thing.

Some advice from a beginner. I bought a very cheap simple arc welder and on my first attempt actually welded the broken axle on my lawn mower and the lever that was on the lawnmower for height was also broken so I welded that back together as well.

The biggest issue with starting out with stick welding is the rod sticks to the steel. There are a few ways to deal with this.

But the most important thing is to not let a rod that gets stuck to the steel being welded, stay connected, as this overheats the rod and the situation can become dangerous. The ark is the electricity traveling from the electrode to the metal being welded, the circuit is not supposed to be actually connected solidly as this would led to serious overheating, and we don’t want that.

So please, twist the rod fast and pull, if that does not work grab the “stinger” (Electrode Holder) that holds the rod and pull it off the rod.

The rod will still be stuck at the other end to the metal you are welding and can be broken off and put back in the stinger.

When the rods sparks you can get in to the habit to raise it slightly to create a gap for the spark and then move the stick in the required direction.

The advice I got from the many videos that I have watched is practice and practice.

The object is to join two metals together of the same type of steel. You can now buy welders that operate on 10 A circuits. This makes a welding machine available to the home DIY person.

I bought a more expensive arc welder and have been having a lot of fun using it. I pick up scrap metal here and there and have been using it to practice on.

You will need to get some practice with the angle grinder as it will be used a lot to help you with your welding projects. I have two angle grinders, a small one and a new 230mm angle grinder.

A very handy/helpful idea is to have a table with a top made of steel and with this you can attach the ground clamp to the steel and whatever you put on the table can be welded, the table becomes grounded and this completed the electrical circuit for the welding.

You may need to sand or lightly grind the rust off to make this effective – but the steel table I use is all rusty on top and it works fine. But I do intend to clean it all off.

Normally what you are supposed to do is to attach the Ground Clamp to the piece you are welding.

Often the Ground Clamp gets in the way, so having it attached to a shiny part of the table of steel solves this problem nicely.

I have seen many videos where they clamp the ground to the table, put the steel on the table and weld it and it all turns out fine. But, some state that if you do this the table becomes part of the circuit and you can get ‘tingles” or small electric shocks if you lean on the table.

These people state that you must put the ground clamp directly on the project/steel that you are welding. The end decision is yours. If you are doing a welding course ask the opinion of the instructor about anything that you are unsure of about welding.

You can, wear Welding Sleeves, or a welding jacket and such, so that if you do lean on the table you should be protected from the grounded table.

Beginners can make a project from scrap metal and make their first all-metal welding table. Its a great way to learn to measure, cut, shape, design, and then use the welding table.

A good idea is to add a couple of big wheels at one end, and a lever or something to hold on at the other end, like a wheelbarrow type situation, and then you can heel your heavy welding table around instead of lifting it.

https://nagara.uk/blog/making-a-welding-table-from-scrap-metal

35 Small Welding Projects From Scrap.

How to Make a Welding Table.

50+ Welding Projects for Beginners.

Metal Bathroom Shelf.

There are AC and DC arc welders, and rods/electrodes that you use if your machine is AC or DC.

When you put the rod/electrode in to the Stinger/Electrode Holder on most Electrode Holders there are grooves that you can insert the bare-rod end into so that you can position the Electrode in the Electrode Holder on different angles.

It is common practice to clean up the surface that you are welding, thus if you are welding two pieces of metal together, grind/sand down where the “bead” will be so as to make a good clean contact between the two metals and the heat/arc can make a good connection.

If the steel has rust on it, then when it is melted with the heat the rust can get in to the metal and contaminate it.

I find it very helpful if the pieces that I am welding are clamped down.

A beginner will want to practice starting and then just doing some short straight lines, one after the other, on some scrap metal. The idea is to get used to starting like the experts, and then continuing the line, stopping and starting over a gain, so that you get used to the sparking, the noise, and the way you handle the Electrode holder, what angle to weld on, and so on.

When you are grinding metal and welding metal there can be other materials on the steel (paint etc) that could cause you harm if you breathe them in, some may be invisible to the eye like some sort of metal protective covering, so it is wise to use some form of face breathing aparatus.

Many people wear protective Goggles when welding under the welding hood, and the reason for this is that once they lift the hood the flux can crack as it cools and throw a small piece of flux up in to your face/eye. Also when you chip away at the flux the same thing can happen, so please wear protective goggles when doing this as well.

Keep in mind that metal expands and shrinks when it is heated and cooled, causing contractions in the metal.

Another matter is the heated metal. It can slip the mind and a person can lift up the steel that was just welded and get burnt. Its easy to forget, but not too often because once on gets a painful burn then he or she would remember not to do it again.

Wear gloves all the time, and please remember that the gloves are not protection against heat. The heat can easily go right through the glove, so please be aware of this.

Please always wear long sleeved clothing, preferably a welding jacket or shirt, that covers the arms, to protect against getting burns and injuries from sparks, spatter, and radiation.

Any form of welding can be dangerous,. so please use common sense and please don’t take short cuts and take risks.

If the welder wears the right clothes, safety gear, welding can be very enjoyable and you can find great satisfaction while welding and with your finished projects.

When I bought my welding hood I had no idea that the new hoods were electric and would go from clear to instant darkness – these are called Auto-Darkening Welding Hoods.

I highly recommend that you buy one of these as they are really good. You don’t need to lift the hood up and down as you would have had to do with the non-electric hoods of the past. These hoods are safe and react very quickly to the spark and darken the hood with great speed.

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