Advice Please

[JohnRUFC]

Borrowing a Kennedy EAW160 CHEETAH ARC WELDER 230V/50HZ

Just using it for about a month to learn welding. Need to get some electrodes so what should I be using with it?

I will add I have scrap metal in different thicknesses from 1.5mm thick to 10mm thick.

 

[Appyasme]

Try 6013

 

[Appyasme]

Start off with 2.5

 

[Appyasme]

I used to love a good old touch electrode,Satinex filled this need

 

[Kent]

3.2mm and 2.5mm electrodes

 

[Richard.]

Repeating all others advice avoid low hi's for now and stick with rutile 6013 as they light up on a flick and pretty much any unit can get them singing. 3.2's are easier to control than 2.5's but you'll need 120amps to get them going nice. Avoid the usual beginner habit of weaving and just burn some straight runs on some chunky plates.

 

[JohnRUFC]

Thank you for the advice two more questions. Where can I get a relatively cheap helmet with the auto dimming? Also are the cheap eBay gloves going to stop me from burning my hand off or can you recomend something?

 

[HughF]

There are some good quality rods for sale on this forum.

 

[Bill Edwards]

Helmet - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301498255949?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Has adjustable shade, delay and sensitivity settings. I have one and it works just fine.

I've a pair of cheap eBay gloves such as these, they're fine - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Welding-G...e-Gauntlets-/321698699932?hash=item4ae6bc9a9c
Don't buy any TIG gloves, they're different to the heavy, thick type you should use for stick welding.

 

[HughF]

I use esab curved thumb mig gloves for everything except tig. Comfy, soft, a bit pricey though.

 

[Kent]

Thank you for the advice two more questions. Where can I get a relatively cheap helmet with the auto dimming? Also are the cheap eBay gloves going to stop me from burning my hand off or can you recomend something?

Local proper welding supplies place ask it's most likely a parweld and they really ain't very dear. Don't be fooled you don't need graphics of naked ladys or such but you do need spare lens covers etc close to home

 

[Richard.]

But go faster stripes are a must

 

[JohnRUFC]

I've seen some Tillman 52 gloves that look really comfy, I take it they will be up to the heat of ark welding as they're cowhide gloves. Pricey having them shipped from the USA though.

 

[Kent]

Crikey keep your money in your pocket and the UK decent stick and mig gloves are in every welding suppliers and don't cost too much likely less than the international post.
If I am doing a lot of mma I recon about a month a pair. Mig and you could say 6 x as long perhaps?
One thing I will say is the choice in the USA is a lot better for tig gloves - but again they are not hard to get here if you're not mega fussy

 

[PTvor]

TIG gloves are nice for arc welding, but they don't last very long and they aren't really the right thing. They give touch sensitivity which you need with TIG, but isn't so important with MMA. They are not so good at coping with heat and touching hot things.

The thick cowhide MMA gloves you can get in any welding supplier for less than a fiver a pair are fine, but they take a bit of getting used to. I've got a couple of pairs. I also got a pair from Aldi. Thinner cowhide and I had to restitch a seam which was coming apart, but I prefer them because the leather is slightly thinner and softer.

I haven't tried the ESAB etc branded expensive ones and I can't say I'm particularly tempted to. I certainly wouldn't be importing gloves from the USA.

Arc welding gloves are not expensive and they are semi-consumables. Plus, if you get a pair you don't get on with that well for welding, they're good for other things like picking up cut brambles, using as wood burner gloves etc. Get a pair of the normal less than a fiver a pair arc gloves and see how you get on with them. As I say, they are always useful as a spare pair or for other things.

People with small hands sometimes have problems. MMA gloves usually come in one size which is large. Few people find them a tight fit and some people find them impossibly big. There are smaller sizes, but they take some tracking down and that's where you may have to pay more.

 

[Adam 1573]

Borrowing a Kennedy EAW160 CHEETAH ARC WELDER 230V/50HZ

Just using it for about a month to learn welding. Need to get some electrodes so what should I be using with it?

I will add I have scrap metal in different thicknesses from 1.5mm thick to 10mm thick.

6013 mate

 

[Adam 1573]

Bo

^^^ Hence why I buy mine from the states...only place I can get them where my hands aren't drowning in them..

Bohler rods are fantastic!