- Thread starter m^ke
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Bill Edwards
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OK, a few pointers:
Throw the 2mm rods into the back of your airing cupboard and forget about them. They're hateful things to use, save them for when you have plenty of experience and have to weld something very thin, and even then you need to be desperate!
3.2 are much easier to learn with and allow a greater margin for error which is helpful when starting out.
Before tackling any kind of joint, you're best starting with a flat piece of steel, and grind the millscale off so it's clean and shiny.
Then practice running beads, because the first thing to pick up is how to move the rod along at a steady, consistent speed, while keeping a tight arc gap as it burns down, and keeping the same angle.
Experiment with different travel speeds and different power settings as well, and once you've got consistent runs on flat plate you can move onto joints.
It's well worth having a read of the tutorial on this forum, click 'Arc' right at the top of the page and you'll be taken to a brilliant guide which should help.
Throw the 2mm rods into the back of your airing cupboard and forget about them. They're hateful things to use, save them for when you have plenty of experience and have to weld something very thin, and even then you need to be desperate!
3.2 are much easier to learn with and allow a greater margin for error which is helpful when starting out.
Before tackling any kind of joint, you're best starting with a flat piece of steel, and grind the millscale off so it's clean and shiny.
Then practice running beads, because the first thing to pick up is how to move the rod along at a steady, consistent speed, while keeping a tight arc gap as it burns down, and keeping the same angle.
Experiment with different travel speeds and different power settings as well, and once you've got consistent runs on flat plate you can move onto joints.
It's well worth having a read of the tutorial on this forum, click 'Arc' right at the top of the page and you'll be taken to a brilliant guide which should help.
Tinbasherdan
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Buy some decent rods! Super6 are an absolute waste of time. Treat yourself to a box of fincord m and you'll find it a lot easier! As said, put plenty of runs down on flat plate, until you get peelers every time, then move onto joints
Istayinalot
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Super6 are awful, you will notice a big difference using decent 2.5 or 3.2 rods. 2mm rods are nearly all flux, burn down very quickly and are generally tricky to get a decent weld with.
Bill Edwards
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Oh great guys, I've just bought a box of Super6 myself in E6010 flavour, I hope they're OK!!! 
Bill Edwards
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There are plenty of good rods available, welding supply shops should sell Murex 'white box' rods which are excellent - I was told they're the same as the ones with all the spec for critical work. Pheonix are also nice rods. Avoid the lesser known brands (or, by the sound of it, Super 6 which I've just bought!) as although they work stick welding isn't the easiest to get the hang of, and good rods are far easier to use and not expensive.
Kent
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Firstly its not the rods! Super six are not the best but frankly they weld ok on the flat (2.0mm is an unusual size though???) 2.5mm will suit almost any arc welder you have as they will burn from say 70-100 amps. You don't sat what plant you have or what output but if your on sub 100 amp then you just wont burn a 3.2mm. 6013 only don't go fancy pantsey yet
travel speed looks to be way up in the warp factor on some of those beads with an arc length that is wandering up and down. Keep your upper arm close in to your ribcage and prop the dominant (welding hand) with the non dominant one on an immovable object.
Check you have a really good ground connection (return / earth)
search "welding tips and tricks, com" ,arc welding and padding beads on u-tube
2.5 rod set about 80 amps and work up or down once you are padding nice beads only!
There is nothing mega difficult about stick welding as a process, its just the person that gets in the way- you can run a fair bead not even holding it and just set it off with a nudge, so don't get disillusioned.
travel speed looks to be way up in the warp factor on some of those beads with an arc length that is wandering up and down. Keep your upper arm close in to your ribcage and prop the dominant (welding hand) with the non dominant one on an immovable object.
Check you have a really good ground connection (return / earth)
search "welding tips and tricks, com" ,arc welding and padding beads on u-tube
2.5 rod set about 80 amps and work up or down once you are padding nice beads only!
There is nothing mega difficult about stick welding as a process, its just the person that gets in the way- you can run a fair bead not even holding it and just set it off with a nudge, so don't get disillusioned.
Bill Edwards
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They were my thoughts, ought to be 6011 but from what I can gather there's nothing less good about them and it shouldn't matter to me which they are.
You can get 2kg of Nikko in a Vac Pac instead, but I've bought the Super 6 for a play really to see what 6010's are like.
Bill Edwards
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I'm happy with any rod. My inverter is cellulose compatible. 
