Basics of ARC welding
The form of welding commonly known as ‘stick welding’ or ‘manual arc welding’ is the most versatile and widely used welding process in the world.
It can be used to weld most common metals and alloys and welding mild steel — low-carbon steels with good weldability — and this process is wonderfully uncomplicated. It can be used outdoors and it’s normally portable, especially with the small powerful machines on the market today.
A complete welding set was first made by the Lincoln brothers in 1909 and in 1911 Lincoln Electric introduced for sale the first variable-voltage, singleoperator, portable welding machine. The world of welding machines has changed since then yet the basics and the techniques remain very much the same.
Arc welding over the past few years has had a resurgence. It’s very cost-efficient as well as simple to do once the basics are mastered. Successful arc welding is essentially about good position (it comes with practice) and choosing the best of many types of electrodes to suit a multitude of base materials and uses.
For this article on arc welding — more correctly, shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) or manual metal arc welding (MMAW) — I am dealing with the basics.
Many people ask me what they are doing wrong when arc welding but most problems they encounter are all related to things not being set up properly or being ignored.
How it works
The current flows from the machine or power source through the electrode cable to the electrode holder in the handpiece, down through the electrode, and across the
