Welding can be overwhelming when there are so many things that you have to consider. It is important that you know the right helmet to get or the gear that will offer the most protection while welding. When you are a beginner, you only need to know the basics. The moment that you start to understand more details about welding, the more that you need to know about the equipment that you are using.
One of the things that you have to understand is the differences in the welding stick rods that will be used for various welding projects. You need to be aware of their strengths, their limitations, and how they can be used.
What is A Welding Stick Rod?
It is important that you understand what a welding stick rod is so that you will understand how this can be helpful for you. The current will be fed through the wire to ensure that two pieces of metal will be firmly joined together. Stick welders are known to melt and will be able to become a part of the weld. For TIG welding, the welding stick rods that are used will not melt.
Bare Welding Stick Rod
This is a type of welding rod that does not come with any coating. This is considered to be rarer than the other types of electrodes that will be discussed in this article. The use of this welding stick rod can be done for a certain number of purposes. One example is the welding of manganese steel.
Light-Coated Stick Rod
You can already tell some details about this stick rod based on its name. This is a light-coated electrode with a thin coating that has been applied by spraying. Using a bare electrode can be difficult to use for doing certain tasks but the light-coated electrode will make it easier to control the arc stability and improve the welding process. This is also used in order to remove impurities that may be caused by a bare welding stick rod.
Shielded Arc Electrode Stick Rod
This is highly similar to the light-coated stick rod but it is more coated heavily. They can be very effective for welding some heavy-duty objects such as the cast iron. This is effective when you know that you need to have strong welds. There are certain objects that may get intensely affected when exposed to certain gases such as oxygen and nitrogen that are prevalent in the environment. The components of this type of welding rod can stop this from happening.
There are three different types of shielded arc electrodes that are available namely:
- Cellulose-Coated Arc Electrode – This can produce a layer of gas that can help protect the area where welding is taking place.
- Mineral-Coated Arc Electrode – A bit tricky to use because this forms a slag but the slag can be useful in certain circumstances. This can also be effective in making impurities rise up so that they can be easily removed.
- Cellulose and Mineral Coated Arc Electrode – The mixture of both types of electrodes will provide their benefits when doing some welds.
Non-Consumable Welding Rods
There are only two types of non-consumable welding rods that are available. The first type is the carbon electrode while the second type is called the tungsten electrode. There are differences between the two that will also let you know which one you should use.
Carbon Electrodes
Carbon electrodes are made of carbon graphite. Some of them may be layered with copper while there are also some that are bare. They are sometimes used for bigger projects although there are not any specific projects wherein this particular type of welding rod can be used.
Tungsten Electrodes
This is the type of electrodes that are normally used for TIG welding. This is made with different amounts of Tungsten. Some are made with pure Tungsten while there are also other components. For example, there are some that are also made with zirconium while there are also others that are made with thorium. The amount of Tungsten will determine what the electrode will be used for.
The pure Tungsten electrode is used when people only have to do light welding applications. This can be used only for light work because it will not be too strong as compared to the other electrode types used for more heavy-duty welding needs.
Tungsten electrode that comes with a bit of thorium is the most common type that you will find because this is considered to be the one that will have the most strength. They will be more resistant and will make different items become fused together much longer as compared to other types of electrodes.
Will Stick Welding Equipment Cost A Lot of Money?
There are some people who are concerned about the amount of money that they are going to spend when they start welding. You need to be prepared to spend a bit of money on the tools and the equipment that you will use but it doe not mean that you will not be able to budget your money. It will depend on the type of equipment that you are going to purchase.
If you are simply starting out, you would need to spend just a bit of money on the basic equipment that you have to use. It is when you start using the welding machine in a more professional way that you would need to spend more money on the equipment and the welding rods that you need.
It is best to research about the different types of welding machines that you should purchase plus the welding sticks that you have to use. The better your choices are, the easier and faster it will be for you to start your welding project.
Final Thoughts
Learning a lot of details about the different types of welding sticks can be complicated in the beginning but hopefully, the details that you have learned about the various types will help you make the best choice when you start with your project.