Don't even think of trying to weld without a proper helmet. Also, cover all of your skin with natural fabric (cotton, leather) clothing. An arc burn (a sunburn caused by an electric arc) is 10X as bad as the worst sunburn of your life. It is like sunbathing on Mercury.

I disagree. I've gotten them more times than I can count now.

In fact it's key to getting a right proper farmer's tan.

 

As for rod selection, I keep basically three sizes around to GP welding, 1/16", 1/8" and 5/32". The job will determine which rod to use. If you have a lot to fill in metal greater than 1/4", then 5/32" at ~70A would be a good place to start. If you are welding 16ga sheet, then 1/16" rod at 40A is a good starting point. The trick is to get the target hot enough to allow metal bonding without burning a hole in it - relatively easy for heavy gauge stuff, a little more difficult for the light stuff.

 

I disagree. I've gotten them more times than I can count now.

Same here. But I suspect that you are "jaded" like me and scoff at "silly safety rules" stuff. I just want to start #12 off properly.

 

For most purposes, the electrode should be negative so that most of the heat goes into the metal.

for DC welding I almost always run DC positive with the rod positive and the work negative. It tends to put more heat into the workpiece

That seems very clear.

The batteries have no access door to replace them.

Are you saying that you know the Harbor Freight welding helmet has batteries PLUS a solar cell?

EDIT: Doing my homework. All the Harbor Freight helmets say they have a pair of 3V Lithium batteries. I'm not sure they are Lithium. They look like the CR2032's that are used for CMOS memory. All the important specs are the same for all models of helmet. The difference in price might be about fit quality or decoration. Still haven't got it to respond to an arc. Nothing to lose by prying it open to see if I can find the batteries.

The batteries are CR2330, solder tab. Two solder tabs, one on each side, poking out in the same direction and soldered to both sides of the circuit board. Very difficult to get the case to split open. You just have to work the seam and work it fairly shallow because the lips have a lot of overlap. You can only get in about 0.06 inches to split the case. The two bumps in the front that look like locking tabs are not. They are the, "sensors". I don't know how they can sense anything because they are as black as the rest of the case and the same hardness of plastic.

 

I'm learning a lot from You-tube. What the arc should look like, what it should sound like, what a bad weld looks like, how important it is to know what the slag is doing, how long the arc should be, etc. I haven't had time to go out and try 115 amps through a 1/8th rod. I think I'll get there in about an hour.

It's a lot of fun to be learning, but this looks like a very long job. I have about 5 pounds of rods. That will get me started.
If that helmet doesn't respond to 115 amps worth of arc, that will be the first thing to fix on Monday.
No way one can practice when blind!

Edit. Still no response to the arc. Split the case. Found the batteries. Found out how many pieces are missing from this helmet and how damaged the lenses are. I guess I'm going to buy a new helmet tomorrow. I'm sure I will be able to arc better when I can see it.

 

That seems very clear.

I got that backwards. A NEGATIVE electrode keeps most of the heat in the eletrode. Used for welding thin sheet.

Here's what happens without proper skin protection:

Welder_Flash_Burn-300x225.jpg

 

Here's what happens without proper skin protection

It seems rational. An arc welder emits large amounts of UV.
Skin cancer, anyone?

 

Here's what happens without proper skin protection:

That also depends a lot on your genetics and skin type. My grandpa could sunburn through a long sleeved shirt on a cloudy day where, once I set my summer tan in, I am about as prone to sunburn as a tractor tire.

For me it takes a good 2 - 3 hours of steady welding or heavy plasma cutter work to even slightly burn.

 

Skin cancer, anyone?

Genetically speaking, I'm supposed to die in about 14 years. Not long enough for skin cancer to develop.

once I set my summer tan in, I am about as prone to sunburn as a tractor tire.

Me too. I have never felt the pain of a sunburn.
I suppose I could change that with a welder, but I'm not going to try.

 

Me too. I have never felt the pain of a sunburn.
I suppose I could change that with a welder, but I'm not going to try.

Then you're like me and wearing welding leathers or long sleeved shirts or jackets will be more for preventing thermal burns from sparks and rubbing against hot stuff (cause you weren't paying attention) than UV burns.

Reasonable eye protection and basic hand protection is about all I wear and even at that when doing plasma cutter work a good set of tinted safety glasses with a good UV rating is all I have ever used and as of my last eye exam for my CDL my eyes were good other than the family predisposition towards mid life astigmatism starting to show up.

 

my eyes were good other than the family predisposition towards mid life astigmatism starting to show up.

Are you sure we aren't related?
Now that I'm 66 years old, my eyes are down to 20/20 quality.
I used to check to see if the door was locked by driving by. Now I have to go up in the driveway to see the deadbolt in the door crack.

 

Are you sure we aren't related?
Now that I'm 66 years old, my eyes are down to 20/20 quality.
I used to check to see if the door was locked by driving by. Now I have to go up in the driveway to see the deadbolt in the door crack.

Could be!

Kinda where I am at with the astigmatism issue. If it wasn't for the slight double image overlap issues I would probably still have above average vision clarity.

Daytime vision is still fair but at night highly reflective signs and bright lights are getting to be a real pain to deal with being more of the distortions in my cornea and lens are in play thusly the differing images from the offset focal points become far more defined.

 

Daytime vision is still fair but at night

Finally a difference.
Full daylight hurts my eyes. That's why I have always had prescription sunglasses since I moved to Florida and had a job fixing TVs in 1970. Number 3 (Air Force) grey because it doesn't alter my color vision. Adjusting TVs while your eyes keep normalizing from cheap green sunglasses is impossible. Every 5 minutes after I did the adjustment, the TV screen seemed to be turning yellow! Now I can't buy number 3 grey glass lenses. Good thing I don't do house calls on TVs any more!

I see much better at night. That's why I'm going to spring for a new welding helmet. Besides going blind from the UV, there is no way I can look into that arc, even with oxy-acetylene welding goggles.

For me, a full moon is plenty of light (unless I'm trying to work on a black car engine at night).
Even the, "city glow" of Los Angeles at night was plenty of light for me.
I only wish the stores here were open at night. If I lived in a 24 hour city like NYC or Las Vegas I would sleep in the daytime and function at night.

 

I can still see pretty well in the dark also. It's the high brightness objects that cause the problems. Moon and starlight are fine.

 

OK. Got a helmet that works, and dragon hide gloves up to my biceps. I'm still a noob, but I won't go blind.
Totally weird to me, like deciding to write left handed.
Probably very much like deciding to write left handed, or learning how to use a mouse. Remember how awkward that felt on the first day?
The only thing that will fix it is practice. Hand to eye coordination and some muscle memory. A few dozen hours and I'll be moving like I've been practicing for hours.

Looking forward to the day when I can lay a bead on a car frame because it's easier and faster than drilling and tapping for a bolt.

 

I'm starting to lay down lines instead of disconnected blobs. Still having difficulty with penetration. Probably because I have some 1/2 inch thick steel to practice on and it sucks the heat away too fast. I have some thinner steel to practice on so I'll try that next. The spark goes out too often, but I am developing enough presence of mind to know which way to turn the knob when I want the results to change and I'm developing some feel for how fast to move and how to use the arc of my elbow and wrist movement to keep the spark distance nice and close.

The welding helmet seems too dark at all settings. I can't see anything but the arc and sometimes the red puddle under it. Maybe working in daylight will help because the sun is way brighter than the fluorescent tubes in the shed. Tomorrow I will move to the back porch for better daylight and about 60 feet less copper wire between me and the breaker box. That little reduction in the impedance of the power line might make the spark quit extinguishing so easily. If it still fights me, I might spring for some real welding cables instead of the 9 gauge cables that came with the machine.

If I was good at this, I might be able to compensate for the limitations of the machine, but I'm not. I really don't know what keeps making the spark extinguish. I turned the amps up. I have enough skill to work in real close to the puddle. I still look like an awful noob.

 

What type rod are you using? 6010 and 6011 are high penetration rods. 6013 is a light/medium penetration rod. You might also try higher amperage. Is the welder AC/DC?

When welding in the sun, I have problems with the sun entering the helmet (from above) and making it more difficult to see.

Your arc is probably extinguishing because you're too far from the metal (just a guess). The electrode should just hover above the puddle. Use sound to determine the height (in addition to sight). It should sound like a single piece of bacon frying.

 

I have 6011 in 3/32 diameter. That's the one that doesn't penetrate much.
I have 6013 in 1/16th diameter. It seems to lay down a line that is solidly connected to the background steel.
Yes, the welder is AC/DC.
Yes, I tried a higher amperage.
Yes, I'm getting really good at staying close to the puddle.
Yes, I know about the sound.

 

Both of your rods are too thin for 1/2" steel. You need 5/32" (or 1/8" if you are good enough) at about 100A for good penetration.

6010 and 6011 rods are difficult to use by a beginner (6010 is DC-EP only and 6011 is either AC or DC-EP). I call them "jet rods", because the coating formulation holds up longer than most, which causes the arc to be mostly inside a hollow tube of unmelted coating. This causes the metal plasma to shoot out of the rod into the target, giving the most penetration. The resulting weld is ugly, but deep, with a lot of splatter.

 

Both of your rods are too thin for 1/2" steel.

Meh. It's what I had laying around.
I'll try some thinner stuff tomorrow. That will get me some experience in burning through the base metal.

Actually, I've been practicing on the 1/2" stuff because the thinner steel is more valuable for making stuff.
The 1/2" plates are for really crude jobs because they are heavy and strong. I can park a truck on them or use them to hold a tarp down, etc. It doesn't matter if they get ugly from some noob practicing welding on them.