My second welder was a Hobart Stickmate LX 160/235. I really learned a ton on this welder, and it was really a very versatile machine. I will never say that I have mastered stick welding (aka shielded metal arc welding or SMAW, or just plain old “arc welding” to many). I am still trying to get better at vertical up welds with 7018 rod. I mentioned some different rod types in my previous post. I won’t go into a lot of detail about the different rod types and their usage, but I will provide you with a couple of resources. Check out Lincoln Welding and this video from my welding hero, Jody Collier at weldingtipsandtricks.com I pretty much taught myself to weld based on watching Jody’s videos and then trial and error in my garage. If you want to learn how to weld, I highly recommend Jody’s web site and YouTube channel.
With this welder I started making pretty good looking beads that went pretty much in a straight line. I also learned to not be afraid of the arc, and to read the puddle. Interestingly enough, I also turned this little AC/DC stick welder into a pretty decent scratch start TIG welder. TIG stands for Tungsten Inert Gas and is way different than stick welding. In stick welding the electrode is consumable, which is to say it is the filler that gets added into the weld joint. With TIG, the opposite is true and the electrode is non-consumable and only provides the source of hear, the arc. Filler material is added separately. In this video, Jody explains how to set us a stick welder as a TIG welder
And as luck would have it, I was having trouble with scratch start TIG welding, so I sent Jody an email asking for help. He actually made a video out of my email. If you watch this next video the first still picture he shows is the exact picture I sent him when I was asking for help. MY WELDING was featured in one of Jody’s videos! I was over the moon, even if it was used as an example of what not to do! LOL
I loved that little welder, and I learned so much on it. I picked up for a bargain as a scratch and dent item at Tractor Supply. I actually sold it for more than I paid for it, five years later. Truth be told I did more learning and practice on that welder than real building and fabricating. But that’s OK, its just a hobby, not my job, and being self taught, it took a while to get better. I also credit the invention of auto darkening welding hoods with helping me overcome the issues I had in middle school.