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Technique is important in welding. This is something that will become apparent to anyone who spends a few minutes with the hood down and a welding torch in hand. Most stick welding courses teach basic techniques, that allow for a quick, and sure method of welding, even though it may be somewhat boring to look at.

Even though the portability of a stick welder is a true bonus, something should be said about how universal it is more than just being able to weld any metal. For many decades stick welding has been a fully accepted method of repair and manufacturing, back to the days of R.G. LeTourneau who favored welding components together rather than bolting them together in his world renown earth moving equipment factories.

Stick welders are an economic choice, when you consider overall cost of operation, and initial investment. There are no cylinders to rent or maintain no parts to change or replace either. A stick welder is usually the cheapest welder to buy initially as well. One of the only drawbacks that has been cited against stick welding is that it doesn’t have the greatest metal transfer efficiency, only reaching about 60% of total rod transferred to the metal. If course this factors in flux loss and spatter as well.

If you are looking for the most versatile welder to start your welder collection, one that will handle a lot of different situations, and not require an upgrade to another unit any time soon, take a look at a stick welder. A Shielded Metal Arc Welder (SMAW) as it is officially named, has stood the test of time, more than any other currently accepted welding process out there.

Welding as we know is a process wherein two or more metal pieces are joined together with the help of a molten solution that forms the essential bond between them upon cooling. Though it seems as simple as that, practically there are lots of shortcomings involved that you need understand well, memorize them and put them for practice while welding.

Welding is no joke by any means. It involves a lot of complications that requires tremendous knowledge, exposure, experience and practice to overcome the same. Experienced welders know pretty well about which procedure to choose, what settings to imply and what materials are required in order to weld various different kinds of metal work pieces.

If plasma cutting is in your future, then having an adequate air compressor is a must. You cannot operate a plasma cutter without sufficient pressure and a good reserve capacity. Small pancake type compressors are not sufficient. They do not have enough reserve capacity or cfm to maintain anything but the smallest plasma cutter. On average, you will find that most plasma cutters consume about 5-6 cfm at a minimum.

Even though you are behind a dark hood while welding, having adequate lighting in your shop is extremely important. Backlighting the welding area helps illuminate the part, even while welding. Tood dark of a welding environment is hard on the eyes, and can lead to missed welds and sloppy work, even misread tape measures. If your shop is currently too dark, portable lighting may be the answer.

What welding shop would be complete without a smattering of steel brushes, and chipping hammers laying around? Of course, every person with a welder needs one, or the other or both. One of the most difficult things I have found is locating a quality chipping hammer that won’t dull or break with use. Another is finding a steel brush that will last that won’t have a receding hair line after a few heavy brushings.

If you have ever been TIG welding and needed to line up a hole in a precision part to weld to another, you may have needed a drift. If you have ever been MIG welding, and needed to remove excess spatter. If you ever needed to remove a bearing from a shaft after heating it with an oxy acetylene torch, you may have needed a punch.