Stick welding questions:

[I_Love_Plasma]

I was just curious. Thanks for the replies. My Dad asked me yesterday what rod to use on aluminum. I didn't know. What rod do you use and do you switch the work clamp to the negative with the rod positive? We would be using a EverLast PowerArc 200 or 300. Grade 3003 aluminum and whatever is common.

[DaveO]

I found a link to some information:
http://www.hildstrom.com/projects/st...x.html#method1

In this article mentions the author mentions he used an Everlast machine. From what I've read the rods burn quickly so the welds take some practice. You can get them from cyberweld.com and even amazon.com, but interestingly I couldn't find any info on the Harris site.

[I_Love_Plasma]

Thank you Dave. I will have to give those rods a try sometime soon. Have you ever welded aluminum with a stick welder?

[DaveO]

For the moment I'm limited to my little AC crackerbox welder (altho I'm planning to upgrade when finances allow), so I haven't stick welded aluminum. At $25 a pound these electrodes are pricey, but keeping some in the inventory sounds like a smart idea- could prove very useful for a field repair, say, if MIG or TIG is impractical.

[I_Love_Plasma]

haha we are in the same boat.. We have a 1940's-50's AC buzz box with kill-ya-off 295 amps. Gotta be really careful not to step on the cords or drag the cords across one another it WILL shock you. Even through 600v rated Redwings...Lots of bare spots in the cables. We are really thinking hard about a PowerArc200 or 300 (Everlast stick welder) to replace the killer queen buzz box.