I'm used to old-school welding with a stick, and just gacking it in hard & deep.
Today at work I needed to do some welding, but all there was was this box with a stinger with a tiny piece of wire sticking out of it.
I hooked up the ground, plugged it in, turned some switches & dials, and touched the stinger to the metal.
Nothing.
I looked at the stinger and seen a trigger on it.
I squeezed it and wire came out.
I touched it to metal again, nothing.
I squeezed the trigger and SHAZAM, i'm welding!

I got the job done, but i'm not quite sure how you coordinate distance from project with how much wire you feed out.....and those dials.
I'll getter' fingered out, i'm sure.

Who da' man?!

quote Originally posted by Boondawg: I'm used to old-school welding with a stick, and just gacking it in hard & deep. Today at work I needed to do some welding, but all there was was this box with a stinger with a tiny piece of wire sticking out of it. I hooked up the ground, plugged it in, turned some switches & dials, and touched the stinger to the metal. Nothing. I looked at the stinger and seen a trigger on it. I squeezed it and wire came out. I touched it to metal again, nothing. I squeezed the trigger and SHAZAM, i'm welding! I got the job done, but i'm not quite sure how you coordinate distance from project with how much wire you feed out.....and those dials. I'll getter' fingered out, i'm sure. Who da' man?!

Welcome to the wonderful world of Wire Feed Welders. They are great! Wait till you use a TIG.....Just dont grab the wrong end of the stick......It sucks.

quote Originally posted by 87antuzzi: Welcome to the wonderful world of Wire Feed Welders. They are great!.

Yeah, by look, I was not impressed, but 1 minute into use, I was a believer!
I just need to read up an the particulars...

Stickout is important, that's how much wire there is between the copper tip and the molten blob. You adjust wire speed and voltage to control penetration and weld quality. Generally, thinner stuff requires lower voltage and wire speed. Most times you're welding between, say, 18 and 24 volts, with wire speeds around 150-250. Plenty of charts around showing recommended wire and volt settings for given metal thicknesses. Stickout typically is around 3/8" to 1/2". Are you welding with shield gas? What kind of wire?