Stick Welding Tin

[KBar]

Does anybody have any experience welding tin with a stick welder ?

I am using a Miller Thunderbolt 200/300 AC/DC stick welder and have any rods available for use. Its going to be a few months until I get my Hobart mig welder but I want to experiment welding thin metal such as tin with a stick. Somebody said it cant be done and when I am told that, darn it, I find a way - lol. I have only been welding about 5 years and only welded materials from 1/4 inch to 1 inch.

Can anybody guide me as to what setting I use and what stick would be best ?

Thanks in advance

[JonnyTIG]

I assume you are talking about sheet steel, not Tin the element. For thin sheet metal a 1/16" 6010 or a 1/16" 6013 works well, just start at the low end of the amperage range for either rod and work from there. Don't forget the switch polarity for the 6013 (:

[Jolly Roger]

I do it with 3/32 6010/6011. Takes practice, but it can be done.

[yorkiepap]

Hey Kbar,
Mainly to clarify, are you referring to "tin" as galvanized sheetmetal or simply thin sheetmetal? There is a difference and any metal that is galvanized must have the galvanize removed prior to welding and remember that the fumes from galvanized metal are quite toxic.

Myself, I prefer 1/16" 6013 and you will find you will get much better results by placing a piece of aluminum (1/8" min., 3/16" thick preferable) under the seam to be welded. This will help prevent burn-thru. In addition, you will have to move around a bit as trying to run a continuous bead will not be fruitful. It does take some serious practice to get proficient with sheetmetal by stick welding. It will definitely improve your stick welding skills once you master it.....practice...practice...practice......you will only get better. Even when I MIG car panels/floorpans, I use AL backing strips to avoid burn-thru. Hope that helps a bit....Good Luck...Denny

[KBar]

Thanks guys, I played with the 6011 at 50 amps today, reverse polarity. Tomorrow I am picking up some 6013 and give that a try at 30 amps. It is tricky, that I found out but at least I know what I am up against. I made up my mind, I am going to master the razor blade trick with stick before long.

It is sheet metal I was referring too and I did weld plenty of galvanized along with inhaling fumes, it smells just as bad torching it. I guess the fumes are bad for you if you inhale enough over time. Thats what I try to tell the voices in my head anyhow but we all know how well they listen.

[Jolly Roger]

The fumes from galvanized are poisonous and can kill you, make your hair fall out, are suspected of causing nerve damage, and many other things as well. The antidote for zinc poisoning is milk, so drink a lot of it when working with galv. 6010/6011 is the best rod for welding galv when you can't clean the galv off, as with sheet metal because it burns it off. 7018 is the absolute worst choice unless you can grind the galv off and have enough meat to hold the heat. I think it is Lincoln, could be another manufacturer though, that is making a fluxcore specifically for galvanized that requires no cleaning. I use a weldpak with fluxcore for it and it works great with smoothcore.

[Fat-Fab.com]

Hey Kbar,
any metal that is galvanized must have the galvanize removed prior to welding and remember that the fumes from galvanized metal are quite toxic.

Now I must take exception to the removing of galvanizing on any metal.

Most difficult to near impossible to do when talking about thin sheet. I have welded many a mile of thin galvanized sheet using both SMAW and GMAW with the only side effect being the dangerous fumes and the associated "metal fever" .

When talking Hot Dipped galvanizing yes removal is required by code as well just to get a decent weld.

[DDA52]

I've been stick welding sheet for many moons and never used anything less than a 3/32 rod. I prefer 6010/6011 for most thin stuff. They freeze fast and dig through any crap that may be there. The key to keeping them under control is to run them on straight polarity or DCEN and run a good whipping motion to let the puddle freeze. That will help a ton. Take it off Reverse polarity when you get below 1/8" with stick. The vast majority of my stuff was 16 gauge and a lot of 18. I kept the machine at 56 amps or so DCEN with a 3/32 6010. If I was running 20 ga, I'd usually switch to a 1/8 rod and run it just a little higher. It was a touchy way to do it, but once you find the happy medium, it will do it. The idea is to use up more heat to melt the rod, rather than blow out the sheet metal. Running sheet metal with stick takes tons of practice. Don't get discouraged, just keep at it and experiment to find what you can get to work for you. I had guys that couldn't run my setting to save their lives. Just play around and you will find it.