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b.Position your shield in front of your face and tap the
electrode down firmly. Once you tap down and contact
is made, you must instantly raise the electrode to the
required arc gap.
•
The arc gap should be roughly the same as the
diameter of the electrode.
•
If you withdraw the electrode too far once the arc is
struck, you will lose the arc and have to try again.
NOTE: One thing that usually happens when you are
striking an arc is that the electrode sticks to the work. It
should come unstuck with a sharp tug. If it will not free
easily, turn off the welder immediately as it will quickly
overheat, then give the join a tap from the chipping
hammer. As you get more experienced, this will happen
less.
c.Once the arc is struck, move the electrode along its
intended path, keeping the tip in the molten pool at all
times.
•
You must also get used to feeding down the electrode
steadily as it burns away.
•
An even crackling noise should be heard, which is an
indication of a good weld.
d. Inspect the job carefully, the area of weld should be
complete fusion of the electrode and parent metal(s).
•
Any slag which forms on the surface should be
chipped away with the hammer/brush supplied.
•
If the resultant weld looks messy and irregular, this is
an indication of porosity or slag contamination, and you
have almost certainly failed to achieve the correct
combination of speed and current. This is a common
