The first steps in welding machine setup are selecting your rod, then set the polarity according to the manufacturer’s recommendation, and finally set the welding machine to the amperage range that the manufacturers recommend.

For this project, the 6011 rod is an excellent candidate for polarity selection. Most 6011 welding rods work with A/C (alternating current) and D/C (direct current). So no matter what type of stick welding machine you have this rod should do fine. Again, always read and follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Now you are ready to fine-tune your welding machine to the metal you will be welding. Get some scrap metal that is as close as possible to the thickness of the metal you will be welding. This is important because welding different thickness metals require different setting. You can compare setting your machine to lighting a match. A match burning will easily heat up a piece of tin foil to make a drop of water sizzle but that same match has no chance of heating up a frying pan to do the same. In this case, it’s not a match but amperage settings!

When it comes to setting a welding machine from an experienced welder’s point of view (not some textbook) I can speak for most of the experienced welders besides the deaf. The trick is to learn to listen to the crackle of the rod burning without looking at it and knowing if the amperage is set right. The sound of the crackle like eggs frying in a pan that tells you all you need to know. The welding machine should be set hot enough to burn the rod smoothly without sticking, and the rod should not turn cherry red, otherwise, the settings are too high.

Welders give them a weld test and know from halfway across the shop by the sound of the weld if that welder will pass the test. Yes! I did say most welders, not all. I did say the deaf. Outside the scope of what most people think of proper welding settings, I would like to mention a welder who has been welding for 20 plus years and is an excellent welder. He is totally deaf! He sets his machine by visually seeing the weld and knows if the settings are right by the feel and vibrations of the handle. Absolutely remarkable how we as people learn to adapt to challenges! Welding, although it is a science, is also in no small way art. There are many welders that can bend the rules and do what the manufacturers say is impossible. However, in the beginning, follow the manufacturer’s recommendations and take it from there!