Serious question about welding thin gauge sheet metal with a stick welder

I know everyone says you need a TIG or MIG for thin stuff like 18 gauge... but I had a job last month fixing a rusty exhaust on a '87 F150 in my driveway in Tulsa. Used a 1/8 6013 rod cranked down to 50 amps on my old Lincoln tombstone. Got a clean tack that held without blowing through. The trick was keeping a real tight arc and moving fast, not pausing at all. I learned that with the right motion and rod angle you can actually work thinner metal than the books say. Has anyone else had luck with stick on automotive panels?

2 comments

2 Comments

diana_park3d ago

Was that 6013 AC rod or DC? I've always figured the trick with stick on thin stuff is more about how hot your machine actually runs at the dial setting versus what the gauge says.

zara_perez623d ago

how hot your machine actually runs" - man, that's the truth. I had a buzzbox that claimed 90 amps but was barely pushing 60. Burned holes for a month before I gave up and clamped a meter on it. What finally worked for me was running 3/32 6013 rods at 75-80 actual amps, not dial setting. I also switched to a drag technique, real shallow angle, almost like I was smearing the puddle instead of digging in.