Welding Tips and Tricks

Everytime I try to add rod on my pipe welds the tungsten keeps sticking, idk if my machine is too cold or if my tungsten is sticking out too far, can anyone help me solve my problem with my tungsten sticking??? Thanks in advance

What is your tungsten sicking to? The rod as it comes in, or the puddle as it fills up?

Could just be your tungsten is too close (too short of an arc).

What is the thickness you are welding? Metal type?
What amps, tungsten size, filler size, flow rate, cup size, stick-out, etc. - more info is good here.

Dave has it.

Your tungsten is touching the puddle.

When you add rod to the puddle, it swells rapidly (the expansion of hot metal is greater than the li'l dab of rod you added), and touches the tungsten.

The moment this happens, the arc stops, the metal freezes, and your tungsten is stuck. This is much more of a problem for aluminum than steel, so if you're having trouble now, get in the habit of "backing up" as you add rod.

It's often clear in Jody's videos, when he's doing a "step-pause" freehand progression, that he backs up slightly as he's adding rod. Either back up, or pull up, as you dip rod, to keep the puddle from climbing to the tungsten.

Let us know how it goes.

Steve S