Harbor Freight Tools 61849 User Manual - Page 16

SAFETY SETUP Basic Welding Technique 1. Press (and hold) Trigger and contact area to be welded with electrode wire to ignite arc. 2. For a narrow weld, you can usually draw the wire in a steady straight line. This is called a stringer bead. For a wider weld, draw the wire back and forth across the joint. This is called a weave bead. stringer bead weave bead 3. Hold Gun in one hand and the face shield in the other. If a hands-free welding shield (not included, see Arc Ray Safety Information on page 3 for guidelines) is used, then both hands can be used to control Gun. 4. Direct the welding wire straight into the joint. This gives an angle of 90° (straight up and down) for butt (end to end) welds, and an angle of 45° for fillet (T-shaped) welds. Weld Gun angles, viewed from front of weld joint. 45° fillet weld joint 90° butt weld joint 5. The end of Gun should be tilted so that wire is angled anywhere in-between straight on and 15° in the direction you are welding. The amount of tilt is called the drag angle. 6. The welding wire should extend no more than 1/2" past the tip. This distance is called stickout or CTWD - Contact Tip to Work Distance. Drag Angle 0-15° Weld Direction Stickout (up to 1/2") BASIC WELDING WELDING TIPS MAINTENANCE Page 16 For technical questions, please call 1-888-866-5797. Item 61849