Can You Tack Weld with a Stick Welder

While tack welding may appear straightforward, it’s a crucial step that forms the basis for successful welding projects. This meticulous process helps prevent costly mistakes and rework, making it an indispensable skill in any welder’s arsenal. But when it comes to selecting the right tool for tack welding, you might question if a stick welder is up to the task. In this article, we’ll delve into the specifics of tack welding, explore how a stick welder functions, and determine its suitability for producing tack welds.

What Is Tack Weld and How Does it Work?

tack welding metal material in heavy industry manufacturing

Tack welds are small, quick welds strategically placed along the joints where the metal pieces meet. Basically, they act as placeholders, ensuring that the workpieces are aligned correctly and held together securely before the final welding.

How Does Tack Welding Work?

Tack welding works by creating small, localized welds at intervals along the joints of the metal pieces. The process involves briefly applying heat and pressure to the metals, fusing them just enough to hold them in place.

Here’s a closer look at how tack welding works:

1. Preparation and Setup 

Before starting, it’s vital to clean the surfaces of the metal pieces intended for joining. Any dirt, rust, or oil on the surfaces can compromise the quality of the weld, leading to weak points or imperfections. After cleaning, the welder precisely positions the metal pieces in the desired alignment. Most times, using clamps and magnets helps keep the pieces in place while getting ready to tack weld.

2. Applying the Tack Welds 

Next, the welder selects a suitable spot where the two metal pieces meet and uses the welding torch or electrode to apply a quick burst of heat. This heat is concentrated in a small area, causing the metal to melt slightly and form a small pool of molten metal. As the molten metal cools, it solidifies, creating a tiny weld that holds the pieces together. 

The major takeaway here is to apply just enough heat to bond the metals without causing them to shift out of alignment. Then, the welder carefully repeats this process at several points along the joint. They usually start at the ends and work toward the middle to ensure that the pieces stay aligned and firmly connected.

3. Strategic Spacing and Repetition 

Typically, experts space tack welds a few inches apart, but the exact distance depends on the size and shape of the workpieces and the complexity of the final weld. However, you may need to space out tack welds more frequently for larger or more complex assemblies. Welders often refer to a tack weld symbol to ensure consistency and accuracy in their work. This symbol guides the correct placement and spacing of tack welds. Welders repeat the process until the entire joint is stable in the final welding process.

4. Inspection and Adjustment 

This stage is the time to make any necessary adjustments before proceeding to the full weld. If welders find any tack welds to be weak or misaligned, they remove them and apply new ones. This step is crucial because any issues left unresolved at this stage can lead to problems during the final welding process.

What Is a Stick Welder?

a welder at work with a stick welder

A stick welder, also known as a Shielded Metal Arc Welder (SMAW), is one of the most common welding tools in the industry. It is well known for its simplicity, reliability, and adaptability to various welding tasks. As the name suggests, a stick welder is named after the welding electrode, commonly referred to as a “stick,” which is used to weld metals together.

How It Works

Welders carry out stick welding with the welding electrode or stick, which is a consumable rod coated with flux. The flux serves multiple purposes. It protects the weld area from oxidation and contamination by forming a gas shield and slag over the weld pool. When the stick welder is in use, an electric current flows through the electrode and the metal workpiece, creating an arc. This arc generates intense heat, typically reaching temperatures as high as 3,600°C. At this point, the arc melts both the electrode and the base metal, allowing them to fuse.

Components of a Stick Welder

A stick welder consists of several key components:

Power Source: The power source provides the electric current necessary to create the welding arc. It can either be an AC (Alternating Current) or DC (Direct Current) power supply, depending on the welding needs. Manufacturers usually apply AC for welding thicker metals, while DC is preferred for its smoother arc and better control.

Welding Electrodes (Sticks): The electrodes are consumable rods coated in flux. They come in various sizes and compositions, depending on the type of metal to weld and the desired weld properties.

Electrode Holder: The electrode holder, or stinger, is a clamp that holds the welding electrode securely in place. The welder uses this holder to guide the electrode along the joint, maintaining the arc and feeding the electrode into the weld pool as it melts.

Ground Clamp: The ground clamp is attached to the metal workpiece, completing the electrical circuit necessary for welding. This ensures the electric current flows through the workpiece and returns to the welder.

Can You Tack Weld with a Stick Welder?

tack welding metal beam with a stick welder

You can tack weld with a stick welder. A stick welder can handle a wide range of metals, making it a reliable choice for tack welding.  In fact, their ability to work in various environments and on different types of metals makes them an excellent choice for this task.

Stick welders excel at tack welding because they can penetrate through surface impurities like rust, paint, or dirt, which are usually present on metal surfaces. This capability ensures that even if the metal isn’t perfectly clean, the tack weld will come out strong. This makes stick welders particularly valuable in fieldwork or repair situations where perfect conditions are hard to achieve.

Working Principle

The working principle behind tack welding with a stick welder is quite straightforward. But understanding it fully can help you achieve better results. The stick welder creates an electric arc between the electrode (stick) and the metal surfaces you want to join. This arc generates intense heat, which melts the tip of the electrode and a small area of the metal surfaces. As the electrode melts, it deposits filler material into the gap between the metals, creating a small weld pool. When this pool cools and solidifies, it forms a bond that temporarily holds the pieces together.

Here’s how the process unfolds step by step:

1. Arc Creation

When you bring the electrode close to the metal surface and initiate contact, an electric current jumps the gap, creating a bright, intense arc. This arc is the heat source that melts the metal surfaces and the electrode tip.

2. Metal Melting and Weld Pool Formation

The heat from the arc is powerful enough to melt a small area of the metal workpieces, along with the tip of the electrode. As the electrode melts, it deposits molten filler material into the gap between the metal pieces. This molten metal forms what is known as a weld pool, which is the foundation of your tack weld.

3. Solidification of the Tack Weld

As you maintain the arc, the molten weld pool begins to cool and solidify, forming a small, strong bond between the metal pieces. This bond, though temporary, is crucial for holding the pieces in alignment until the final welding is completed.

Overall, a stable arc remains essential for a clean tack weld. If the arc is too long (meaning the electrode is too far from the metal surface), it can result in spatter and a weak weld. Conversely, if the arc is too short, the electrode might stick to the metal. And this may end up disrupting the weld. That said, you must achieve the right balance and maintain a consistent arc length for a successful tack weld.

Conclusion

Tack welding is a technique used to temporarily hold metal pieces together. These welds ensure your workpieces align perfectly before the final welding. It remains a critical step in many welding projects, providing stability and precision as you work. Stick welders provide the necessary strength, versatility, and ease of use to create strong tack welds, even in less-than-ideal conditions. Therefore, you can ensure that your projects stay securely in place by understanding how tack welding works and following the right steps.

At Zintilon, our expert team is ready to handle all your tack welding tasks with precision and expertise. Whether you’re working on a complex structure or a simple repair, our services ensure that every weld comes out strong, reliable, and perfectly aligned. Contact us today to see how we can help perfect your next tack-weld projects.