There is a bit of info on various types of sticks here
**LINK**
Also a bit of course. Notice how the stick is being moved, One thing I would try with unknown electrodes is reversing the polarity.
There are all sort of catches with electric welding. I'm keen on high striking voltages probably down to using ancient transformer ones that were hard to start due to this. One advantage though is that they weren't far off the correct distance to actually weld. Go much higher and they may well not be.
When I tried out the 3in1 I have bought. I was a touch disappointed with the striking voltage n MMA. On the other hand it's the first time I have used the welder and the sticks on DC. I've had the sticks for years. They were fine on the welder I used to use. – Mmm note I keep them in a warm place. I did get more spatter than I expected. Maybe the current markings on my old welder were higher than they really wear. Maybe the stick was too far off.
I also wasted a tungsten electrode on tig without gas just to make sure sparks came out. It struck very easily. The manual mentions listening for HF discharges on tig. They stop the instant the arc starts. If I remember correctly argon would increase the arcing distance – would it be the right distance for welding?
Another way of starting tig is lift start. Sometimes in MMA welders that don't come with tig but can be used for it. These start the arc when the electrode is lifted by a couple of mm. One I noticed reckons 2 to 4mm. Again it might not be the right height to weld and if the current was too high it might punch a hole through what ever is being welded. That can happen on stick as well unless the weld is started pretty quickly.
In my view it doesn't matter much which type some one starts with. Distance and current come into it.
I had a nose about to see if there is a decent viideo. This one is dated and probably uses a much older clark welder than yours.
If your getting lots of spatter it looks to suggest the right things to me. I'm not sure that hard starting at lower currents applies any more with inverter welders but when welding less energy will go in so things will have to progress more slowly. Sometimes I think in terms of the electrode being in the pool. It probably isn't. When I've had the inner get a lot shorter than the fluxed outer I think it's down to having it too far away usually towards the end of a long weld so the flux isn't melting as well. As I mentioned it usually happens on thin stuff were there can't be much penetration – plating a rusty car floor with 048 etc. Thicker stuff in some respects is a lot easier probably because I could up the current and get a better striking voltage.
John
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