Greetings to all self-taught in welding and lovers of working with metal!
Let's talk today about such a simple but important topic - how best to weld metal if you clamp the electrode into the holder at 90 or 45 degrees. This is my personal opinion based on many years of work as a welder.
The electrode can be clamped at different angles, especially in clothespin holders, but I have been using a screw in recent years, and I think it is the best. In my holder, the electrode can only be inserted at 90 or 45 degrees. I almost always cook when the electrode is clamped at 45 degrees. I'll tell you why it's better this way.
When we weld two workpieces, we hold the electrode at an angle so that the slag does not fill the weld pool and the seam is formed correctly. This angle, plus or minus, is 45 degrees on average.
It is quite possible to put the electrode at 90 degrees, the first moments, when about one third of the electrode length is on, it will be convenient to cook.
Look at the photo, this is a 3 mm electrode - the most common for household welding. Its length is just one third of the length of the grip.
But as soon as this third of the electrode burns out and it becomes equal in length to the grip, then inconveniences begin here. If you continue to observe the initial welding angle, then the end of the handle will begin to rest against the metal of the structure, if you are not cooking any small things.
As the combustion progresses, it is possible to change the angle of inclination of the electrode more and more vertically, but then the likelihood of slag flowing into the weld pool will increase, especially in corner joints.
Or you have to move the grip handle to one side, which is not always convenient.
When the electrode burns out by two-thirds, the manipulation of the brush in order to maintain a given inclination will become completely acrobatic!
Another thing is when the electrode will initially stand in the holder at 45 degrees. Throughout the welding process, we keep the brush in one position, we will not need to make any extra movements to maintain the initially set angle of inclination. We are not distracted, but simply and comfortably weld metal!
Welding in vertical and other positions is also more convenient if the electrode is fixed in the holder at 45 degrees.
Friends, I repeat, it is much more convenient for me, and I advise you to experiment and compare.