Thread: Stick welding polarity

Hi guys,

Have not been getting much metal work done lately due to work commitments, feeling a bit of withdrawal and i'd really like to get into it and make my next project

in the meantime, I thought i'd ask a question that has been bugging me for a while. I use a lot of stainless and mainly stick weld it (I know, TIG would be better but I don't have much of a workshop)

I've been using 316L electrodes which are designated DCEP

One time I decided to see what they would weld like on DCEN and was quite happy with the results. so a few questions for anyone who may have the answers:

1: just how bad is penetration likely to be going to DCEN-

2: is it likely to cause less or more shrinkage distortion when welding frames and tables etc,

3: and is it likely to be easier or harder to grind invisible? (sometimes I have trouble getting a completely seamless join without grinding further than flush, while I see no undercut on the unground bead it seems I often have to keep grinding a little bit past level with the surrounding steel to make the evidence dissapear entirely.

if #3 might be an unrelated issue with another solution, I'd love any suggestions for getting around that also

I know i'm fighting distortion and the like uphill stick welding with stainless but I just dont see myself getting gas bottles and a TIG setup any time soon, even though I'm quite comfortable welding with TIG. one of these days :P