There are 3 main elements to welding technique, and in the following lessons, we will dive into detail on each one and complete exercises to master them. The purpose here is to provide the 1000 foot view, so that you know overall what the welding technique will look like. These are the 3 key elements:

Stickout
This is the distance between the contact tip and the workpiece. This should generally be around 1/2" (13mm) for MIG welding or 3/4" (20mm) for flux cored welding.

Gun Angle
This is the angle of the welding gun relative to the workpiece, both in the direction of travel as well as perpendicular to the direction of travel. For MIG welding, the gun should be pointed either toward or away from the direction of travel by approximately 10 degrees (either slightly pushing or dragging). For flux cored welding, a drag angle (the gun pointed approximately 10 degrees behind you) is needed to push the slag back behind the weld puddle.

Movement
Movement should be steady, keeping the arc right on the leading edge of the weld puddle. This can be done while moving in a straight line along your joint or in some cases a bit of torch manipulation (moving in a pattern) can be used.