The bare section of the electrode is clamped into an electrode holder, which, in turn, is connected to thepower source by a cable. The workpiece is connected tothe other power source terminal. The arc is initiated by touching the tip of the electrode on the workpiece andthen withdrawing it slightly. The heat of the arc melts the base metal in the immediate area along with theelectrode’s metal core and covering. The molten basemetal, the wire core, and any metal powders in the cov-ering coalesce to form the weld