Arc (Stick) Welding Tips

[Paychk]

Not sure if I've posted this before:



http://www.esabna.com/html/eu.cfm

 

[y-knot]

not sure if this will help anyone, being most are to cheap to buy a book?..... But their are many hot rod shops that sell video's and DVDs of the different aspects and types of welding. I have been looking around for old car parts and noticed the many self-help type library's out there. Also Lincoln puts on many different types of welding classes (Cleavland) and most are arranged over the weekend or extended weekend so it not that hard to attend. If that is not enough, they also host many local seminars in the larger metropolitan areas, usually at a dealers shop. I have attended several of these and I am always surprised how much you can learn in such a short time, with experts teaching. Look on their web sites for up-coming events, I assume Miller has similar programs.

 

[Joe G.]

I asked a question on post #90 on this thread about the UTP612 rod I use. I guess none of you experts saw it since it is the last post on the page.

 

[DValentine]

Joe, not ignoring you. I just haven't heard of the rod. There is a lot out their that I don't know about. Is it a mild steel rod or an alloy rod?



I just haven't heard of it.



Dave

 

[nickleinonen]

Joe, not ignoring you. I just haven't heard of the rod. There is a lot out their that I don't know about. Is it a mild steel rod or an alloy rod?



I just haven't heard of it.



Dave

i haven't heard of that rod either, but googling it came up with this



UTP 612 * An all position mild steel coated electrode for arc welding. Operates on AC or DC current and can be welded by even the most inexperienced welder. 72,000 psi tensile strength and moisture resistant.



sounds like a more user friendly 7018???

 

[Grunt]

Here are a few more links that I have found to be helpful/interesting.



weld talk



the Fabricator





Summit Racing feature story



Plastic welding



UTP Products

 

[Joe G.]

i haven't heard of that rod either, but googling it came up with this



UTP 612 * An all position mild steel coated electrode for arc welding. Operates on AC or DC current and can be welded by even the most inexperienced welder. 72,000 psi tensile strength and moisture resistant.



sounds like a more user friendly 7018???

I found out about it from a pro I talked to at the welding supply over 20 years ago. He said it worked very well with a buzz box and would make a good welder out of me. What prompted my question on this thread was to find out if some of the rod you guys are using is even better. It is easy to use. I can hold a very close arc without it sticking and get good penetration. I made a fuel tank for a small diesel boat with it. The last time I bought a box of it the guy behind the counter mentioned that it is a very smooth rod. Not being a pro at this stuff I really don't know what I'm talking about.



I recently got a mig welder to learn how to use it so I can weld thinner stuff than I can with the buzz box. I'm still at the drunken worm track stage with the wire welder. Any advice you pros can give me will be very appreciated.

 

[rbattelle]

I found out about it from a pro I talked to at the welding supply over 20 years ago. He said it worked very well with a buzz box and would make a good welder out of me. What prompted my question on this thread was to find out if some of the rod you guys are using is even better. It is easy to use. I can hold a very close arc without it sticking and get good penetration.

I'll have to find some of this stuff and give it a try... where do you get it?



-Ryan

 

[Joe G.]

Local welding supply store, Eureka Oxygen Co.



It's pretty damp around here and I don't have a good place to keep welding rod. I have found that if I have a piece of scrap handy to get the rod warm it will strike very nicely so I can pick up exactly where I left off with no funny looking place in the bead. Otherwise on a damp day it wants to stick when the rod is cold.

 

[rbattelle]

Got some good learnin' in the last hour or so. I was complaining before about the arc going out mid-weld with the 7018. I think I know what the problem was - speed. I was going too slow. I've found it's important to move along with the 7018, no sittin' around in the weld puddle pickin' your nose! The slag is totally different than 60-series rods. Part of the difference, I think, is that it's much harder and cools much faster than the 60-series do. So if you hang around in the puddle for a long time the slag builds up quickly which hurts conductivity. If you keep moving, there's no problem.



Another thing I notice about the 7018s is that for me it's easy to confuse the slag pool with the filler metal pool under through the welding lens. I find myself sometimes mistakenly focusing on the slag pool and thinking I'm making a mess of things when in reality I'm doing just fine. It's hard to describe, but the 7018 slag cools quick, and it darkens when it cools. It will cool (and darken) rapidly after the puddle has past, and the color change from light to dark makes it look like you've got molten metal flowing like water along your weld bead. This doesn't actually happen, though, it's just your eyes playing tricks on you.



Below are 3 photos. The first one shows my first attempt to run a simulated tee-joint on an old piece of tee-shaped fence post. This is what happens when you guess way high on the current setting - I guessed 80 amp for 0. 175" thick metal. WAY too hot; burned right through.



The second one shows my first 7018 run of the day at 75 amp (still too hot, but not burn-through hot) versus my second run of the day at 65 amp (seems to be just about right for this metal).



The third photo shows a comparison between a run I made with 6013 versus my 3rd run of the day with the 7018 rod at 65 amp. I think the superiority of the 7018 is clear here. I did have better luck avoiding slag inclusions in the 6013 (as you can see) by following the "drag" advice. I have trouble getting both pieces of the joint to contribute to the puddle with 6013 - seems like the bead ends up on one piece or the other, but not both.



Have I mentioned how much I love this?



-Ryan

 

[rbattelle]

Fun with the camera...

Here's a couple pics of me welding. First pic is 6013 @ 60 amp (a little too hot). Second pic is 6013 @ 45 amp (deliberately too cold to decrease washout in the photo).



Do I look like a "real" welder? Probably not, my clothes are still too clean. LOL. :-laf



On edit: I just discovered that a second pass over a 7018 weld using 6013 makes for a nice looking "cover" if your 7018 looks a little "rough around the edges".



-Ryan

 

[sstefanini]

Try some thicker material Ryan. You'll find you can run 7018 @ the 85 amp range or higher and sit and let it soak ( i. e. fill) as much as you want. Go find a local welding or machine shop, preferably a small one, and see if they'll let you go through the scrap bin. Most people shouldn't mind and you'll hopefully get better or less rusty and painted material than you're using now. Cleanliness is also paramount. No one can slick a bead in when burning through garbage. Try grinding or power brushing you're steel before you fire up.

 

[y-knot]

Ryan,

The poster before me was correct, there are many places that have end cuts or left over material that do not mind you asking for them. I live close to Ciny and there are many factories and fabrication shops to choose from. The best are the steel companies that sell raw steel to others, they (most) also cut to length huge amounts of square tube, angle ,round tube and flat steel. The small sections left over go in the trash, to be re-cycled, the end pieces are usually under three feet. But they are great to practice on and I must admit, I have used these end pieces many times to complete a project. Since you are just starting out, you should look for local instruction. Here the state vocational schools have welding classes on the weekend, and sometimes at night. They are great places to learn and practice on material for almost nothing. In your stance (pictures) you are aways away from the work, I find it much easier to get in close and weld. The closer the better for me, it allows better control and you can see the puddle better and react to it. You can also steady your hand with the other one, or prop it against the work or table.

Preparation: I know it is just practice, but the truth is you should practice like it is the most important weld at the time. The surface needs to be prepared, welding over painted surfaces and rust is not the way any real welder would do it, and is not the way you should either. I liken it to body work, you can be the best painter, but if the body work is not done right, the job will never look right. Clean your surfaces to be welded with a good angle grinder, a 4-1/2" one works great with a hard disk or better with a flex disk.

Lincoln, is close to you and they offer many welding classes with an array of different equipment and experience levels. Also check the local welding supply stores, I have attended several welding clinics in our area put-on by the local suppliers. Welding is something that takes constant practice and you are never as good as you think you are, trust me. I See you use a auto darkening helmet which is good, I bought my first one 12 years ago when they were almost $600 a piece, but it is the best thing you can do for yourself. Welding is very hard on the eye's, know matter how careful you are, it does hurt them. One reason I take every weld so serious, you are litterly trading some of your eye sight to complete that weld, and if I am going to trade eye sight for a weld, then it had better be a great weld. My Father was a Pipe Fitter, and welded for many years. He was a great welder in his time, and always kept a roof over our heads no matter what the economy did. But, like I said the welding takes it toll on the eyes, and he was no exception. Ever notice on a job why all the younger guy's are doing the welding? and the older guys are helping with the prep or set-up? They call that PIMPING in the industry, but the older guys do that because there eyes are shot. The newer helmets really help reduce the flashing that hurts the eyes. Remember to were dark colored shirts while welding, lighter ones allow alot of light in behind the helmet via reflection. Good Luck

 

[rbattelle]

I do clean up my metal with a 4. 5" angle grinder before practicing on it if it's rusty. If it's painted, I use a wire wheel to remove the paint. Some of the scrap I'm working with is more rust than steel, so I'm only willing to grind so much before I'm ready to weld.



I do take this very seriously - I'm not just messing around. Y-knot brings up a good point about reflections around the backside of the helmet. I notice I get quite a bit of reflection coming around into the helmet from the backside (somtimes enough to make me squint). I didn't think it was anything to be concerned with... should I be? My contact lenses are 100% UV-blocking.



-Ryan

 

[Coalsmoke]

I've used UTP612 for years with my buzz box. That was the advice I got from a pro when I was at the welding shop to get some stuff. I don't weld that much, but when I do I do a pretty good job with this stuff. Do you more experienced guys have any opinion about UTP612?

never heard of it, but I would bet a fair sum that if you analyzed it, you'd find it isn't much different that your run-of-the-mill rutile-based 7014. When you run it, you will probably find that it has a thick slag as oppsed to a thinner harder slag that you'd find with 6010/6011 right?

 

[Coalsmoke]

Got some good learnin' in the last hour or so. I was complaining before about the arc going out mid-weld with the 7018. I think I know what the problem was - speed. I was going too slow. I've found it's important to move along with the 7018, no sittin' around in the weld puddle pickin' your nose! The slag is totally different than 60-series rods. Part of the difference, I think, is that it's much harder and cools much faster than the 60-series do. So if you hang around in the puddle for a long time the slag builds up quickly which hurts conductivity. If you keep moving, there's no problem.



Another thing I notice about the 7018s is that for me it's easy to confuse the slag pool with the filler metal pool under through the welding lens. I find myself sometimes mistakenly focusing on the slag pool and thinking I'm making a mess of things when in reality I'm doing just fine. It's hard to describe, but the 7018 slag cools quick, and it darkens when it cools. It will cool (and darken) rapidly after the puddle has past, and the color change from light to dark makes it look like you've got molten metal flowing like water along your weld bead. This doesn't actually happen, though, it's just your eyes playing tricks on you.



Below are 3 photos. The first one shows my first attempt to run a simulated tee-joint on an old piece of tee-shaped fence post. This is what happens when you guess way high on the current setting - I guessed 80 amp for 0. 175" thick metal. WAY too hot; burned right through.



The second one shows my first 7018 run of the day at 75 amp (still too hot, but not burn-through hot) versus my second run of the day at 65 amp (seems to be just about right for this metal).



The third photo shows a comparison between a run I made with 6013 versus my 3rd run of the day with the 7018 rod at 65 amp. I think the superiority of the 7018 is clear here. I did have better luck avoiding slag inclusions in the 6013 (as you can see) by following the "drag" advice. I have trouble getting both pieces of the joint to contribute to the puddle with 6013 - seems like the bead ends up on one piece or the other, but not both.



Have I mentioned how much I love this?



-Ryan

Ryan, what's the thickness of those 7018's that you are running?



if you are having trouble distinguishing between molten slag aweld puddle, try a gold lense in you helmet. One important thing with gold lenses though, keep the gold protected with an outer plastic lense. One scratch in gold can let in harmfull rays as opposed to the typical green glass lense.

 

[rbattelle]

3/32 on the 7018. Since I've learned to be a bit more sophisticated I've found it's possible to weld a very large range of metal with a 3/32 rod by carefully selecting the current. I've run 6013 3/32" rod down to 15 or 20 amp... tiny little arc, virtually no penetration, but good for REALLY thin metal.



-Ryan

 

[Coalsmoke]

One reason I take every weld so serious, you are litterly trading some of your eye sight to complete that weld

with a good quality helmet, welding will be less harmfull than being out in open sunlight. Don't bother buying a cheap auto hood, it will make life miserable for you. either get a $50 flip style (I prefer Selstrom) or a high quality auto darkening hood. If the hood is auto and under $100, you probably don't want to own it. I prefer Hornell Speedglas (owned by 3M) for auto hoods, and Optrel is good too.

 

[Joe G.]

never heard of it, but I would bet a fair sum that if you analyzed it, you'd find it isn't much different that your run-of-the-mill rutile-based 7014. When you run it, you will probably find that it has a thick slag as oppsed to a thinner harder slag that you'd find with 6010/6011 right?

I don't know. That is all I have used for a long time. No experience with other rods since I started using UTP 612. That's why I posted the question.

 

[Joe G.]

Don't bother buying a cheap auto hood, it will make life miserable for you.

Why? I have a cheap auto hood. It seems fine to me. It goes dark instantly so I don't see the flash. When it is not dark I can see good enough to chip slag or whatever else I want to do except grinding which makes it go dark. It fits ok in spite of me having a 7 3/4 hat size. The darkness setting is adjustable.