First time with Lincoln Excalibur rods

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I have to say, these are much harder to strike than either the lincoln or hobart 7018 AC rods. But they do run nicer, and the puddle is more visible. These are 1/8th rods on about 135 amps DCEP. The third plate is some 6011 and 6013 I ran while the other plates were cooling. Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:not to shabby, although personally i prefer a 7016 rod to a 7018, 18's are usualy harder to strike.Are you able to get WIA or Koebe welding rod in the states? if you can, i highly suggest trying the WIA TC16, or Koebe LB52-U rod's, very smooth, easy to strike, and weld's are just as strong mechanically as a 7018, but do require slightly lower amperage (partially due to the flux layer being much thinner, and requiring less heat to consume) and they're more sensitive to contaminants on the metal, ie rust, paint or oil.
Reply:Not bad at all. Question, why does it look like you alternated beads, one left to right, then one right to left? If IRRC you are still learning. Swapping sides just complicates matters and makes it harder to learn..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Thanks!@ttoks: I have never seen those rods here, and I was three different LWS's today.@DSW: yeah, one left handed, one right handed, rinse and repeat.    I really didn't have too much trouble swapping sides. Just a little trouble keeping my beads straight in general.Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:Its going to rain all weekend, so it is my goal to burn the whole 10 lbs this weekend, and maybe sneak in a little gas welding practice too. After a trip to the scrap yard for more coupons that is.Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:Are you right or left handed? Also are the pieces shown as welded, or did you accidentally reverse them?I ask because I notice a few things. First the beads as shown, starting on the right and going left ( shown by the small crater on the left side of the plate where you end) then to be flatter than those that are run left to right. I'll admit there are a few exceptions to this here and there. 2nd I notice a slight bit of more uniformity and a slightly slower travel speed though in the beads going left to right. It's not as pronounced as the bead height is though.The taller bead and more consistent profile along with the slightly slower travel speed makes me wonder if maybe these might have been done opposite of your "normal" way you'd weld. I can also see an argument in the opposite direction as well. I'm wondering if going "backwards" makes you  pay more attention to things like travel speed and arc length, thus the slightly taller beads since you are keeping the arc very close to the plate and moving slower than you might, or if it's the opposite going on, and the flatter more inconsistent welds are from going backwards and you can't manage to maintain as tight an arc as you did with the other beads, and the inconsistency is due to the awkward way you are welding.Just sort of tossing out ideas since I can't watch you weld.I see good and bad points to welds in both directions. Toes of the flatter welds are wetted in better. Consistency on some of the taller beads run to opposite way are much better. welds in pict one are probably the best on average, closely followed by some in pict 2. Pict 3 almost looks like many were run with 6010/11 vs 7018 and look quite harsh. These are probably the worst of the lot. Still not bad though. I'm wondering what you were doing different with the beads in pict 3 vs picts 1 and 2. I'd most likely suggest staying with what you are doing in the 1st two picts vs what I see in the last one..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Looks pretty good. I actually just picked up a can of esab atom arc 7018 today. I actually think I prefer the atom arcs over the Excalibur that we use at work.Ya gotta spend money to make money!
Reply:The pictures are as welded, but I was rotating from plate to plate...3 rods on each plate, then rotate to the next plate. I am left handed. I write left handed, I throw left handed, and I shoot left handed. I see your point about the right handed beads. Pic 3 is in fact 6011 rods I was throwing in to sort of break things up a bit.Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:Originally Posted by Louie1961 Pic 3 is in fact 6011 rods I was throwing in to sort of break things up a bit.
Reply:Looks good Louie.You got that 6011 figgered out. I propose we start a sticky thread and call it Stick like Stick !Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:They shouldn't be any harder to STRIKE than 7018AC, but they are really hard to RESTRIKE because of the flux covering the tip.  I stick a file near my work area (not grounded-yep I've done that) and drag the rod tip against it before restrike to take the flux off the tip.  A brick or cement paver works too. Did you run them side to side with the AC rods and see the huge difference in puddle distinction?Your beads look great Lou.
Reply:Thanks everyone.My problem with the 6011's is that after doing the 7018's, I have to get my mind wrapped areound the fact that a) these are not drag rods and I have to run a little more arc gap, and b) I have to put some motion into the rod movement. With the 7018s, I am lightly dragging the flux on the plate and just dragging straight back slow enough to watch the puddle fill out. With the 6011's I am constantly fighting the urge to drag the flux and or not bury the arc. As far as striking the excalibur rods, they were definitely harder to start on a fresh rod, and when I did get an arc struck, it seemed to have a louder, more aggressive arc that was throwing me off a bit. So I would get an arc, but not keep it burning, and have to restrike it. And yeah, restrikes are a bitch, but I didn't have too many of them. I knew about the brick trick, and was doing that on the restrikes.As far as puddle distinction, yeah, the difference is huge. And getting the slag off was a big difference to the 7018 AC rods as well. I actually had a couple where it would peel off on its own.Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:Originally Posted by Louie1961@DSW: yeah, one left handed, one right handed, rinse and repeat.    I really didn't have too much trouble swapping sides. Just a little trouble keeping my beads straight in general.
Reply:CEP I agree that doing something like switching sides is a great idea. However I'd recommend that most guys wait until they have the basics down well, usually after learning to read the puddle. That way they maintain as simple and consistent bead as possible.I often suggest guys who have odd projects get "real world" practice in before starting. If you need to weld under the car, tack your practice piece to the bottom of your bench at about the same height and lay under it and try to weld. Doing beads in the booth is not like welding something while crammed in a corner upside down or hanging off a ladder. If your skills have progressed to the advanced beginner or intermediate level building your weld cart or table in position is good practice for the real world. It's easy to build something when it's up on a bench and easy to get to and do all the welds in the flat position. It's a lot more of a challenge when it's sitting on the floor and you have to lay down and try to reach under to weld that bottom shelf on in the overhead position. Even more of a challenge when you already welded in that shelf frame and then remember you forgot to weld the overhead spots at the top so now you have to try and lay across the open shelf frame to do so.Lou. You can hold a slightly longer arc length with 7018 rods as well if you wanted. However you need to turn down the machine a bit to compensate for the extra heat. I like to have newer guys drag the rod though because it eliminates arc length from the equation and keeps things simple. Carrying an arc is what I consider an "advanced" technique. I have students work on this after they have mastered the basics. By holding a slight arc length it allows you to cool the puddle when you need to simply by burying the rod. This is nice when doing things like welding up something with poor fit up and the gap gets a bit large. By pushing the rod in you cool the puddle some and it helps fill the gap. The opposite is also true. Pull back on the rod and increase your arc length slightly and it acts like you turned the machine up some and helps burn in tight spots better..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by CEPThat's a very good idea to practice! Once you get out in the field you never know how you'll have to weld something. My second or third job out of welding school I had to stand on the handrail lean way out and make some over head welds. No problem on one side, held on with my left hand, and made the weld with my right. Rut row now I had to do the other side! How the he!! am I going to hold on with my left hand and make the weld with my right hand? Got a lesson in field welding that day! Some things are just to big to roll around to make life easy on you.
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWCEP I agree that doing something like switching sides is a great idea.
Reply:Originally Posted by BurpeeLooks good Louie.You got that 6011 figgered out. I propose we start a sticky thread and call it Stick like Stick !
Reply:Stick is dead
Reply:Originally Posted by killdozerd11Stick is dead Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2
Reply:Originally Posted by CEPThat's a very good idea to practice! Once you get out in the field you never know how you'll have to weld something. My second or third job out of welding school I had to stand on the handrail lean way out and make some over head welds. No problem on one side, held on with my left hand, and made the weld with my right. Rut row now I had to do the other side! How the he!! am I going to hold on with my left hand and make the weld with my right hand? Got a lesson in field welding that day! Some things are just to big to roll around to make life easy on you.