Questions about stick welding in different positions.

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Hey guys, i'm kinda new to welding. I have about 120 hours of booth time at the moment shared between MIG, flux-core, and stick welding. Anyways in regards to stick welding in different positions. I have a few questions.1.) When welding say a T-joint in the vertical position (primarily with a 7018 on DC) do you guys have any recommended amperage settings and or motions? A welder said making a "u" all the way up is how to do it. or just any tips in general.2.) when welding square tubing to to plate Vertically. so that it involves two vertical welds a flat and an overhead. kinda just a how the heck do i do it? haha should i adjust my amperage for each weld? how should i go about tying in the corners so i don't stop on a corner?3.) any recommended amperage settings for overhead welds with 7018? i've found a few that work but i feel like the welds were too coldany help would be much appreciated.
Reply:Biggest issue I've seen with people trying to learn vertical is that they haven't yet learned how to "read" and "see" the puddle. They get by doing horizontal and flat running what I refer to as "timing" patterns. This won't work for vertical.There are all sorts of movements you can use to do vertical. V's, upside down V's, U's both up and down, Z's and so on. The key to all of them is that you pause on the sides long enough to fill and quickly cross the center. Remember you will cross the center two times, once going from left to right, and once come back to your start point. That means if you run a standard "timing" pattern like many try to do, you spend 2x as long in the center as you do on the sides and have a humped weld. If you read the puddle and adjust your motions based on what you see, then you end up spending as much time in the center as you do on the sides. ( you go across the center 2x as fast as most new guys normally would) At this point motions don't really matter, because you are constantly making adjustments based on what you see, and a good welder can make any of those shapes work.I usually suggest students use a Z shape or a sideways U, where they run a short horizontal across left to right, pause until the puddle catches up to the arc, then move up 1/2 a rod diameter and move back across to the starting point and pause again until the arc catches up to the puddle, move up and start the whole thing all over again.... All of this is done very fast. I demonstrate this using a very exaggerated "weave" running horizontal about 2-3" on flat plate then pausing and moving up before going back across. Otherwise most students simply can't pick up the subtle changes that happen so fast when I'm welding. I tell the students to really concentrate on what happens every time I hit the end of the horizontal pass so they can pick up what I'm looking at and "seeing".The key with stick and FC is telling whats metal and what is slag when looking at the puddle. Most times guys get "scared" of the dripping slag and either turn down the amps or go to fast. As far as settings, again if you can read the puddle, this becomes somewhat of a non issue. A good welder adjusts as needed based on what he sees, speeding up if things are a bit hot or tightening up the arc, and slowing down or lengthening the arc if things are a bit cold. If anything I usually run the same amps as flat/horizontal or maybe just a bit hotter. I find too many guys are scared of the dripping slag and want to run cold when it's usually easier to run a bit hotter. Same goes with overhead. I usually find 125-135 works well with 1/8" 7018 on the machines I run. Note different brands of rods and different machines will all weld different...As far as the square, it's really no big deal if you can read the puddle. I'd tack the centers of all sides, then probably start at the middle of the bottom and run overhead and then turn into vertical and finish in flat to the center on small tube, then go do the 2nd side. On something bigger, I'd probably run the overhead 1st making sure to swing around the corners. Then do the flat at the top and then the 2 verticals again making sure to wrap all the corners..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