Welding cracks

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I am stick welding 1/8 inch thick tubular steel using E6011 at 60 amps. I have alot of cracks in some T welds I am doing. I can sometimes even see the cracks form as the weld cools. Even re-welding the joint produces cracks. I am doing this in my garage where it is about 35 degrees now and I;m wondering what could be causing this. I clean grind the metal when I first weld and use the slag removal hammer and wire brush before the re-weld. It almost seems like the metal is shrinking as it cools and this is causing the cracks. Am I doing something basically wrong or is welding in the cold a bad idea?
Reply:i'm not normally a stick guy, but i would expect you are not getting a large enough portion of the parent material hot enough. peening might also help.Dynasty 200DXPassport plus w/ spoolmate 100victor 315c oxy/(act and prop)Miller digital elitemilwaukee power tools
Reply:The air temp shouldn't have anything to do with it. It's the temp of the metal that matters. Try preheating the base metal.Ian TannerKawasaki KX450 and many other fine tools
Reply:Have you tryed different settings I assume you are using a 3/32 rod?Vantage 300 kubota ,miller 304 xmt ,lincoln ln 25 pro , ranger 305 G, plenty of other tools of the trade to make the sparks fly.
Reply:60 amps seems cold to me i would be running a bit hotter.Then before the next pass i would clean the weld down with a grinder to it was all good metal then put the next pass on with 70 wire at about 80-90aAfter the arc has died the weld remains
Reply:I am using 3/32 rod. What is 70 wire? I'll try running higher current. but I thought the rule of thumb was the lower the current the better. I also grind down the weld  before re-welding but the cracks are pretty deep and flaky. I would have to remove most of the weld to get the crack down to good metal.
Reply:-Exactly what type of tubular steel are you welding?  (you may not be welding what you think you are)-Is the metal you are welding galvanized?-Are the rods wet or old / damaged or anything like that?If you have a camera post a picture and that may help us figure out your problem.And don't worry about welding in the cold. I've done it in -50C (-58F) (not an enjoyable experience) but they hold, just needs some preheat.Last edited by feetfats; 11-27-2010 at 11:52 PM.
Reply:70 wire is a 7010 or a 7018  or a 7024. In your case I would say a 7018 would work pretty well and give a nice result.Vantage 300 kubota ,miller 304 xmt ,lincoln ln 25 pro , ranger 305 G, plenty of other tools of the trade to make the sparks fly.
Reply:First thing that comes to mind is base metal temp, I get occasional porosity with 7018, 1st thing in cold mornings. Never had cracking though.As mentioned above, Alloy Metals, or Stainless will crack with the wrong Rod.Old Rods or Damp Rods sure wont burn right, but I dont know about causing cracks..Try a different rod, 7018 or Brand new 6011...Lincoln Power MIG 210 MP ( boat anchor )Lincoln Weld-Pac 100 HDHobart IronMan 230Cutmaster 42Jackson NexGenSumner Ultra ClampsDWM120
Reply:I'm welding mild steel - not galvanized - with rods I just bought last week. I'll work on getting a picture tomorrow when I get back at it.
Reply:Originally Posted by jimrockirelandI'm welding mild steel - not galvanized - with rods I just bought last week. I'll work on getting a picture tomorrow when I get back at it.
Reply:Thanks for the help. The video is really cool. I am using a Lincoln 225 AC only. I tried upping the current to 75 amps and it did help a bit. I'm wondering if the lower temperature affected my welder and perhaps it was not putting out the same current it was putting out when the temperature was around 60 degrees.  I'm building ba driveway gate so structurally it is not that critical. In fact even a few bad welds is acceptable since if something breaks I can just re-weld it.
Reply:See also http://content.lincolnelectric.com/p...ture/wc515.pdf  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:I think I may have found my problem. When welding previously I had the gate laid flat on some sawhorses and 2 X 6's. To weld the pickets I stood the gate up against my metal garage door. I'm wondering if doing this may have set up eddy cuurents, fields and/or current fluctuations while welding. I've since returned to putting the gate horizontally on the 2 X 6's and my welds seem to be much better. Anyone else have this experience?
Reply:Not likely, Your using an AC machine, DC is only prone to arc-blow under cicumstances found in a booth at a school...lolIts likely your fault. 6010/11 like to run hot, it helps them burn right.Crank it up, move quicker, its a fast fill rod, if used properly, you can seal the end of a 2" pipe with nothing more than patience, and rod on hand....Lincoln Power MIG 210 MP ( boat anchor )Lincoln Weld-Pac 100 HDHobart IronMan 230Cutmaster 42Jackson NexGenSumner Ultra ClampsDWM120
Reply:I think mad max is right about this. It sounds like you are just doing something funny while welding and probably too cold. Keep the temp as high as you can handle and use that stepping/whipping technique in the video. (some guys use little circles/ovals instead of a whip/step. And some do a move/pause/move/pause...) You just get that rod slightly out of or towards the edge of the puddle a bit so that it can cool enough to freeze and then you go back again to throw another stack on top. Do not use this technique with 7018(under normal circumstances)75amps sounds reasonable but grab some scrap pieces and crank it up 2 amps at a time until it's rowdy and then back it off until it flows nice.(having someone run the control knob while you tell them up or down can be helpful as long as they don't make to aggressive of adjustments) Keep your arc length nice and tight.6010/6011 likes to spray sparks like crazy but when it's spitting big gobs at you it's a good sign that your too hot. Black sot running on the sides of the weld is another sign of too high of amperage.If you get 7018 you should find it welds much easier. keep in mind if you do use 7018 it needs to be set a lot hotter then 6010/6011. (eg 1/8-6010 burns nice at about the same amperage as 3/32-7018 does). 3/32- 7018 burns sweet around 90 amps. I don't know if ac is the same for this or not as I have always used dc.How far from the metal is your rod when welding?(It all depends but try to keep the rod say about 1/8" off the puddle at max but don't bury it into the puddle either.The temperature fluctuations in your working environment that you are experiencing will make such a tiny difference on your welding that you would have to be a real pro to notice the difference. Especially on the thin metal your using. You will notice a difference when you preheat a big hunk of metal to 400 degress F before welding and it will require about 5-10 amps less than normal but I think thats a bit out of your scope of work.Good luck. Don't be cheap when it comes to buying rods. And burn lot's of it on scrap iron. If you run out of scraps go down to any welding shop and tell them you want scraps to practice on and they will probably fill your truck unless they are D$%^ heads.Oh and keep your welding lens clean so you can see your puddle.Last edited by feetfats; 11-29-2010 at 09:11 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by MadMax31Not likely, Your using an AC machine, DC is only prone to arc-blow under cicumstances found in a booth at a school...lol
Reply:6010/11 not fast fill.how restrained is the joint?,traveling too fast maybeelincoln weld pak 100 hdlincoln ranger 225gxt ac/dcoxy/acetylenepuroxcw202 victor fc100harris model 85harrismodel 16oxweld w24roxweld w17
Reply:Originally Posted by ranger2256010/11 not fast fill.how restrained is the joint?,traveling too fast maybee
Reply:Ambient temperature is suspicious, bring it up above 75 degrees at least, this will dry it off nicely as well.  I would try between 75 and 90 amps to start using an 1/8" 6011 rod. Then just practice.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Ok, I'll go out on a limb hereSounds like a speed issue, and not reading the puddle.Moving fast, and not assuring yourself that you left enough filler in the weld, will give these results.  Slow down, and pile some metal in the joint."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:could the pipe be cast ? could you be using 6013 instead of 6011? i would suggest getting some 1/8 6011 rods turn the machine up to 100 drag the rod a little  as you weld over one of the cracked places .if this does not weld it i would clean the metal good and use 7018.
Reply:Here is a poicture of a typical crack Attached Images
Reply:Kinda hard to see from the pic but it looks like bad penetration.Vantage 300 kubota ,miller 304 xmt ,lincoln ln 25 pro , ranger 305 G, plenty of other tools of the trade to make the sparks fly.
Reply:6010/11 are fast freeze electrodes not fast fill. Fast fill would be like 7014/7024. 6013 is a fill freeze electrode and 7018 is Low Hydrogen. --Gol'scratch what i said earlier turn heat up go slower and practice .
Reply:Originally Posted by jimrockirelandHere is a poicture of a typical crack
Reply:Thanks to all who weighed in on this. I am doing alot better using some of he techniques suggested. Depositing less metal seems to help. Maybe because there is less shrinkage as the weld cools - not to mention fewer rods used and less metal to grind off when a crack does show up. I have not yet tried the 7018 but I bought some today and will give it a try tomorrow. Thanks again.
Reply:I'm re-posting this because I must have screwed up my last reply. I want to thank all those who weighed in on this. I've taken the suggestions and tried them and am doing better. One thing that seemed to help was depositing less metal. Maybe this reduced some of the stresses when the weld cooled - not to mention fewer rods used and less metal to grind off when a crack does appear. I have not yet tried the 7018 but I bought some today and will give it a try tomorrow. Thanks again.