Overhead stick

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Hey guys,Any tips on overhead stick welding ?  I ran my overhead cwb yesterday.  I think my root passes went in a little cold (I knew I should have ran hotter).  The inspector looked at my root passes and thought they were cold too.  He was a welder before he became an inspector so I trust his judgement.  He let me continue on with the test and told me to crank the heat up which I did.  I passed the visual,  The x ray will tell the tale on my first passes.I ran my first 2 passes at about 125 amps, on 3/8 plate one side square, and one side bevelled to a 30 degree ? ( not sure on the angle)  The plates have a 13mm 1/2 inch gap and backing bar.  I think I am going to have a lack of penetration on the square side.  I ran the first passes on my flat,  horizontal and vertical around that amperage and had no trouble.  Should I be running hotter for overhead ?Last edited by Newfie_1986; 05-21-2010 at 01:15 PM.
Reply:I did mine at 120 with no problems.
Reply:There is NO difference between overhead and flat---just an occasional piece of hit stuff falling on you6 Miller Big Blue 600 Air Paks2 Miller 400D6 Lincoln LN-25's4 Miller Xtreme 12VS2 Miller Dimension 812 4 Climax BW-3000Z bore welders Hypertherm 65 and 85Bug-O Track BugPair of Welpers
Reply:Originally Posted by Newfie_1986Hey guys,Any tips on overhead stick welding ?  I ran my overhead cwb yesterday.  I think my root passes went in a little cold (I knew I should have ran hotter).  The inspector looked at my root passes and thought they were cold too.  He was a welder before he became an inspector so I trust his judgement.  He let me continue on with the test and told me to crank the heat up which I did.  I passed the visual,  The x ray will tell the tale on my first passes.I ran my first 2 passes at about 125 amps, on 3/8 plate one side square, and one side bevelled to a 30 degree ? ( not sure on the angle)  The plates have a 13mm 1/2 inch gap and backing bar.  I think I am going to have a lack of penetration on the square side.  I ran the first passes on my flat,  horizontal and vertical around that amperage and had no trouble.  Should I be running hotter for overhead ?
Reply:On a cold plate that would be cold for me, i would run upwards of 130.  That being said i always run my 4G hotHave we all gone mad?
Reply:Yeah I knew when I looked at the crater I should have ran it hotter.  The crater didnt look burnt into the metal just looked like the weld was pasted on.  Oh well live and learn.  I will run it hot next time if I dont pass this time.  My bevel side looked ok.
Reply:Was doing some overhead fillets the other day, and the hotter I ran, the better the welds.  Arc force goes a long way in "sticking" the metal.I'll never be really good at it, but I did notice the difference.  Much nicer wetted in bead."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Here's the pics..........don't laughFirst weld around 110 amps or soSecond weld, RIGHT SIDE of pic somewhere on the way to 130amps.  Flatter bead, better wetting.  I had some issues with undercut, but that'll work itself out.  (I hope)Hotter seems to be better when working overhead.If I ever nail it, there's gonna be a big party Attached Images"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Sam, those welds look wonderful - the undercut though. that can be patched up with a little jb weld
Reply:I've had similar undercut and fixed it by adjusting my travel angle.  You should be able to easily run your beads at 110 at least from my experience so far in school, I ran 110 on one inch plate and worked a weave on each bead and had a work angle of 15 degree's  to push heat forward.
Reply:Originally Posted by Big65moparI've had similar undercut and fixed it by adjusting my travel angle.  You should be able to easily run your beads at 110 at least from my experience so far in school, I ran 110 on one inch plate and worked a weave on each bead and had a work angle of 15 degree's  to push heat forward.