lets talk about arc blow..

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i am practicing welding vertical fillet welds .. using a miller syncrowave (DCEN stick) , on 1/2" plate , 6010 rod .. i do fine up until the top part of the weld (going uphill) . That is when my arc starts 'wandering' violently side to side, blowing all over the place, causing excessive spatter  and making the weld pool very difficult to control. I cant seem to figure out how to prevent this. Can you guys lend me any advice that I can use to reduce the arc blow ?
Reply:wow.. what's excessive spatter like with a 6010?..  wrap your ground wire around your work a couple times...Last edited by ibanezed4yrs; 03-12-2010 at 04:13 PM.if you're not livin on the edge, you're takin up too much room..
Reply:arc blow is magnetic interference with arc direction, for some reason the work and the arc become the same polarity and repel each other. i don't understand why it happens .try moving your return lead clamp to the other end or side of the job.
Reply:Originally Posted by ibanezed4yrswow.. what's excessive spatter like with a 6010?..  wrap your ground wire around you work a couple times...
Reply:also, try turning down a bit..if you're not livin on the edge, you're takin up too much room..
Reply:Try creating some type of run off tabs.
Reply:Change the location of the grounding clamp.Change joint geometry, by adding run off tabs and the likescan't think of what else.I've only had arc blow happen a couple of times it's caused when the magnetic flux leaks out of the base metal and interferes with the arc.  usually it's not severe enough to cause massive spatter or some other issue.  That almost doesn't sound like arc blow? sure it's not something else?  Sounds more like a bad ground or overheating of the circuit.moving the grounding clamp is the first thing in trying to deal with arc blow.
Reply:I don't know the first thing about stick welding, but I get news letters from both Lincoln & Miller. Here is an article from one that may help you out.http://lincolnelectric.com/knowledge...nt/arcblow.asp"SOUTHPAW" A wise person learns from another persons mistakes;A smart person learns from their own mistakes;But, a stupid person.............never learns.
Reply:All DC welding creates a buildup of magnetic flux within the part, if the lines of flux become to compresses and are not able to excape fast enough they leak out at any interface and usually cause arc blow just like your decribing.The ONLY way to 100% get rid of arc blow is to switch to AC current, but usually  that is not an option. (No 6010 on AC)  Like mentioned, you can try repositioning your ground clamp (weld away from the ground), wrapping the ground lead around your part, or adding runoff tabs.If you decide to add tabs, make sure to put solid welds on them.  To many people try this but only tack the pieces on and dont see any results.  The flux lines travel much easier in metal than air, so if you want the flux to travel into the runoff tabs (that is the desired effect) you need to make sure it has a path the follow.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:Why are you running 6010 DCEN on 1/2" plate?  Although 6010 is good for both EN and EP, EP is generally more appropriate for 1/2" plate.  I suspect since it is happening right at the top (the end of the weld), your problem isn't arc blow, but more likely simply overheating the rod and deteriorating the flux.I've dealt with arc blow before, but never practicing on little pieces of metal, usually only on large things with many welds, allowing the magnetism to build up.
Reply:Sounds like arc blow I've experienced. Repositioning the ground should do the trick.
Reply:AJM.....this is arc blow, and the remedy if all else failsPic One, and Two...........arc blow 7018 DCEP Pic Three,and Four, ............same type of joint, or the same joint after bad weld ground out.  But the  results after switching to 7018 AC rod when all else failed.I think Joe is right.Arc blow generally occurs, at least in my experience, when pieces of metal come together at odd angles.  Welding a flat piece of plate shouldn't generate arc blow.  I've heard weird things about magnetized pipe, but I've never personally experienced it.And like I say, if all else fails, switch to an AC rod.  AC 7018 is made to stabilize the arc outages which occur with AC current.  While operating on AC, the current changes 60 times per second (60hz)Post pics of your stuff so people can see the problems.  It helps Attached Images"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:I don't know if this will help you much but it helps me. Every 6 months i have to update on my welding. I use 7018 rods.The plates i use are 1/2"x 4" x 9"  made to form t-fillet (3F). I usually always encounter arc blow in veritcal at the end . But never encounter it when i have to do horizontal, overhead and pipe or when i have the welder set up for fcaw in vertical.  I have found what helps is wrapping the ground around my jig and clamping  the ground at the top of the fillet.If that doesnt do it, fight through it by turning your rod to follow the arc or taking your arc up out of the puddle and then bring it back to the puddle.
Reply:Originally Posted by jsfabWhy are you running 6010 DCEN on 1/2" plate?  Although 6010 is good for both EN and EP, EP is generally more appropriate for 1/2" plate.  I suspect since it is happening right at the top (the end of the weld), your problem isn't arc blow, but more likely simply overheating the rod and deteriorating the flux.I've dealt with arc blow before, but never practicing on little pieces of metal, usually only on large things with many welds, allowing the magnetism to build up.
Reply:Try dcep.http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...0|&locale=1033Last edited by tanglediver; 03-13-2010 at 01:26 AM.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:Originally Posted by farmersammArc blow generally occurs, at least in my experience, when pieces of metal come together at odd angles.  Welding a flat piece of plate shouldn't generate arc blow.  I've heard weird things about magnetized pipe, but I've never personally experienced it.And like I say, if all else fails, switch to an AC rod.  AC 7018 is made to stabilize the arc outages which occur with AC current.  While operating on AC, the current changes 60 times per second (60hz):
Reply:Yeah it happens on flat plate too. I run into it most offten on rolled sheetmetal cylinders. For whatever reason one end of the cylinder will be magnatized as hell near one end. I've never had an success getting rid of it. Is there a way I could hook up my tig and zap it with ac current then go back and weld it with mig? Moving the the ground doesnt always work.
Reply:If you've ever studied basic electricity and the 'Right hand rule', you should have the beginnings of an understanding about arc blow. One 'trick' which sometimes helps is to have some short but heavy leads with clamps on both ends, (like short battery jumper cables) running from where the work clamp is positioned, to an end tab and/or to each side of the plate near the end.  This allows the current to flow through different paths, hopefully setting up different competing magnetic fields.
Reply:Originally Posted by MetarinkaChange the location of the grounding clamp.Change joint geometry, by adding run off tabs and the likescan't think of what else.I've only had arc blow happen a couple of times it's caused when the magnetic flux leaks out of the base metal and interferes with the arc.  usually it's not severe enough to cause massive spatter or some other issue.  That almost doesn't sound like arc blow? sure it's not something else?  Sounds more like a bad ground or overheating of the circuit.moving the grounding clamp is the first thing in trying to deal with arc blow.
Reply:farmersam-- thanks for your post.. my spatter isnt as bad as those pictures. Well at least it doesnt have large gobs like those pics.. it just seems to spatter so much that the weld pools is not stable and is very difficult to control the pool. I unfortunately dont have any pictures i will be working with AC rod only soon beacuse all i have now is a lincoln tombstone AC only and a bunch of 7018