Getting back into stick (pics)

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Well I just got back into stick welding, but I was never very good at it to begin with. I did some practice today doing some beads on any piece of scrap I could find, then started sticking metal together. I did some 3-pass 1/2" fillets out of an old overload spring I had laying around the yard. Try not to make fun of my very hasty gasaxe cuts, I just cut them as fast as I could push the torch. I did notice I had alot of undercut on the vertical plate, but that may have been the angle I was holding the rod at. I burned about 3 hours and 7 pounds of 6011 and 7018 (non-ovened) today, and had a blast. Here's one side root pass (1/8 6011 135A)Second passAnd third passAnd here's the other side (didn't get pics of the passes)I know I need to work on aiming better, and I need to clean a bit better but that was done with a horseshoe brush and a chipping hammer. I didn't bevel the vertical piece but since it was a spring it had a rounded edge I had to fill on the root pass. Any words of wisdom?
Reply:seen alot worse, looks pretty good , keep up the practice and you'll have the slag peeling behind you again."Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum"Lincoln Idealarc 250 AC/DCMillermatic 251   Syncrowave 300   30A spoolgunLincoln MP210Hypertherm 45(2) LN 25(2) Lincoln Weldanpower 225 CV(4) SA200   1 short hood    SA250    SAM 400
Reply:I forgot to add that the 2nd and third pass are 7018 1/8" at the same current.
Reply:My only suggestion is that I would run the second pass low instead of high like you did and let the 3rd pass sit on top of it. Let the last weld act as a shelf to help support the next one. Why fight gravity if you don't have to?.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:Looking good.  Looks like it wont take that long to get back into.Did you find the 7018 easier to run than the 6011?Ive never tryed 6011 but ive heard that they usually dont produce a preatty bead.
Reply:Originally Posted by LarryOLooking good.  Looks like it wont take that long to get back into.Did you find the 7018 easier to run than the 6011?Ive never tryed 6011 but ive heard that they usually dont produce a preatty bead.
Reply:OP i would think that 135 A  is toomuch heat  for 1/8 6010, but the root pass looks nice.looks like thick steel..DSW i agree with you but someone i think farmersamm once posted from the lincoln book that shows the second pass on top...
Reply:Bottom up..... Attached ImagesMy name's not Jim....
Reply:when you did your 3 pass fillet , shouldn't it be root ,bottom , top?