A little advice please...

admin

Hey yall...Well, once again, i went out and attempted to get some decent looking beads...I was trying to get the most consistency i possibly could through everything that i tried, and believe it or not, these are way more consistent then the last beads i ran...Some 6013:My second attempt at the 6011 roll of dimes thing... I tried going straight back a little ways, then forward about half that distance. Im still not sure at that angle i should have the electrode pointing at when im doing this. I also attempted the "J" style here and there. I got on this forum when i was done and heard about an "e" style as well... Is that worth trying??And then i tried some flux core. All the random stops and starts are from my gun being a piece of junk. I can keep it going for a while if i only wear a glove on one hand, and squeeze the crap out of the trigger with the other, until my hand starts to hurt and i have to go do something else. I have to find a new gun for my weld pak 100, i think.Im trying my best to get better at this, and im open to anything you guys ahve to say. I also caught my first anything on fire today, i looked down and saw some burning paper. It was a receipt for the gloves i was wearing... lol...
Reply:To run 6013 just turn on more heat and lay it on the metal and let it hold its own arc. On 6011 forget the stack of dimes look it wont look purty. The dimes thing is for show when you get good I guess. A smooth purty bead is always best. Harold
Reply:smooth and pretty beads show how professional you are, but u should always be mainly concerned with quality first
Reply:I'm by no means the best welder, but here's a few pics of some beads I ran this afternoon to help Lanse get an idea of what he is looking for. When I'm running 6011, I use small circles and my rod angle is tilted toward the puddle 5 to10 degrees. The material was 1/4" because this machine burns hot.The welder I'm using ia an airco 500 amp A/C machine. I burned some 6011-1/8 and 7018-1/8.I had the machine set a the lowest setting (105 amps) for the 6011 and 135 amps for the 7018. The second picture is 6011 before the slag was buffed off. I don't have any flux core only solid wire and didn't have time to run any. Hope this helps. Attached Images
Reply:Those things are great!!! That's what id like mine to look like... looks pertty professional to me!!Thanks man :-)How do you get your welds so clean?? What about all the splatter??
Reply:I use a wire wheel to buff the welds. If you look at the second picture, it has the slag still on it and very little splatter. I took my grinder and removed the mill scale and rust before welding, and makes welding and clean up easy. Also a properly set machine, travel speed, rod angle, steady hand, and clean lens in your hood.It takes alot of time under the hood so keep practicing.
Reply:Hey Lance, I wouldn't worry so much about rod movement as much as your travel speed. When you do a root pass or your first pass you realy don't have to move or weave at all. Your stick welds look like your moving a little too fast. It 's hard to run a straight bead in the middle of a piece of steel, Try welding two pieces together with a little gap in between so you can follow the line or put another piece just off to the side that you can use as a guide to keep your beads straight. If your rod sticks alot your probably to cold. smooth and steady. Keep practicing and good luck.Last edited by ironwerker; 08-08-2010 at 01:02 AM.Reason: add
Reply:Spatter has many causes, but when everything is contributing to a good even bead, the spatter just doesn't show up as much. I agree with the advice you got from cajun welder and ironwerker, do that!  I use a basic starting point when learning new rods that I am unfamiliar with, keep the rod at an absolute 90 degrees and drag it with no manipulation at all, except for travel speed, just to see what will happen. For now though, just make straight lines. You must train your muscle memory, which only happens with 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:Okay guys... So... I went back out tonight, and cut up some old angle iron i had.And since i remember hearing somewheres that the gap between the pieces should be the same as the diameter of the rod youre using, thats what i tried to go by...And then i started welding. This is a combination of 6011 and 7014. I clamped one end of the angle iron in my vise, and welded the exposed part. This left the part in the vise to move around, leaving the gap in sort of a "V" shape. But, i did the best i could.I kinda learned that that the 7014 needs a smaller gap then then the 6011, unless i was going too slow or something. All of this was done with 1/8 rods, and i set the 7014 to 115? amps, and the 6011 to about 90. As always, howd i do, and how can i get better?? Thanks everyone
Reply:Try using a dime for the gap. If you're using 1/8th rod that is a good gap width for penetration.Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.                                         -Cree Indian ProverbSA 200 LincolnVictor Torches
Reply:Shoot man, that's a great idea..I thought it looked a little big, but what do I know?? Lol...Thand man... ill try that :-)
Reply:Watch the puddle it will tell you all you need to know. With an open root create a dime thick wall on the edges and bounce the rod on the TOP of the walls. Listen for a steady suction noise and watch the puddle. It will tell you everything you need to do. Also before you start your pass, tack BOTH ends and it will prevent it "V'ing" on you.25 years of age.Been welding since Feb 23rd 2009.LU1007 Millwright (A1)