Welding student - advice on welds?

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I am not sure how I am doing and would love everyone's opinion?I am in my second term at Gwinnett Tech. I hadn't done welding or even taken a  shop class before.First term was just playing around with different welding types (stick vs MIG vs TIG and oxy-fuel cutting).  This term is all stick.  These are plates I did with 7018 (1/8" rod, I think), flat position. Both instructors just say "Good job, keep practicing" Any other advice? One Plate:Another Plate:
Reply:Hi Emberfox,Catchy screen name, by the way.  Welcome to the forum.I looked at your photos and generally speaking you're doing OK.  Specifically, in the first and 3rd photos I see some places where your overlaps on previous beads isn't quite right.  You need to think about depositing each successive bead with at least 1/2 to 2/3s overlap on the previous bead.  The pad should be flat across the surface, with no low spots or 'cornrows' apparent.If you space the beads too far apart, you end up with low spots between each pass, which can lead to stress concentrations; a fancy way to say that they weld could crack in that low spot under the right(wrong) conditions.In the last photo I see some porosity at the start of your weld.  This is a common occurrence, and could be due to a number of different things.  You need to think about stopping and grinding that stuff out when you're welding in the real world.  Getting into the habit of doing it while you practice will give you better work habits later on.  Make sure your rods are dry, as moisture can cause this type of porosity.  It could also be that starting right on the edge allowed some air to slip in under the cloud of shielding gas/smoke produced by the rod.  When you need to make a start or restart, try this.  Start your E7018 or other low-hydrogen rods a little bit ahead of where you want to begin depositing metal.  Quickly move to that starting point once you've established an arc, and then weld overtop of the location where you originally struck the arc.  This will tend to remelt any porosity and eliminate this problem.  Note the technique for cellulose rods, E6010 and the like, is not the same.  For those electrodes, you're usually better off starting on a previous bead and then welding into a new area of base metal.This will make more sense when your instructor takes you into the world of groove and fillet welds; and not just running stringer beads on flat plate.Good luck.Benson's Mobile Welding - Dayton, OH metro area - AWS Certified Welding Inspector
Reply:Originally Posted by A_DAB_will_doHi Emberfox,I looked at your photos and generally speaking you're doing OK.  Specifically, in the first and 3rd photos I see some places where your overlaps on previous beads isn't quite right.  You need to think about depositing each successive bead with at least 1/2 to 2/3s overlap on the previous bead.  The pad should be flat across the surface, with no low spots or 'cornrows' apparent.[.... ] When you need to make a start or restart, try this.  Start your E7018 or other low-hydrogen rods a little bit ahead of where you want to begin depositing metal.  Quickly move to that starting point once you've established an arc, and then weld over top of the location where you originally struck the arc.  This will tend to remelt any porosity and eliminate this problem.  .
Reply:do not underestimate the importance of  seeing the puddle, withiout doing so all hope is lost.. im fanatic about keeping coverplates clean, etc. autodark is not necessarily the answer to seeing well. my ad sits in the corner, i see much better with a $40 hood with  good lens and plates...