Trouble with 3G certification

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So, I'm very new to welding.  I just started at the local community college when I was let go from the prison I was working at. Anywho . . . I'm in welding class and we've moved onto 3G certifications so everyone can have time to certify before the semester is over.  I'm in my booth, I tack the groove to a swing arm attached to my table.  I start welding with my 7018 and everything's looking good, stopping midway to change rods.  Here's where the problem comes in, when I get to about 1/3 left of my groove, my arc goes to absolute $#@! I've done this several times and I keep having the same problem.  I don't know if I'm jumping past my puddle and the arc is blowing back towards it or what, but it seems like I can't do anything to correct it. I tell my teacher that I could pass the bend test right now . . . if he only took the bottom coupon out of my test.Any solutions?Thanks!
Reply:Running 7018 uphill can be troublesome.  I had a similar issue once and the culprit turned out to be my rod angle.  When I started the weld all was great but as I got to the top of the groove my rod angle was increasing quite a bit.  I was letting the rod go up and my hand was not going up with it to maintain the 10-15 degree of drag angle. I was letting the arc outrun my hand.  Hopes that makes sense.StephenMillermatic 251Miller Syncrowave 200Miller 30A SpoolgunHypertherm Powermax 30Etc., etc., etc.............Cancer Sucks!
Reply:Is your test plate so wide that one rod will not run one entire pass without changing to a new rod? The fewer stops and starts, the better. Where does the swing arm attach to the test plate, at the top, at the bottom, or in the middle? Is it attached in the center, on the left, or on the right? Is there a backing strip, or is it open root? The electrical path can affect the arc.Can you elaborate the on the phrase, "...when I get to about 1/3 left of my groove, my arc goes to absolute $#@!".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:Arc blow?7018 runs much better up, than down.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720
Reply:Originally Posted by drmmrzwhen I get to about 1/3 left of my groove, my arc goes to absolute $#@!
Reply:Its arc blow, one of the most common problems with welding small test pieces like that.  Try moving your ground clamp to the top of the plate and weld towards it, or wrap the ground cables around the swing arm.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:I'm running a 3G vertical up groove weld with a backing strip on 3/8" plate with a 1/4" backing strip.  The plate is welded underneath the center section of the swing arm.  Our instructor says he doesn't want tie-ins where our coupons are coming from thats why we change rods in the middle of the run.  I believe the rod angle may be the problem.  I think when I'm lifting my arms to progress up that I'm letting my hands do the natural thing and lift up right along with them.  I'm gonna try to make sure my rod angle is exact when I go back Monday.  Thanks guys!  If you think of anything else, let me know.  Always glad to have extra advice.This is welding class? I thought it was Sticking Rods 101 . . .
Reply:Rod angle is your issue, I'm willing to bet. Move your test plate to a spot where you finish in a comfortable position, not the reverse.
Reply:thanks guys.  I'm gonna try to fix my rod angle monday when i go back to class and i'll let you guys know how well it turns out.This is welding class? I thought it was Sticking Rods 101 . . .
Reply:Originally Posted by sn0border88Its arc blow, one of the most common problems with welding small test pieces like that.  Try moving your ground clamp to the top of the plate and weld towards it, or wrap the ground cables around the swing arm.
Reply:Metal gets hot and heat rises.Out of position means you must watch your rod angle more.And here is a point I must disagree with your instructor.  Starts and stops must also be good and if a coupon just happens to come out at that point then 'thats just the way it is'.  You need to learn how to make those starts and stops good too, even if he isn't pushing that fact.  In real life it does matter. lol  If you do become a welder you will find that out sooner or later I think. Good luck man
Reply:i agree with Slowhand you need to be a 100 % all the time and strive to be that way and as long as every time you lay down a bead and think how can i make the next one better you will do ok.that will make you a better welder when doing x ray joints or  the like .they dont want to hear it and a good welder wont have to.there is good money for good welders out there.After the arc has died the weld remains
Reply:Funny that this thread should pop up because I was in a similar situation on friday.  Doing a vertical up lap weld w/ 5p+.  Both myself and the guy that shares my booth were having the same issue, the arc started blowing out the bottom or side.  It always happened on that last 1/3 of the coupon.To the guys who offered advice- thank you, I will take all of that into consideration next time we do stick.  Also, our instructor has us do a restart at least every other bead, if not every.  I think this has helped me tremendously.  I failed weld after weld on MIG when we were breaking them, always had a tiny void right after the restart w/ no pen.  The instr. told me to start at the trailing edge of the "oval" instead of the leading edge as I was doing.  Passed it the first time after that.
Reply:Arc blow.  Your plate is becoming magnetized. Getting hot. Common problem when you are learning and even worse on 1'' test plate.  Heat rises so it all goes to the top of the plate.  Let it cool down for a minute or 2 ping it with the hammer..
Reply:sorry if i came off too hard the other day it wasn't criticism it was advive but i failed to address what you were asking.one thing you can do too is see if the instructor has a gouse meter and check the plate when the problem starts to arise this will tell you if it is magnetism that is causing the problem.and like others said wait a couple minutes between passes and let the plate cool down a bit.When i take a plate test 3 position...i run a bead or two on each plate and and go back to the first plate.and like said by others try moving the ground clamp around to see if it helps.After the arc has died the weld remains
Reply:I made a point today of making sure my rod angle was correct and I could tell I hadn't been keeping it uniform the whole way through because I could feel the difference in my arms.  This fixed it a little but didn't completely do away with the problem.  I think when I go in tomorrow I'm going to move the ground so I'm welding towards it and see if that'll take some more of the blow out.@Boilermaker237 . . . It was great advice actually.  I understand what you mean, one day when I'm in the field I'm going to be tying in rods every time one runs out so I should be used to it.  I think my instructor is just trying to take out any problems that we can while trying to certify.  I'll be completely honest, my tie ins ain't pretty!! lol.  It's one of the things I've been trying to work on after running my practice tests.  I take all the piece of rods I have left and do another test piece.  Unfortunately, with my tie ins being ugly, I end up with quite a few humps.  BTW, advice is always better than being in the dark.  I may come to you later on advice about being a boilermaker!This is welding class? I thought it was Sticking Rods 101 . . .
Reply:So, update on my complications, haha.I have recently passed my 3G certification for school. Passed this visual twice and had porosity in the cap.  Come to realize I was focusing so much on my puddle, undercut, unfill,etc. that I wasn't paying ENOUGH attention to arc length and was letting it get away from me. When I took the time and focused on everything that needed to be focused on, I passed my test on the very next shot.  Guys, thanks for all the input. Sorry it took so long to get back to everyone but things got rather hectic with work and school and life. Going to start mig and tig next semester and go on to the second semester of stick.  Here's hoping everything goes as well next semester as it did this one.Oh yeah, Merry Christmas to everyone!This is welding class? I thought it was Sticking Rods 101 . . .