Making pretty bead's

admin

Ive been weldin for about a year an a half on an off. I used to run pretty nice beads with a stick welder an now there not lookin so good. Whats the deal? Im in a weldin class right now an we are doin t-joints. I started off by tackin each side then i got started on it, i ran 2 nice beads an then after that everything screwed up, my beads looked horrible after that? The rods we are using right now are 6010 an 7018. Iv tried all different ways of welding such as makin C's an little circle's etc.. Need some help asap cause im bout to get a welders helper job an when he wants me to run a few beads i wana make them look pretty  Thanx ChadGIT R DONE!!!!
Reply:You are using  different electrodes, they operate differently. 6010 is a whip and pause rod and for T's 7018 should be stringers with almost no movement. For the same size 18 will need more heat, maybe 120A or so and around 90 on the 10 for 1/8th Your instructor should be able to help with this. DC+ for both of them.www.urkafarms.com
Reply:I run alot of different rods throughout the week and find myself screwing up on 7018 and hard facing rods the most often because I'm trying to move em' around like the 601x's..Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.
Reply:try using 1/8 6010 for the first pass then go to 3/32 7018.set machine at 85 amps for fillet welds[t-joints.].i dont know how many passes you have to make ,but after your first [6010]then make 2 passes with 7018.then let the weld cool down some.if you just keep going with out letting it cool some you will just have a mess of melted metal.1/8 -6010 and 3/32 -7018 run on the same amps.these two rods work great together.6010 gets great penatration and 7018 is a smooth rod and is a strong rod.  good luck
Reply:I found myself doing the same thing. I went to school and work and was doing fine then lost a welding job cause the owner was crazzy and I was doing TIG in school only and when I tried to do 5G and 6G on pipe after not doing stick for a while I was doing great on my root and hot pass but when it came to my filler and mainly my cap, a blind man with one arm could have done a better job. What I found is that when you don't do it for a while it might take some time to get it back. Don't be in such a hurry to get done, and always clean your work between welds. Use a grinder with a good wire wheel. Good luck...