6010 & 7018 Joints & Beads

[erikmannie]

I am practicing 6010 root, 7018 fill & cap stick welding (obviously) on a very large amount of 5/8” mild steel plate beveled at 30° with a 3/32” landing.

I am starting with the flat position. Here are some photos of the first plate coupon.

First part of the (always 3/32”) 6010 root at 68A/230V:



Finishing the root. You can see the restart. I had badly failed pen on the back side (not pictured):



Grind out the root with a stone wheel on a 4-1/2” angle grinder. Note the failed pen on the tack weld.





First (usually 1/8”) 7018 fill bead at 110A/230V:



Second 7018 stick electrode to finish the fill pass (note cruddy restart).



Shaky McShakerson hard at it:



(2 stringer fill passes not shown)

Cap weave which I know has multiple (all possible?) issues:



I will maintain this thread with the imminent improvements.

 

[benmychree]

That root pass looks good, I well know what a mess it can be! 7018 is much nicer to run, When I worked for Kaiser Steel I noted that the Lincoln "Kool Tong" was the standard, and if one set the rod in the end slot and the rod was bent to a convenient angle, the electrode holder could be held loosely in the hand with the lever resting on top of the hand for a low stress grip; I know some will castigate me for suggesting the rod being bent, I have done it myself and can appreciate the level of comfort it makes, remember these guys burnt rod all day long at least 5 days a week in all positions; I was told by one of them that balancing waste of a short piece of rod, was that since stub rods were discarded on the floor, a bent rod would not skate out underfoot and cause slip and fall accidents.

 

[erikmannie]

That root pass looks good, I well know what a mess it can be! 7018 is much nicer to run, When I worked for Kaiser Steel I noted that the Lincoln "Kool Tong" was the standard, and if one set the rod in the end slot and the rod was bent to a convenient angle, the electrode holder could be held loosely in the hand with the lever resting on top of the hand for a low stress grip; I know some will castigate me for suggesting the rod being bent, I have done it myself and can appreciate the level of comfort it makes, remember these guys burnt rod all day long at least 5 days a week in all positions; I was told by one of them that balancing waste of a short piece of rod, was that since stub rods were discarded on the floor, a bent rod would not skate out underfoot and cause slip and fall accidents.

I have no objection to bending a stick electrode, but I have never tried it. I will definitely try it.

You are very insightful to identify that I have a death grip on the electrode holder.

 

[erikmannie]

And welding outside was great! I did not need the auxiliary light, & I didn’t think about the air quality issue until afterwards when I was cleaning up.

Weld outside for the win!

 

[markba633csi]

Two biggest things I had trouble with were pulling away too far from the work and moving too fast
I've gotten better
-M

 

[erikmannie]

Two biggest things I had trouble with were pulling away too far from the work and moving too fast
I've gotten better
-M

There must be at least 10 different things going on simultaneously when there is an arc. That is why I like welding because it is such a challenge.

One great thing about 7018 is that it will be real pretty if you put everything together.

 

[Weldingrod1]

Yeah, closer and slower was the mantra when I was teaching stick welding. I could coach the kids from across the room, just based on the sound!

Sent from my SM-G715A using Tapatalk

 

[markba633csi]

One thing I have noticed is striking is easier when the parts and rod are warm
Those energetic little atoms jumping around makes a difference I guess

 

[benmychree]

I have no objection to bending a stick electrode, but I have never tried it. I will definitely try it.

You are very insightful to identify that I have a death grip on the electrode holder.

Been there, done that!, but I was not about to say so ---

 

[aliva]

Pic #7 get longer pants so you can protect your heel area from sparks. Nothing worse than getting a hot spark into you shoe while you've got a nice bead going.
Also you might find this electrode holder easier to use as you can bend the rod in any direction that's comfortable.