Suggestions For An Arc Welder For Up To 1/2" Steel?

chuck: Thank you for your post. I thought maybe you had given up on me. The E7018 is Lincoln. The E6010 is Radnor. I will try to buy only Lincoln in the future. Your comments are helpful. Your admission that you get the electrode stuck also is encouraging. And the statement that inverter welders cause this to happen with 6010 rods. I don't think that the Thunderbolt XL is an inverter welder and this makes me happy that I went old school on the stick machine (also within my budget). Also helpful are the counter intuitive suggestions like moving my head away from the weld to see better. And I will buy some E6011 Lincoln. Barnes and Airgas which are the two supply houses around here have most stuff but some only in huge quantities which are not appropriate for me or my budget.

I like the rods better the shorter they get. More steady.

Yes I would like to strike the arc first and then drag it over the work. but I am welding on a 3/4" piece of plywood until I get a welding table. I guess I can place another pice of scrap metal under the weld metal.

You are one of the few people I know that has a book case in your workshop. I just finished chapter 2 of Procedure Handbook "Fourteenth Edition." Interesting read. I don't know if it will make me a better welder, but it will certainly make me a more knowledgeable one.

A photo of my Bronco.DSC01391 (2).jpg
 
Mark: I like short rods. I found myself wanting to start the arc by holding the rod with my left hand, but didn't. Thanks for saying that I can. I used a file to clean the slag off the tip of the rod. I am pulling the rod to the right. It was so interesting that I could push the rod into the metal as it melted as I drug it to the right. I will continue to try what you suggest. A picture of good and bad welds with explanations of why would be helpful to print and put on the wall.

Got to run, but I will be back at it later today. Guys enjoy your Sunday mornings.
 
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i'll give a 7018 rod a momentary hard thump on the work to restart a weld,
as mentioned before, a drop of slag will encase the electrode upon stopping the weld.
the hard thump breaks the slag off and the electrode fires off very easily.

something else to avoid is trying to weld at too low of an amperage for the rod, the arc will be hard to start and will go out easily.

i tend to weld hot and fast, just the way i learned.
My welding instructor did a lot of pipeline work, he stressed penetration and strong welds.
i'll admit that it took a long time for me to become proficient of the hot and fast method,
but now i really don't even think about it much anymore, i just do it.

good luck, welding is a lifetime study :cool:
 
Put two angle toes down heal up (^) on the plywood running parallel to each other. Then place a piece of plate on them. try not to weld directly over the angles and the plywood will not burn. But use care when finished don't just weld and leave the shop. stick around for a while to make sure nothing is burning.

Yes 3/32 is kind flimsy, when striking an arc I swears it gets pulled in by magnetics to close the gap and stick the rod. And we all stick the rod from time to time.
Mark
 
E350 said:
Yes I would like to strike the arc first and then drag it over the work. but I am welding on a 3/4" piece of plywood until I get a welding table. I guess I can place another pice of scrap metal under the weld metal.
Click to expand...
No, don't start the weld off of the plate, start on the plate about a half inch to 3/4 inch to the right of the left edge of the plate you are welding on, then move the lit rod to the left and start welding on the left edge and weld to the right over the point that you started the rod on. This hides your arc starts by welding over them.

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-u...Steels-Lincoln-Lincoln7018AC(LincolnElectric)
Is this the rod you are using? If so I would run this rod at 100 amps. It's specs say dc+ 70 to 115 amps. I have not used this rod. It probably is high in iron powder so it will run better at higher amperages. A good way to figure this is the middle range of this rod is 92,5 amps, add 10% to this figure, about 9 amps, gives about 100 to 105 amps to get its best operating characteristics.

The forward and pause is an excellent tip from Mark. It allows you to get a lot more consistency on bead width. It will make your welds look a lot better.
Another tip is to wack the tip of your 7018 rod on something as soon as you break the arc to sling the slag of the end. This makes restarting 7018's easier. Not to hard or you can knock the flux off the rod. Takes practice and you gotta do it quick while the tip of the rod is still red.

Small world, North Central Ford is right around the corner from me. I have an 87 Bronco, 351 automatic, manual lock front hubs, positrac. Last of the carburated 351's.
 
95 E.B. (cloth int.) 5.8L EFI (351), E4OD, just installed Mile Marker hubs after my last rebuild of the oem autolocking "4x4" failed. I flew into Love Field picked it up at the used car place and drove it back to CA. If you have electric windows here's a write up I did on rebuilding them:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1352425-stans-the-man-for-window-regulator-gear-plugs.html

My time in TX has been limited to San Antonio, Corpus with a little time in Austin (6 st) and once in Dallas. Great state!

I didn't mention it earlier, but thanks for the video chuck. The rod is a Lincoln E7018 dc rod. I will edit to list its part number. So far I like it alot.

mark and chuck: Thanks for all your help.

Cruz/Walker 2016. Cruz to cut the size of federal govt, and Walker to run what's left.
 



Hope these help a little the last one is showing trouble shooting welds this kid is a little goofy but puts out some good videos with lots of info on settings and what not. also gives good shots of a weld being made. pay close attention to the arc length, puddle size and shape, and the like in these videos. one thing I did not mention before was with 7018 you can drag the rod lightly on the steel one you get the puddle started, if the heat is good it will not stick.

Mark
 
one more I found with solid theory, you can skip the first 14:00 if you want for now about 14:xx he shows a real good example of what to watch in the puddle.
Mark
 
For the guys that know how to weld following this thread. Here is one for a chuckle. This guy is teaching a college mig welding class but only knows enough to be dangerous. Of course it could just be I lost interest at Mechanized Inert Gas welding.

 
Mark: I have only had time to watch the first three videos. They were excellent. But don't you know its not "mechanized inert gas" welding (Or even a "metal inert gas" welding machine). Chuck previously corrected me when I referred to my other machine a "mig machine" it is a "wire feed" machine which is also capable of FCAW-S or FCAW-F. After that I thought well duh... I guess pretty much if you plug it into an electrical outlet, it is "arc" welding.

This is what I have for electrodes. I haven't opened the Radnor 7018 1/8" yet so I will return it for Lincoln if Airgas will let me. I really like the Lincoln 7018 Excaliber MR.

Manufacturer Product Name Stock No. Description
Radnor E7018 64001110 E7018 1/8" X 14"
Lincoln Excaliber 7018 MR ED032588 E7018 3/32" x 14"
Lincoln Fleetweld 5P+ ED032565 E6010 1/8" x `14"
Radnor E6010 64001006 E6010 3/32" x 14"

Now I have an important question for you guys. I don't like what is happening with my eyesight after welding. It is like I looked at the sun but lasts longer. My helmet is a Miller Titanium 9400i. The batteries are new as of 2 weeks ago. Forgetting about all the complaints about it being heavy etc. I own it, it should be the best for protective vision. But, if not please let me know and I will sell it and buy the best.

In the meantime how do I set up my helmet so that I best protect my vision?

If I set the sensitivity past the little triangle (recommend) setting everything goes dark. If I put the shade much past 10.5 I can't see where I am welding. I am not sure what the delay does but I have it on medium.

Also, what is the best welding environment? Should I weld in a completely dark environment with lights on the work. What is the absolute best setting on the helmet for protection and what is the absolute best environment for protecting vision. And what is the best way to see the puddle and protect vision?
 
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