I love some 6011 & 7018

[BMan2005]

Hey guys, been out awhile learning how to be a daddy. I have to say, it's been pretty awesome . But I haven't touched the welder in awhile and some of you know I'm pretty dang new to this stuff. Anyhow, I made an oops using my light duty scrap blade behind my bigger tractor doing something I shouldn't with it and yep, I bowed it like a pretzel. Lol. I got it pretty straight and decided to beef it up and repaint it. While wire brushing the paint and rust spots I found some stress cracks (again my fault) on the frame. Here is a few pictures, I ran a pretty hot root pass with 6011 overhead (proud of this one) with 3 passes of 7018. That should hold her down tight. I've read and heard people say give them these two rods and they can be a happy stick welder, I understand that now. I'm pretty dang favorable of my 6011's honestly.

 

[Texasmark]

Nice work for a self proclaimed beginner....i've been right at 40 years learning how to do it.

6011 and 7018 have been my preferred rods developed over the years, with the 6011 being my original and getting used less and less. Multiple passes with the 7018 on DC just gets the job done, for me, with a stick.

Butttttt some years ago I bought a HF 151 240v MIG with gas, 0.030 wire and I can weld up anything on the place with it and it works easier and cleaner welds for me from sheet to half inch or so. Have yet to rip out a weld. So now, I seldom use the stick.

 

[motownbrowne]

7018AC is awesome. You can run the regular 7018 in an AC stick welder, but the stuff made for AC is much easier to get started and lays a really nice bead. Not a mig machine, but for a farm hack like me it does the job most of the time.

 

[sandman2234]

Ok, so your doing well with those two, now get some 7024 rods (keep them dry!!) and give those a shot. You will be amazed at just how pretty you can make those by just holding the rod at the right angle and letting it walk itself.
David from jax

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Hey guys, been out awhile learning how to be a daddy. I have to say, it's been pretty awesome . But I haven't touched the welder in awhile and some of you know I'm pretty dang new to this stuff. Anyhow, I made an oops using my light duty scrap blade behind my bigger tractor doing something I shouldn't with it and yep, I bowed it like a pretzel. Lol. I got it pretty straight and decided to beef it up and repaint it. While wire brushing the paint and rust spots I found some stress cracks (again my fault) on the frame. Here is a few pictures, I ran a pretty hot root pass with 6011 overhead (proud of this one) with 3 passes of 7018. That should hold her down tight. I've read and heard people say give them these two rods and they can be a happy stick welder, I understand that now. I'm pretty dang favorable of my 6011's honestly.View attachment 547528View attachment 547529View attachment 547530View attachment 547531

Looks like that blade has seen some stress. Hope you ground out those cracked welds and not just weld over the top.

Ron

 

[BMan2005]

Nice work for a self proclaimed beginner....i've been right at 40 years learning how to do it.

6011 and 7018 have been my preferred rods developed over the years, with the 6011 being my original and getting used less and less. Multiple passes with the 7018 on DC just gets the job done, for me, with a stick.

Butttttt some years ago I bought a HF 151 240v MIG with gas, 0.030 wire and I can weld up anything on the place with it and it works easier and cleaner welds for me from sheet to half inch or so. Have yet to rip out a weld. So now, I seldom use the stick.

Proof of my beginner status, hahaha! I hooked my leads up backwards and ran this with 7014. It seemed fine running it until I had to almost use a sledge to knock the slag off and find a disaster of a weld underneath. It burned through good so I just knocked it down with the grinder and let it ride. Oh, I did manage to put the leads back on correct after I threw down the 7014 cussing it thinking something happened to my rods, grabbed a 7018 and it started spitting at me.

Ok, so your doing well with those two, now get some 7024 rods (keep them dry!!) and give those a shot. You will be amazed at just how pretty you can make those by just holding the rod at the right angle and letting it walk itself.
David from jax

I may grab some to play with one day, I've heard it lays like hot butter.

Looks like that blade has seen some stress. Hope you ground out those cracked welds and not just weld over the top.

Ron

Yeah, the outer edge of the blade found a stump under ground when I was using it to pull a ditch and warped it pretty good. To small an implement for the tractor it was hooked to. Lesson learned.

And yeah I ground out what I could, where the grinder wheel couldn't fit on the other side I drilled the end if the crack and tried to really burn in the weld with the 6011.

 

[BrokenTrack]

They look good to me, and I am a retired welder.

I just have an AC buzz box on this farm despite my profession, and do 90% with 6011. A good weld, is a good weld, is a good weld. The tensile strength difference between 6011 and 7018 is so slight that if it breaks for 6011, it would have most likely broke if had been welded with 7018 too.

But there is a huge difference in repair welding, and fabrication welding too.

Again, nice welds!

 

[BMan2005]

They look good to me, and I am a retired welder.

I just have an AC buzz box on this farm despite my profession, and do 90% with 6011. A good weld, is a good weld, is a good weld. The tensile strength difference between 6011 and 7018 is so slight that if it breaks for 6011, it would have most likely broke if had been welded with 7018 too.

But there is a huge difference in repair welding, and fabrication welding too.

Again, nice welds!

Thanks man! Yeah I would be fine just running 6011's but most swear by the ductility of 7018 so I figure why not. Test I've watched agree, but my weld ability is probably not near as good as any of the rods. And those 7018's sure lay a pretty weld

 

[BMan2005]

Blade straightened, braced, and painted! Should be good for another 10 years, especially if I keep it from behind my New Holland. So I painted in Orange to match the Kubota and the Inner Bulldog fan in me won't allow me to hook a orange implement to a blue tractor :laughing:. Go Dawgs

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[Shield Arc]

BMan2005 several years ago I did some fillet weld break tests. 6011 broke with 8-blows from a 4-pound hammer.
7018 that never seen the inside of a rod oven. Broke with 18-blows from a 4-pound hammer.
7018 right out of the rod oven. Broke with 23 blows from a 4-pound hammer.