jbwilson
Silver Member
I will shortly be fabricating some garden gates made of steel square hollow sections that will involve welding a lot of small patterns such as squares within triangles etc. I want the gates to be as light as possible and so will want to use the thinnest sections that can be neatly welded. I will be using a basic stick welder for this job - an od Miller econo twin which has a fairly high ocv for DC and AC welding. As an amateur welder I am reasonably compentent, but certainly not up there with the professionals.
My questions are:
1) What is the thinnest square sections that a professional welder can neatly weld? I can handle 1/16th of an inch about 90% of the time - the remainder ends up with blow holes that are difficult to fill given the thin sections involved. I would like to have a go at something thinner, but want to be guided by your advice as to whether this is possible after a lot of practice.
2) What rod classification is the easiest to use for this task? I generally use E6013 but is there a better electrode in terms of welding ease and neatness?
3) What is the best rod size you use to weld thin sections? I actually find that the 1/8th inch rods are easier to use than the 1/10th for thin sections because it's easier to strike an arc with at low amps. But I am interested in what the experienced welders use.
Thank you.
My questions are:
1) What is the thinnest square sections that a professional welder can neatly weld? I can handle 1/16th of an inch about 90% of the time - the remainder ends up with blow holes that are difficult to fill given the thin sections involved. I would like to have a go at something thinner, but want to be guided by your advice as to whether this is possible after a lot of practice.
2) What rod classification is the easiest to use for this task? I generally use E6013 but is there a better electrode in terms of welding ease and neatness?
3) What is the best rod size you use to weld thin sections? I actually find that the 1/8th inch rods are easier to use than the 1/10th for thin sections because it's easier to strike an arc with at low amps. But I am interested in what the experienced welders use.
Thank you.
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