favourite stick rod

[Car Doc]

1/8" 6011 is what I have handy and always used. I went mig many years ago so I rarely stick weld, only occasional broken stuff projects at the house where I moved the cracker box too.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Hey ShieldArc, ever do a bend test on say .500" plate with the 7014? Maybe they have improved them since 1974 but back then, they didnt bend at all, just broke. Back then they had a black coating on them that you could arc at any point right thru the flux and the weld metal came out shining like new silver. I have used any since then and really dont see a need to try now since I have several hundred pounds of 7018 and my 350 # Phoenix rod oven to store all my low hydrogen in and it stays on 275F all the time. It helps keep my shop warm in the winter.:laughing:

 

[eastexan]

What brand were they, Gary?
I've never seen 7014 with a black flux coating. Nor any that would arc through the flux.

 

[Shield Arc]

No I haven't, but remember I did one on 3/8 plate, and it bent fine, but the fillet weld test was not impressive at all! 10 blows to break the 7014 bead, and the 7018 that came out of the oven I had to beat back and forth to get the fillet weld to break.
Here's the coupons for the 7014 bend test.

 

[Gizmo2]

IMO, telling someone that they should be running such and such rod at XXX amps or that running at certain amps is too cold or too hot is nonsense. Every machine I have ever used (and that is a lot), the dial is never the same but close enough to start with. One machine might run 1/8" 7018 at 95 amps on the dial while someone elses might be set a 150 and both weld the same. For instance, my Miller runs 3/32 7018 fine at 75 amps and is perfect for 1/8" at about 105 although I can run much hotter if I want. You have to set the machine so it burns the rod correctly. You should be able to start the rod without excessive sticking (rods will stick occassionally even if it is 50 amps too hot to weld with), rods should burn in sufficient for good penetration and properly fuse all edges without cold lap or undercut. If it is too high amperage, you may see undercut, excessive buckshot and even the rod melting out of the holder prior to getting more than 2/3 of the rod used. My advice is that when someone says set your machine at so and so amps, just take that with a grain of salt as your machine might be way off from that. For newbies to welding, that may be a good starting point but dont expect to have to keep it there if you cant make the weld look good. You will you learn where the controls on the machine weld best with a little practice, that is what the dial is for, adjust it to get best performance. With a properly set machine, you should be able to weld without full dress leather gear to keep the sparks off.

Good post,
Every welder is different
Every person welding is different
Every rod is different
Same rod type from different companies are different
Steel make up is different
Etc, etc..........

Most of my welding is in T-shirts or what ever I happen to have on at the time shorts included and I only ever wear one glove. I also do not do overhead welding. Just sayin!

 

[Gary Fowler]

Thanks, I dont weld in tee shirts due to burning by the UV light, but as far as sparks, I could do that. I blistered my neck a couple days ago welding in a low neck polyester blend shirt. I was just going to do a little tacking but turned into about 3 hours of welding. I should go back to wearing my neckerchief when welding like I did when I worked as a welder. I still have a white spot on my neck that the pigments are burned out of from excess UV rays before I found the bandana like the old cowboys wore.
By the way, I got one burn on my shirt from some hot slag when it popped of the weld. I usually do more clothing damage with the grinder sparks than welding.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Regarding the brand of 7014 that would arc thru the flux: Heck that was is 1974 so I dont remember the brand. I just remember once trying to backweld something and the rod just quit welding and arced off the side. I remember after that, if the rod was too long, I just started it in the middle and let the end drop off. Darndest thing I ever saw in a welding rod. The flux was jet black and when you chipped it off, the weld was almost ripple free and shined like it was chrome plated. My BIL and I finally talked the shop foreman into getting some 7018 for us to use and we let the other guys use the easy welding 7014. They didnt have welding procedures and we just welded with whatever rod we wanted too. It was all carbon steel fabrication so the choice was 6010, 7014,7024 and finally some 7018. I think me and my BIL were the only welders there that could weld in all positions. Most of them could only weld flat and a few could make semi-decent vertical welds.

 

[Gizmo2]

Thanks, I dont weld in tee shirts due to burning by the UV light, but as far as sparks, I could do that. I blistered my neck a couple days ago welding in a low neck polyester blend shirt. I was just going to do a little tacking but turned into about 3 hours of welding. I should go back to wearing my neckerchief when welding like I did when I worked as a welder. I still have a white spot on my neck that the pigments are burned out of from excess UV rays before I found the bandana like the old cowboys wore.
By the way, I got one burn on my shirt from some hot slag when it popped of the weld. I usually do more clothing damage with the grinder sparks than welding.

Just a "tack"......:laughing: That gets me every time.
Over the years people I know that wanted things welded would always say something like "it's just a 2 minute weld job". If there is such a thing I've never seen one.
Polyester + Welding = Not Fun.

 

[deereman75]

Just a "tack"......:laughing: That gets me every time.
Over the years people I know that wanted things welded would always say something like "it's just a 2 minute weld job". If there is such a thing I've never seen one.
Polyester + Welding = Not Fun.

Hey I find when I am building something, it often is just a tack, or just a few beads.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Well guys I finally finished up the stabilizer pads for the JD 310 backhoe that my shop building contractor (Ricky) has. I started out repairing the broken tips, then put on some 1" square bar from an old disc axle I had for anti-skid. That took me a good 3 hours. Today Ricky brought me some old rusty angle iron that he wanted to put on for some "flotation". That took me from 9:30 am till 2pm. I think all told, I burned about 30 pounds of 1/8 7018 on this thing. I am not sure what kind of cast steel this thing is made of but it is bad about delayed underbead cracking. It had some cracks at the ends that developed overnight. It also had some area of residual magnetism that made it difficult to weld in some spots, but thanks to my 7" grinder, I got all the cracks ground out and repaired and hopefully tomorrow it is still all attached.