7018 weld advise. Pics.

[Hersheyfarm]

So keeping 7018 in a air tight container isn’t good enough? How you know when they went bad?

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I have a thread on tbn somewhere asking about 6013/7014/7018 comparisons for filler/top pass, and I came away with the opinion that for most hack welders like myself, it's all the same except 7018 is also a prima-donna when it comes to storage. BTW outside of the US, 6013 is used for root passes. Here's a quick article: E613 Welding Rod, What Can You Do With It? | Everlast Generators

Most welders I worked with in the pipe trade were the type that always said: don't blame the machine, the material, the rod, or the fitter; just figure out how to overcome the negatives. Yes 6013 and even 6014 can be used as a root pass, its just a little harder to get full penetration. Closer fit and higher heat (amps) gets the penetration for that reverse side bead.. Don't skimp on amps for the filler passes to prevent overlap that traps slag along the edges or grind the edges out to shiny bare metal. to prevent slag in your bead keep the heat directed toward the bead just laid called back hand welding. The heavy slag is your enemy but necessary to make the rod work and keep out impurities.

Ron

 

[user.69169]

Lay spec sheets 6013 and 7018 side by side and you see pretty much same numbers as welded.
7018 got little more ductility.
6010 - 11 different rod, Fast freeze for root pass.

Few years back Irish fellow on WanabeWeb pointed out 2/3 de globe pipe is welded 6010 root, 6013 out for cap and it works. Posted up big bunch of pics f his work.
6013 dcen
Dis country all nuts for 7018 "because enginitwit spec it", dey sure do because enginitwit don't know how to weld so he just copies what guy before him speck. Remember, whole train load of enginitwits designed dat bridge down at Florida International and watched collapse long before dey got few hundred people dancin on de bridge.

Got whole bunch ExSpertz too gonna weld out 1/8 angle wid 7018 for strength. Sure dey are.
Nother bunch get all jumpin up blatherin how 6013 only good for sheet metal, dey read someplace. Too bad dey didn't keep readin and learn all steel up to 1" thick is SHEET. Over 1" is PLATE. But hey you can't get in trouble by bein in middle of sheep, right.
I pretty sure few tons of 6013 leave rod plant every day and it sure ain't gettin made to sit in warehouse accumulating. Know for sure comes in 3/16 diameter too. You think dat for 1/8 steel?

You get good enough to hire onto Code job employer gonna teach you what he wants you to know.. Den you watch guys dippin 6010 - 11 in water can before dey strike arc.

Storage- You makin Code welds gonna be Xrayed? If not, put rod on shelf in dry location and forget all de storage crap you saw in internet.

 

[Hersheyfarm]

“Dry location”

Is that in barn with no heat/ac? Or in a basement?

 

[user.69169]

I'd go wid barn long as de roof don't leak or sweat cause barn built wrong. Fairly stable temperature.
Cellar OK if not damp.

Rod gotta have some moisture or coating drys and falls off.

 

[the old grind]

Highest humidity in my house right now is downstairs in the machine shop at ~35%. All my rods and unmounted spools are indoors, upstairs and open to say 25-35% if not questionable and sent to the rod oven for a few days before a 'job', which often should wait until I'm halfway capable.

btw, sad to see that several lbs of rod I was given had been damp for a while (threw 'em in with a free Miller) and showed rust on the exposed ends. IIRC they bore a flux type that all but demanded clean metal, say like most 70xx vs so many 60xx series. They're not all I have of size/series, but I don't expect to even try welding with them.

Thanks again to Hersheyfarm for letting us pipe up in the thread, and to (removed) for coming across so well in front of the class.

Merry Christmas, guys!

 

[user.69169]

Dangit, I come across well again. You guys gonna ruin my Cowledge purfesser image wid dat.

Saturnalia lookin good fer 2020-- Saturn not mad at us and Sun comin back. Actually clicked up 1° today.

Not gonna get into rod oven subject. Nobody here welding to code, and only 3 limecoat SS rods I know of in a bud vase in china cabinet as memorial to man who taught me many lessons.. Pete was one of de best, did wid SS stick what most can't wid Heliarc. Them rods rode in toolboxes for years to remind me dat man.

You get job goin where der rod tender and you turn stubs in for count from beer can in holster we talk bout ovens..

 

[Sarge338]

With 7018, you can just about run the bead with the stick touching the part. You can give yourself a little bit more arc length than that, but you want to keep it pretty tight. Also, if you manipulate the stick just a little, that will flatten out the profile a bit. Just don’t go too wide with the manipulation, or you could get slag inclusions in your weld. “Weave” the bead the width of your rod core, and see how that looks. Just a simple back-n-forth with a brief pause on each side. 7018 isn’t really meant for manipulation (hence the small movement), but I had to do it in class to drop that crown some. Your rod angle for that flat plate should be about 15 degrees from straight up.

 

[Hersheyfarm]

Just stacking coins on top of 7018 with 6011.
Preparing for test(joking lol)

 

[GeneV]

When practicing, one tip I picked up from youtube is to run beads in opposite directions, as in run a bead left to right, next one practice doing right to left, flip the coupon 90 deg and run beads back to front and then front to back. Pretty good practice.

 

[tomplum]

When practicing, one tip I picked up from youtube is to run beads in opposite directions, as in run a bead left to right, next one practice doing right to left, flip the coupon 90 deg and run beads back to front and then front to back. Pretty good practice.

That seems like a good practice even overall. As you are growing your welding skills, keep up with out of position welding too. Do it often enough to stay in the groove so to speak. For me, I can mostly flip things around to keep the technique simple for 3/4 of the year. Then of course, I find yourself needing to do vertical up or overhead, switch to a different process, etc. - and I have to re-learn it over again.

 

[user.69169]

Real funbegins when you learn something completely new. I well recall when I met de first MIG. Sweet Airco sliding core power unit wid built in wire pusher & 7 foot whip. Love dat first night it was, once I figured out not stickin de tip striking an arc. 1980 was year of endless electrodes I been dreamin about.

Well, day came I had to go back to de stick for something, no problem I knew dat book pretty much cover to cover. Wanna Bet?

Time passed rods & wire got burned and I got decent again wid both.

Overhead MIG lot of fun, maybe even more fun den overhead stick. You get used to it over time, know what gonna happen and be ready when it does happen. All gotta become what called muscle memory. If you thinkin bout each and every move of dat puddle you gonna dump it cause puddle always faster den you ever be. Learn dat real good weldin with gas. Time an practice be your best friends.

Lookin at contraption seem to me man is inventin some kind of new textured crepe cooker. Might just try gettin nice & hot, brush on some peanut oil and dip in batter and see what you get. Patterned crepes to hold more jam might be a whole new taste sensation. You make millions on sellin ORIGINAL official cooker.

 

[jaxs]

When practicing, one tip I picked up from youtube is to run beads in opposite directions, as in run a bead left to right, next one practice doing right to left, flip the coupon 90 deg and run beads back to front and then front to back. Pretty good practice.

That sound's like it might have came from"Welding Tips And Tricks". If you like videos,subscribe and watch Jodie's,they (and he) are secound to none.

 

[GeneV]

That sound's like it might have came from"Welding Tips And Tricks". If you like videos,subscribe and watch Jodie's,they (and he) are secound to none.

Yup Jax, I think it was him, or maybe one of weld.com's vids. I subscribe to those and a few other welding channels. Youtube is awesome, I learn a lot from it.

 

[Hersheyfarm]

Finally found some 6010’s. Imo they burn hotter than 6011. Huge flame around puddle. Think i like 6011 better.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

One reasons why there are so many types of rods. The numerical designators separate rods into functional process groups based on requirements of the metals and the end use of the welds. Brand names tend to have many nuances that have nothing to do with end results. That's why welders brag up certain brands and others **** them. I can remember when pipe welding we would not use anything but Fleetweld 5P right, wrong, or indifferent. Since I have used many brands of the same number designator and really can see no difference. 6010 and 6011 are formulated to perform the same function on 6010 (DC Negative) and 6011 (AC). 6011 will work best on DC at DC Positive. Negative stinger is sometimes called "Reverse Polarity". If necessary rods designed for AC tend to work better at DC Positive (my opinion).

Ron

 

[rangerfredbob]

I haven't practiced just welding while not working on a project for a while, heck welding class in high school was 21 years ago now I think...

For my uses I stick to 7018 and 6011, both on DC if I'm stick welding since my Montgomery Wards welder has the option and it welds better... Once I get the shop going I need to get a welding bench set up and practice more and get a bottle for my wire feed welders, probably two, one straight argon and one 75/25 so I can try out the spool gun on aluminum and give TIG a try...

 

[user.69169]

75/25 girlygas! You welding steel wid mig Co2 all you need and you get better weld to boot, more penetration from less electrons.

You try running 75/25 on spoolgun wid aluminum wire you get high quality mess. MIG aluminum 100% Argon job wid spoolgun. 100% argon on Stainless too.

 

[rangerfredbob]

That was the plan with the spool gun, Forgot about straight CO2, those tanks are fairly cheap too being liquid... assuming a standard beverage tank is sufficient.

 

[the old grind]

I bought several adapters to go from beverage tank to welding regulator. Understand that even if you buy a CO2 tank the cert period is 5 yrs from the latest date stamp. It may prove more convenient to get into a rotation program at a LWS vs ownership like I did for that reason. YMMV

That said, I get a CO2 refill in about the time it takes to write up the <$20 chargel. I also have a 75/25 tankful, but am still learning which gas to use with which welder for which job. :laughing:

So far I'm welding mild steel with straight CO2 and I quite like it.