I havent kept up with welder rates in the last few years. They go up when demand is high and down when it is low. I guess it has been 3 years now since last check. My next door neighbor was welder and he was making $30 an hour plus $100 per day per diem then. That was because there was not enough welders to fill the need and every company was trying to entice welders to come work for them. This was certified pipe welders I am speaking of though. $10 an hour seems awful cheap even with 12% unemployment though. I guess I can be thankful that I have a job now days and it doesnt include burning rods, although I thoroughly enjoyed my days of welding up till 1974 when I started moving up the ladder in supervision. I just do my puttering around now, but can still lay down a pretty good looking bead even overhead if I can see it. What with my tri-focal glasses even with a cheater lense it is sometimes hard to get into position to see what I am doing now days with only 3 out of 7 neck vertabrae still working. It seem most folks try to run too cold. For 7018, Crank it up till it starts spitting buckshot off and then turn it down about 10 amps and it should be about right. The bead should be smoothly fused into the parent metal and slightly rounded. Also 7018 should never be stepped like you would a 60xx rod. Keep the arc close as you can without it sticking and a slight weave not to exceed 3 times the wire diameter is acceptable in most instances. Pretty welds depends on right amperage and then right travel speed and when you get the right amps, speed keep it consistent like you have it locked on cruise control, just a slight hesitation will make a hump and speed up to much and you're going to get a concavity. If you decide you need to weave the rod to get a larger fillet size, then it is better to make your oscillations fast rather than slow. If the puddle freezed prior to you coming back across, then you are weaving too slow or not enough amps. Crank it up and or increase your oscillation speed. I may be too old and nervous to make it as pretty as I once could but I still know how it has to be done.
