First welding class tonight

[mikim]

They are red rod -- I'm assuming here that we're starting with a more difficult rod to deal with then? -- makes sense to me/w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif oh well -- as you said - give it some time - all I have to lose is some weight - that booth is 4' X 4' and becomes a sweat box after the first hour. After we make a plate that's passable to the teach - series of beads in a straight line and consistent depth etc -- then we go to welding a T in 3 positions - flat vertical & overhead --- some fun../w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif
can't wait til I know enuff to actually do a project at home --- got a long list waiting.
mike

 

[mikim]

Ozarker -
That's the kind of info I need to make sense of any of it -- thanks -- I may still be missing something tho' -- a 6010 rod is for 60,000 lbs, any position, but the chart for the last digit only goes from 1 -> 8 ... no zero? ....
mike

 

[RJohnson]

mikim

Actually the last two numbers designates the welding position in which the electrodes are usable, the type of covering, and the kind of welding current for which the electrodes are suitable.
An E6010 has a high cellulose sodium covering, suitable for all positions and only to be used for DC+ (reverse polarity).
An E6011 has a high cellulose potassium covering, suitable for all positions. and suitable for DC+ or AC.
An E6012 has a high titania sodium covering, suitable for all positions, and should be used with either AC or DC-.
An E6013 has a high titania potassium covering, suitable for all positions, and may be used with either AC, DC+ or DC-.
That is why it is important to know the electrode classification so you will use it in the correct welding position and have your welding machine set correctly. That is why when you only have an old AC cracker box welder you don't go and buy E6010, that are not made to weld with AC. I won't say you cannot weld but it will not give you the best results.

Randy

 

[Ozarker]

Not sure what to tell you about the zero.

I've been welding for about 35 years. I am not a professional welder altho I welded for a living before I went in the Army and did a little welding in the Army. I do it occasionally now, mostly to help friend out, and am a hobbyist. I prefer to gas weld most of the time.

I have a 230 AMP AC welder and use 6013 for just about everything I do in thick steel. I use gas for body work when I do that.

 

[bgott]

They didn't have you buy a book, eh? I still have the textbook I bought when I took a semester of welding years ago. I also had a book on reading welding blueprints but it took up wings. I think Lincoln Electric has some welding books on their website. A book won't show you how to burn rod, however. You need to find someone that will let you look over their shoulder while they work. I could show you enough to get started. Just enough to be dangerous, anyway. Get your welder set up and e-mail me. I could probably drive up and play for a day or two.

 

[mikim]

bgott, Ozarker, RJohnson, w-harv
Thanks all for the info and support. Yesterday I was down and not feeling good about the class or what/how I was learning. Last night's class redeemed my faith a little tho'. We actually spent time in the classroom and the instructor had time to spend in my booth and watch over my shoulder while talking in my ear. I learned more in 1 night last night than I have since it began. I've also learned more here than I learned in the classroom last night. Leave to NBT to help with any and all. (Neo Brain Trust) aka TBN /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
mike

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Our first class was all safety talk and films, which is what I wanted to see. The class this week was in the shop. The instructor started out showing us what to look and listen for when we're welding. We started out making rows of dots on plate. The goal was to complete a row with even sizing and spacing.

I know to some of you who weld this sounds elementary, but I'd never even touched a welder until Monday night. When we were happy with what we did we were to take it to the instructor for his review. If he thought you had the hang of that down he then asked you to run straight even beads in two columns about three inches each. Again, the goal was consistency in size and spacing.

With that successfully completed the task was upgraded to laying a bead 1/8" high and wide then adding another one next to it and another to that and so on until you had effectively increased the thickness of your plate by 1/8" in a 3" x 1" area.

After a few attempts at that I was ready to go back to making evenly spaced dots. /w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif I'm sure it'll come, but it didn't the first night. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

This class seems to be an "at your own pace" set up. It is incumbent on you to seek out the instructor with any questions, etc., which is fine.

We must have the same booth set up with one major plus. We had metal stools. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif If it were me, that would have to be my FIRST project. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif Good luck with your class.

 

[mikim]

That's what half of my class was - films - and I took notes - they passed out more info than the instructor had to that point. learned a little about oxy-fuel too -- ie: what pressure to set the regulator at for gas welding, how to check out the equipment, how and why you need to prevent those "pops" when the fire goes out, and that the aceytlene is suspended in acetone -- surprised me - never heard that at all. My biggest problem with running a bead is being able to see where the heck I'm at - must come with age - I can run the first one fairly straight along the edge of the work plate - then the next line ambles 'cause I can't seem to keep sight of the first bead. We have the same requirement - fill the plate with overlapping beads - straight and consistent - before we move on to the next - T welds - .... not sure this semester is gonna be long enuff for me/w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
mike

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I wish I could assure you it comes with age, but tain't so.
Practice does make perfect though. It's a lot like when you first learned to drive a car, or plow a furrow. There will come a moment when technique and everything all comes together, just as with all learned skills. The manufacturers will continue to make rod, so you won't need to worry about burning it all up before you can burn it with skill.
Long ago someone said "I can teach you all yu need to know to weld in half an hour, but it will take you 10 years to learn to be a weldor." After you've burned the first 100# of rod you'll either be well on your way, or convinced you'll never be a weldor. The time you're spending in class is well invested.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

<font color=blue>"The time you're spending in class is well invested."</font color=blue>

I couldn't agree more. I guess when you start with my knowledge level there's no where to go but up. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I figure I've got well over forty more hours of actual welding ahead of me in this class. I went from not being able to even put any kind of weld on metal to being able to at least run a fairly straight and even bead for a few inches in less than four hours. I felt pretty good about that. /w3tcompact/icons/clever.gif I think it's going to get even better. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif