Stick welding practice?

[Arc weld]

6011 requires a little more advanced technique to use properly. 6013 is a garbage rod for all intents and purposes. You have a good welder, you don't need to buy the cheap, easy to use rods. 7014 is a much better choice and often even easier to use. One mistake a lot of beginners make is watching the slag form instead of watching what the puddle does. A 1/8" 7018 should burn about 6" long doing beads on a flat plate. Make 2 soapstone lines about 3/8" apart and try to put the bead down the middle of them. 7014 will burn a little longer than 7018. Once you get the hang of 7014, learn how to burn 7018. It is the gop to rod if you want something strong. 6010/6011 is also good for dirty steel or where you need good penetration. It is common to start with a 6010 and after cleaning it, go over it with a second pass using 7018.

 

[yomax4]

Doesn't the Longevity have Hot Stort and Arc Force? If it does you should have no Re-Strike or Sticking issues if you have them set. They will help you a lot.

 

[Ken45101]

You may be running the rod too hot, that's easy to do with 3/32 6011. Yes, 3/32 will not put down a lot of metal. Do not weave it wide. Close, narrow weave or small tight circles.

I agree, 1/8" rod is easier and 7014 is a nice rod too. 6013 is easy to get pretty welds but doesn't seem to have much penetration and I don't trust it where I need any strength, but then I'm new at stick welding too. 6013 can be good for practice on scrap ;-)

 

[ChristianHF]

Got some 7018 tonight a ran a few beads, most all of this mess is 7018 beads. Its covering the 6011 practice from last night. The last bead down at the bottom edge of the material is 6011 done tonight. Not terribly proud but I am getting the hang of it, kinda.

Chris.

 

[Tallman]

Keep practicing it will com to you. I see improvement already. I welded for a living in a valve shop. Like everyone says practice, practice and practice. After a while you will get the hang of it.
Ken

 

[bigdeano]

Those are nice looking welds. Looks like you're ready to build something.

 

[ericher69]

Got some 7018 tonight a ran a few beads, most all of this mess is 7018 beads. Its covering the 6011 practice from last night. The last bead down at the bottom edge of the material is 6011 done tonight. Not terribly proud but I am getting the hang of it, kinda.

Chris.

<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=323520"/>

Getting there but seems like you are traveling too fast.

Are you just dragging the rod or trying any type of pattern?

Also practice on a lap joint; laying flat beads on plate can be discouraging at first

 

[Arc weld]

Running beads is a good way to learn. Make some lines with soapstone to help keep you straight. Then you can practice making a pad of weld with each bead overlapping the last one a little less than half. There should be no valleys between the beads. Just random welding a piece of scrap doesn't teach you much. A good rule of thumb for the correct speed with 7018 and 7014 is that if the ripples in the bead are pointed, you're going too fast and trying to pull the weld. The ripples should be more rounded. At higher amps with more experience and on certain projects, you will go faster and have more pointed ripples. For just beginning try to get the bead an even width the whole length with more rounded ripples. Going too slow will have the ripples too close together and have too much build up. You'll figure it out with practice. For a newbie, there's nothing wrong with your 7018 at all. Just go in a straight line with no weaving or anything else. 6010/6011 uses a back and forth whipping motion but get the hang of welding first before you try that or it might be frustrating for you.

 

[ChristianHF]

All of the 7018 practice beads were run just dragging, basically keeping the rod tip buried in the puddle and letting the rod collapse with a 20 degree or so drag angle to set my travel speed. Same with the 6011, haven't tried whipping it yet but some more simple dragging is still in order to get the hang of it. Thanks for the words of encouragement and my next attempt at a pad of beads will be a little more straight and orderly.

 

[gwdixon]

All of the 7018 practice beads were run just dragging, basically keeping the rod tip buried in the puddle and letting the rod collapse with a 20 degree or so drag angle to set my travel speed. Same with the 6011, haven't tried whipping it yet but some more simple dragging is still in order to get the hang of it. Thanks for the words of encouragement and my next attempt at a pad of beads will be a little more straight and orderly.

Try a few beads with less angle - say 5* to 10*. Too great of an angle will actually blow the puddle away from the rod making pointed "dimes". The other thing that happens is the bead builds up too high (unless that is what you want).

Using a nearly vertical angle will result in a nice, relatively flat, look to the bead.

The more you experiment the more you will learn.