Welding ARGGGGGG!!!!

[BobReeves]

AC only Sears 225 amp stick welder with a slider to adjust the current. I have about decided I will never be able to make a weld that doesn't look like bird poop. Running 80 to 85 amps with 3/32 and 90 to 95 with 1/8. Here is what I run into..

Book says if you are having a problem with undercutting to reduce the amps. If I reduce the amps ever so slightly I have a big problem getting the arc started without sticking. If I increase the amps enough to be able to start, I undercut. This is on a horizontal weld, can't turn the tractor on it's side. What am I doing wrong?

Have always heard 6011 was the easiest to use but all it does for me is produce globs of bird poop, I picked up some 6013 and it sure seems to be easier to use, at least the bird poop is not in globs, and undercutting isn't quite so bad.

Is there a real advantage to DC over AC? I bought five 300 amp diodes off eBay for about $10.00 each but haven't got around to the conversion yet. Will DC help my bird poop problem?

Buying another machine is out of the picture, I either have to learn to use this thing or give up trying to weld. I sure have an admiration for you guys that make it look so easy.....

 

[bobodu]

Your welder setting should be fibe so that means you will need to improve the way you move the electrode.More swirl or weaving . /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Thorndike]

Sounds like you may have cleanliness problems and/or your work clamp isn't making good contact. Are you trying to burn thru paint, is the work clamp on bare metal? With 1/8" 6010, you shouldn't have much problem starting an arc. Wait a minute, you said it's an AC machine, try some 6011 instead, that's for an AC machine. What kind of hood are you using? Is it an auto darkening type? I'd run into problems using those fixed shade hoods myself. Good luck with your welding, and practice your butt off. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[RonR]

Bob,

I switched to only 6013 years ago. I'm sure 6011 is stronger, but I find it very tough to weld with. Most "home type" weldors (people) really overweld stuff, so, at least in my experince, 6013 works fine.

Wire brush the joint, or grind it bare, attach the ground close to the weld and have at it.

When I welded on my bucket chain hooks, one looked so bad, I ground the weld down and redid it........... Practice, practice, practice.

Ron

 

[Thorndike]

6011 and 6013 have the same strength, 60,000# tensile strength, thus the 60 designation, the first 1 means all position welding, while the last number is type of flux on the rod. Stop by at a welding supply uotfit and ask for the Lincoln handbook. It'll tell you all about different rod and what it's used for, heat [amp] ranges ect. And it's free. Better yet, take a welding course at your local community college. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[5030]

Hope he is wearing a long sleeve shirt or he will get a suntan. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I do a lot of contract fabrication here on the farm that involves a large quantity of welding, most outside. I tend to use 7014 or Excalibur but then that's all DC reverse. Inside is all MIG.

Practice, practice, practice and no suntan. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[RonMar]

Get a piece of scrap metal and start running beads. Run 4 or 5 3" beads then dunk the plate in water and allow to dry and start over again. With stick welding in particular, practice is necessary.
As for your problems, A good rule of thumb is 100Amps for welding 1/4" material. Raise or lower that figure depending on the material being welded, and of course for that current 1/8" 6011 would be a good choice. Make as many passes in practice with the scrap laying flat as necessary to get consistent results. Once you get good at that, try standing the plate on end and welding horizontal and vertical(both up and down). Of course the final test is to weld upside down(not a lot of fun.

The area being welded should be down to bare shiny metal. The ground clamp should also contact bare metal. A poor electrical connection is the same as lowering your weld current.

Think of striking an ark like striking a wooden match. All the practice I mentioned above will help with this.

A globbing weld might be a symptom of too large an arc. Once the arc is established, try getting the rod tip closer to the melt pool on the surface. This is especially important with the smaller rods.

Undercutting can also be caused by not leaving enough rod metal in the molten pool. As mentioned above, weaving back and forth should help with this. My favorite method is a series of circles, kind of like a endless string of overlapping cursive lower case "e"'. Each "e" advances into the base material just a little and then it swings back across the molten pool. When done properly, this produces a weld that looks like a series of overlapping crescent shaped metal deposits.

 

[Thorndike]

5030; I like to use 6010 on the first pass, then cap with 7018, or better yet 7024. Both them just flow sooooo nice. For the guy with problems, it could be long arcing your doing, or going to fast. When you weld across the weld pool, stop ever so slightly at the edges, not real long, but count 1,2,3, thenweld back across. When your using the 6010,6011, 6013, you can tell if your arc is just right when dragging, by feeling slight resistance at the tip of the rod. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[5030]

I do a bunch of vertical down and upside down welding so the high dep 60 rod won't work. The high dep 70 rods work better. I never tried the 7024 though I do like the Excalibur.

I usually buy my rod in 50# boxes and my wire in bulk spools. My wifes old toaster oven makes a handy rod box and warms my coffee on the top.

The other day she came in the shop and looked in the old toaster oven and asked me what all the "sticks" were in there. I replied "sparklers".

 

[escavader]

6013S ARE EASIER TO USE.Try making little half moons when your welding..watch whaT your puddles are doing,to get your speed down pact.
ALAN