Welding Rods for beginners

[CincyFlyer]

1/4" rod @ 90A on sheetmetal:confused2:

That was my thought. Heck, I don't even own anything over 3/16", and those don't get used much. And not at 90A.

 

[daugen]

actually it was 3/16 not 1/4. My mistake.
telling me things aren't right is more helpful than poking fun
I tried a range of 85 to 90.

 

[4570Man]

This steel is 80 thousands think. I don't remember the rod size I used but it was smaller than 1/8". The first 1" in the right was 80 amps where it burnt through. The rest was 60 amps. I welded the other side with an 1/8" rod at 60.

 

[BukitCase]

"telling me things aren't right is more helpful than poking fun" - You're right -

Stick Welding Calculator - MillerWelds

Choose mild steel, and 1/4" 7014 - "Suggested Amperage Range: 330-415"

If you're at 90 amps I'm pretty sure you're using 3/32" rods... Steve

 

[LD1]

Yea, even 3/16 is big rod. 1/8" is pretty common for farm use and repair of 1/8-1/4" metal. And 3/16 is bigger than that

 

[4570Man]

Yea, even 3/16 is big rod. 1/8" is pretty common for farm use and repair of 1/8-1/4" metal. And 3/16 is bigger than that

I've welded plenty of 1" with 1/8" rod. I've got some big hard face rods that I got for free but besides that 1/8 rods are the biggest I have.

 

[daugen]

sorry, have two sizes, get them mixed up.
all I'm saying is I had more problems with the smaller rod
I would lower amps until I had problems sticking

luckily there are instructions on each box of rods saying amp range.

 

[daugen]

I finished the mower deck today, slowly getting better at this. Still have to make two or three passes, and certainly
a final one to neaten things. Used 1/8 rod at 115 amps after trying one size smaller. That seemed to work well for me.
Paid special attention to underneath lip.
Again surprising how nice filler primer can make things.

Now on to the frame. More heavy metal there.

 

[Deere Dude]

Again surprising how nice filler primer can make things.

Now on to the frame. More heavy metal there.

I must have missed it somewhere. What is filler primer? Never heard that term.

 

[aczlan]

I must have missed it somewhere. What is filler primer? Never heard that term.

Its a high build paint that fills in little imperfections in the surface you are painting.

Aaron Z

 

[Ken Kegris]

Hi I am Kenny from Middleburg PA.
I have a Miller bobcat 250, Miller mig 252, Plasma cutter, Tombstone Lincoln, Tig, Alum spool gun.
As rods go the first number is the tensile strength. 6011 is 60,000 as welded, 7014 is 70,000 as welded, 10018 is 100,000 as welded.
The third number is say 1 that is all position rod, if it is a 2 Then its a flat or vertical rod, 4 then its vertical down rod This number is also used in conjunction with the 4th number.
if its a 10 DC, reverse polarity,,
if its a 11 then its a AC or DC reverse polarity,
if its a 12 then its a DC straight or AC.
if its a 13 then its a AC or DC straight polarity.
If its a 14 then its a DC either polarity or AC Iron powder coating.
If its a 15 Then its a DC reverse polarity only Low Hydrogen.
If its a 16 AC or DC reverse polarity Low Hydrogen.
If its a 18 AC or DC reverse polarity Low hydrogen, & iron powder.
If its a 20 DC straight polarity, or AC for horizontal fillet welds and DC either polarity or AC for flat position welds.
If its a 24 DC either polarity or AC Iron powder.
If its a 27 DC straight polarity, or AC for horizontal fillet welds and DC either polarity, or AC for flat position welding Iron powder.
If its a 28 AC or DC Reverse polarity Iron powder low hydrogen.
If its a 48 AC or DC either polarity low hydrogen, iron powder.

The above information was taken directly from the welder guide.

Now to the mower deck I would have used a 6011 3/32 and would have done a vertical down, this allows the heat to move straight up and away, Now I am a fast and hot welder, I would not Vee the crack out as this actually makes it harder to welder as it makes it somewhat thinner I usually never vee anything less that 1/8 inch. When welding two different thickness of metals there will be the parent metal which is the thicker of the two. Always favor the thicker of the two or concentrate more heat to that metal.
Now 6100 is for rusty thin metals car frames and general mild steel,
7024 is a high disposition rod and is best used flat welding, and horizontal has a good appearing weld when used with enough heat will chip off easily of self chip.
7018 Is a low hydrogen and is used for high tensile steel, truck frames truck frames, malleable iron. Trailer hitches, hooks. Pipe line welding.
7014 is a general purpose rod and is a all position and will self chip if heat is correct used on mild steel, we used it a lot on trailer frames but not on the king pins or the cast steel spring hangers.
10028 I used on dozer buckets, dozer tracks has a high yield strength.

Now as to keeping welding rod free of moisture I keep mine a insulated wooden box with a heat lamp with a thermostat set to about 180 degrees. And old refrigerator will do as long as its a least 18 inches deep if you are going to keep some of the 3/16 X 18 long rods if not then a 14 inch deep will work. I used too use a 100 watt bulb till the #$@%^&* got involved now I need a regular heat lamp. I just use the containers when I am transporting them to the job. I have close to ton of rods in the box. Guess what I mostly Mig everything. I you have any question e mail me at kkegris@yahoo.com or through this thread

Kenny

 

[daugen]

Kenny, thanks for all the good info.
what happens when rods get moisture in them?
I put the tops back on the plastic box but the rods sit in an unheated barn.

 

[Spanner]

Good info Kenny, thanks. Stick around...

 

[daugen]

Its a high build paint that fills in little imperfections in the surface you are painting.

Aaron Z

it says fillable and sandable on the can. Rustoleum but I also use Ace hardware red primer. And before that, seemingly gallons of
rust fix/converter.

 

[daugen]

I decided to not use reinforcing on the one trailing wheel. It's almost an anti scalp wheel; can't imagine what they did to rip the entire assembly out of the deck. Clearly this big ugly reinforcing plate used on the other mower was a dealer hack job.
If I see any cracking or weakness at this joint, I'll redo it and make it industrial strength. If it was one of the three larger tire supports, I'd beef it up but this is a hanging deck and this little wheel should not take much action. Clearly it had WAY too much action in the past....

 

[Ken Kegris]

Hi its Kenny again, In reply to post 192 if rods get wet and I mean really wet, carefully put them in the oven at maybe 350 and get the moisture all out I have done this with as much as a 50 pound box that was a yard sale and got rained on. The reason I stated carefully is that when they are wet the flux will fall off of them so the less handling the better. A lot of times when I come back from a job and there damp I just put them in the hot box and they will dry OK. Putting the rods in the container with the screw on top keeps the direct moisture such as rain, but don't due much for humidity.
Another note be careful when using magnets at the actual weld site they can draw the arc and do funny things with the weld, Another quick note if the arc seems funny and does not want to be controlled wrap the ground lead around the project a couple of times. That helps cancel the magnetism in the project. if you take notice that the shavings on the floor will take shapes around the ground wire and the stinger lead.
Another quick tip learn to do vertical up this lets the slag puddle be behind you and is supposed to be a stronger weld but not a nice a weld. remember you should never weave more than 3 X the rod diameter. I break this rule the most, like I say do as you should not as i do.
Another way to turn the heat down on the welder is to use the next bigger rod and keep the setting for the smaller rod, its a little hard to do but the bigger rod soaks up the heat also you can with a little practice use a second rod without flux and use like a tig or acetylene welding to fill cracks On small thin stuff you need more metal to absorb the heat.
Now as for putting patches on the deck I would put on the top and not worry about the looks if they are on the bottom they will catch more grass and make it harder to scrape the deck and clean it, (my opinion)
Kenny

 

[daugen]

thanks Kenny. The patch was on top, all the metal was and where I could I did some additional welding from the bottom. I then derusted everything and then coated it all with bedliner spray to protect and smooth over, as you say, catch less.

 

[daugen]

finished all my welding today. Built a new hanger piece to replace the one that had ripped off. First had to cover the hole, then welded the new piece on top.
1/8 7014 at 115 seemed to work well. Still ugly. About four more layers of filler primer it will look almost respectable.
Now a huge amount of hand sanding all this primer, and I start to paint.
It will be shiny paint over a bunch of bumpety bumps but the job got done, and it was a wonderful learning experience.
Now I would like to try something perhaps a little easier than stick, something that doesn't create all that slag I seem to
create. So...time to get a bottle of argon and start a new thread.

thanks guys.

oh, I spent a lot of time welding the underneath of this hanger tab; the oem ones aren't welded at all underneath.
Shows that whatever they used was strong enough to have metal rip out.

 

[k0ua]

I must have missed it somewhere. What is filler primer? Never heard that term.

Its a high build paint that fills in little imperfections in the surface you are painting.

Aaron Z

Whats that old saying? "putty and paint will make a welder what he ain't" :shocked:


I should know...

 

[daugen]

Whats that old saying? "putty and paint will make a welder what he ain't" :shocked:


I should know...

that's perfect for me. Thanks
except I have avoided the real putty...I don't think anything would hold up
on a vibrating mower deck. Hit a stick and watch your mower explode...