Welding Rods for beginners

[void777]

30 years cert. welder fitter to learn first clean is your best friend heat the metal till the moisture drys 5 to 10 sec start with 6010 learn to strike an arc without sticking the rod then learn to make puddles then stack the puddles until they look like dimes laying on top each other. Rods to keep on hand unless you use them up quick buy fresh 6010 3/32 1/8 7018 3/32 1/8 7023 (jet)1/8 5/32 learn and you should be able to service most things around your place protective equipment is a MUST.

 

[void777]

30 years cert. welder fitter to learn first clean is your best friend heat the metal till the moisture drys 5 to 10 sec start with 6010 learn to strike an arc without sticking the rod then learn to make puddles then stack the puddles until they look like dimes laying on top each other. Rods to keep on hand unless you use them up quick buy fresh 6010 3/32 1/8 7018 3/32 1/8 7023 (jet)1/8 5/32 learn and you should be able to service most things around your place protective equipment is a MUST.

 

[void777]

Sorry about the double post.

 

[Arc weld]

I think you meant 7024 but 7014 is a similar all position rod. 6010/6011 and 7018 are the go rods. 7014 is as easy to use as 6013 but is stronger, has better penetration and wetting and way less chance of getting slag inclusions. Shield Arc didn't post his 6013 break test results for good reason. When he picked up the hammer to hit them, they almost broke on their own. Actually 6010/6011 work good on thin material because you can turn the heat down and whip them all over the place and basically put tacks on tacks because they have a lot less slag and burn through it. If you can set it up for downhand/downhill welding you can go pretty fast. 6010/6011 are about the only rods that can make a strong weld going downhill. 7018 for maximum strength, 7014 for general welding and 6010 for dirty or rusty steel or running a pass for deep penetration(filling a gap) often covered with 7018 or 7014.

 

[daugen]

this is great help, thanks. I'm a retired insurance guy and an old volunteer fireman, and for sure I am determined not to burn my barn down, so....probably a bit overkill, but better safe than sorry:
2 6x8 foot welding screens, together they will block off the welding area from everything else
2 welding blankets
a good autodarkening helmet with a 2x magnifier inside (still have to install that)
gloves, non flammable shirt
2 10ABC fire extinguishers plus one pressurized water, all commercial grade
a separate electrical circuit just for the welder (I wound up rewiring my entire barn for this...groan)

a welding table, all the gadgets from Harbor Freight, clamps, magnets, etc.
what I really need is a comfortable sitting position to do this welding.
very bad arthritis, fused neck, etc, can't bend over a lot so must find comfortable position.
Luckily the working height of the mower deck can be changed once I figure out distances, length of rod,
all the stuff you experienced guys take for granted.

wish my barn was heated, this is not the week for welding, way too cold in there. Well, at least for the welder...

 

[newbury]

this is great help, thanks. I'm a retired insurance guy and an old volunteer fireman, and for sure I am determined not to burn my barn down, so....probably a bit overkill, but better safe than sorry:
2 6x8 foot welding screens, together they will block off the welding area from everything else
2 welding blankets
a good autodarkening helmet with a 2x magnifier inside (still have to install that)
gloves, non flammable shirt
2 10ABC fire extinguishers plus one pressurized water, all commercial grade
a separate electrical circuit just for the welder (I wound up rewiring my entire barn for this...groan)

a welding table, all the gadgets from Harbor Freight, clamps, magnets, etc.
what I really need is a comfortable sitting position to do this welding.
very bad arthritis, fused neck, etc, can't bend over a lot so must find comfortable position.
Luckily the working height of the mower deck can be changed once I figure out distances, length of rod,
all the stuff you experienced guys take for granted.

wish my barn was heated, this is not the week for welding, way too cold in there. Well, at least for the welder...

Drew, forget about the mower deck for now. Get a bunch small pieces of 1/4 flat stock and start sticking them together. Work on going from bird poop to stack of dimes. Figure out how you need to rest and hold things. Then buy a pound of 1/16 rod and practice some more on the thin metal that you are going to use on the deck.
Remember that the deck may have originally been a certain gauge but life has thinned it more. When I patched my mower (see pic) I continually blew holes even with 3/32. Finally found some 1/16" at Harbor Freight (had checked Airgas, TSC, HD, lowes) and managed to get a solid weld, which although looks terrible held up to some smacking and hours of use.

 

[LD1]

Learn on 7014. When you get the hang of it, try the 7018.

7018 can be very discouraging to a beginner. Slag don't chip as easy, rods tend to stick to the workpiece if you don't strike them right, and they can be difficult to restart because the electrode burns back in the slag a bit and glazes over with slag.

Start with the 7014 to build confidence.

Oh...And I seem to remember the mig welds on that hammer blow test beating all of the stick rods including 7018

 

[daugen]

I was going to cut up some of my flat stock and do exactly that. Still haven't found the right solution for cutting metal, using cut off wheels on hardened steel
is really a chore. I wish I hadn't bought the cheap chop saw and used the money instead for a powered metal hack saw. But I will use the non hardened steel to practice on, in
several thicknesses
The welding book has a lot of instructions on doing just this, practicing on this weld first, than that one, then a filet weld, then a vertical etc. I'm going to find a comfortable spot ergonomically to begin with, both standing and sitting, then work on the practicing. If I'm uncomfortable, I just won't do it. Or can't...

The use of thinner rods provides better results on thinner materials, did I understand that right? Plus dialing down the amps I'm sure.

 

[shadetree]

Go ahead and remove another variable (the always changing length the arc is from your hand) get a mig.

 

[daugen]

Go ahead and remove another variable (the always changing length the arc is from your hand) get a mig.

sorry, gotta run what I brung...stick and tig.
but I understand the advantage, which is why they brought it out to begin with right?

my understanding is a spool gun is used on both, you have to bring some new metal to the party,
and if the metal is laid down precisely as needed, seems like a a welder's version of a hot melt glue gun.
Except you have to melt what's underneath too...

reasonably sure I have some of this backwards...