Let's say I'm doing a butt weld of thin material with no bevel, no gap, or for an example, I'm attempting to follow a design on a flat plate drawn with a welding pencil. If I'm running 6011, for example, there's enough light ahead of my path that I can see where I'm going. But with 6013 or 7018, the rod is dragging or almost dragging, the light from the arc is mostly trapped, and the rod casts a shadow in the direction of travel. I can't see where I'm going. The path ahead is completely black.
If there's a bevel or edge, I can feel it with the electrode. But on a flat plate, there's nothing, and my path wanders off in a nice straight line away from the joint or line.
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Maybe I need a super bright light to shine on the workpiece. I don't know. Any ideas?