Welding Tips and Tricks

I've heard Jody recommend welding 7018 1/8 verticle up at between 110-125 amps. This produces good results on the first few beads but becomes hard to control without a serious weave as heat input accumulates in the practice plate.

Is it acceptable to reduce amperage into the low 90's to compensate for existing heat in the weldment? Will doing so have a negative impact on the mechanical properties of the weld? Beyond having to be more cautious about sticking the rod I feel more able to control the puddle welding in this range.

The attached image was welded in the 105-115 range. As you can see I'm having some difficulty controlling the weld pool.

Aux wrote:I've heard Jody recommend welding 7018 1/8 verticle up at between 210-225 amps.

Ive never heard of anyone using those amps for 1/8” rod!??? Perhaps it’s a typo, but I would restrict your amps to 125 and no higher

cj737 wrote:

Aux wrote:I've heard Jody recommend welding 7018 1/8 verticle up at between 210-225 amps.

Ive never heard of anyone using those amps for 1/8” rod!??? Perhaps it’s a typo, but I would restrict your amps to 125 and no higher

Wow you are 100% right. That is a typo I meant 110 and 125. The question was regarding dropping the amps from that range to the low 90's. I'm going to make that edit thanks so much for pointing that out.

90 amps may be sufficient depending on weld size, and part size. If it’s a large part with several layers of beads then you may run the first pass a little hotter till things warm up then turn down the amps. Or if your ambient temp is 90f or above. Or if your using a preheat. I’ve run 1/8 7018 down as low as about 85 amps, but only under the right set of variables. Also accuracy of your amp control can come into play. Not uncommon to see 5-10 amps difference between two identical machines. Your 90 amp setting may be just as hot as the next persons 100 amp setting.

LOl! I’m glad we got that sorted out...

To answer your original question about lowering the amps for successive welds, yes, it is common and appropriate to reduce your amps after adding a few beads. The accumulated heat will be sufficient to allow lower heat for following passes. How much lower spends on things that Poland posted.

Thank you both for the information (and correction). It's good to know this is an acceptable practice. I think I've been relying too heavily on the amp readout on my machine rather than paying attention to the puddle.

Aux wrote: I think I've been relying too heavily on the amp readout on my machine rather than paying attention to the puddle.

Recognizing that is pretty much a guarantee that you’ll improve. Understanding why things happen, is the root for knowing how to adjust. The machine can’t tell you these things, only the puddle can. Then it’s up to you where appropriate to know how to adjust your machine (or pedal) to keep the puddle doing it’s thing properly-

Just wanted to share an updated picture. I lowered my amps into the low 90's things see much more controllable and the issues with undercut I was having appeared to have been dealt with.

You may notice how your bead profile is humped up in the center. If you turn up your amps a little at a time you can get that to flatten out.

Poland308 wrote:You may notice how your bead profile is humped up in the center. If you turn up your amps a little at a time you can get that to flatten out.

I've been working to address this actually. I think part of the issue was that my arc length was too short. I was stubbing the plate with the slag before now I'm trying to hold 1 rod diameter (1/8 inch). It seems to allow me to run higher temperatures and flattens out the bead a lot. I don't really understand why.

I was hesitant to post this because it looks messy but this is me experimenting with way to much heat 130-140 amps with a 1/8 inch arc gap. The humping is back of course. The heat was so intense the base metal was running away from the top of the puddle, I was so surprised the metal wasn't dropping out the bottom. I don't get why adjusting the arc gap would allow me to carry more metal uphill? Maybe it spreads out the heat?

Anyway, now that I've experimented with running both hot and cold I'll work on getting consistent straight beads with good tie-ins. I'll try to post an update next weekend.

Longer arc will contribute to more heat generated. Your better off with the shorter arc you described. Then just turn it up 2 or 3 at a time.

Poland308 wrote:Longer arc will contribute to more heat generated. Your better off with the shorter arc you described. Then just turn it up 2 or 3 at a time.

Interesting. Okay will experiment with this.