Welding Tips and Tricks

Looking for some feedback on these beads.
The beads underneath are my attempt at 6010 weaves, next time I do some more 6010 weaves I'll post a picture as I really struggle with doing that well.

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At first glance it looks like the amperage is too low and your travel speed is too slow. With the 6010 try small circles and maintain a tight arc.

On those 7018 beads I was running 95 amps.
The 6010 was 75 to 85 amps.

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What size rods and how much lead angle

3/32nd 7018
1/8th 6010

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That’s about right with amperage. Speed up a little and straighten up your lead angle to around 5-10* You might also try a little longer arc length with the 7018

The very round and flat ripples and cold shoulders indicate too slow travel speeds. With the 6010, try to make your circles about a 1/4” wide

Really longer on the 7018 eh, I was trying to get as short of an arc as I could.
What is it on the finished weld that indicates that I should change angle and arc length?

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The high center and cold toes

Cactus Welder wrote:The very round and flat ripples and cold shoulders indicate too slow travel speeds. With the 6010, try to make your circles about a 1/4” wide

Okay. I'll try that.
Currently I just do straight drag, except for the weaving.

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Cactus Welder wrote:The high center and cold toes

I understand high center but can you explain what a cold toe is please?

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When I taught apprentice school welding, I taught drag for 7018 and circles for 6010/6011. Once the students got more comfortable I encouraged them to try different techniques for the different rods. Not everyone welds exactly the same and not all situations require the same techniques.


Wayne

The “toe” is the very edge where the weld meets the base metal. It should flow into the base metal almost seamlessly. Yours have almost right angles on them. You have the basic idea but need more practice. Understanding the fundamentals and practice practice practice.


Wayne

Cactus Welder wrote:The “toe” is the very edge where the weld meets the base metal. It should flow into the base metal almost seamlessly. Yours have almost right angles on them. You have the basic idea but need more practice. Understanding the fundamentals and practice practice practice.


Wayne

Okay awesome thank you.

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Cactus Welder wrote:The very round and flat ripples and cold shoulders indicate too slow travel speeds. With the 6010, try to make your circles about a 1/4” wide

Here's three fresh 6010 beads.
80 amps
1/4in circles
Mostly 5-10 degrees lead angle.
Tighter arc
And faster travel speed.

Thoughts?

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Those look much better. Keep practicing and focus on symmetry.

On the arc length, 6010/6011 like tight arc length, 7018 like a little longer arc length. At least that’s what I’ve found

Wayne

Cactus Welder wrote:Those look much better. Keep practicing and focus on symmetry.

On the arc length, 6010/6011 like tight arc length, 7018 like a little longer arc length. At least that’s what I’ve found

Wayne

Okay noted, thank you.

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Cactus Welder wrote:Those look much better. Keep practicing and focus on symmetry.

On the arc length, 6010/6011 like tight arc length, 7018 like a little longer arc length. At least that’s what I’ve found

Wayne

There's a couple times where a slightly longer arc length was favorable. Not too much longer; it's hard to describe in words. It's probably a difference of 0.75mm — 1mm or so. Just a very tiny minute difference, IMO.

My latest attempt at 6010 and 7018 weaves.


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Oscar wrote:
There's a couple times where a slightly longer arc length was favorable. Not too much longer; it's hard to describe in words. It's probably a difference of 0.75mm — 1mm or so. Just a very tiny minute difference, IMO.

I agree. From my experience the 6010/6011 are less tolerant of varying arc lengths than the 7018. I’ve long arced 5/32 7018 at 160amps to fill a groove and still look nice. It was almost like a globular mig weld. lol


Wayne

My 2 cents (and im no expert).

My understanding is that 6010 is a fast freeze rod. Its not really designed for weaving due to the fact that the puddle will solidify quickly. You might be able to do it, I'm sure some people can, but you probably have a higher chance of inclusions. I;d probably keep me width as small as I can meaning stepping outside the middle as little as possible otherwise doing a two pass weld with 6010/6011 rods.

7018 on the other hand you can weave all day. The wider you step outside the puddle the faster you will want to weave across the middle. Don't go crazy, but you can likely weave about in inch wide. Remember that you really only need to focus on the outside of the weave just like you are doing a grove weld. The middle will take care of itself. Watch the outside edge of the puddle to fill out the crater and prevent undercut.

You welds don't look bad, but a little slaggy. Remember to clean the slag really well after each pass, it is worth the time spent and will make the next pass go in a lot cleaner. If you are practicing at home just bust out the grinder if its going poorly to reset the coupon.

Cheers!

So here's this mornings run of 3/32nd 7018 at 85 amps.
I still can't get a flat bead what should I be doing differently?

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If you bump up your amps a little the bead will flatten out. Go up about 3 amps at a time till you find the sweet spot. If the plate is laying flat and it’s 3/8 or thicker then I’m guessing you’ll end up around 95-100 amps to get a flat bead with 3/32. Practice helps even more than turning up your amps. Slow down on your motion / whip, but keep up your travel speed. I find even when I try to hold still I still have a slight weave that develops. The slower you make your weave motions the smoother the weld will look.

Some old pictures I had on file One is just a socket weld fitting. The other two are from the base of a pedestal I made.

Here's tonight's latest attempt 3/32nd 7018 at 90 amps.

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