Welding Tips and Tricks

Hello I'm using a 1/8 7018 welding a 3/8 t-joint and for the root i always get arc blow. I'm running at a 110 amps. The root pass is the only pass I struggle with. What would you guys do in my case welding a 3/8 t-joint with a 1/8 7018?

Did you ever fix your issue when you were welding ¼" steel with 0.035" innershield flux core wire? If so what was it that fixed the arc blow? It would be nice to have responses/closure to threads. Just saying.

I went to lincoln website and use the exact setting they recommended for that flux core wire I was using. That fixed it all

It's strange that you're getting arc blow at such a low amperage, it usually happens on higher amperage welds. Are you sure it's arc blow? Could it be you're simply holding too long of an arc and don't realize it? We don't know how good of a stick welder you are and we can't see you welding, so it's a valid question I'd say.

Oscar wrote:It's strange that you're getting arc blow at such a low amperage, it usually happens on higher amperage welds. Are you sure it's arc blow? Could it be you're simply holding too long of an arc and don't realize it? We don't know how good of a stick welder you are and we can't see you welding, so it's a valid question I'd say.

I’d guess long arc as well, arc starts to wander to one side or the other depending on rod angle.

I'm holding a tight arc and I hold my rod at 90 degrees but then I start seeing globs of metal falling

Wildwelder96 wrote:I'm holding a tight arc and I hold my rod at 90 degrees but then I start seeing globs of metal falling

That's not arc blow. The vast majority of what is falling down is likely slag, but it is quite possible your molten puddle is falling down if you are moving too slow especially with only 110A on 3/8" steel. I think most would be at 125-135A. Can't see what you're doing from here, only you can. Your arc length is probably long even though you think it's "tight", causing the metal to pile up in conjunction with you moving too slow, thus causing all hell to droop down and out of the weld puddle. Just my guess.

Let's see pictures of what you're up against.

Ok and also what angle should I be using? because I always use a 90 degree angle but some people say to always have a slight push angle 10-15 degrees

I would be using a slight push angle. Remember the molten metal droplets will for the most part be going straight off the end of the rod, if you have a short arc. So point the rod where you want the metal to go. Same principle if your doing thick to thin, pointing the rod ( rod angled toward the thicker side) helps favor the thicker pieces.

I solved my problem what I did was hold a tight arc but instead of holding a 90 degree rod angle I went down 15-20 degrees. So that 90 degree rod angle is what was messing me up. So that slight push works way better than 90 degrees

I like a slight angle, but not anywhere near 20deg. I use about 5 to 10deg max. 20deg I would not be able to manage, that's for sure!