Welding Tips and Tricks

from a rookie<<<<< if my electrode (7018 3/32) just sticks to the work and refuses to arc or puddle...?????..... amps too low????....too high???... any help?

Hi,

Seems like its too low. What are you running at. Start at about 90 and go from there.

Enjoy the site. Mick

Yes...and no WAY too many amps will blast away the rod end and blow a hole in your work.....but usually it's just a matter of practice.

Start by setting your amps by following general guidelines related to rod (7018) and rod diameter (3/32)....In your case, 70-100 amps should get your started....Plus also establish recommended polarity for the position if welding DC.

If welding horizontal on flat plate, I'd start at about 80-85 amps, if using DC, I'd set up DCEN, then settle down and practice striking the arc...practice, practice, practice.

Oh, and FERSURE establish a clean tight 'ground' with work clamp...Attach it directly to your work when possible, or clamp work solidly to table then clamp work clamp solidly to the table. You can dial in 200 amps, but if work isn't properly 'grounded' to the work, the electrode will only see a portion of that amperage

Get you a ruff flat file and scrape the tip of the 7018 before you clamp it up-keep file in your back pocket so it's handy....Also refile the rod end anytime you break the arc and before you attempt to restrike....this will remove a little flux and brighten the end of the rod offering less electrical resistance when striking it.

For work where appearance isn't important, try lightly dragging the rod tip toward the intended weld...it should light up like a match giving you an opportunity to position the rod over the weld and establish proper arc length and angle.....If you are attempting to certify, then you must learn to strike in the root by tapping the rod tip.

7018 is notorious for sticking, so don't feel bad.

i have been in the local tech school for 2 months now and i have never stuck to so much %$#@ as long (2 months now) as i have in the last hour.....granted i have been using 9018 in class and running the prettiest of beads and striking class leading arcs im borderline thinking its either the pos machine my buddy "gave" me for nothing because it was sitting in his barn for 2 years or the rods i got from the local tractor supply are wet ....because im not a fool and i know i done dialed it in as far as amps are concerned and used the whole scale ,from 75 up to 125 and stuck and stuck again...and ooopppsss lookie here i found some 6010s in the drawer wow what a nice bead i ran so a. i dont know how to use an aggravating 7018 or b. the rods are wet or c. my "free machine" is a p.o.s.

ok...it seams that i had a weak ground on my work so i tightened the spring on the clamp and ran the clamp over a wire wheel and exposed some really shiny brass then ground the work where i was clamping to a nice shine as well ....ran 2 nice beads with the 7018 a top pass and a tie in (x box) with a new rod from the box ...nice rods but still alot more finicky than a 9018 ...then the trouble started...i picked up one of the half used rods from my earlier temper tantrum and the festivities began ....stuck to this , stuck to that....so i came back in the house and put 4 rods in the oven at 250 deg. lets see what an hour in there does for them ill try another pass after while....

When you buy 7018, be sure it's in a hermatically sealed (absolutely water- and air-tight container. Those shrink-wrapped packages at Tractor Supply are JUNK. Any moisture in the flux will screw with you, and after four hours of exposure, it's no longer a "low-hydrogen" rod, unless kept in a rod oven. You can dry it in your kitchen oven and get better welding results, but you lose the "low-hydrogen" aspect which can increase the likelihood of cracks.

7018 is a DCEP rod, and will run poorly on a machine with a bad diode or two.

Steve

how about in a ac only machine?... the miller thunderbolt i have is ac only

Ac only?...Then you want 7018AC rods preferably the ones advertized as low moisture.

http://www.farmandfleet.com/products/15 ... googlebase

http://www.hobartbrothers.com/uploads/p ... 018XLM.pdf

In AC, with correct rod, they should actually strike a little better than in DC.

Hate to ask questions like this, but have you tried 7014 rod? Lots easier to light up

no i have not....in school the teacher gives us 9018s ...donated ide assume ....when i was given this welder i asked what rods i shud buy and he told me 7018s....ill go into class monday and whoop his lil arse for playing jokes on me....lollololol

7018 will lay nothing but turds on an AC only machine.

Remember, those who cannot do, teach.

Steve

Otto Nobedder wrote:7018 will lay nothing but turds on an AC only machine.

Remember, those who cannot do, teach.

Steve

ahhh haaaaa i knew it....he had jokes all along......i wonder how funny it would be if i swiped a few 9018s and went home and ran some more rock star beads....can i run 9018 on ac only?

Some say a quick way to 'dry out' a 7018 rod is to stick it to the work for a second and let it heat up, LOL, don't bother.

If however, you've burned a partial rod with no problems, make certain to scrape the tip with a ruff file before restriking it..It won't hurt to brush the weld clean too before restriking.

Let's face it, 7018 is intended for code and structural work. If you aren't perfoming either, nor training for it, then use all the easier to use alternative rods while you gain experience.

I've found an open 50# can of 7018 that's been laying around for 20 years at the boiler plant. And we are talking Louisiana so humidity is very high here. We don't hesitate to use them for simple non critical stuff....Yeah, quite a few of them wanna stick, so we lay 1 LB at a time on the operating boiler shell overnight and next day they weld pretty decently...Before use, once heated on the boiler, I'll take them over to the grinder and quickly stone the tips lightly.....I also keep my electrode holder or 'stinger' mouth grips brite and clean....and we already discuss keeping your ground/work clamp tight and clean.

For OP:

I would think the instructor would turn his head and allow you to take home a fistfull of 9018 for homework, seeing as you are dedicated unuff to do homework....Same for whatever rod you are training on at the time in class.

But that's just me, and that's how I think.

i just found a box of 7018ac rods at tractor supply...but i swear this is the last chance they get and its just to say i gave them a fair shake....the 7018s i was playing with yesterday were just 7018s.....more to come...but i am gonna swipe a few 9018 from ole teach to see the differences....my mama raised a fool alright....but it wasnt me it was my brother.....

The only difference between 7018 and 9018 is the tensile strength. 7018 is 70,000 pounds anad 9018 is 90,000 pounds. The make up and flux coating of the rod is the same and should run the same.
I would think your trouble is coming from:
1) the AC only polarity of your welder
2) moisture in the flux coating
3) poor connection of your grounding.

I have not tried the 7018AC rods yet myself, but would like to. My stick welder at home is AC only as well.
If you are using 9018 rods at school, you might be right about them being donated. They are not too common. There would be no reason to buy them for practice in school.

Let us know how it goes!

ok...so here goes....at school today i reiterated to my teacher that my machine was "A/C ONLY" to which he replyed..."well damn i wish i would have heard you say that part" thats when i asked him why and he said "well you cant run 7018 rods on A/C current" (he was the one that suggested i buy 7018 3/32 in the first place)(i soooo wanted to say no sh%#)...so we then did in lab tests to exemplify this and we tested a few different rods under different polarity's and amperage's ...and well i have to say that the most important thing i learned today in school was that you never realy understand a creature until you know what makes it tick and im here to tell you....those 7018s are some nice rods to work with.....and on a happier note....im glad to say that in all my retracing of my steps during this i did find out that all my set up steps were accurate and by the book

It sounds like your question has resulted in the whole class (instructor included) learning something.

Good on ya' !!!

That's the kind of initiative that turns welders into craftsmen.

Steve

well....im no young buck i spent 27 years doing what i learned from an old man whos voice belting out orders haunts me in my sleep to this very day.....its called a work ethic and it follows me where ever i go in what ever i do....im taking a shot at welding because my field of expertise has dried up and i still have 2 more kids to put thru college and ill be damned if any one of the three ever have the chance to say " i can work circles around daddy"

If you have two to put through college still, I see two options in welding. The industrial construction side, where you're away from home most of the time, or exotic metals & specialty welds for the aerospace and semi-conductor industries, where you move to where the work is.

I took the industrial route, but not until my son was on his own. I could have given him a lot more if I'd gone on the road sooner, but I would have missed a lot, too.

I can easily hit six figure Take-Home, IF the work is consistent.

You will be hard pressed to find a local 40 hr shop in any general welding field that will pay a good enough wage to support a family, much less save money.

If I had it to do over, I think I'd have spent that college money learning the exotic metals.

Steve

post script:.... i just went out to my building where my miller is and ran a few 7018ac and they ran like a charm ....ok so i have yet to loose my mind...(please dont laugh too hard).....Steve, im in a lucky way Caterpillar is opening a manufacturing plant here in the next year with announced intentions of putting on 1400 welders or so my intention is to spend some of my savings at this local tech school learning this craft the way i learned my former trade and hope for a spot with them....there is a lot of industry moving to our little neck of the woods here in north Georgia, toyota has broke ground carters is fixing to break ground and a small host of other big names are coming this way lots of steel structures gonna be popping up like corn in rows heres to hoping i get lucky and not have to pick up roots....i look forward to many pleasant exchanges here on the board .....
Chris

Both are good companies.

The bulk of first-line welders Caterpillar will hire need flux-core and/or robotic welding skills.

Toyota will be primarily robotic, and manual resistance- (spot-) welding.

Learn as much theory as you can handle. It will help you move up.

It's nice having a skill with a future!

Steve