Welding Tips and Tricks

Hi there Guys and Gals,

I'm an underwater welder from the UK and have been asked to start taking on a lot more surface welding. I did some surface stuff years ago under training, just to get used to the way things plug together and work, terminology and a small amount of horizontal (bench) techniques. Now I'm being asked to weld more in the open air, the whole dynamic has changed! It's always stick and with mild steel and I'll keep rotating my job so that it's a horizontal weld (which is easy), but I can't always do it! I'm struggling with vertical up welds and overhead. In the water, we use vertical down, full contact and the root/hotpass cools so quickly it's really quite easy (don't tell anyone)! Surface? Vertical up? Overhead? I'm struggling. To top it off, the guys I work for always throw 4.0 rods at me! You must get the newbie asking stupid questions like this all the time, but if you could point me in the right direction for amps, rod size, position and technique, or a link, I would be so grateful!

Likewise, if you've got any questions for U/W welding, just ask.

Cheers (Bubbl3h3ad)

in america we use the imperial system for measuring rods. 1/16, 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, ect. but on a 1/8 inch rod, 7018, I use 110 amps, lower the arc force(if possible) and angle the rod towards the sky, keeping a tight arc and a slow weaving motion, always watching the puddle very closely for over penetration. If you see the puddle stat to dig deep, you might have about 1-3 seconds before the puddle ends up in your lap.

hope this helps,


-rick

Thanks very much for the info, it's always better to know too much. So I suppose it's the same for the overhead weld? Would I have the puddle behind of, or infront of the electrode?Would I move away, or to myself? Really don't want a puddle on my visor!

on overhead, I like to be on the side of the weld, if your front or behind the weld it doesnt seem like you can see the puddle clearly. With the same 1/8 rod, on overhead I like to run it on 115-125 amps, a higher amperage will help keeep the puddle in place and not sag. Here I like to use slightly smaller bead, because its easier to control in such an awckward position.

-Hope this helps.