Welding Tips and Tricks

What causes this light blue ribbon in the weld?
Anyone ever seen this before?

10 GA steel sheet, Miller Thunderbolt XL and 3/32" 7018 on DC mode
Here is the finished product and the machine settings for comparison

Adam

I'd say a wee bit of atmosphrere got in there before it chilled.

A gust of wind, a split-second of long-arc, or a bit of your rod that lost a chip of flux before it burned.

Or an impurity on the flux itself... a drop of oil, water, or something, that, for just a moment, distrupted the flux.

I've seen it before, but I never though a thing about it, until now... If a wire brush makes it go away, the weld was not harmed.

Edit: on a second look, perhaps the slag cracked across the weld at that point, admitting air while the weld was still very hot, suggesting a rather thin slag development, from minimal flux on the rod. What brand are the rods? (Again, no harm done.)

Steve S

Running 3/32 rods on 10 guage is sure to give crazy results. Maybe try something smaller? 5/64 or 1/16?

That was Lincoln Excaliber 7018 H4R rod at 3/32"

I was wondering the same thing about the thickness of the material gauge in regards to the stick... Hummmm....
I know that this is light stuff BUT I was practicing for the job I had to do that weekend, re-weld up some 1/8" diamond plate in a trailer deck on an auto hauler.

Adam

Maybe someone else can respond with better advice but I've tried to weld a lot of 1/8" with 3/32 6011 and even at less than 50 amps I was burning holes through it, unless I moved REALLy fast...faster than I wanted to. But any lower amperage and I couldnt maintain an arc. I would really like to try some 5/64 or even 1/16 and see if that works better.

Where do you find rod in diameters less than 3 / 32 " ?

I wouldn't mind tinkering around with it

Adam

Hey Adam,
You have a great bead there.
No need for smaller rod.
No worry about the ribbon.
Just a flux inconsistency.

John

Adam Mc Laughlin wrote:Where do you find rod in diameters less than 3 / 32 " ?

I wouldn't mind tinkering around with it

Adam

Hardware stores around me carry the small rods.
"Tinkering around" pretty much says it - anything small enough for the little rods is a perfect candidate for a little wire feed

I've used them, they work fine - but are a pain in the neck in my opinion

If you try the little ones, they are wiggly, so I grab the rod end with my left hand and strike them with my left hand - otherwise the end whips around.