Welding Tips and Tricks

Hey all.

I must be very slow to catch on because in the past, after not having done any stick welding for a few months, I've always dragged out the rods I bought the last time I welded, lit up, made a hell of a mess and thought;

"I suck at this. I am SO out of practise!"

Anyhow, I recently discovered (D'uh!) that the flux on the rods absorbs moisture and must be kept perfectly dry. That explains a lot...

My question: although my wife might protest me putting my stick welding rods in the kitchen oven, I have a dedicated toaster oven in the shed that was purchased to use for powder coating projects. It will hold a temperature of between 160 and 280 degrees celsius. Tell me, would this little oven get my rods back in usable shape if I put them in there for an hour or so?

Visually, the rods are fine, not furry or broken down at all. They have simply been living in my shed in an unsealed plastic packet.

All advice appreciated as always.


Kym

Kym,
Anything over 50 deg C will dry them out over a few hours.
After that put them in a sealed container with a sachet of dessicant or two.

ex framie wrote:Kym,
Anything over 50 deg C will dry them out over a few hours.
After that put them in a sealed container with a sachet of dessicant or two.

Thanks for that - toaster oven it is, then.

Cheers,


Kym

What kind of rods are you talking about?

Coldman wrote:What kind of rods are you talking about?

CIG Satincraft 13's in 2.5mm.


Kym

Its ok to bake them. I would use your lowest temperature setting cause they're not really designed for 200*C.

Coldman wrote:Its ok to bake them. I would use your lowest temperature setting cause they're not really designed for 200*C.

Okay, thanks.

I have a nice, accurate digital temperature probe so I'll see how low I can get the oven temp before I dive in.


Kym

By the way, those rods should be ok with ordinary storage on a dry shelf. The problem is more likely that they are junky rods to start with in my opinion. There are likely to be others who share my opinion of 6013 rods.

If you google "electrode reconditioning" you find that different types of electrodes require different temps and duration. Some don't require it at all.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... xSxTLMsoIw

Coldman wrote:By the way, those rods should be ok with ordinary storage on a dry shelf. The problem is more likely that they are junky rods to start with in my opinion. There are likely to be others who share my opinion of 6013 rods.

They have been stored in my shed over winter, and it's certainly not bone dry out there but I know very little about stick welding rods, so happy to hear any recommendations.

In the near future I'll be welding up a job using 2mm wall square section mild steel tube. Any recommendations on the best rods to use?


Kym

You have the satincraft 13's, best use them up. Keep a tight arc and run your amps towards the upper range shown on the box if your joint can take it. 80amps ?

From memory I think box recommendation is 60 to 95, so 80 is certainly right in the ballpark.


Kym

MosquitoMoto wrote:

Coldman wrote:What kind of rods are you talking about?

CIG Satincraft 13's in 2.5mm.


Kym

Oven drying is not required for 6013's but it won't hurt.

Really?

Damn. That means I don't have an excuse for welding like a baboon every time I try stick. I was hoping to blame it on moisture damaged rods!


Kym

Good earth.
Clean metal where the weld will be.
Play around on some scrap to get the right amps before you try the job, make sure its similar thickness.
Tight arc

And ( this will sound familiar )

Practice, practice practice.

Also if you are still prducing baboon type welds, fork out $15 for a fresh packet of rods and see what happens.

With the satincraft ( or anything GP) Hold a bit of a long arc, and a little wiggle at the start as you need to set the pool in motion for proper formation. Some rods are better at this than others. Once you see the toe nail shaped slag/weld pool form behind the rod, shorten up the arc, and go on as normal. If you see the slag swirling around, that means you are getting a slag inclusion.

Mick/.

Good tips, thanks.

I need to practise my stick more. So caught up in my new love, TIG, that I don't give stick enough time.



Kym

One thing for welding with GPs is turn the welder up hotter than recommended, say 100 amps for a 2.5mm electrode, that will get the rod burning and show you where the slag is meant to go. It'll be rough but itll help you get an idea.

Mick

weldin mike 27 wrote:One thing for welding with GPs is turn the welder up hotter than recommended, say 100 amps for a 2.5mm electrode, that will get the rod burning and show you where the slag is meant to go. It'll be rough but itll help you get an idea.

Mick

Thanks for the tip.

This is a real challenge for me. With stick, I always seem to get the amps high enough and the puddle behaving just in time to burn through my work.

I usually find myself welding thin stuff, like 1.6mm wall thickness small square steel tube. Which of course is part of the reason I got myself a TIG. But I'd love to be able to get my stick welding sorted, and of course when it comes to knocking up a simple project and not having to blow a heap of argon to do it, stick proficiency would be a handy thing. I don't like to give up on things. I don't want to be defeated by stick.

Any tips for amps burning 2.4mm Satincraft 13's welding 1.6mm wall tube and plate? Or am I barking up the wrong shrub altogether?

Kym

MosquitoMoto wrote:
Thanks for the tip.

This is a real challenge for me. With stick, I always seem to get the amps high enough and the puddle behaving just in time to burn through my work.

I usually find myself welding thin stuff, like 1.6mm wall thickness small square steel tube. Which of course is part of the reason I got myself a TIG. But I'd love to be able to get my stick welding sorted, and of course when it comes to knocking up a simple project and not having to blow a heap of argon to do it, stick proficiency would be a handy thing. I don't like to give up on things. I don't want to be defeated by stick.

Any tips for amps burning 2.4mm Satincraft 13's welding 1.6mm wall tube and plate? Or am I barking up the wrong shrub altogether?

Kym

Rule of thumb is to never use a rod that is thicker than the material you are welding.
In fact, one size smaller is often better - especially on 1/8" (3.2mm) material and thinner.

The reason is that it takes a certain amount of amperage to properly burn a rod - based on it's size (and type).

The bigger the rod, the more amps to burn correctly.

Because of this, the material to be welded will likely burn through if you use a rod thicker than the material.
(for 6013, 7014, 7018 that is - 6010/6011 are a little different)

That sounds like good advice, Dave.

Thanks so much for your help.


Kym

I found anything under 3 mm with stick a pain.
I did manage a nice weld once on the ex wifes BMW R100 RT frame once and wondered there after what had I done right.
Stuff 2 mm and under was why I bought a mig.
And then came the tig welder for thin stuffstainless and alloy, that runs a bloody nice arc on stick as well.
Its the old horses for courses thing, use the right tool for the job.

ex framie wrote:...I did manage a nice weld once on the ex wifes BMW R100 RT frame once and wondered there after what had I done right...

"Ex" wife... There's no way that weld would fail and prevent your future pain....

Steve S

Nup.
One of the best out of position welds I ever did.
It must have been love.

Thanks for the tips, Pete.

Maybe that's it...I almost always weld thin stuff. In fact the only time I've ever had real success with stick, I was welding 6mm steel fence supports.

It's all starting to make sense...


Kym