Update to puddles or other welders.

caterpillar guy · Jul 2, 2013

These are the pictures from last nights discussion. If I did this right theres are 9 pictures. The small I-beams and side rail pictures are the vertical up with the welder set on reverse polarity DC 70 amp. The stake pocket pictures are the welder setting of AC 80 amp with vertical down.
The ones with the flat of the I-beam on top are the same setting as the first vertical up. And then the last should be the project as a whole. This is so you can see what the project is.

NCWayne · Jul 2, 2013

May be other issues but the welds in your pics look exactly like what I was trying to describe. Namely a 6011 typically gives a crappy appearing weld. Too, it penetrates deep, especially on lighter guage material, so if your a bit hot and/or running too large of a rod it's going to leave a crappy appearing, flat weld that looks like it was trying to melt all the way through. Top that off with the fact that the material you were welding on looked to be pretty nasty and you get exactly what I was trying to describe I've seen many, many times over the years from a 6011 rod.

dr sportster · Jul 2, 2013

A good rod for that would be 7018.

Welding man · Jul 2, 2013

I try to stay out of these whizzing contests,but don't blame the welding rod,blame the metal preparation,tecnique and the ability of the welder.6011 would not be my rod of choice either but it would work if used properly. I havent't looked to see what a welder is set on amperage wise in the last 30 years. A welder sets a machine by sight, sound and feel and the amperage is controlled by arc length, travel speed and rod angle.Practice, practice and more practice makes a welder.

caterpillar guy · Jul 2, 2013

The side rail is new material kept dry and rust free. The old side rail was cut off with the torch then ground off to get the slag and and rust off. Since then it has rained and high humidity. The side has been kept tarped since the side was cut off. There was some surface rust from the humidity before welding. I suppose I should have polished it off. I didn't.
I was most interested about the way it seamed to over heat during the welding process. I tried some 7018 a couple of years ago when I replaced the cross members it just would melt the joint out and run down burning holes. When I talked to the local distributor about it he suggested the 6011 since it would set up faster rather than burning away and running down.
I thought the pictures would give a better idea of what I was describing. I did not clean any of the smoke off after the welding before the pictures.

Anonymous-0 · Jul 3, 2013

One of the first things I was taught was that you can't tell much about a weld until you clean all the slag off so you can look at the actual weld. That material doesn't look as thin as I had thought. I thought it was less than 1/8" you were welding.

I agree with welding man about not setting the machine by what the dial says. The dial can be used to get a repeat setting but only if you're familiar with the machine. I think you were burning a little cold, especially on the downhand but it looks like you have some decent fusion. 6010/6011 fillet welds are often flat or slightly concave just because the nature of the rods.

mj · Jul 6, 2013

(quoted from post at 14:34:56 07/02/13) These are the pictures from last nights discussion...........The stake pocket pictures are the welder setting of AC 80 amp with vertical down........

Try some more only 'vertical up' (uphand) - I use downhand for thin material with something like 6013.

Go here to find out recommended procedure and attributes of various rod -

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/consumables/stick-electrodes/Pages/stick-electrodes.aspx

Update to puddles or other welders.

caterpillar guy

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NCWayne

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dr sportster

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Welding man

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caterpillar guy

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Anonymous-0

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mj

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