Forgot how to weld....

gears · Feb 3, 2016

So the last 15 yrs I've been fabbing with my MIG, frame work, seat mounts, bodywork. Been doing great. Now I'm making mounts for a front end loader on my 3400 so I figure rather than 2 pass the MIG I' fire up the old tombstone I picked up a few years ago at a yard sale.

I felt like goldie-locks!

Too hot? Right? @135 and 150

Too cold @75

@90 looks pretty decent but am I wrong? Is it the 6011 rod compared to my old days using 6013? Scale hammer was in the garage so they're still covered.

Opinions or comments?

moresmoke · Feb 3, 2016

Your 90 pass looks about right. Won't do much better than that with 6011. 6013 lays down a much nicer bead, but doesn't penetrate as well. 7018 will give good penetration and a nice cover. Whatever you do if buying
rods, get them from a welding supply place. Some of the farm store "offshore" stuff will make you pull your hair out!

David G · Feb 3, 2016

Your worst is better than my best, I am still learning.

Brendon-KS · Feb 3, 2016

I am far from an accomplished welder but have done a lot of projects in the shop with my Lincoln
tombstone AC 225. I use both 6013 and 6011 but can lay down much nicer looking beads with the
6013. From what I've learned it is not as deep penetrating as 6011 but for the stuff I weld -
mostly 3/16 and 1/4 with a little 3/8 now and then - it seems to work fine.

John B. · Feb 3, 2016

I use to use the 6011 & 6013 rods but switched to the 7018's. They're better for welding up or down, underneath where a 6011
or 6013 is mainly for horizontal welding.

makoman · Feb 3, 2016

Just today bought a hobart ac dc stick welder. We're your welds in ac or dc? Some of those lincolns have dc.

Geo-TH,In · Feb 3, 2016

I like my old tombstone and 1/8 6011 or 6013 anyday. Use mig for body work, thin metal, rust free,
paint free, new metals.

David G · Feb 3, 2016

I tried my first DC last weekend, first impression is that I like it.

Lanse · Feb 3, 2016

This is workable!

1) ditch the 6011 and 6013. Both have abysmal mechanical properties plus low deposition rates and no one in industry uses them anymore, just old folks
who grew up with them (sorry)

2) Acquire some 7018 from tractor supply. The Hobart variety they have is usable, MUCH better than the lincoln sold at Home Depot which are honestly the
worst electrodes I've ever run. Bonus points if you go to a real welding supply store and buy some Lincoln Excalibur 7018, you can get it 10 pounds at a
time and its considered by many to be the best 7018 on the market. You'll have better mechanical properties, deeper penetration, easier to remove slag, a
more controllable puddle, less slag entrapment issues, and a higher travel speed than the farmer rods listed above.

3) Set your machine to 90 amps if you bought the 3/32" rods, those are great for 1/8" and 3/16" steel. 3/16 and up you'll want 1/8" rods, which run
around 120ish amps or a little more if you're using them in the flat/horizontal position but never above 140.

4) Watch some of the tutorials on YouTube to teach yourself stick welding. Yes, some of the videos have me in them.

There ya go, that's a synopsis I'll give after going through one of the best trade schools in the world and leaving among the top of the class with 5
certifications. In this day and age, 7018 or go home. It has a bit of a learning curve, but trust me you wont go back. Good luck!

jon f mn · Feb 3, 2016

Second pic looks cold, last a bit hot. If your mig is 220v you should have done it all with that or
6013. I'm not a fan of 6011 because I see too many farmer welds that look like yours. A mig or 6013 weld
that is done well would be much better than that. I would have done all that with mig, but I have a good
mig welder.

David G · Feb 3, 2016

would you use the 7018 with DC?

My welder can do DC or AC, I used DC for first time.

JMOR · Feb 3, 2016

(quoted from post at 22:49:50 02/03/16) This is workable!

1) ditch the 6011 and 6013. Both have abysmal mechanical properties plus low deposition rates and no one in industry uses them anymore, just old folks
who grew up with them (sorry)

2) Acquire some 7018 from tractor supply. The Hobart variety they have is usable, MUCH better than the lincoln sold at Home Depot which are honestly the
worst electrodes I've ever run. Bonus points if you go to a real welding supply store and buy some Lincoln Excalibur 7018, you can get it 10 pounds at a
time and its considered by many to be the best 7018 on the market. You'll have better mechanical properties, deeper penetration, easier to remove slag, a
more controllable puddle, less slag entrapment issues, and a higher travel speed than the farmer rods listed above.

3) Set your machine to 90 amps if you bought the 3/32" rods, those are great for 1/8" and 3/16" steel. 3/16 and up you'll want 1/8" rods, which run
around 120ish amps or a little more if you're using them in the flat/horizontal position but never above 140.

4) Watch some of the tutorials on YouTube to teach yourself stick welding. Yes, some of the videos have me in them.

There ya go, that's a synopsis I'll give after going through one of the best trade schools in the world and leaving among the top of the class with 5
certifications. In this day and age, 7018 or go home. It has a bit of a learning curve, but trust me you wont go back. Good luck!

rookville, OH? What? Didn't Austin or even Ft. Worth, TX suit you?

Lanse · Feb 3, 2016

Preferably, Any industrial or commercial welding machine now is DC only, unless its a middle of the road or high end TIG unit, in which case it would also have the AC function for TIG welding aluminum, but most of these can also stick weld on AC although theres really no reason to and virtually nobody ever does.

DO NOT GET THE LINCOLN 7018AC from Home Depot, literally the worse electrode I've ever used. Lincoln has a "homeowner" line of goods that they sell at the big box stores which are garbage. Absolute, and pure garbage compared to their usual products that you buy online or from a welding supply store. The Hobart 7018AC from tractor supply is supposedly better, but my store never had any in stock so I just used regular 7018 until I bought a DC welder. It worked just fine, don't let the keyboard commandos steer you away from it. Especially if you get the larger 5/32 rods and run them at 160-180 amps, thats really best but dont try it on steel thinner than about 5/16 unless you want to clean up a mess. I hope this helps!

Lanse · Feb 3, 2016

Haha no, I live outside of Fort Worth now, I just never updated my location on here. But no, Austin certainly did NOT suit me

rusty6 · Feb 3, 2016

I've never used anything other than the 180 amp Smith Roles AC welder and most of my welding is around the 100 amp mark with 1/8 electrodes.
I find 6011 the best for penetration although I'll use 7014 some too. I absolutely hated 7018s and was never so glad when we finished up the
ten pound container of rods. Just terrible to strike and hold an arc with them compared to the 6011 and 7014 I usually work with. Somebody
advised that 7018 was good for welding cast and that was why we got them. Maybe I needed to practice more.
My brother has a Mig and I need to practice with that so I can weld some of my rusty old car bodies without burning them up.

jicaseman89 · Feb 4, 2016

i have a old sears n roebuck welder at home a lincoln at my dads and he had a old castiron lincoln and two forneys we have tried all kinds of rod 7018 6011 etc. 7014s are a good around rod we have welded everything we needed to. they work on cast but i am sure there is better stuff out there. when you need it you fix it or try anyways.
loren

unclemerle · Feb 4, 2016

Like to weld everything together with 6011 and do a final pass with 7018 for the welding nazi's. Yes not all 7018's are alike, lately I've found that Blackstone from Fastenal produces the best welds for me. Hard to strike and hold an arc but produces the best welds. Merle

johnlobb · Feb 4, 2016

As an old nuclear powerhouse welder, I agree with Lanse. 7018 is known as "lo-hy" which means "low hydrogen" or keep
them warm and dry. Do not just leave them in the garage or pole barn, keep them in a box with an old light bulb burning
in there. If they get wet, they do not work anywhere near as well.

Mike M · Feb 4, 2016

Anyone ever use 7024 anymore ? I'm pretty sure that was the number. Worked on AC and ran the prettiest welds you ever saw. Just had to keep your work flat. Several years ago I don't think anyone had it in stock.

gears · Feb 4, 2016

The Buzz box is DC, the Mig is a 220v Lincoln 175 running .025 mild steel wire.

Typically I'd double pass the mig on the heavy stuff (oh yeah, welding 5/16" plate & square tube to 3/16" box).

Using H.depo lincoln rod - I'll hit praxxair or fastenal and see which is the better deal, that 7018 or whatever.

Thanks for the reassurance that 6013 beads are prettier - I thought I was better than those pics show!

ed will · Feb 4, 2016

Hi, I have a ac welder and for thinner metal I use
arctech 222 rod. Beautiful! Got some Parkinson
now and hard to weld now. Ed Will

teddy52food · Feb 4, 2016

6011 is an all position rod. Good for overhead, vertical up or down. 6013 is ok for vertical up.

M-MAN · Feb 4, 2016

Heat is good on the last pic but like the rest of us you're a little rusty on the weaving. 6013 would be a bit smoother but the spatter would have looked worse than the bead. I like the 6011 rod but the roll of dimes isn't there when I don't weld for a while. It's a good rod that takes skill and regular use.

Way back when the 7018 came along it was marketed as a simple drag rod anyone could use. That's pretty much true but for old timers that learned how to pull the arc and work the weld with a 6011 it seems like you have to forget how to weld to use them. Different strokes for different folks I reckon.

Oregon Tractor Jack · Feb 4, 2016

It also wouldn't hurt to verify the polarity of your stinger and ground. I was given an older Miller AC/DC TIG machine. I was using 7018 and the welds looked like crap. My son who is a pipefitter and welder stopped by to have look. He fiddled with the settings for a while and still couldn't get the welds right. He finally swapped the polarity and that solved the problem. Some time either during assembly or when someone had it apart for repair the polarity connections had been swapped.

gears · Feb 4, 2016

Hmmm, I was wondering about the polarity - never checked it. I didn't think it was reversible on this unit, I'll have to take a closer look tonight.

jon f mn · Feb 4, 2016

Get some .030 wire for your mig, turn it up to max and weld it. You have enough welder to do this job.

gears · Feb 4, 2016

You may have something there John, spool of .030 and the mig is a known quantity..... I'll post pics either way.

Hank ABAB · Feb 4, 2016

The problem of "hard to strike" and "hard to hold an arc" is not the fault of the E7018 Electrode.
Your old AC machine likely has too low of an OCV (Open Circuit Voltage).

If you have an OCV of 70 or higher, that problem does not exist.
Trust me on this.

rusty6 · Feb 4, 2016

Could be possible but that same old welder works just fine with any other rod. Easy strike and holds an arc just fine so I naturally blamed the 7018 rods.

gears · Feb 10, 2016

Well I picked up 5lbs of Praxxair 7018ac rod..... Welds look better, need to run hotter and mid-bead it is like some giant leans over my shoulder and blows the arc out! WHAM, no more arc. Re-striking is suprisingly difficult (compared to the 6011 or 6013).

Looking better but not as nice as the MiG would. Still might pickup a roll of .030 (and tips) for the rest of the work.

texasman500 · Feb 20, 2016

If you can get ahold of a Millermatic 251. It will do any kind of a job you want. Very smooth wire welding with 75/25 Argon/Co2. I use .035 copper coated wire. Will burn as deep as you want. 250A welder. I have used Miller, and Lincoln. I find Miller to be a much better welder.
An old Lincoln stick welder with the 6013 rod works well on just about anything. Just keep the puddle moving at a steady pace. On a verticle weld try using a 'V' pattern. Works well on a wire weld. Good luck.

Forgot how to weld....

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