First welder, first welds

Jon,

I'm no pro. But I think they look good!

However, I think you're running a little cold. Try 80 amps, then 75, then 70.

My approach has always been to run as hot as possible, provided I d> Howdy,

You aren't doing that bad, Jon. Need to work on keeping your speed constant, and running a straight line. 1/8" stock isn't easy to stick weld, really, you aren't doing that bad.

Grant

Thanks, Vernon. I'll try bumping up the current next time. How do I tell if I am "undercutting"?

Jon

"Grant Erwin"

Thanks Grant. I find I tend to move, stop, move, stop, instead of keeping a steady motion. I"m hoping that I will get more fluid with practice.

One thing I am curious about is the small area just above and below each weld (the kind of "rough" area), as pointed out in this picture:

Is that a normal artifact of welding, or demonstrative of something I need to adjust?

Jon

Damn..you doing good son..really good!

Bottom weld you were inconsistent in rod travel..went too slow in a few places..a bit fast in others..but damn..NICE job on the rest for a newbie.,,,hell..I dont always get beads this good.

Though.Im usually welding through rust...

Gunner

"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."

- Proverbs 22:3

It looks like you are holding the stick to steep. At what angle do you hold it?

And no, no hopless case!

Nick

6011 is a fast freeze rod. Are you dragging the rod or using a whip and pause?

While they look a little bad, they would likely provide very adequate joints. You have a machine and a method for securely joining metal to metal, congratulations.

i

Thanks, Tom. That picture was actually taken after I had taken a twisted wire wheel to the thing. I'll take another pass at it later and see if I can pull more of it out.

Jon

Thanks, Gunner. The beginning is a bit tricky, since I'm still working on starting the damn thing. Usually takes me a half dozen or more strikes to get it going, but it's getting better each time.

Jon

Thanks Nick, I try to hold it at a slight angle (going by the tips in the back of the welder manual), maybe ten degrees or so. I'll try canting it over a bit more next session to see what result it has.

Jon

Hmmm, I'm not sure what any of that means - I'll have to brush up on my terminology.

Jon

Thanks, Iggy. It'll be interesting when I actually try joining things instead of just laying beads. :)

Jon

Getting a hard start often means you have the machine set too cool for the rod. This assuming you rod is good and you have the Start Method ..chuckle... down pat.

Personally, I tend to weld a bit on the cool side, I think..shrug..and only use scratch start..as a tap start tends to make me stick the rod. But others do well with tap, but they often run hotter than I think is "proper" (ymmv). The type of rod also makes starting sometimes a bit easy or problematic. 7018 can be a bitch to start..6011 is hard NOT to start.

But as I say..Im NOT a welder..only a dauber with some years of trial and error behind me.

Gunner

"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."

- Proverbs 22:3

Am only a farmer welder with no ticket and only a couple of weeks of schooling so I am no expert for sure.

My experience is that AC is easier for me to start by scratching (like a match) and DC is much better for me to start by tapping.

- Regards Gordie

yeah, make some welds and try to break them. I would not suggest to you or to myself to weld a manned spacecraft, yet, I would say that you can try first welding some joints and destructively test them, and then you can do some low risk project like a wheeled cart or some such. Something where the strength of welds is overwhelmingly above the loads that your product would encounter, and the risk of failure is low.

i

I'm no expert but I have done some welding recently with 6013 and have the welder, a Pickhill 180A oil cooled, set to 80V OCV and find that after having started the rod on some scrap for a few seconds I can bring the rod down to rest on the workpiece and the arc just starts up and I go on from there.

Fast freeze means that when you move beyond the puddle, the area that was the puddle becomes solid very quickly. Much more noticeable in the vertical or horizontal position. In the flat position, it really won't make much difference.

I prefer to drag the rod towards me so that the unwelded jo>"Just>> 6011 is a fast freeze rod. Are you dragging the rod or using a whip and >> pause?