I'm working on overhead stick welding with 7018. I just ran a root pass into a vee. The workpiece was 5" long and the first 4" of the bead were fine, but then the "crackle" sounded different, lots of slag started dropping, and when I finished I noticed lots of spatter in just the last 1". I was mentally focussed on keeping the arc length short, and I don't believe it was from a long arc. I'm wondering if my electrode angle wandered towards vertical, and if so, if this could be the cause. I need to figure this out because I'm working to pass a WABO certification test real soon.
Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington