7018 vs 6013 vs everything else

[dieselcrawler]

Ended up tacking everything with 6013 and burning it all in good with about 20-25 1/8" 7018 rods at 150a setting on the ol lincoln a/c buzz box. Aside from the difficulty striking an arc and slag removal it went well and I feel much better about using 7018 now. This is one of the forks welded to the old brush hog blade.



Finished... boss is happy!

 

[Glocker]

7018 comes in AC rod, (7018AC) the difference is the flux coating.It runs excellent on ac. Don't let the guy at the supply house tell you it's all the same,it's not. Once you use it you will love it.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I dont recall if the rod I used had the AC stamped on it or not... how would a DC rod act when used on an AC mechine?

 

[Shield Arc]

how would a DC rod act when used on an AC mechine?

The pictures I posted in post #8 are DC 7018 rod run on an AC buzz box. What I found running DC 7018 on an AC buss box is it doesn't wet out like on DC.
These are DC 7018 run on a DC welder.

 

[dieselcrawler]

The pictures I posted in post #8 are DC 7018 rod run on an AC buzz box. What I found running DC 7018 on an AC buss box is it doesn't wet out like on DC.
These are DC 7018 run on a DC welder.

Fine lookin welds... I think you've had a bit more practice than myself. What does your term "wet out" mean?

Come to think if it... the welder I was using at work might have had a DC setting. I will look on monday... and check the rods I used... and perhaps mess with the settings and try a few things.

Really appreciate the response from all of you... feel free to add any further thoughts if you like.

 

[Shield Arc]

What does your term "wet out" mean?

First picture is 7018 run on a AC buzz box. The second pictures is 7018 run on a DC welding machine.
See how the DC weld is much smoother, and more flowing lines to the weld? See how the AC weld is choppy, raged? That what I mean by wetting out.

 

[lilranch2001]

I had lot of 7018 experience in my younger construction days
The owner of the company had disdain for all of the other rods, so he expected all of his welders to use 7018.

As long as you had fresh rod, and a good DC machine (my preference is an old Tombstone Lincoln), you could do some really nice welds, and strong ones as well.
I had many a plant engineer give me praise for my welds.
I never had much luck with anything other than 1/8 inch, ( once again that is all the owner of the company would buy) but his son became a certified nuke welder for a RI nuke plant that was being built in the 80's and he could do the prettiest vertical ups with 3/16" that I had ever seen

Whenever I do a project, it is still my go to rod.

It is a harder rod to learn, but in my humble opinion, one of the prettier finished welds out there

 

[Arc weld]

I don't necessarily agree that a good 6013 weld is better than a bad 7018 weld. It would depend on how bad the 7018 weld was. 7018 is designed for dynamic loading and 6013 is designed for static loading. Why is it so hard for people to understand that for 99% of the jobs on this forum, there is no need for 7018 to be in a rod oven!ullinghair:

However, the best way to tell the difference between 6013 and 7018, assuming both are decent, is that no one will ever question why you used 7018 instead of 6013! With MIG welders being so popular for thin sheet metal, there isn't a whole lot of use for 6013 anymore.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Well if a 6013 can be used, a 7014 would work just as well.imho.

 

[LD1]

Why is it so hard for people to understand that for 99% of the jobs on this forum, there is no need for 7018 to be in a rod oven!ullinghair:

I would argue that for 99% of the jobs on this forum, there is no need for 7018 rod.

Most everything I have done at home, with the stick, certainly isnt 7018. Cause on the old craftsman AC tapped machine, 7018 dont run at all. Flat out wont do it. But that machine has ran several hundred pounds of 6013, 7014.

We arent talking 1" thick plates here. Most of the stuff people on this forum (myself included) are dealing with is 1/8" - 1/4" stock. 6013 and 7014 are more than capable of good penetration on this stuff.

This trailer is about 20 years old now, and dont have a single weld on it that ISNT 6013. And has hauled MANY MANY loads of wood.


6013 is fine if someone knows how to use it. It might not be the best, or the strongest, but is still good rod.

If you need to hang a 10 pound sign on the wall, and have the choice of using 1/4" x 3/4" fastners or 1/2" x 2" fastners, what would you do?? Sure the 1/2 x 2" fastners would penetrate more and hold more. But given that the sign will bend and tear and crumple long before the 1/4 x 3/4 fastners fail, is it really any better??

I have said my piece, and I will leave this thread alone now. I am by no means a "pro" weldor. I just get tired of hearing 7018, 7018, 7018 all of the time. yes, it is an excellent rod, and very strong. (not pertaining to this thread).....but a newbie welder that wants to weld a bracket or hook to something to hang a tool or whatnot, certainly dont need 7018. And given the difficulty of running 7018 on AC, for a newbie, look into other rods.