First weld-on grab hook

[jcliburn]

Well, I took the plunge and welded a grab hook onto the heel of my bucket today. (Kubota MX5100 tractor, LA844 loader, L2235 bucket.)

I just started welding this past spring, and thanks primarily to the good folks here at TBN, I've gotten some excellent tips and information.

No one will confuse my work with that of a good welder -- I am, after all, a computer scientist. Despite that handicap, however, I bare my soul and offer some close-up shots of the affair.

3/32" 6011 rod, 75 amps on the Everlast PA160 dial.

Critiques highly sought.

 

[Transit]

The beads look a little cold to me, more heat would help flow out. What does it look like from the underside, an indication of penetration? How thick is the base sheet?

 

[jcliburn]

Thanks for the comment, Transit.

The base plate for the hook is 1/4", and the bucket is 3/16".

The underside showed an outline of vaporized paint and major heat discoloration of the metal. I'd post a picture, but I've already primed it.

 

[k0ua]

Yeah, 90 amps would have looked a little better maybe, but I bet a dollar it does not come off! I love your welder, I have one just like it a good value for the money if you ask me. Congrats for having the guts to publish a photo of your project.
James K0UA

 

[Transit]

3/16 = 0.187 in, that would call for 187 amps. 90 amps would be better than 75. 130-150 would be satisfactory.

 

[k0ua]

187 amps for 3/16 steel? sorry dont mean to be augumentive but ,no way. 90 is about right. give or take a few.. with his 3/32 rod. But I would have started with a 1/8 rod and about 125 amps to see how it ran, and adjusted from there. just my 2 cents.
James K0UA

 

[jcliburn]

The SMAW rod selection guide I use online shows a range of 40-85 amps for 3/32 6011s. What are the consequences of welding at 90 amps with that size rod? Will it just burn exceptionally quickly?

 

[gauthier]

Transit,did you just say he should be using 187 amps with a 3/32 rod? surely must have been a mistake?

About 90 amps is hot for 3/32,,you can run colder,or you can run hotter,,you gotta run it hot enough to where it will run/start good,you turn it down if you are melting through thinner stuff or melting off stuff you are not filling back,,generally speaking.

Once again,this welding supply saleman talk,[can weld this thick steel in one pass stuff],is confusing some people.:laughing:

I can weld inch thick steel together using less amperage than 180.

 

[Inkomodius]

Any particular reason you went with 6011 over 7018 for that? was the fit up poor? Also I agree with running at about 90 however it is machine dependent. Between my Ranger and My TIG with a stick on it I have about a 15 Amp difference burning 1/8 7018.

 

[gauthier]

Very true,,knobs are just knobs,,you turn one of those knobs where you think is about right than you adjust from there.

 

[jcliburn]

I don't have a rod oven for storing 7018s.

The fit up was good.

I have to say, the startup was good and the weld seemed to run fine at 75 amps. My technique stinks, but maybe that'll improve with practice.

 

[gauthier]

You probably got a better weld with those 6011"s than you would have with 7018"s.

 

[Inkomodius]

About that whole rod oven thing with 7018? Unless you are welding that hook on to Z662 code, I wouldn't worry about a rod oven, just get a rod tube with an o ring and after you open your box of hermetically sealed 7018 stick em in. My rod oven for 7018 consists of them in the back seat of my truck except for pipe and anything x-ray. You will have a way better weld with 7018, easier to start and restart and as long as your not dropping them in water you wont have an issue.

 

[gauthier]

Why will you have a better weld with 7018's you got out of the back of you pickup than you will with 6011? Is that true with 6010 as opposed to 6011?

As far as restarts,a 7018 is the worst for that.

 

[Inkomodius]

Also try not to end or start your weld on a corner try to go around the corner a minimum of a 1/4" or 10mm ( what ever you prefer ) it prevents a notch effect which is by definition a weld failure. Its just good practice too on manipulation of your rod. Good start tho!

 

[Inkomodius]

6010 and 6011 (which is more or less an AC version of 6010) are good for open root passes and poor fit ups as it is a fast freeze puddle, as well it can arc evenly between both parent metals. I don't nor have I ever used 6011. The only time I use 6010 in structural applications is where there is poor fit up and gap. After I will always put a pass of 7018 in. 7018 is a rod that in most structural applications that I have work in the procedure calls for. And by the back of my pickup I mean in the back seat in rod holders. 7018 is more of a malleable weld then a 6010 and it also has a 70,000lb tensile strengh compared to a 60,000.

 

[gauthier]

What about a 7010?

And you reckon that bucket and plate is made out of anything that even comes close to 70,000 tensile???

Miles of gas line[ and other pipe],are welded each year[month] using 6010/7010/8010 rod for a root,,and much of it has to pass x-ray and hydro tests..[before that ever happens the welder has to make a test and it has to pass tensile and bend tests],,

 

[jcliburn]

My rod oven for 7018 consists of them in the back seat of my truck except for pipe and anything x-ray. You will have a way better weld with 7018, easier to start and restart and as long as your not dropping them in water you wont have an issue.

Thanks. I've read that 7018s can be stored in a rod canister, but here in south Mississippi I worry that our extreme humidity could take its toll. Desiccant would probably help (someone mentioned that in another thread elsewhere on TBN), but I haven't tried it.

 

[puckgrinder85]

Wire feed anybody?

 

[Inkomodius]

Granted we do pipelines that we do a 6010 root and 7010 fill and cap, however those are below ground welds, AKA buried. they are also down handed. Where as the weld itself doesn't play a huge structural role because the pipe is laying on virgin undisturbed ground. And where the pipeline is tied in on non virgin ground it is braced by pilings and wideflange and guides that are welded with 7018.. Anything above ground call for (in our procedure books) A 6010 root 6010 hot-pass and a 7018 fill and cap passes. However more often, the oil company engineers are calling for a 6010 root and 7018 hot/fill/cap passes.

As for your bucket/plate I'm guessing its in the 40-50,000lb tensile. Mild steel. And its not just the tensile strength. 6010 is a brittle weld, it snaps before it bends ( just like 70-s6 mig wire) and can be ok in static load conditions. 7018 has give, and will generally bend before breaking ( more like a t1/t9 fluxcore wire) and is a better choice in a shock loading scenario such as yanking on your hook Dont get me wrong I doubt the hook will fail, but as you start venturing into larger fabrications I would get familiar with the 7018, you will find you like it and it leaves a pretty weld.