This week's drops...

[Haywire]

... are all straight 1/4" plate drops off the plasma table. No circles. Looks like I'm practicing butt or straight fillet welds this week.

Ian

 

[Haywire]

Ok, since I'm fairly comfortable with straight fillet welds using 7014 I'm going to work on 6011 fillets and butts. Since Shield Arc got ahold of my secret weapon and lost all respect for me, I have to do something to redeem myself.

Can someone post a pic of a decent 6011 fillet weld and flat bead for me to compare my stuff to? I did a bit this afternoon. At one point the entire rod was on fire. I stuck it pretty good. LOL Doing that step/whip thing is gonna take more effort than the drag rod.

Ian

 

[Shield Arc]

Since Shield Arc got ahold of my secret weapon and lost all respect for me, I have to do something to redeem myself.

No you didn't! You're doing great!:thumbsup:

Not a fillet, but close enough.

 

[Haywire]

Looks like you don't get that feathered edge you do with 7014. I've run it from 50 up to 85A, thinking it was cold. Didn't make a huge difference at the edges. The whip/step thing is really gonna take some practice. I'm all over the place. --Ian

 

[Shield Arc]

I never have run much 60XX rod, but yes it is harder than 7018 and 7014. A few days ago I was reading a thread on another site where pipeliners were saying they rarely if ever whip / step 60XX rod, they run it like 7018. I didn't know that! I'm gonna give that a try and see how I like running 60XX like 7018.

 

[Haywire]

Here's one I'll post. Fillets are easier than running flat beads. 3/32" 6011 70amps. Notice the grainy texture between the "dimes" for lack of a better word. Too much amperage? No stepping or whipping. I fell back to little circles. --Ian

 

[dstig1]

The instructor had us mostly doing C-shapes - forward then hook back, then hook forward, back, etc. He said the downside to circles is you can end up trapping slag with that motion, especially in vertical runs. Made sense. In fillets, U shapes seemed to fit better, esp vert up.

 

[Haywire]

The problem I'm having with steps or anything that stops and reverses direction is consistent distance from C to C. I'm not terribly consistent with the circles above, but it's much much worse the other way. I'll give the C a try tomorrow evening.

Ian

 

[dstig1]

Yeah, IMHO consitency is about 75% of good welding. It's where I lack too. Inconsistent movements equates to uneven beads/penetration and slag trapping. Guilty as charged...

 

[crazyal]

I hope you saved your first weld. It's always fun to look at years later.