Ugly beads, critics welcome...

[GManBart]

Don't listen to SA he is only a few weeks ahead of you. I say, that's just plain art, GMan!

Abstract art, no doubt!

 

[Shield Arc]

Don't listen to SA he is only a few weeks ahead of you.

Has it been that long already?

It probably is on the high side, and I've gone up and down a little bit so far but not that much. I plan to try a big step colder here soon.

Every 2 to 3, or even 4 welds, dip the plate in a bucket of water to cool it off. As the plate builds up heat, it changes how it welds. A guy can only compensate so much with travel speed.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Great welding course GMan and SA - Thanks.

GMan, I've been doing those practice bead pads a while and right out of the chute you can get your beads straighter than I can. Looks very good to me.

 

[GManBart]

Every 2 to 3, or even 4 welds, dip the plate in a bucket of water to cool it off. As the plate builds up heat, it changes how it welds. A guy can only compensate so much with travel speed.

Yep, I started doing that after seeing it mentioned on weldingtipsandtricks.com (after you mentioned that site in another thread).

 

[GManBart]

GMan, I've been doing those practice bead pads a while and right out of the chute you can get your beads straighter than I can. Looks very good to me.

After some of my first beads wandered, I started drawing a line with a soapstone pencil. I don't know if that's cheating or not, but it helped.

When I started on the full pad I just used the edge to get the first bead reasonably straight.

It's funny, but I had a small rectangular piece of scrap and decided to weld it to a flat plate just for fun, and it actually seemed easier to keep the bead where I wanted it....sort of like having a guide.

I don't know if I'm strange (okay, I know I'm a bit strange) but I find this a fun challenge. I find myself thinking "just one more stick" when I really should stop to do something else (like get cleaned up for dinner before my wife yells at me!). I figure that's a good sign

 

[ovrszd]

Start welding two pieces together with a 1-2" bead. Then break them apart and study where the joint failed.

 

[GManBart]

Start welding two pieces together with a 1-2" bead. Then break them apart and study where the joint failed.

I definitely plan on doing some bend testing. Are you saying a bead that's 1-2" long, or 1-2" wide (multiple passes)?

 

[ovrszd]

1-2" long. Any more and it's hard to break apart.

SA can specify some good examples.

For me, ideally, if I weld two pieces of 2"flatbar together and then break them I'd want the metal to break rather than my weld.

 

[Shield Arc]

When you start doing fillet welds, you can clamp the plate down, and hit it with a hammer on the opposite side of the weld. Beat the top plate over the weld. 7018, and Lincoln's L-56 Mig wire, I beat the tops plates down onto the bottom plate, then had to beat the top plate back the other direction to break it off.
7018 that never seen the inside of a rod oven broke with 18-blows of a 4-pound hammer.
7018 right out of the rod oven broke with 23-blows of a 4-pound hammer.
L-56 Mig wire broke with 29-blows of a 4-pound hammer.

 

[GManBart]

So I had a few minutes and ran ten more beads...tried to get the overlap better, and I think most were (although not all). I didn't get any great ends to the beads, but I go them so they were at least level, or a bit above, so I need to clean that up. You can sort of see a chalk line I made where I started tonight. If not, you can count ten up from the bottom.

 

[Shield Arc]

Looking a lot better!:thumbsup:
What brand of rod are you using?

 

[ovrszd]

And maybe you said, but what size and heat setting??

 

[Arc weld]

Go a little slower with your 7018. A 1/8" rod should burn 6-7" inches of bead.

 

[GManBart]

Looking a lot better!:thumbsup:
What brand of rod are you using?

This was all Lincoln Fleetwood 6011 1/8". I'm almost out of it (probably just enough to finish the pad) and have a box of Inweld 6010 to try next. My BIL (a steamfitter with 30+ years of experience) told me to try some 6010 5P+ if I can find it. At this point I figure the brand of rod is likely the last thing I should worry about, but I'll try finding some.

 

[GManBart]

And maybe you said, but what size and heat setting??

1/8" 6011, and around 105-110 amps (no digital readout on my welder). The plate is 1/4" thick or a touch thicker (haven't measured it). I've been clamping the pad to a very thick plate that's about 16x16" and around 3/4" thick. I'm not sure if that much metal behind the pad makes much difference, but figured it was worth mentioning. I've cooled this pad in water every 2nd or 3rd bead.

 

[GManBart]

Go a little slower with your 7018. A 1/8" rod should burn 6-7" inches of bead.

Thanks. I've only used just a handful of 7018 so far...in fact every 7018 bead I've done is pictured in this thread. I'll keep the 6-7" figure in mind when I get back to it. I figure it's probably smart to focus on one rod type at a time before I start switching around. Still, I can see why people like 7018!

 

[Shield Arc]

This was all Lincoln Fleetwood 6011 1/8". I'm almost out of it (probably just enough to finish the pad) and have a box of Inweld 6010 to try next. My BIL (a steamfitter with 30+ years of experience) told me to try some 6010 5P+ if I can find it. At this point I figure the brand of rod is likely the last thing I should worry about, but I'll try finding some.

I like Hobart's 335A 6011. Lincoln's 5P-Plus 6010 is very good too. I like ESAB's 10P-Plus just a little bit better.
All welding machines run a little different. My Everlast PowerArc 200ST I run 1/8" 6010 around 65-AMPS. My Lincoln V350-Pro I run 1/8" 6010 around 75 to 80 amps.
If you run 6010 to hot it won't stack correctly. Also if you have the wrong rod angle it won't stack correctly .

 

[Looking4new]

I don't know if I'm strange (okay, I know I'm a bit strange) but I find this a fun challenge. I find myself thinking "just one more stick" when I really should stop to do something else (like get cleaned up for dinner before my wife yells at me!). I figure that's a good sign

GManBart!
If you don't get in here for dinner right now, the dog gets it! You don't own a dog.:cool2:

 

[GManBart]

I flipped the pad over and started a new run. Lowered the amperage to about 90 and used up the last of my 6011. Every time I got what I thought was a decent bead I followed with a stinker!

 

[ovrszd]

I think you need to start doing constructive welding rather than just running beads. You've probably learned about all the stick control you are gonna learn there. Fillet welding or any other type of connecting 2 pieces of metal will teach you things you'll never learn running beads on flat metal horizontally.