welding rod question

[ghenges]

First off i have no formal training on welding, actualy no informal training either. I have learned over the years from asking questions and alot of practice. I do mostly just repairs to my equipment and a little fabrication here and there I need to buy some rod for my lincoln 225 AC buzz box and have used 6011 for years. Now go easy on me as I am not a welder, what would my best rod be for someone without any training???:laughing:
Thanks for any input.

7018 just about everything

6013 for tack up.

7018 performs much better on a DC machine.

 

[Ole Orange]

Never ran it vertical down hill. I'm not big on down hill welding, even tho it has it's place.
Vertical up hill with 7014, again childs play!:thumbsup:

Thanks cant wait to try it out will be getting a tube of 6011 as well as a tube of 7014 dont have DC so will try this out for now.
Thanks for all the input.

 

[Shield Arc]

Everybody has their opinion, but I really like Hobart's 335A 6011.

 

[bigtiller]

I'm kinda like the OP, a lot of people told me my old Forney welder would like 6011 so I bought 10 pounds of it. But it is hard to start sometimes. I tried some 7014 and really like it so now I use it to tack everything up and then the 6011 seams to start easier so I am trying to use it up, and when it is gone I think I will just stick with 7014....... until someone more knowledgeable shows me the error of my ways.

 

[CNC Dan]

If you have already been running 6011 for years then most other rods that are suitable for AC will seem easy in comparison.

My AC stable of rods:

a) 6011 (rusty, dirty metal and deep penetrator).
b) 7014 (Medium penetrator that runs like a dream on AC. Many people call this "idiot rod" as it almost welds by itself. A must have rod for anyone with an AC buzzbox IMOP. 7014 actually runs better on AC than it does on DC where most other rods will usually burn a tad better on DC).
c) 6013 (light penetrator and very useful if no wire feeder for thin metal. I personally would not use 6013 for stuff requiring max strength though but it has it's uses).
d) 7018AC (Medium penetrator and very ductile. Has it's quirks though and can be tempermental to run. Technically should be kept in a rod oven as it will draw moisture and it loses many of its excellent properties and becomes even more tempermental to run as the rods gain moisture. Still very useful though especially for alloy steels compared to mild steels).

This is the best rod wright-up I've seen in a while.

When I took a class in the late 80s, they told us if we learn how to run 6010/6011 and 7018, then you could run any other rod, and could weld just about anything that could be stick welded.

Use 6011 to get good penatration on the first pass, then fill and cap(if needed) with 7018.

TIP:
Use 1/8" 6011, and 3/32 7018...
They run at nearly the same current ranges, so you won't have to keep changing the machine when you switch rod types.

 

[Arc weld]

There isn't one rod that is good for everything. It's good to have at least a couple different types of rods and sizes on hand. 6011 is good for tacking because it will strike an arc easy without getting slag on the end. For general welding 7014 is the easiest to run. For highest strength use 7018. For vertical welding, 6011 is the only one that should/could be used for downhand because of its deep penetration and fast fill qualities. It has a very light flux and the slag won't get in the way like it will with other types of rods. A whipping motion is usually used with 6011.

 

[rockinmywaypa]

I know the 60 in 6011 means 60 thousand pounds pull strength but is that per inch, per foot or some other measurement.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

Pounds per square inch. If you have a bar with a cross section of 1 square inch, and load it in tension, it will hold 60,000lb. Yield strength means it will begin to permanently deform at that load. Tensile strength is the highest load before it breaks.

 

[Texasmark]

Never ran it vertical down hill. I'm not big on down hill welding, even tho it has it's place.
Vertical up hill with 7014, again childs play!:thumbsup:

Really nice weld (but you knew that...grin), but looking from your inventory, you get a lot of practice. One of my problems is that I seldom weld so every time I do it's like a new experience and I get the hang of it again about the time I'm finished with the project; especially MIG which I haven't had for very long. On the MIG you read about thickness of material recommendations for say .030 wire which is like sheet metal. I have done some 1/4" steel plate to steel plate welding, (overlap with offset gusset weld) practicing and it did a great job. So am I missing something?

Mark

 

[Shield Arc]

So am I missing something?

Miller has a good calculator that will help you with that.
Biggest problem with Mig welding is people run way to cold. Cold lap is a huge problem with under powered Mig welders!
Miller - Welding Calculators