First stick welds, advice? 2.5mm mild steel, quite thin e6013 electrodes, 50 amps. Why would they be ‘bad welds’ and what do I look for in welds?
- Thread starter moesizlak
- Start date
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You'd get better advice posting on this forum -
https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/forums/arc-welding.23/
They are a friendly lot and there's loads of info - guidelines wrt amperage, rod dia and metal thickness....
https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/forums/arc-welding.23/
They are a friendly lot and there's loads of info - guidelines wrt amperage, rod dia and metal thickness....
Hey. They ain't that bad.
You are getting penetration.
Just practice steady movement of the rod.
Clean your metal well first. It can help.
Read about the ideal angle to hold your rod to the work. Not vertical, not too shallow.
One of the biggest factors for beginners is a user friendly rod. Our instructor bought us Oerlikon Overcord rods. They were great. Match the rod dia to the thickness of the plate. Just read up. Same for power setting, read up and set according to the rod, plate and type of joint. Then experiment with more and less amps to see how the weld changes.
Secret is to understand how changing something changes rhe weld. Trial and error is a good teacher but systematically change one thing and learn its effect.
It's a craft skill. You'll be great. Just put in 10-20 hours of structured practice.
You are getting penetration.
Just practice steady movement of the rod.
Clean your metal well first. It can help.
Read about the ideal angle to hold your rod to the work. Not vertical, not too shallow.
One of the biggest factors for beginners is a user friendly rod. Our instructor bought us Oerlikon Overcord rods. They were great. Match the rod dia to the thickness of the plate. Just read up. Same for power setting, read up and set according to the rod, plate and type of joint. Then experiment with more and less amps to see how the weld changes.
Secret is to understand how changing something changes rhe weld. Trial and error is a good teacher but systematically change one thing and learn its effect.
It's a craft skill. You'll be great. Just put in 10-20 hours of structured practice.
Try and get comfortable when learning you can try and get the piece at a comfortable heigh and get your body in a good position. Looks like you’re moving a bit too fast, slow down and concentrate on moving in a straight line.
The spatter is caused by long arcing so try and keep a shorter arc.
The spatter is caused by long arcing so try and keep a shorter arc.
