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?

[moesizlak]

 

[moesizlak]

 

[imageel]

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....

 

[Sideways]

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.

 

[--Tom--]

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.

 

[RonnieI]

Rather than running beads try welding two pieces together (butt or fillet). That'll give you a better idea how you're progressing.

 

[Fergie 307]

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.

I agree, pretty good for a first try. And a +1 for the oerlikon rods.

 

[Spectric]

They look cold and too much splatter, the finish should be smooth with smiles rather than V's which might be traveling to fast. Your travel should not be just a linear line, the rod needs some movement side to side in a Y pattern . Some things to try are, wrap the welding cable round and over the arm so it is not effecting your hand and rod movement, get in close to the weld and not at arms length and also try supporting the rod nearer the end. Does the slag come off easily or requires some effort ?

 

[moesizlak]

Rather than running beads try welding two pieces together (butt or fillet). That'll give you a better idea how you're progressing.

Ignore the dirtiness, it was cleaned with a flap disk before I did the weld! These are the first ones, can’t do anymore as I’ve run out of steel

 

[moesizlak]

They look cold and too much splatter, the finish should be smooth with smiles rather than V's which might be traveling to fast. Your travel should not be just a linear line, the rod needs some movement side to side in a Y pattern . Some things to try are, wrap the welding cable round and over the arm so it is not effecting your hand and rod movement, get in close to the weld and not at arms length and also try supporting the rod nearer the end. Does the slag come off easily or requires some effort ?

Requires decent effort and a lot of hammering spatter I think is because I’m having trouble keeping the correct arc length, either I don’t feed enough and it gets very long, or I feed to much and burn a hole in the plate lol

 

[benitod]

Sorry to disagree with you, Spectric.
The current flowing by a conductor generates an electromagnetic field (EMF) that affects the blood due to its hemoglobin content, which contains iron.
It also can be a problem in an emergency when the welder needs to get away.
The EMF can also affect any medical implant in the welder. Pacemakers are lethally sensitive.
Instead, the cables can be clamped to the working bench.

 

[moesizlak]

Sorry to disagree with you, Spectric.
The current flowing by a conductor generates an electromagnetic field (EMF) that affects the blood due to its hemoglobin content, which contains iron.
It also can be a problem in an emergency when the welder needs to get away.
The EMF can also affect any medical implant in the welder. Pacemakers are lethally sensitive.
Instead, the cables can be clamped to the working bench.

I didn’t have cable issues anyway, the rod just seems long and wobbly haha it’s much easier to control when half used

 

[moesizlak]

Sorry to disagree with you, Spectric.
The current flowing by a conductor generates an electromagnetic field (EMF) that affects the blood due to its hemoglobin content, which contains iron.
It also can be a problem in an emergency when the welder needs to get away.
The EMF can also affect any medical implant in the welder. Pacemakers are lethally sensitive.
Instead, the cables can be clamped to the working bench.

I didn’t have cable issues anyway, the rod just seems long and wobbly haha it’s much easier to control when half used

 

[Chris JH]

I too started arc welding recently and of course I learnt from YouTube, one video I particularly remember is:

How to die while arc welding at home: the top 5 ways | Auto Expert John Cadogan​

I went on the repair an ancient iron fence that had been crushed by a falling lime tree. I had a lot of iron that had to be straightened by my local blacksmith, then welded-up to re-build the fence. I was using 3.25mm electrodes in a 140 amp welder (UK 240v mains power) and I found the sticks welded well when they really got going. My best tip is to clean the end of the rod/electrode on a grinder (even if its new straight out of the packet) the shiny tip combined with shiny metal at the join got the rod burning and my welds started faster and and penetrated better.

 

[Fergie 307]

I didn’t have cable issues anyway, the rod just seems long and wobbly haha it’s much easier to control when half used

Can be a good idea when you first start to cut them in half. You can remove the flux coating to make the end for the torch by just squeezing it between the jaws of a pair of pliers.
Have both hands on the torch, if you haven't got one get an auto darkening helmet. Cheap nowadays, even seen them in Lidl.
Once you get the hang of it then go for the full length.

 

[Homeless Squirrel]

Never forget a decent Earth either!.

 

[Spectric]

spatter I think is because I’m having trouble keeping the correct arc length, either I don’t feed enough and it gets very long, or I feed to much and burn a hole in the plate lol

All part of the coordination where you need to maintain a constant arc gap as the rod is consumed but it takes a lot of practice and holding the rod itself during welding can give you the feel wheras just holding the torch means you have a long length to control and any movement is exagerated.

The current flowing by a conductor generates an electromagnetic field (EMF)

Yes but the iron in our blood is not attracted to magnetic fields, if it was then having an MRI scan would be lethal !