[GarageHobbyGuy]

3/16" carbon steel (millscale removed)
3/32" 7018
working right to left in the picture below
pulling bead towards me (I guess that's not right)
First half autoset, 2nd half 100 AMP / 30% Dig

These are literally my first ever stick welding beads - tried to focus on at least a consistent travel speed, not sure if that was the right speed, but tried to be consistent. Also trying to think about travel speed, keeping the rod close as it burned off, and watching the puddle, not really knowing what the puddle should look like - a lot to think about feeling like there's not much time to think about it.

Any advice is appreciated so I can improve something with the next practice session.

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[Oscar]

Not bad at all. As Jody says "CLAMS".

Current
Length of Arc
Angle
Manipulation
Speed of Travel.

You chose the right current, as 3/32" 7018 runs well with 75-100A, depending on joint position/orientation.

Length of arc is what we can't see since we weren't there, but it seems you had a good grasp of low long/short it needs to be, for otherwise you'd have porosity and large dingleberries everywhere. (lighting in the pic isn't optimal, but it's good enough to see there aren't hardly any)

Angle of electrode we can't see either, it's another one of those things that someone could point out if they were there. You'd need to check the bead height to see if it is excessive to see if you were running too much rod angle.

manipulation, there shouldn't be too much while you're learning, but a slight weave side-to-side can be acceptable once you move on to basic joints.

Speed of travel can sometimes be seen from the tail-end of the ripples. If they are too "V" shaped, that tells that you're traveling too fast. They should have more of a rounded "U", more like a circular-arc kind of shape.

[GarageHobbyGuy]

Not bad at all. As Jody says "CLAMS".

Current
Length of Arc
Angle
Manipulation
Speed of Travel.

You chose the right current, as 3/32" 7018 runs well with 75-100A, depending on joint position/orientation.

Length of arc is what we can't see since we weren't there, but it seems you had a good grasp of low long/short it needs to be, for otherwise you'd have porosity and large dingleberries everywhere. (lighting in the pic isn't optimal, but it's good enough to see there aren't hardly any)

Angle of electrode we can't see either, it's another one of those things that someone could point out if they were there. You'd need to check the bead height to see if it is excessive to see if you were running too much rod angle.

manipulation, there shouldn't be too much while you're learning, but a slight weave side-to-side can be acceptable once you move on to basic joints.

Speed of travel can sometimes be seen from the tail-end of the ripples. If they are too "V" shaped, that tells that you're traveling too fast. They should have more of a rounded "U", more like a circular-arc kind of shape.

Thanks for chiming in here.

Length of Arc - I'm not sure I was doing it right, but I somewhat felt like I was keep the rod close enough to feel the flux touch the base metal slightly - I'm not sure that's what I was actually feeling, or that it was correct - but that is where I tried to be consistent with something.

Angle of rod - I found this to be challenging to keep consistent, but I tried to stay as close to upright as possible - being in a comfortable position while the rod burns off helped. Propping an elbow on something helped also. Next session, I'm going to try and work across by body, vs coming towards me with the bead lines.

Manipulation - I found this to be too much to think about with travel speed, arc length, watching the puddle, keeping a straight line... As I get more comfortable with one or more of these during the weld, I'll begin to add this to my practice.

Speed of Travel - I found this to be more of a struggle than I originally anticipated. But like rod angle, propping against something helped. Standing over the metal with a fresh rod, leaning over without any support or prop, trying to lay a bead made me feel like a drank a gallon of coffee, and had the jitters. Nothing was smooth or steady.

While I felt at times a nailed one or two of these on a random bead, I never felt like I got all of them together on the same bead.

Thanks again for the input - I appreciate the insight.

Question - I notice that Jody talks about "letting the metal cool" - can you quantify that? I have an IR temp reader, and would let it come down to 200ish before laying another bead, but the metal still seemed cooked after I was done. Should I let it come all the way to down to room temp?

[FWE]

Yes, I would let it cool a bit more before starting the next bead. You can (NEVER do this for anything other than practice pieces) dunk the piece in a bucket of water every three or four beads. This cools the metal down, to under 100°C at least, giving headspace to let it heat up again. If you are starting a bead at 250°C or above then the puddle will be way more fluid, the bead will end up very flat and the rod will feel like it is set with a higher current. Not very controllable, fun, or representative! Look up interpass temperature limits for a more formalised and technical look...

[GarageHobbyGuy]

Yes, I would let it cool a bit more before starting the next bead. You can (NEVER do this for anything other than practice pieces) dunk the piece in a bucket of water every three or four beads. This cools the metal down, to under 100°C at least, giving headspace to let it heat up again. If you are starting a bead at 250°C or above then the puddle will be way more fluid, the bead will end up very flat and the rod will feel like it is set with a higher current. Not very controllable, fun, or representative! Look up interpass temperature limits for a more formalised and technical look...

Thanks for the tip!

[FWE]

No bother.

Forgot to say, let all the water evaporate off the plate after dunking before you strike your next arc!

[GarageHobbyGuy]

Second practice session

10 ga. plate - millscale removed
Hobart 3/32" 7018
95 amps
30% dig

What I changed from first session: travel across my body, not towards myself. Mostly left to right, but some right to left - things certainly look a lot different coming the other way.

Larger plates this time meant longer beads; 6" x 10" plates, running the long way - this forced me to do a restarts, somewhere, on nearly every bead - this is quite challenging, but I think I at least figured out the concept - strike arc ahead, long arc back, then I lose it, stick the rod... something like that - I'll rewatch some videos.

I tried mainly to focus on straight lines and consistent travel speed - what I think I figured out is to watch the shape of the puddle furthest from the electrode, and a steep V meant I should slow down. I'm guessing anyway... Feedback appreciated.

I found it tough at times to see where I was going, and realized that as I got along on a bead, I was leaning the electrode further and further - as I kept it more perpendicular it would (generally speaking) light the way ahead a little better. I was running my shade a level 9.

Its a lot of thing to think about all at once, I'lll say that....

I know its ugly - I'm just getting started, I welcome all feedback.

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[Oscar]

I think you've got the right ideas going. That practice plate looks good. There could be lots of little things here and there that could possibly be improved on, but since we can't actually see you running those beads, it's on you to just practice and figure the nitty gritty details on your own.

[GarageHobbyGuy]

I think you've got the right ideas going. That practice plate looks good. There could be lots of little things here and there that could possibly be improved on, but since we can't actually see you running those beads, it's on you to just practice and figure the nitty gritty details on your own.

Thanks for the feedback - if you don't mind, I have a question...

Is it easier for learning, to do this on thicker metal rather than thinner - I see Jody do this on some pretty thick stuff compared to what I've been able to get my hands on. Is there anything to that, or is it all the same as a beginner?

[Oscar]

I think you've got the right ideas going. That practice plate looks good. There could be lots of little things here and there that could possibly be improved on, but since we can't actually see you running those beads, it's on you to just practice and figure the nitty gritty details on your own.

Thanks for the feedback - if you don't mind, I have a question...

Is it easier for learning, to do this on thicker metal rather than thinner - I see Jody do this on some pretty thick stuff compared to what I've been able to get my hands on. Is there anything to that, or is it all the same as a beginner?

Thicker practice parts are better, within reason. You don't want it too oversized and then you have to run the rod at it's upper range without being conscious about what is going on. Get some good beads going on 3/16" to 5/16" thick steel first. Even 3/8" is acceptable, but it all just depends what rod you are running at that exact moment. For example, it would make no sense to try to run a 3/32" 6013 on 1" thick steel, if you haven't already gotten the hang of running that rod on more "typical" scenarios. My take on it of course.

[GarageHobbyGuy]

Thicker practice parts are better, within reason. You don't want it too oversized and then you have to run the rod at it's upper range without being conscious about what is going on. Get some good beads going on 3/16" to 5/16" thick steel first. Even 3/8" is acceptable, but it all just depends what rod you are running at that exact moment. For example, it would make no sense to try to run a 3/32" 6013 on 1" thick steel, if you haven't already gotten the hang of running that rod on more "typical" scenarios. My take on it of course.

Thanks, that make perfect sense, much appreciated...

[FWE]

I agree with what Oscar is saying on the thickness. For a practice plate to run beads on I prefer thicker, up to and beyond 3/8", as it gives a bit more of a heat sink and distorts less. For butt or fillet welds I try a bit of everything, though the 3/16" to 5/16" mentioned was where I started. This thickness will still go wrong, especially 3/16", if you are way out on settings or technique, like burn though if you are too hot, but not instantly if you are just a bit out.

All depends what you are aiming for though, if you are looking to mainly weld 1/8" wall thickness box section frames then practice on thinner stuff, conversely if you want to weld 1" wall thickness pipe then go thicker. If you want to be able to weld a bit of everything then eventually got to practice it all. If I know I will do doing a weld set up I've never done before I still endeavour to run some tests beforehand, no sense going in blind!

[GarageHobbyGuy]

I agree with what Oscar is saying on the thickness. For a practice plate to run beads on I prefer thicker, up to and beyond 3/8", as it gives a bit more of a heat sink and distorts less. For butt or fillet welds I try a bit of everything, though the 3/16" to 5/16" mentioned was where I started. This thickness will still go wrong, especially 3/16", if you are way out on settings or technique, like burn though if you are too hot, but not instantly if you are just a bit out.

All depends what you are aiming for though, if you are looking to mainly weld 1/8" wall thickness box section frames then practice on thinner stuff, conversely if you want to weld 1" wall thickness pipe then go thicker. If you want to be able to weld a bit of everything then eventually got to practice it all. If I know I will do doing a weld set up I've never done before I still endeavour to run some tests beforehand, no sense going in blind!

Thank you for the feedback, much appreciated.

[Louie1961]

I would now try to overlap all your beads 50% over the prior bead. In real world welding, you will often have to stack a 3 bead fillet, or something similar. You now need to get really good at putting the bead where you are aiming it. Something like these, but even better (because these still kind of suck, but since they are mine I can say that). One is 6011, the other is 7018

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[Poland308]

[quote="Louie1961"]I would now try to overlap all your beads 50% over the prior bead. In real world welding, you will often have to stack a 3 bead fillet, or something similar. You now need to get really good at putting the bead where you are aiming it. Something like these, but even better (because these still kind of suck, but since they are mine I can say that). One is 6011, the other is 7018

Solid recommendation, overlapping beads is required for larger weldments or building up surfaces.

[GarageHobbyGuy]

thanks for the tip, I'll be doing that this weekend

[Louie1961]

Don't be too concerned with cleanliness either. Before I started on either plate I hit them with a flap disk to remove the mill scale. But after I start welding I dunk the plate in a 5 gallon bucket of water every 3-4 beads to get the heat out of it. That will tend to put back some of the scale and some flash rust. I just hit it with a wire wheel before taking off again. There is nothing critical about these welds other than putting them in the right place and building consistency. Heck, I don't even wait for all the water to evaporate off the plate before starting in. Just so long as there isn't a puddle under either of my arms on the welding table, I am good to go. As Jody recommends, once you get good with one hand, switch directions and switch hands. I also find that illuminating the plate with a really bright shop light will help you get straighter lines. Same for using a downdraft respirator. Keeps your lens from fogging up, plus you shouldn't breath any of those fumes anyway. Good luck.

[77cruiser]

I've never tried welding with my left, I know I should at least try.

[sbaker56]

Yeah, generally its best to weld on something a bit thicker for heat management reasons, you don't want to have to stop every single bead to quench your red hot plate and grind the heavy scale back off. But for stick welding especially while practicing, a little bit of scale or rust isn't going to effect anything, so quench as needed.

[Marcin]

You have made me feel ashamed, as these are the products of my second day of stick welding (well, actually welding at all)
started with 6013 2.5mm, then moved to 7018, 2.5mm and 3.2mm. (120amp, but very unreliable) I must admit, I did not know that the mill scale needs to be removed.





Veery sloooow bead:



Jody's videos have helped me a lot - I already know I am rushing too fast.

[Timber Wolf]

Don't worry. We ALL gotta start somewhere.