A Quick Question on Stick Welders

[Don A]

I finally bought myself a new Lincoln 225AC, and I have been really enjoying getting to know it.

I am currently building a new forge; all scrap steel with a Centaur fire-pot.

Just one quick question for you experienced buzz-boxers:

You've got a pile of mild steel between 1/8 and 1/4". You have ground it clean at all the joints. You can manipulate the work so that there is no overhead welding involved.

If you could pick one type rod, which would it be?

Thanks,
Don

[jimmy seale]

6011-may want to run 6010-it seams to deal with a little higher carbon content-but for good weld i recommend 7018 w/ mild stringer

[J W Bennett]

Since this is not the only project you will ever do I would pick a good all around rod that will be easy for you to use and perform well in all positions. I personally prefer 6011 for all around work. If I only had one rod in the shop it would be 6011. Good penetration and fast freeze. Not as pretty as 6013 but I feel you get a better weld. If pretty matters and since your welding flat then go with 6013.

Everyone has thier own preference and this is mine. Good luck and congrats on the welder:cool:

JWB

[Rich Hale]

7014 for me, it will make you look like an experinced welder.

[J W Bennett]

Quick note 6010 is a DC rod and won't work well with your new 225AC. If you go with 7018 don't buy 50#. If you don't have an oven to keep it in it will draw moisture and cause problems.

JWB

[dimag]

I use 7014,mostly,6011 also.They make a 7018 for AC,I have tried it and it is OK.It doesn't hurt to have an oven for welding rod in general[my shop ain't heated].A piece of 6" pipe long enough to hold the rod with a door on one end and a plate with a lite fixture on the other and a 40 watt bulb.You can build it with what ever rod you decide to use.:)

[Ten Hammers]

I will chime in on the 7014 rod. Runs good for me. I do use 7018 DC for repairs on shafting and cogs ( weldahubs etc ). Otherwise MIG and acetelyne get used for most production work. BTW Dimag, keen idea on the rod oven. A 100 watt bulb will also keep your battery warm in the wintertime but never thought of the pipe and bulb for the rod.

[Ted T]

My vote with the given scenario.
1st choice = 7014 2nd choice = 7018

[Glenn]

Blueprint BP0052 has some material on welding rod and settings.

From Lincoln Electric

E6010
DC only and designed for putting the root bead on the inside of a piece of pipe, this is the most penetrating arc of all. It is tops to dig through rust, oil, paint or dirt. It is an all-position electrode that beginning welders usually find extremely difficult, but is loved by pipeline welders world-wide. Lincoln 5P+ sets the standard in this category.

E6011
This electrode is used for all-position AC welding or for welding on rusty, dirty, less-than-new metal. It has a deep, penetrating arc and is often the first choice for repair or maintenance work when DC is unavailable. The most common Lincoln product is Fleetweld® 180 for hobby and novice users. Industrial users typically prefer Fleetweld 35.

E6013
This all-position, AC electrode is used for welding clean, new sheet metal. Its soft arc has minimal spatter, moderate penetration and an easy-to-clean slag. Lincoln Fleetweld® 37 is most common of this type.

E7018
A low-hydrogen, usually DC, all-position electrode used when quality is an issue or for hard-to-weld metals. It has the capability of producing more uniform weld metal, which has better impact properties at temperatures below zero. The Lincoln products are typically Jetweld® LH-78 or our new Excalibur® 7018.

Storing Low Hydrogen Stick Electrodes
Low hydrogen stick electrodes must be dry to perform properly. Unopened Lincoln hermetically sealed containers provide excellent protection in good storage conditions. Opened cans should be stored in a cabinet at 250 to 300°F (120 to 150°C).


Electrodes exposed to air for less than one week; no direct contact with water. Final Re-drying Temperature 650°F to 750°F (340 to 400°C)

[Dr Dean]

I use alot of 6011 and would recommend for a beginner. 7018 and 6010 are best left for use with DC reverse polarity(DCEN). You can get 7018AC for use with a buzz box but FWIW save your money. 7014 is also a good rod for flat welds but can throw you for a loop in other positions untill you get used to it. I bought a Miller CST-250 a few weeks ago, it's a inverter DC machine that just loves the 7018 but before that I had a love/hate thing going with 7018.
Before you start building your forge round up a bunch of expendable scrap and practice, practice, practice. Burn a minimumm of 10lbs rod to get the hang of it.
I also go to shopfloortalk.com there's a great bunch of folks over there and it's geared toward fabrication.
PS sign on and check out the thread Biker Banking in off topic!

[Marc]

A minor correction, but Reverse Polarity is really Electrode Positive. (DCRP = DCEP). Straight Polarity is Electrode Negative.

[ornamental4766]

i've been welding for 20 something years and i can tell you for sure that with the sizes of metal you described you have to use a 5/32 6013 rod. I use a crap load of 6013 rods of all different sizes in my fabrication of wrought iron gates, fences, handrailings, furniture and a lot of other items. The size of the welding rod you use is going to depend on the thickness of the metal you're welding. Keep your iron hot and your hammer high.

[Ed Thomas]

DonA: With that 1/8" stock, you will probably want to go with a smaller rod... such as 3/32". That will likely limit your selection at places like Tractor Supply to 6011 anyway. Anything larger will require a bit of practice to avoid demolishing your 1/8" pieces. The 7014 is actually easier to weld with and puts down a purtier bead when you are first learning. It also doesn't burn through as readily because it is meant to be a filler rod -- to build up material. The 60ll was pretty much designed with farmers with buzzboxes in mind; made to weld through crud and corrosion and get the job done. Generally, 6011 will make better fusion with deeper penetration than 7014, but try them both.

Here are some more references:

WELDING ELECTRODES

Electrodes and Amps

SMAW Rod Selector

Miller - Stick Welding Tips

And a really good overall description of rods:

http://content.lincolnelectric.com/pdfs/products/literature/c210.pdf#search='stick%20electrodes


Look at the amp setting on the box and start in the middle of the suggested range. Practice on some coupons till you feel comfortable. I've found that the lower suggested ranges worked best once I was up and running.

[arftist]

If I could only have one rod it would doubtless be 1/8" 6011. Also for those unaware, 7014 likes to weld downhill, making out of position welding actualy easy for beginers. On my portable rig I keep 3/32 6011, 1/8 6011, 1/8 7018, and nickel rods in stick. I don't go larger in 7018 because I also have fluxcore, and I don't go smaller in 6011 because I also have TIG.

[inspector]

Good Info Here!
Please excuse my barging in here but I may be able to provide some input. The 60 in the electrode designation is the tensile strength, the third number is the position it is designed for - 1=all position, 2=flat and horizontal. The last number or fourth position in the number is for the type of shielding or flux on the rod.
Remember the numbers 5, 6, or 8 as the fourth number. This designates a Low Hydrogen electrode and needs to be DRY. As little as 4 hours outside of the oven or hermetically sealed container and the rod may have absorbed enough moisture to show problems such as porosity and slag problems. Especially true on hot humid days.
The low-hy rods are designed for structural steel.

The various welding supply shops can provide small pocket sized books with all this info as well as the polarity, etc. You could probably get by with most any rod for a small tack up job, but the right rods make you look good.

Before you think you should put all rods in the oven, stop. The other rods rely on some moisture to have maximum effectiveness while welding. Just not a good soaking in the puddle. LOL

Thanks for letting me jump in here.
Respectfully
Inspector

[divermike]

I gotta go with 6013, it does everything I need, my first firepot was welded with it, and it still works great.

[Hillbillysmith]

I have a large post on here about welding; leads, rods, polarity, gases, positions, and techniques that are all directly from experience and text books. I have quite a variety of reputable text books of several series and volumes. Just look around because I know from typing it up myself that the information is most certainly already here. As for personal preference, I would choose E-6011 and E-7014 for all AC welding.

E-7018 is a great rod and is supposed to be able to be run on both AC and DC but in all actuality, it doesn't (well, depending on the manufacturer). If you choose to go with E-7018, make sure you go with a manufacturer that specifies AC for your machine and DON"T LET IT GET WET. Not even DAMP. It will not run to save your life. To keep this from happening, keep them in the hermetically sealed can until you are ready to use them. When you do use them, the best thing to do is get a rod oven. If you don't have the coin for one, then get a small steel can of some kind that will fit the rods and mount a light bulb with cord in it, put a door on it, and there you go. Now if your E-7018 gets damp, then you can "rejuvenate" them by putting them in a rod oven or your wife's oven (when she's not home of course LOL) at 550 degrees Fahrenheit for a minimum of one hour. If they get so bad that the flux coating is putty like or falling off, THROW IT AWAY. it will no longer do you any good. I choose E-7014 over E-7018 on AC polarity because I find that it's much easier of the two to run on AC and it'll still give you a nice pretty bead.

Check my other posts out:

http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f56/craftmans-sears-stick-welder-6581/

Good luck,
-Hillbilly

[Hillbillysmith]

Oh. And PLEASE learn from this pic that Torin posted here: http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f56/mother-all-gorilla-welds-11331/ and don't do this!!!! lmao It's very sad that someone did/does this but it's too darned funny not to laugh b/c all they did was WASTE their time. Tisk. Tisk.................

-Hillbilly

[Oak Hill Forge]

My vote for AC would be 7014 then 7018 AC, like others have commented though. ... keep your 7018's dry.