welding rods....UPDATE

[KRS]

Okay, when welding thin metal, does a smaller rod burn hotter, so a thicker rod would be better or am I wrong?<br /><br />I've been practicing following advice on this forum and the forums mentioned to me from this site, and I'm getting better (kinda)

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

Thinner rod for thinner metal. This allows you to turn down the power for less total heat.<br /><br /> http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/weldrod.html

 

[one more cast]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

I second that.

 

[Bondo]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

Ayuh,....... Smaller for Thinner,+ Larger for Thicker......<br /><br />Wander over Here,..... lots of Good Info,+ it's the Fastest Moving Welding forum i've found.... <br />Not as Popular as iboats,....<br />But,.. None the less,.. It has a Good Following......<br />I'm a member,.......

 

[magster65]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

I agree with this as well.<br />Note that different electrodes have different amounts of penetration.<br /><br />More info.

 

[JB]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

Yeah. I knew that and was gonna post it but these guys are quicker than me. Prolly smarter, too.

 

[KRS]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

Very good info all, thx.

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

BTW, the 'you get what you pay for' thing is true here too-buy the most expensive electrodes you can afford that are correct for your specific purpose-they'll be easier to use. The electrode size/power/material thickness chart on magster's post is very useful.

 

[heycods]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

I know this is against every thing Yall have tried but when running the first pass on rusty poor fit jobs I go to a bigger rod usually a 5/32 and cut the amps down as low as I can without sticking. after first pass the gaps are pretty well filled , I then go back to normal rod and heat range. Mostly this is what ai do on all possition welding on structrial(sp) oilfield tubin. just my 2cents worth.

 

[KRS]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

I have been practicing and using the cheap 7014 1/16" rods that came with my welder, but I needed to make a boat trailer repair, so I went and purchased a 5 lb box (smallest NAPA had) of Lincoln Electric Fleetweld 6013 3/32" rods, WOW WHAT A DIFFERENCE IN QUALITY !!!<br /><br />I can lay down a better bead.<br /><br />My only worry is that at max 90 amps from my machine, if the penetration is enough?

 

[tommays]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

what are you welding ? it should be beveled enough to allow multiple passes to get full penetration.<br /><br />you should cut apart some of you work and see what it looks like ,its easy to make a pretty looking weld thats just laying on top of slag and other junk<br /><br /><br />Look at like this if you were welding a 1" thick plate all the power in the world would not make a good weld in one pass<br /><br />tommays

 

[deputydawg]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

6013 of all diameters is a good rod for all positions all metals. In my opinion the best rod to start with.

 

[KRS]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

Thx for the info, I went ahead and grinded (ground?) down the butt joint I welded (no, I didn't bevel it properly) and the weld was just sitting on top, didn't burn down into the work. So, it's grinding time for me.

 

[KRS]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

Bought a 220V, 225AMP stick welder and a 110v, 100AMP Lincoln wire feed flux core since then..... the Lincoln AC225 gets plenty of penetration

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

[colour=blue]and you will (with practice) lay down beautiful runs with the mig.

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

On the subject of flux-core, there's a huge variance in the quality of consumables out there. I picked up some INE (Italian) branded stuff when I was doing some sheet metal work and noticed that it seemed a little sparky compared to the Lincoln wire. Otherwise it was fine and 2/3rds the price.
But then I made a set of metal railings. The welds on the first two took hours of grinding to get into shape. On the third one I switched back to Lincoln and the beads went down beautifully with much better penetration and far less spatter. Grinding those welds took at most 1/4 the time.
Now I have two unopened rolls of the INE wire sitting on a shelf. I may never use them!

 

[Bondo]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

Bought a 220V, 225AMP stick welder and a 110v, 100AMP Lincoln wire feed flux core since then..... the Lincoln AC225 gets plenty of penetration

Ayuh,............

It seems that you've become Quite the Welder since this thread started,..............
I see your posts all the time over on the Welding forums........d

Didn't this all start with a Steel Chicken Coop or something like That,..??..??........

 

[KRS]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

Yep, steel framed chicken coop.

Then... doors for my shop/shed.

Then... sides for my trailer.

Then... trailer repairs.

Then...... etc

 

[BF]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

Just thought I'd let you know this tread is helping me out as well.... I've had a wire feed 110V clarke for a few years that I've used with success... but found myself hindered by it's low output (85 A) and the difficulty getting reasonable penetration on thicker material. Well, last night I picked up a like-new Lincoln AC225 GLM with accessories and ~ 8 lbs of rods for $100... so now I get to try my hand at stick welding! Should be fun. I imagine I'll hold on to the wire feed too.... cause it's so handy for small jobs.

We'll see.. maybe I should sell both welders I have now, and buy a higher output wire feed unit (?)... We'll see.

I'll have to spend some time pokin' around the links that were posted earlier in this thread...

anyway.. thanks!

Brent

 

[Bondo]

Re: welding rods....UPDATE

Hi Brent,........

You'll be alittle bit limited by the AC only out-put of that machine,........

But,......
Believe Me,....... I've Stuck together Tons,+ Tons of Steel with that very Same Welder...........

I've still got 1 of the AC/DC copies of that Machine,........

When you get over to the Welding Forum,........ Tell 'em I sent ya...........