comments on welds.

So i was wondering what everyone's input is on these welds. I used 1/8th inch 7018 ac at about 125 amps.

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Nice straight welds, the speed gives the ripple shape. One thing, on the angle joint, because 7018 is a low pen. rod you could expext a stronger flatter joint had you gapped the jointed wider. Sometimes our fit ups are too tight to get the rod deep and we end up with a weld on top that has to be ground down and then it is weaker.

Thanks. And yeah if it would of been something that needed to be strong i would of put a gap in it but really it aint gonna go through much stress and it is welded on the inside on both parts so its gonna be plenty strong. Some of my welds had tiney holes in them as you see in pic 1 and 4 on the top side. Do you know what causes that. A few on the inside has a bunch throughout it but they dont show so it dont really matter but im just wondering what might be causing that

Pinholes can be caused from too long of an arc, or contamination from the metal.

I cept a tight arc most of the time mainly just dragging the rod bairly. Might of been because i was kneeling on concrete and i might of had to ajust to get comfey again so i might of pulled it away and long arced it when i moved or something like that.

Rod angle can do it as well.

Porosity can be caused by Arc blow (too high rod to metal distance), and in the case of 7018, old rods that have sucked up moisture. Rule of Thumb for rods is: a 60 series rod has between 1/8 to 1/4 arc gap and a 70 series rod has between less than 1/8 to a drag on the base metal

Might of been rod angle but i never had too huge of a angle. Ive been using a tip i picked up from watching a video that jody had on the welding tips and tricks with putting my pinkey on the metal then spreading my hand and stabilizing my hand holding the electrode holder on top of my other hand. Im not a vary stable person so I have to stabilize on something. It has really improved my skills since ive been using it. It could of been a little arc blow at times too because it might of got a little magnitised cutting it but i doubt that was it cause i never had a wondering arc or anything that i could tell. And the rods were new so they couldnt of had too much moister in them.

And I pretty much just dragged the rod for the most part too. Got a bit hard to because towards the end it got to be about a 90 degree angle but it was short for the most part. Could it of been anything to do with them being used with ac. I used 7018ac though. First time ever trying them and this is the first time noticing it much so makes me think.

Them holes are caused by gas coming up from some where, 7018 rods can get moisture in them in a very short time frame, right out of the air, in an hour or two after the package is opened.

yeah. Thats the only thing I dont like about 7018s but they make so nice welds and run so smooth it makes them my favorite. Could the bubbles be formed from gas bubbles from oil on the metal too cause I drilled out holes before I welded it and the ends had a little oil on them after I got done but I thought it was bout dried up. I bet it was that cause the inside has a bunch of pin holes and it was the side that was covered with oil.

I have not seen a weld on this site worse than mine so I don't think I am qualified to judge or troubleshoot them.

Thurmond

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought arc blow wasn't ever an issue with an AC power source. Its a nice smooth weld though. I myself would of either used a higher current or left a bit of a gap/ bevel. It still looks good though.

That was the welding rods...Not necessarily with AC...His sig shows a PA 200, which is a DC power source.

Thurmond just keep practicing. Ive just latly been getting everything perfected. But I dont thing they are too bad for just a 15 year old. lol. Dont know too many of kids my age really interested in welding like i am. I love it and just cant get enough of it. And it shouldnt of been caused from arc blow. Cause i was using ac. I a old miller thunderbolt 225 ac for these. And i sould of left a bigger gap but i was wanting a good tight fit all around and wasnt even going to weld the outside of the grate but when i was done i wanted to clover up the bad cuts. And I am thinging it was a little oil on the metal that caused it. And no this wasnt with the powerarc 200. Waiting fot mine but i bet it would of made even nicer welds yet from what ive seen and heard about them.

porosity can come from alot of different places. oil is definatly a big one, make sure that the metal your welding is CLEAN CLEAN. the bead looks like it is a little large, a little faster travel speed and a longer arc will make the puddle more fluid and "wet" out more. if your only using 1/8 rod i suggest turing the heat down a bit. unless your going for production and on a time limit, a lower heat setting will give you more control over your puddle. i also see quite a bit of spatter, that could be from dirty base metal, or just too high of heat setting again. 7018 is a great rod to burn, and you can make it look real nice too. keep up the good work. does your highschool provide a trade program so that you can get into the trade earlier?

Jerkey your prolly right. It might of been some oil on it. And they porlly would of been a bit smaller if i gave it a little gap but i was going for A good tight fit. And 7018 burns good at like 120 usually. So i was close to that. And O i will. Hoping to find more projects to do soon. And yeah next year and the year after im going to go to a career center for half the school day. Get a good head start then after that im planning on going to tulsa welding school.

If you get arc blow you can sometimes change the rod angle, if you dragging then start pushing, but that does not always work.

It wasnt arc blow but good tips. Sure it works pretty good. Ive never got arc blow before because ive almost always welded with ac so dont get it really.

I would say that those beads put to shame the beads that I just laid on a trailer for a guy 3 weeks ago, and he PAID me!! and to top it off, he was happy with the work. Keep in mind that mine was done in a hurry, in poor lighting, and on poorly prepared substrate, but such is the beauty of 7018. It's so forgiving that you can be off in a parameter or two and still come out looking good. I've never used the AC version, what's the diff?