first attempt at stick

[wheresmejumper]

my sip inverter arrived today.
i have a friend who is going to call out and give me a mini lesson in arc this week,but couldnt resist the urge to have a go.
3.2 6013 magmaweld rods.cant find any info on them,dont know if theyre good or bad?
110 amps on 6mm m/s

its harder than i thought to keep the end of the rod steady.bad tremors in my hands magnify it.

 

[rtbcomp]

You can steady the rod with your spare hand, good gloves an absolute must though!

 

[penfold]

Do you have an auto mask? I'm useless at stick without mine. As RTB says, use your other hand as a steady.

 

[wheresmejumper]

i have an auto aswell,but used a normal mask today.

ill give it a try tonight again using my better mask and my other hand as a steady

 

[wheresmejumper]

 

[wheresmejumper]

ive watched the tutorials but am not able to judge if my arc length is too short or too long?

 

[ChrisJohnsSculpture]

Judging arc length really comes down to practice and assessing your own welds.

I would suggest that you run a few beads gradually increasing the arc length as you go, this should give you a better idea of the effect it has.

For most things it wants to be quite short but not so much that it's touching the weld puddle. Too short an arc tends to cause a weld that has adequate penetration but is lumpy and uneven. Too long and the weld will tend to be cold, sitting quite high on the metal and not penetrating well, especially at the edges. A long arc will also tend to cause a lot of spatter.

From your pictures it looks like your arc may be a bit too long.

 

[rich r]

Yep - that's how I practised to get the hang of arc length. Start a run, with plenty of room. Then gradually move the rod away (or in other words, don't feed it in as quickly) so the arc gets longer - until it goes out. Then strike it again and speed up how quickly you feed it in, so it goes down to actually touching the surface. You can then see and hear how the arc responds. When it's too long, there's a noticeable increase in sparks (splatter) and the noise changes.

If you're using 2.5mm or thinner rods, and at about 20 degree angle, you'll often find that dragging the rods so the flux coating is resting on the surface is actually about the right arc length.

 

[wheresmejumper]

is the one on the right better?

here the one on top is a long arc length,the lower one is shorter

if the slag comes off easier is it a good sign?if i have a long arc it takes a right hammering to get it off,a tighter one seems to let go as it cools

 

[shenion]

6013's like a short arc. I always lightly drag anything below 3.2mm.

Long arc will increase the heat and more spatter. If you run a different arc length, you may need to adjust the current.

 

[Drains]

Generally a long arc is a bad thing. The arc should be as tight as you can get but still give a good weld. With some rods - low hydrogen for instance, a tight arc is essential. With others, like cellulosics, the arc length can be varied massively in order to control the arc/ heat input (the longer the arc, the higher the voltage - which equals more power, as the current stays constant-ish). A short arc would be used to stop blowing through. It's the opposite to MIG where a short stick-out gives more power/heat.

 

[wheresmejumper]

i was trying to see the different effects of different arc length.i could tell by the sound and light from a long arc that it was wrong.even seeing the pool 'fall' down as it was being layed.the difference between short and too short im still trying to judge.

 

[shenion]

With 6013's, you can't really go too short. Look at the end of the rod when you stop, the rot itself is recessed in the flux (even more so on smaller rods.). So actually dragging the rod lightly is not a bad thing. The only thing is if you drag the rod, you can't shorten up to go cooler if you need to.

Other rods, like 7018's will stick if you go too short.

I try to keep arc length short and only use a longer when I need more heat (like if I see some slag spattered ahead of the weld and want to make sure I burn through it.)

What Drains said about long arc its true and took me a while to realize. I'd pull away if it got too hot and end up blowing big hole.

 

[wheresmejumper]

thanks,that clears up the first issues ive had.theres enough info there to keep me practicing for a while yet

never thought of using the length to stop blow through.

 

[wheresmejumper]

should i be leaving the amps dead at 110,or is there a bit of trial and error to find the right setup for me?

 

[aidank]

judging by those welds a bit more heat wouldn't hurt

110A is a bit cold for 6mm

 

[wheresmejumper]

i tried 120A for 1 or 2 rods,noticeably easier to strike an arc,and the metal was very red after for a while
does increasing the amps have the same effect as increasing the arc length,or should they be treated as two very different variables?

 

[shenion]

Increasing the arc length also makes the weld pool wider.

If you shorten the arc, you often need to up the current to keep the same heat.

 

[wheresmejumper]

friend came round to give me a few tips,i have been keeping the arc length too short in his view(pipe welder)
showed me a few different ways of holding the electrode holder,have even been squeezing it tight without realising it,tensing up.havent been watching the pool as closely as i should be either.basically back to square one.
showed me then how to do a fillet weld in 3 passes,so have enough info to keep me going for a while yet

 

[wheresmejumper]

and ive to stop holding my breath