Little bit of stick practice.

[Turbo]

That was a good lesson in the differences between rods and it's always good practice to run a few test welds with new rods to get used to their different welding characteristics. You were very sharp in realising what the problem was & correcting it, I certainly wouldn't have worked it out quite as quickly.

I've never used oerlikon overcord but with their fincord rods you have to virtually drag them along the weld root with a very short arc length. Maybe that's why you were getting so much heat & spatter, try a shorter arc length. Around here fincord are known as the farmers rod as they are virtually idiot proof but some say they lack the penetration of other rods.

I remember when I first tried the murex vodex rods I very nearly chucked them in the bin. By reputation they are a top quality rod but I couldn't get them to run nicely. It wasn't helped by the fact that I was at the top of a ladder trying to weld brackets onto a girder! But I had been spoiled by running fincords all the time and once I adapted my technique using a more normal arc length it all clicked into place & I produced some lovely welds.

Another rod you should look for is an INE blue. Nobody around here stocks the top branded stuff due to the price but I can still get the INE at decent money. They are a lovely rod to use, though they take a good tap to restrike the arc on a used rod and produce a nice weld.

 

[Richiew]

Yay! Passed the fillet.


I was determined to pass this week so I grabbed a load of stock early doors and ran four roots followed by four second passes followed by four top passes on the assumption the welds would improve as I went along. Received a compliment for the weld appearance but still failed the nick break test with my first test piece. The root wasn't in there enough. Wasted my time a bit really and I thought it was pointless testing the other three so they all went in the recycling bin. Quite a good reminder about what's really important here.


Photos are awful. The phone camera is so cheap that it doesn't have a macro setting. Light is awful in the booths too. The strip lights are behind the ducting .

Four shoddy welds.

I was advised to up the amps a little and use a load of drag to get the rod right into the joint. Worked a charm. I rushed a bit more than I should have, just wanted to get it welded and tested.
This is the weld piece after cutting and testing

Onto vertical fillets now, this one's taught as a root and a weave over the top which will upset some people on here

 

[Richard.]

Onto vertical fillets now, this one's taught as a root and a weave over the top which will upset some people on here

It won't mate. That's how it's supposed to be done. You need to weave, you'll find even in the root you need some rod manipulation. This is how you get around that awful thing called gravity.
Well done on the pass.

 

[Richiew]

In that case, here's my first ever attempt. I had a few minutes at the end to get one in. Root and weave over the top. Never attempted this before and it definitely shows. It's all over the place. Pressure will be off next week as I'll just be trying to hone or even discover some technique and finesse. Looking forward to it.

 

[Richard.]

Personally it's not as bad as you think. It never looks pretty but you can get things looking more uniform. To me the weave is too wide. That's just me and you might be taught differently but when I did my 3G codes many many moons ago it was no more than 2x rod diameter.
This is the only mma position where you don't drag you push.

 

[Richiew]

I was just finding a feel for it all Richard and going through the motions. A case of monkey see, monkey do. I will be more disciplined next week and get my timings right on the toes which should help.

 

[Richard.]

It's a very good attempt rich.
I've no doubt whatsoever you'll have it nailed very quickly.

 

[Turbo]

That's not bad for a first go.

It's the only weld I could never get right when I was self taught (before the days of the internet & youtube). Once I was properly taught the method I was able to produce a good weld, albeit not always pretty. I was taught a wide weave like that but after some practice you will be able to tighten it. The trick is to pause slightly at the side, flick over to the other side quickly, pause then repeat, plenty of tips on the internet, I find that counting helps.

The bonus is that you use almost exactly the same method for a vertical mig fillet so you can do those now too!

 

[olek]

Just a question, whith mig corners welded up, down or both ?
Nice looking stick progression.

at some point the consistency get better, what I was always said, (it is a question of welding time) it goes somewhat fast, with some acceleration if needed.

The amount of rise is what makes it nice (a diameter)

 

[olek]

It's a very good attempt rich.
I've no doubt whatsoever you'll have it nailed very quickly.

It is difficult to see the puddle but the heat difference between the start too cold/fast and the upper part is clear.

 

[Richiew]

I passed the vertical up tonight so very happy. Wasn't expecting to get it out of the way so early, it took me two weeks. It's half term next week so I get a week off.

I've also managed to get hold of a few 7018s. I really like them, the slag is brown and glassy, they weld similar to MIG in the way the weld pool is so clear and distinct. They are very easy to weld with, no wonder Americans love them so much. Restrikes are a pain though.

A couple of pics. This is just over the top of a old weld.

I also managed to get hold of some pink Vodex 6013s. They are out of an old shed, probably about fifteen or twenty years old, the previous owner is 95! They run really nicely and I expect a fresh batch would run even better.

 

[Cobbler]

Ive got some of those pink Vodex, I've had them about 35 years, I've never used one in anger as they're 4mm & my transformer set wouldn't run them without blowing fuses. I've now got an inverter, so tried one out & it was fine.