Need help with fillet joints weld

[RubberDuck]

I've attached a couple of photos which might shed a light on what i'm doing wrong.
As you can see, my fillet joints are quite miserable... (slag all over the place)
any idea's?
I'm using a 250 Amp transformer Arc Welder with 6013 2.5mm stick.
Thanks.

 

[gordon stephenson]

It's customary to introduce yourself and tell the members a little bit about you,and what you aim to be doing in the welding and fabrication world first, I'm sure some of our experienced stick welders will be posting some advice before too long.

 

[RubberDuck]

:-)
you're absolutely right...
I'm a novice Arc welder, trying to get better at it so i can eventually build that dream work shed in the yard and a couple more things...

 

[keith19]

What brand of rods are you using?
What amps were you running those welds at? The 2.5 mm rod might be a bit thin for that thickness of metal, but should manage if the amps are turned up enough.

Looks too low on power, arc too far away from the job, and you need to steady your hand, and keep a slower, more consistent bead running.

 

[Paul.]

My guess would be that your current is too low, to compensate you are opening up the arc gap and allowing the slag to get out of control, for fillet welds currents are usually at the higher end of the range for the electrode. for a 2.5 6013, around 95 amps and keep the arc tight, don't try to weave use straight runs (stringers) built up on top of each other.
Spend some time reading through the arc welding tutorial, and read through this thread http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=7885.
And this one http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=9653

 

[decepticon]

make sure you have some decent quality rods, bohler, murex etc first of all
dont learn with a 2.5rod, 3.2 are alot easier due to the ratio of metal to flux.
turn welding machine off, rod into the holder and do a dummy run of weld ensuring you have rod at approx 40-45degrees from the vertical when doing a 90degree fillet, and about 70degrees from the direction of travel. get used to having these parameters correct first
it looks like you are weaving far too much. rule of thumb the width of your weave/zig zagging along the joint should be no wider than the rod you are using.
practice practice practice

 

[PTvor]

To be honest the couple of stringers on that plate don't look great. Speed of travel or arc length varying, I'd say.

Before attempting fillets, lay down a fair few lines of weld until you've got them nice and even and straight.

The rods make a difference. The cheap ones can be tricky and unforgiving. Something else that makes a difference, especially if you are having problems, is the cleanliness of the steel. It's far better to grind back to bright steel where you are going to weld and grind a bit bright where you put the earth clamp. That plate looks a bit rusty to me.

 

[RubberDuck]

Thanks everyone for replying.
My Amp rating is at about 80Amps which is marked on the Welder as an appropriate amperage for 2.5mm rode. I'll push it up abit to 95~100 like @TIG Paul mentioned.
I will try a different rode brand, got mine from a friend and don't know the brand, though they seem good.
Everyone mentioned me weaving\ zigzagging which is true, now i understand i should string and make a couple of passes on the fillet weld to get an acceptable result.
@PTvor you mentioned my stringers don't look great, i compered them to the ones in the tutorial and they seem quite the same penetration/size. Could you be more specific?
Regarding the cleanliness of the steel, i did clean it with a wire brush, probably should have done it with a flap wheel or sort..

 

[PTvor]

They look uneven and blobby. Maybe it's just the photo. If you are satisfied that you can lay down stringers consistently, fair enough.

As for the fillet welds, I'd say that Decepticon was on the money. I'd add that you shouldn't be afraid to turn up the current a bit and see what works with your welder and rods as they all vary a bit. The markings on the welder and the current range on the rod pack are just a guide and you may need to tweak the current up or down for particular jobs. Try to keep a tight arc, even at the cost of sticking the rod. If you have a long arc, it will tend to stick to one side or the other of the fillet. With a lot of 6013 rods you can touch weld (feel the rod in light contact with the steel). Watch and try to control the pool of slag and metal followiing the arc and let that dictate the speed of travel, rather than just judge the speed. You can also see whether the weld is running properly or starting to go wrong.

Forget about weaving at this stage.

3.2mm rods are easier to use. As rods get thinner they are trickier to use and the quality becomes more critical. I don't know how thick the steel is you are using but I have an idea that a 3.2mm rod would be a better choice on that.

The better the preparation, the easier it is to weld and the less chance of slag inclusions. You can often get away going over it with a wire brush and leaving the arc and the slag to deal with a bit of rust and mill scale, but if you are having problems these are extra factors which are easy enough to exclude. It's good practice to clean the metal back to bright and it's what you do if you are serious about the quality of the weld.

If you are not using one, an autodark headshield is a good investment. They make life far easier.

 

[SiPMerlin150]

Try some 2.5mm Siftrodes, I'm a learner and these are a fantastic rod after making the mistake of buying cheapy unbranded rods. Heres using 90-100 ish amps with 2.5mm siftrode rods, 10mm steel filleted onto 3mm steel, Remember, im still learning



I've been going for around 4 weeks, with a cheap 150 amp buzz box and plenty of advice and help from all the guys here on the forum!

 

[RubberDuck]

@PTvor - thank you for your elaborate answer. I will surely try this ASAP.
@SiPMerlin150 - Looks like you got the hang of it. Are those 1 pass fillet joints or did you overlap?

 

[Drains]

Rubberduck- a word about Amps- recommendations are just that. Different makes of rod of the same size and type of rod might need different current. Also joint and position require appropriate amps. A downhand fillet will need more than a butt, an uphi butt on thin material will need the least of all.

Getting it right is very much a matter of practice, and experience.

 

[SiPMerlin150]

@PTvor - thank you for your elaborate answer. I will surely try this ASAP.
@SiPMerlin150 - Looks like you got the hang of it. Are those 1 pass fillet joints or did you overlap?

Single pass, those i've yet to get started on the metals quite thin 3mm so i'd thought and extra 2 passes would spoil the corner i need more plate metal now and i'll begin the multi passes then

I've surprised myself that how quickly i'm picking this up