Hi Greg, invaluable tips in this episode. I commented on Anthony's shorts when he asked which top three channel to watch - 1. Making mistakes with Greg, and 2) his channel, 3) nothing else - he liked it. I do hope that more viewers (and the TH-cam algorithm) finds your channel. I'm sure this quality channel will grow fast, although being a small community of dedicated regular viewers is also nice since you are so responsive. Cheers, and keep the good stuff coming.
Anthony has a great channel, I am glad he is doing it because he will inspire a lot of people to pickup a new skill. His sense of humor is also great, I will have to rewatch that septic tank truck video again 😅
You mig guys on quarter inch will be surprised how little penetration you have. Its a good reminder that different types of welding is important. Im going to use stick on my frames.
It’s very common on 1/4 steel to have no root fusion with mig. The visual difference between a 140a pushed mig weld and a 200amp one on 1/4 isn’t much besides physical size. Yet the 140a weld will have no root fusion and the 200a will. Thats why I tell people to test things they do to know for sure. Cut and etches or a simple break test will tell a lot 😀
Stick will be similar in a lot of ways to flux core. The hardest part is arc starts, expect to be a bit frustrated by that at first. Once you can start/run a rod it’s not that much harder than flux core in the flat position 😀
Awesome presentation. Thank you very much. I'm starting to do quarter inch welding for a cantilever canopy and for a home made roof top mast boom crane, one ton max capacity, and there is a lot of outside corner joint welding involved. So far I've had a lot of arc blow. Now I will try 3/32" 6013 root pass with 1/8" 7018 overlay. For the arc blow I'll change position and angle of attack, hopefully I'll find the sweet spot. In the meantime I'll continue to study your very helpful videos, like this one, for which I remain much obliged.
No problem 😀. Arc blow will tend to be an issue with stick on outside corners. Running a smaller rod will allow you to hold a tighter arc gap and will help with that. If the outside corner joint angle isn’t just right 1/8th rods will be far harder to control because the arc gap will be too long without you intending. Another thing that may help is simply slowing down the travel speed. There needs to be a lot of metal put down and the edges need to be melted down. If you travel too fast for even a moment the arc gap will get too long because it’s arcing to the inside of the corner instead of the molten pool. Sometimes dropping the amperage a pinch and slowing down will help.
Hello Greg, a very nice video, good nuggets of information. You make me want to go back to stick welding as I used to many years ago. I learned welding starting inn high school back in the mid 80’s, then went to weld school after graduating high school. I then procured several welding jobs there after. Welding is still in my blood, even after all these years. Now I just do it when I need to, or just for fun. 😎👍 Keep up with the great videos.
Once you weld things and get decent it will always be with you 😀. Recently I sat down with someone who hadn’t welded for 30 years, and within 5 minutes he had some perfect beads going. With a smile on his face at the end too lol.
I've been struggling with making adjustments based on the thickness of the base material. It sure makes a big difference going from 1/8 to 1/4. I haven't yet cracked the code on making these adjustments without just trial and error.
The easiest way with stick to adjust for thickness is to use rods based on thickness of metal and run the rods at the appropriate amperage. As a general guide (with 7018) is 1/16th rods are good for thin sheet metal up to 1/8th material (maybe a bit more). 5/64 are good to a bit over 1/8th depending on joint configuration. 3/32 is good for about 1/8th to about 1/4. 1/8th rods can do about 3/16 to about 3/8. 5/32 rods are good for about 1/4 steel and over. You can run the rods outside of those parameters but they would not be ideal, and it depends on the joint style. If your welding a open bevel butt joint, 3/32 rods will work better on 1/4in plate than 5/32 will because the 5/32 will likely not have a proper root. With all that said I will do a video on this exact subject to hopefully give some insight to what you should be thinking to get it dialed in 😀
Could you make a videos on recommended filler rods for tig welding mild and stainless steel please? Rod size and type selection for different regular scenarios. Similar to the info you've provided on rod selection for stick welding Thanks
I will, it will be just a little bit. I will have a video coming out for stick shortly that covers welding cast iron and oddball materials. The awesome thing is all of the rod recommendations will carry over for tig as well. The rods use the same Numbers (like 309) as tig rods. Just as a quick general guide for filler recommendations here is a short list that will help you. I will actually make a quick video on this soon too: 308L: use on 304 stainless and 301,302,305 309: welding stainless to steel, & 409 exhaust 312: spring steel, some castings Er70: use for mild steel, & chromoly Nickel:cast iron & corrosive environments Like I said I will shoot a short video on this and have it out within a week. I may also release a laminated filler selection guide that will help as well 😃
Note: 309 works well for “mystery stainless,” e.g. cheaper cookware and what you might find in a pile at Clackamas Steel - and 2) when you’re welding square steel tubing and the like, and a “smooth and lovely appearance” is desired, e.g. for furniture-type stuff, where you don’t want to be grinding anything. A lot of current tubular steel has something “off” about it, such that 70s-6 or 70s-2 doesn’t seem to look right - welds like a kind of taffy, almost.
So overhead outside corner joints will be tricky. It really depends on what thickness of metal. If it’s 1/4in you will have a very hard time laying down enough metal in a single pass to fill it properly, without having it drip molten metal. If it’s thinner material like 1/8th (3.2mm) you will have to move fast and use 3/32 rods. It will also make a difference depending on how vertical the joint is. If it’s a 90 degree where the upright plate is vertical it will be easy than if the weld needs to be done with plates in a V pattern. The main things to consider are: aiming the rod to what you want the puddle to stick too, keeping a tight arc, moving at a speed that allows you to fill the joint without having the puddle drip out, and using enough amperage to get fusion. With 6010 or 6011 such a joint would be real easy with some practice. 7018 will be slightly harder because of the liquid nature of the puddle. Some trial and error will be needed to dial it in.
7014 has limited penetration so outside corner joints would actually help it a lot since it would penetrate good. It also has a pretty liquidy puddle which flows out nice and make a round profile which limits grinding (if desired).
Ok, awesome lesson (I love book learning when it comes to welding- must be my chemistry degree kicking in). Now here's my question- let's say that my buddy has asked me to replace the rotted out portions of the bucket on his skid-steer with some 3/16 plate that he's come across, and that this 3/16 plate, aside from some superficial surface rust, is perfectly acceptable. But all I have to weld the fillet and lap joints are a handful of 3/32 7018 rods. After removing the corroded out portions of the bucket and grinding the remaining surfaces clean, I see that I'll be welding in the new sections using a series of fillet and lap welds, maybe some butt welds as well. Would I be better off going to the Harbor Freight and getting a fresh box of 1/8 rods, or am I okay running the 3/32 in a couple of passes rather than a single pass with 1/8? I'm thinking from your lecture that I'd probably be okay with the double pass 3/32 slightly overlapping, as long as I make good stringer passes with proper arc length and travel speed. Your thoughts, sir?
Sure, here are a bunch of thoughts: 3/32 rods can weld 3/16th steel no real issue. 3/32 7018 will deposit enough metal to make a ideal size weld. The main downside to them is it make take quite some time to put down as much metal as 1/8th rods, and you may have to two/3 pass things. You may be able to do a slight weave to deposit more metal (slow your travel speed) too, but you won’t make it far on a single rod. The upside to 3/32 rods is if the material you’re welding is in anyway inconsistent in thickness (due to rot or wear) 3/32 rods will be far more forgiving. I wouldn’t be worried at all using them for that situation. Don’t be afraid of amperage with the 3/32 rods either, welding thicker steel 90 to 105 amps depending on machine will put you in a good spot for sure. Harbor freights 7018s aren’t too bad, I did a comparison of them and for general use I think they will be just fine. They have a graphite tip to which makes starting them easier and reduces starting porosity. I use esab 7018 prime rods mostly but for what you’re talking you’re not gaining anything over the harbor freight.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg Great- good information, thank you very much for that. And this is an actual project down the road at some point, so I'm looking forward to it.
@@BobWolford-q2b that kind of project is a very approachable project for all skill levels. Worst case is you might have to grind a few welds but if you can run a few solid beads on plate that are straight that’s a doable job. It’s much easier to weld thicker plate than thinner material. Like I said the key is run enough amperage (and try to be as consistent as possible). You can do it 😀
Well, I’m going to practice on scrap first and hopefully larn by doin’ welding two pieces of foot long 1/4” wall square tubing together. I’ve got 7018 1/8” and a HF Titanium 225 stick welder and will start with some tack welds at 75 amps (?). Once I determine rod angle and amps and speed and get what looks like it will hold together on my practice pieces, I’ll move to the real thing. This will be my first attempt at a real goal for why I got into this new sport. I have more study to do first but I’m welding in a shop that will be in the mid fifties Fahrenheit so I am thinking it might help to warm the steel up some with a torch first too. And lastly, it might be smart to have a small jug of swamp joose close by for warming myself up and emergencies and such. I ain’t so dum. With that confession out of the way, I’ll watch this video for real now. Thanks for your help and fine work.
If the steel is cold you will lose penetration. A good rule of thumb is if the steel is below 50 is to warm it up to around 90-100 and things will work better. Couple tips on the tack welds: when you weld over them it’s common to lose penetration before and after the tack. That is why in many cases tack welds are ground down before welding over. Tacking can generally be done far hotter than what you would weld at, because you want fusion. The start of any weld will generally have the least fusion, so running a tack hotter will assure some penetration. For mild steel it is acceptable to use a rod like 6010 or 6011 to tack and weld over it with 7018. Tacking with a rod like 7018 will typically produce starting porosity and the restarts are far faster with 6010/11. All things to consider 😀
Thank you so much for the advice. My next step, as soon as I can swing it, will be to see if you have a course I can be a part of and if not then join as a patrion member to give you some return on your valuable time. Best regards always.
7024 works great on outside corners and does it with a very smooth profile. The only downside is you can end up having less penetration than 7018 if you’re not careful. 7024 tends to bridge the root far easier. It is definitely doable though.
Thanks for the subscription, I appreciate it. Ultimately I am sharing my knowledge because I needed something to do, and I want to help people believe in themselves/develop skills. It’s a bit of a struggle to learn how to do everything to make videos, but I am slowly improving. 😀
I used 7018 in the video. If you’re asking which I prefer, that’s a really hard question. If I had to pick one probably 6010. Far more useful for poor fitups, filling holes, and welding on poor quality materials lol.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg I thought you were using 7018 because when you showed the back of the weld penetration wasn't there, also slag was a dead give away lol. awesome as usual though.
Thanks again for the really helpful vids . Your content in my opinion is some of the best welding help out there .
Thanks for the kind comment, and I am glad the info I share is helpful 😀.
Hi Greg,
invaluable tips in this episode. I commented on Anthony's shorts when he asked which top three channel to watch - 1. Making mistakes with Greg, and 2) his channel, 3) nothing else - he liked it. I do hope that more viewers (and the TH-cam algorithm) finds your channel. I'm sure this quality channel will grow fast, although being a small community of dedicated regular viewers is also nice since you are so responsive. Cheers, and keep the good stuff coming.
Anthony has a great channel, I am glad he is doing it because he will inspire a lot of people to pickup a new skill. His sense of humor is also great, I will have to rewatch that septic tank truck video again 😅
You mig guys on quarter inch will be surprised how little penetration you have. Its a good reminder that different types of welding is important. Im going to use stick on my frames.
It’s very common on 1/4 steel to have no root fusion with mig. The visual difference between a 140a pushed mig weld and a 200amp one on 1/4 isn’t much besides physical size. Yet the 140a weld will have no root fusion and the 200a will. Thats why I tell people to test things they do to know for sure. Cut and etches or a simple break test will tell a lot 😀
Great info! Can't wait to start experimenting with stick welding. Have only done flux core up until now.
Stick will be similar in a lot of ways to flux core. The hardest part is arc starts, expect to be a bit frustrated by that at first. Once you can start/run a rod it’s not that much harder than flux core in the flat position 😀
very helpful info concerning single pass vs multiples welds and fusion. thank you.
Awesome presentation. Thank you very much. I'm starting to do quarter inch welding for a cantilever canopy and for a home made roof top mast boom crane, one ton max capacity, and there is a lot of outside corner joint welding involved. So far I've had a lot of arc blow. Now I will try 3/32" 6013 root pass with 1/8" 7018 overlay. For the arc blow I'll change position and angle of attack, hopefully I'll find the sweet spot. In the meantime I'll continue to study your very helpful videos, like this one, for which I remain much obliged.
No problem 😀. Arc blow will tend to be an issue with stick on outside corners. Running a smaller rod will allow you to hold a tighter arc gap and will help with that. If the outside corner joint angle isn’t just right 1/8th rods will be far harder to control because the arc gap will be too long without you intending. Another thing that may help is simply slowing down the travel speed. There needs to be a lot of metal put down and the edges need to be melted down. If you travel too fast for even a moment the arc gap will get too long because it’s arcing to the inside of the corner instead of the molten pool. Sometimes dropping the amperage a pinch and slowing down will help.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg I'll try all of the above and look out for these fusing details. Thanks for responding.
Hello Greg, a very nice video, good nuggets of information. You make me want to go back to stick welding as I used to many years ago. I learned welding starting inn high school back in the mid 80’s, then went to weld school after graduating high school. I then procured several welding jobs there after. Welding is still in my blood, even after all these years. Now I just do it when I need to, or just for fun. 😎👍
Keep up with the great videos.
Once you weld things and get decent it will always be with you 😀. Recently I sat down with someone who hadn’t welded for 30 years, and within 5 minutes he had some perfect beads going. With a smile on his face at the end too lol.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg Very cool indeed. 😎👍
Dust on the root. I like the terms used.
You can make a bead inside first medium fast speed then blend to top at a faster rate
I've been struggling with making adjustments based on the thickness of the base material. It sure makes a big difference going from 1/8 to 1/4. I haven't yet cracked the code on making these adjustments without just trial and error.
The easiest way with stick to adjust for thickness is to use rods based on thickness of metal and run the rods at the appropriate amperage. As a general guide (with 7018) is 1/16th rods are good for thin sheet metal up to 1/8th material (maybe a bit more). 5/64 are good to a bit over 1/8th depending on joint configuration. 3/32 is good for about 1/8th to about 1/4. 1/8th rods can do about 3/16 to about 3/8. 5/32 rods are good for about 1/4 steel and over. You can run the rods outside of those parameters but they would not be ideal, and it depends on the joint style. If your welding a open bevel butt joint, 3/32 rods will work better on 1/4in plate than 5/32 will because the 5/32 will likely not have a proper root.
With all that said I will do a video on this exact subject to hopefully give some insight to what you should be thinking to get it dialed in 😀
Could you make a videos on recommended filler rods for tig welding mild and stainless steel please? Rod size and type selection for different regular scenarios. Similar to the info you've provided on rod selection for stick welding
Thanks
I will, it will be just a little bit. I will have a video coming out for stick shortly that covers welding cast iron and oddball materials. The awesome thing is all of the rod recommendations will carry over for tig as well. The rods use the same Numbers (like 309) as tig rods. Just as a quick general guide for filler recommendations here is a short list that will help you. I will actually make a quick video on this soon too:
308L: use on 304 stainless and 301,302,305
309: welding stainless to steel, & 409 exhaust
312: spring steel, some castings
Er70: use for mild steel, & chromoly
Nickel:cast iron & corrosive environments
Like I said I will shoot a short video on this and have it out within a week. I may also release a laminated filler selection guide that will help as well 😃
Note: 309 works well for “mystery stainless,” e.g. cheaper cookware and what you might find in a pile at Clackamas Steel - and 2) when you’re welding square steel tubing and the like, and a “smooth and lovely appearance” is desired, e.g. for furniture-type stuff, where you don’t want to be grinding anything.
A lot of current tubular steel has something “off” about it, such that 70s-6 or 70s-2 doesn’t seem to look right - welds like a kind of taffy, almost.
Great video just subbed, can you give some advise on doing overhead outside corners or if there is any difference? Thanks for all the help
So overhead outside corner joints will be tricky. It really depends on what thickness of metal. If it’s 1/4in you will have a very hard time laying down enough metal in a single pass to fill it properly, without having it drip molten metal. If it’s thinner material like 1/8th (3.2mm) you will have to move fast and use 3/32 rods. It will also make a difference depending on how vertical the joint is. If it’s a 90 degree where the upright plate is vertical it will be easy than if the weld needs to be done with plates in a V pattern.
The main things to consider are: aiming the rod to what you want the puddle to stick too, keeping a tight arc, moving at a speed that allows you to fill the joint without having the puddle drip out, and using enough amperage to get fusion. With 6010 or 6011 such a joint would be real easy with some practice. 7018 will be slightly harder because of the liquid nature of the puddle. Some trial and error will be needed to dial it in.
Would something like 7014 work well for that kind of joint???
(Wondering about .050/.063 aluminum TIG corner joints….)
7014 has limited penetration so outside corner joints would actually help it a lot since it would penetrate good. It also has a pretty liquidy puddle which flows out nice and make a round profile which limits grinding (if desired).
Ok, awesome lesson (I love book learning when it comes to welding- must be my chemistry degree kicking in). Now here's my question- let's say that my buddy has asked me to replace the rotted out portions of the bucket on his skid-steer with some 3/16 plate that he's come across, and that this 3/16 plate, aside from some superficial surface rust, is perfectly acceptable. But all I have to weld the fillet and lap joints are a handful of 3/32 7018 rods. After removing the corroded out portions of the bucket and grinding the remaining surfaces clean, I see that I'll be welding in the new sections using a series of fillet and lap welds, maybe some butt welds as well. Would I be better off going to the Harbor Freight and getting a fresh box of 1/8 rods, or am I okay running the 3/32 in a couple of passes rather than a single pass with 1/8? I'm thinking from your lecture that I'd probably be okay with the double pass 3/32 slightly overlapping, as long as I make good stringer passes with proper arc length and travel speed. Your thoughts, sir?
Sure, here are a bunch of thoughts:
3/32 rods can weld 3/16th steel no real issue. 3/32 7018 will deposit enough metal to make a ideal size weld. The main downside to them is it make take quite some time to put down as much metal as 1/8th rods, and you may have to two/3 pass things. You may be able to do a slight weave to deposit more metal (slow your travel speed) too, but you won’t make it far on a single rod. The upside to 3/32 rods is if the material you’re welding is in anyway inconsistent in thickness (due to rot or wear) 3/32 rods will be far more forgiving. I wouldn’t be worried at all using them for that situation. Don’t be afraid of amperage with the 3/32 rods either, welding thicker steel 90 to 105 amps depending on machine will put you in a good spot for sure.
Harbor freights 7018s aren’t too bad, I did a comparison of them and for general use I think they will be just fine. They have a graphite tip to which makes starting them easier and reduces starting porosity. I use esab 7018 prime rods mostly but for what you’re talking you’re not gaining anything over the harbor freight.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg Great- good information, thank you very much for that. And this is an actual project down the road at some point, so I'm looking forward to it.
@@BobWolford-q2b that kind of project is a very approachable project for all skill levels. Worst case is you might have to grind a few welds but if you can run a few solid beads on plate that are straight that’s a doable job. It’s much easier to weld thicker plate than thinner material. Like I said the key is run enough amperage (and try to be as consistent as possible). You can do it 😀
Well, I’m going to practice on scrap first and hopefully larn by doin’ welding two pieces of foot long 1/4” wall square tubing together. I’ve got 7018 1/8” and a HF Titanium 225 stick welder and will start with some tack welds at 75 amps (?). Once I determine rod angle and amps and speed and get what looks like it will hold together on my practice pieces, I’ll move to the real thing.
This will be my first attempt at a real goal for why I got into this new sport. I have more study to do first but I’m welding in a shop that will be in the mid fifties Fahrenheit so I am thinking it might help to warm the steel up some with a torch first too. And lastly, it might be smart to have a small jug of swamp joose close by for warming myself up and emergencies and such. I ain’t so dum. With that confession out of the way, I’ll watch this video for real now. Thanks for your help and fine work.
If the steel is cold you will lose penetration. A good rule of thumb is if the steel is below 50 is to warm it up to around 90-100 and things will work better. Couple tips on the tack welds: when you weld over them it’s common to lose penetration before and after the tack. That is why in many cases tack welds are ground down before welding over. Tacking can generally be done far hotter than what you would weld at, because you want fusion. The start of any weld will generally have the least fusion, so running a tack hotter will assure some penetration. For mild steel it is acceptable to use a rod like 6010 or 6011 to tack and weld over it with 7018. Tacking with a rod like 7018 will typically produce starting porosity and the restarts are far faster with 6010/11. All things to consider 😀
Thank you so much for the advice. My next step, as soon as I can swing it, will be to see if you have a course I can be a part of and if not then join as a patrion member to give you some return on your valuable time. Best regards always.
What would you think about 7024 for a job like this?
7024 works great on outside corners and does it with a very smooth profile. The only downside is you can end up having less penetration than 7018 if you’re not careful. 7024 tends to bridge the root far easier. It is definitely doable though.
Depends what you need f9r the job. Is 7024 called for
Had to subscribe... Just way too much information to pass up. Feel like I'm getting professional welding lessons for free!
Thanks for the subscription, I appreciate it. Ultimately I am sharing my knowledge because I needed something to do, and I want to help people believe in themselves/develop skills. It’s a bit of a struggle to learn how to do everything to make videos, but I am slowly improving. 😀
6010 or 7018
I used 7018 in the video. If you’re asking which I prefer, that’s a really hard question. If I had to pick one probably 6010. Far more useful for poor fitups, filling holes, and welding on poor quality materials lol.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg good to know
@@makingmistakeswithgreg I thought you were using 7018 because when you showed the back of the weld penetration wasn't there, also slag was a dead give away lol. awesome as usual though.
ROOT GAP IS MISSING 😂😂😂😂
its an outside corner joint there is no root gap. thats like putting a root gap on a 3 pass fillet weld.
No gap you string it then blend