One thing you have to be careful about when filling large holes is to not build up what I call an igloo. In other words, make sure you’re welding flat, on the edges, rather than building those edges upwards, which is easy to do. If you do, when you sand or grind it flat, you’ll find another large hole left.
Can't take bugger all off on that outer corner mate, on the thin material. A tiny pass with a flap disc and lower amps will prevent the igloo and better yet, stop over penetration and ultimate blowthrough. The basis of the video.
You’re right, every welding machine an welding rod welds at different temperatures. Your technique was called buttering way back when. Great job with your teaching course on filling a hole. Retired pipe welder of 42 years 🇺🇸
Retired after 41 years working under the AWS D15.1 code. A good welder never stops learning! As far as thin stuff, the best lesson I ever learned was running DCSP with 6010, 6013 etc. DCSP (DCEN) has a tendency not to heat up the base metal as much as DCRP (DCEP). And Scrimdog is right. A welder never really retires! Ha!
Great stuff mate. I'm a pressure welder here in Australia, and love to see the variations in procedures and ideas from other countries. We're artists in molten metal, mate!
Thank You so much for this lesson, I’m a Disabled Vet trying to get back into welding again. It’s the only job that doesn’t hurt when I work. I have a TIG, MIG and Rod welder now. I have never even seen anyone TIG weld when I started 1 month ago. But you are teaching specifically to people like me that didn’t or cant go to school for welding. Thank You again Mr Ross. I’ll watch the rest of the videos.
1:53 your honesty here is quite refreshing. You are proof that there is a thing called practical knowledge. I am returning to stick welding, I learned by doing at my local bowling alley, your videos have been very helpful.
Square tubing 10 GA or thinner I use old school oxy/acetylene with 1/16" filler rod. I know it's slow but it looks awesome. Saves me a lot of time on clean up.
Something to notice is he using his opposite hand from holding the stinger to hold the stick closer to the hot end. Lower amps cause sticking, and he does a smooth start using his stick hand. It gets hot fast, so let it go after light up!
Great video especially for those just starting out; as an old school retired tank welder, you got all the basics right! speed is something you just have to get the experience to learn how,& when I had " blow outs" I have put a filler rod or scrap piece of similar material in the hole & weld it in place, if it's not for pressure or heavy structure. If it us for pressure or structural use,think about using a heavier gauge material to start with! And you got it made in the shade, with all the new steel & good equipment! If you have people ask about rusty metal; get it as clean as possible; the 6011 rod is a general purpose rod & is the only rod I will use on rusted or dirty metal, especially in the oilfield & junkyard scrap! I'm just glad that you and a few others are still out there working & willing to share your expertise & experience with others! Keep up the great work & don't let the devil get you down!
we use 6010 or 8010 to root piping up here, depending upon the usage/ regulations on the piping being used (Z6.62?) we use 8010 downhand. I like it for junk metal like you were saying and I like it for closing up holes because its a fast freeze electrode. Lots of people also don't know that it was originally marketed as a cutting rod for making quick fast cuts without a torch. Crank a 1/8" rod to 220 amps it'll cut a hole. But people started noticing that the rod had great penetration and lent itself to root welding.
Just to add a little to what you have already said, 6011 electrode is classified as a deep penetration, fast freeze electrode, which makes it excellent for welding down hand and rusty, painted wet metal. Generally the rod manipulation is to whip and pause, so basically after striking the arc you whip back away from the puddle without breaking the arc, which allows the puddle to cool and carry on with that motion. Very easy to start the arc. It does not have to be kept in a rod oven to keep it dry like the low hydrogen electrodes like 7018. It's an excellent starter, all purpose electrode. It is also often used on the root pass of a high pressure weld. 6010 is common as well and is very similar to the 6011 electrode.
Thank you Mr. Lee, my high school welding shop teacher. You are reiterating the principles of welding he taught us in the 90’s. Thank you for well made and informative videos.
I’m a maintenance welder who has worked for a few different companies. On my own I’ll use 6011. But in most circumstances I have only been supplied 1/8” 7018. Still works okay if you set it at 120 and whip it fast . Just don’t pop a hole or it will require some Texas tig
on really thin stuff flip the cables around, had to do that in a few pan washes beneath conveyor belts. If its thin you don't need much pen and you wouldn't / shouldn't trap anything. That being said I'd rather have 6010 for those situations.
Excellent topic. That’s what I tell my students, a welder knows how to work the metal. How to switch up rod movement, amperage, angles, arc length, and travel speed. Pipe welding is great but I feel that this builds experience, character, confidence. I’ve welded 14 gauge rectangle tubing with 1/8 6010. Made some stairs to a mobile home with them. I set the amps at 65-67 and as soon as I establish a puddle, I move. Whip and pause is really the best way to speed weld. I also keep a tight arc length.
Excellent point, most young guys just want to get in there and burn rod after rod and that may work on thicker materials. But real skill, comes in welding thin materials as we know! I used to have horses, and had pipe coral fencing and once in a while I would have to make repairs on that rusty old pipe. Now there is a challenge for you!!! Your better off splitting another piece of pipe and samwhich over the bad area, before you uses a box of rod or a spool of wire. But what is pretty awesome is the fact that somebody half around the world can chime in, in the conversation and give you his tips and tricks. Okay! Later you guys!
Experienced welders have been in many recovery scenarios. Welding thin material is challenging. If it wasn't for my mistakes, I wouldn't have learned anything.
Glad I'm not the only one that blows on my work to cool it. Great video I love the walk away method to many times have I got in a hurry and got rite back after it and made the problem worse. Excellent reminder to just take it easy.
Welder here 28 years experience, what I've learned over the years concerning thin metal it's best to whip and pause which gives the base metal a fraction of time to cool avoiding burn through at appropriate speeds. Practice makes perfect. Great video demonstration my man.
Great videos sir, I'm a diesel technician by trade for the past 22years in no way a welder but I can stick things together and your vids have taught my quite a few tips I was missing and my welds are looking so much better! Keep up the great work man
What i like about your channel..your topics touch on novice secret questions......questions a novice may feel bad asking because their influencer may make them feel worse.But you cover it.Your honesty many can relate to...and your voice is not drab.Some voices that accompany videos...sheesh.Keep it coming.
Good tips! I do a lot of 14 and 16 gauge galvanized tubing on custom livestock handling equipment. We mig everything in the shop but in the field we stick everything. I use 1/8” 5P+ rod at 70 amps and hold a long arc and whip the poop out of it. All verticals I run downhill too. It takes a little to get used to and you have to move fast! I rarely burn a hole in anything anymore but the fit has to be good. Keep on keeping on brother!
Thank god for people like you Austin. This was beyond helpful! Not only informative, more important you are real. Ok talking about failing, learning, and just being a human when it comes to steep learning curves like welding. Thank you thank you!
Great tips Austin! Thank you for sharing your experience with us! I'm 62 but have only ever tried welding the odd thing here & there, and have not had too much success. Your instruction will certainly help me. Thank you and greetings from South Africa!
Thanks Austin for most of us diy hobby welders, who for the most part are only welding small wall materials, and hardly of any decent length welds to really get a feel or understanding for the weld pool, since its a lot of stop start and blow out patching.
When filling larger holes, I will grab another rod, that I've already beat the powder off of, and dab it on the rim of the hole. Bridging the gap with a cold rod, for extra material quickens the process. My dad would just clamp it next to the main rod, but that takes practice to keep it close to the arc.
I love 6011, but when welding thin stuff I’ve really come to love 3/32 6013, so easy to weld with, and it’s also easy to make look good as long as your going uphill.
I'm working on paper thin and rusty and 3/32 6013 has been the only rod I can use without blowing through. All overhead. 1/16 will work but you have to be very fast. 3/32 half inch long bead, clean, cool, repeat.
I started welding by learning on my own with a Century AC stick welder, 6013 rods and building stuff out of 16g 1" square tubing 10 years ago. Super frustrating in the beginning with all of the porosity and blowouts but it was worth it. I've worked for myself ever since.
"Walk away" is some of the best advice ever! Also lowers my frustration level. Some welders have an 'arc force' adjustment. It's basically adding some 'constant voltage' effect to automate arc-length. This is usually helpful but not for me on thin metal. It can get out of hand so fast. One thing I do is to turn arc-force off/down completely so I can control the heat on the fly. If it gets too hot then I crowd the arc to lower the power. With arc-force on much it will just punch a hole.
You're right about wanting to do it right the first time, but it takes time and practice. I've had a lot of practice filling holes on my neighbour's 1950s steel boat - 3 or 5 mm sheet metal, rotten down to 1 mm in places. Hills and valleys all over the bottom of the boat. Also painted with coal tar on the outside and inside, even after removing it, the welds still fizzed like soda. Sometimes a certain current setting worked well, until I met an area which was very thin, and blew a hole. Then had to run a 2 mm electrode at 40 Amps electrode negative (!) to not blow through. The worst hole I had to fill was about 2 cm in diameter. Patch it with a plate? Expect another
Great vid, I came up with something like this technique for filling blow throughs when repairing an old car chassis with a very cheap welder, decades ago. The metal was like lacework in places, but strong elsewhere. Some places where the corrosion had made large areas thin, I'd add extra patches when this occurred, but other places I'd go around the hole building up with metal, cooling with water and chipping off the slag between each pass to save time. Since doing that car I've done a lot of amateur stick welding over the years and I've never had welds with so little slag from the cheap rods I've used. I've also extensively used gasless (cored wire) MIG and the slag from your rods looks more like the welds from gasless MIG wire. My stick weld rods leave a thick slag more like a black ceramic which needs chipping off with a hammer. Sometimes it's so thick that it looks as though I've done a great weld, then I chip off the slag and the metal isn't even joined! Maybe I missed it, but what rods are you using?
Glad this video popped up in my feed! I'm doing a 14 guage sheet metal to 14 guage square tube build and got holes everywhere! I've been filling the gaps with 7018 and 1/8 round steel.
Some key points: 6:35 no bevels on thin material necessary 8:30 long arc as compensation for cold 9:00 stroke presented on school board, also 10:10 11:50 basic accedental hole tip: leave it alone to cool off
My brother has been welding for 25-30 yrs & he's teaching me to weld. On one of his lessons, he showed me how to fill in a hole & said, "in welding school, this is one of the more advanced lessons they will teach you later on in the course!" after about a couple 2-3 tries with hole patching & practice & practice & practice & more practice, I can "patch up a hole" fairly good. . . . but that was on thicker material using 1/8" 6013 rod. I'm using an old "buzz box" Lincoln Arc Welder that my grampa bought back in the day. there are no "in betewen" settings on this critter ( though i really wish there was), just 40-60-75-90-100-115-130-145--160-180- 200-225 amp settings! I'm like you. . . .a hands on, ask questions, boots to the ground, let's get going now, kind of guy. . . . . who tinkers out in his shop & wants to build stuff for me. I have all kinds of ideas exploding in my head just waiting to get out on physical projects & I'm excited about it all, like a little kid in a candy store. thankya sirnfor sharing this video with us. I'm a new subscriber to your channel!!! Happy welding👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
I love your videos. About stick welding thin material, almost 30 years ago I made patch panels for my 1970 FJ40 Landcruiser and welded them in with stick. All we had on the dairy was a Lincoln buzz box. I found some 3/32 6011 that came on a pallet from a farm auction. I burned some holes. Filled them with the "okie tig" method. I did About 1" beads 8" to 12" apart and let things sit. I would go do feeding or something and come and repeat. I'm no body man by any means. But I got the job done.
Thanks for this video - building an exhaust jig now from 1.5mm material and having burn through but have to adjust settings for lower amps and work more precisely. looks like rod thickness is ok
Hell yeah I did the same thing I quit school when I was 16 and my grandfather said oh no boy you got to get a skill so yes he payed for a two year welding course in Tulsa Oklahoma triple A and I passed plate and then went to pipe and passed the 6G test and then I had time for tig root and 7018 hot pass and fill and cap I’m very glad that he did this for me I love welding and I love watching videos
one of the biggest mistakes is when the weld gets too hot and just about to burn is to try and save it by more welding, stop and let it cool down and then restart carefully.
Yes i agree of "walking away" and get coffee or meal if holes happens. Then get back to work when frustration gone. I used to do it 😊. Great tutorial! Salute 👍
Thanks for the video! I've been using 1/16 or 5/64" 7014 for clean well fitting steel tubing when I do a continuous bead. But now the price for the 1/16" has literally doubled, so I don't t know if I will reorder when I run out. So now I'm trying a dab-dab technique with 3/32" 6011. I really like 6011 because it's cheap and widely available. It is deep penetrating but also fast-freeze. What you do is strike the arc, create the puddle, and break the arc. This only takes about a second (say "one-thousand-one" ). Then you watch it cool and while the bead is still barely red (before it goes dark), you strike the arc again and repeat. This gives good visibility and easy arc strike. You are making a bead of spot welds. If the material is really thin you can just do it with scattered spot welds, or even cool the metal with compressed air or copper/aluminium chill blocks. This isn't as fast as running a bead, but if you burn through just once you've lost that advantage. I am aware of TIG and MIG, and if I do win the lottery.... With this dab-dab technique I can use my 110v buzz box or my cheap inverter welder and get good results. I just need to unplug the microwave. I've learned a lot from industrial welders like you, and also the auto-body wizards. But a lot of home-shop projects fly under the radar. I've found most of the useful projects I've done welding are small. Thanks again for a good in-the-field repair video, and if you have a big project, support your local welders.
Austin instead of 3/32 6011 try using 1/16 6011 for light gauge material and down hand is your friend! 1/16 is the key I build and installed ornamental iron for years and 1/16 is key!
I learned to stick weld thin tubing in 1965 (I'd been stick welding heavy stuff since 1958 on the4 farm). Recovered a couple dozen sticks of 2x2x1/8 tubing from the post dump at Ft Devens Mass. Built a 6'x8' trailer including axle (had one stick for 1/4 for the axle. Cut everything by hand with hacksaw. H0bby shop had only stick. Still have the trailer. it's been lengthened to 12', widened to 80", rebodied (wood) 5 times over the years. I've had stick , MIG and gas in my shop for over 25 years, no longer use stick for anything but really heavy agricultural stuff. 98% of what I've done for years has been MIG. I point beginners to MIG, stick actually requires talent and practice.
Burned a hole in my kxt250 frame last night… first time welding. Probably should have put in some good time before trying to patch it BUT thanks to you I feel pretty confident I’ll be able to make it happen 🔥👌
Love it; I whip in weld and out with j’s and I like it hot (on my miller 225 run it 10 at 50amps w 1/8” on 14 gauge); so my hook of j is in the puddle and my long leg is filling the gap… so j on bottom a reverse j on top, if weld is getting to hot often move to long legs of j’s and work back toward the “weld” or further down the line while its “cooling” I like to get back in it, the split second the orange puddle fades off… Side note: love your vids; have helped me move from a welders helper, to shop foreman in 8 months time!!!! Keep ‘em coming.
I'm right in the middle of welding school and I'm starting to realize that "spin the nob and watch the arc" is a completely valid method for adjusting your settings.
Nice to see how its done in other countrys. I have done a lot of high presure gaspipes mostly stainless tig and its very important to prepair the welds with the right angles and put enough material in between the gaps. On highload-constructionwork too. Nice video.
I love your channel because it gives a more "out in the field" type of welding than being in school for welding. (I go to hobart right now for welding and I'm about to graduate.)
@@kencalardo8767 it’s a fantastic school, never welding before going and no regrets. Only gripe is I wish they did self shielded fux because I’m doing it in a side job soon
Trippy get on you tube welding tips and tricks he has some excellent videos on self shielded and dual shield also , Jodie Collier is like Austin an excellent hands on teacher .
“I know it’s dark but I’m just blowin’ on it a little bit”. 😅. Thank you for your videos my brother. You are a good teacher and have a very likable personality! I just put a whole like that on my 1st vertical weld yesterday… thanks again brother!
Well done Austin ! At 9:20 we call it " step in and step out " weave when running 6011's on thinner metal , allows the puddle to cool slightly then weave over it again . I tell ya the what , the best welders learned on an old gas driven welder where the engine RPM surged , spit and sputter . You was constantly changing your pattern / style depending on the sound of the engine . LOL and keep up the great work !
Those are great little machines! Rod size, travel speed and arc gap all come into factor when welding thin stuff. I’ve had to knock the flux off a 7018 and use it as a TN TIG rod, lol.
Great instructional. My son finds it helps to have some scraps of the same material to do test welds in order to get settings right. So when you're cutting and fitting up, save some of the scraps to do a few setting passes on stuff that doesn't matter.
Hey Austin.. I bought some 2.5mm square tubing mild steel from Amazon to build a frame for a table saw I'm building and I bought my 1st stick welder. One of those cheap inverter stick welders. It's a 10-80A inverter welding machine. Somebody told me .. The reason I bought the welder was bcos I'm about to attempt to build out the frame of a home made table saw. It's goignto be a major project for me bcos I'm completyely new to all this stuff. I have my own little workshop and somebody told me to use 1.6mm 6013 rods and have the current at around 40-45.. I'm about to start building my frame for the table saw but I am going to get my hands on some steel bits and bobs from the local building site and practice my arcs and speed and drag methods.. I bought to different sizer rods.. 1.6mm & 2.0mm for starters.. I'm going to see how they work out for me plus my brother in law is fairly decent at this game so I'll get him togive me some tips also.. Great video my bro..Take it easy man.. Dublin, IRE in the house
Just recently I bought myself a stick welder. Cute little thing, super cheap but powerful. As a first project I went on to fix that thin sheet metal grill you can buy in a supermarket that I found. It evaporated. :D
Prep and Patience! Damn that’s great advice and a good mantra to repeat - I blew through some thinner stuff yesterday and I’m giving this a try today !!! Love the videos
i started out with a lincon 200 on 16 ga tube back in the 50s with a 1/8 6013 building columns and rails,still do the same now but have learned different ways to perform,didn't have time to keep adjusting heat so learned to use the heat i started with but keep in mind that as the metal heats up you gotta compensate for the heat
Built a hand rail on site out in the field around a conex that had a concrete platform with stairs. Did it all in the rain with a stick welder lol. I did end up with a few gaps due to fitment issues. Mainly overhead welds on some of the angled pieces coming down off the stairs. I ended up breaking the flux off a piece of 3/32 7018 and Texas tig welded it lol. When all was said and done all I heard all week from the people I was working for was how nice the hand rail turned out lol. I was mainly a shop fabricator/welder for a few years before I got a taste of field work, and you would be surprised how much shop knowledge helps out in the field on site.
I stick-weld 14-ga all the time by tapping my rod all along the weld path, establishing several "heat-sink bridges". This gives excess heat a safe pathway to evenly distribute the heat load. Once I have a dozen or so small tack welds, I turn up my heat a bit and lay down an even puddle. Hand rails and fences usually get ground and painted. That even puddle makes even grinding a piece of cake. Holes? Ya, they happen - mostly along cut edges. Tapping first lessens your chance of a run-away hole getting started. To fix a hole, tap first and let it cool before attempting to lay down a puddle.
@@peetky8645 I use 6011 almost exclusively. I call them dago rods, BECAUSE, dago through dirt, dago through rust, dago through paint . . . Dago through almost anything. I build a ton of oilwell drill stem and sucker-rod pipe fences as well as custom metal buildings (11 & 14 ga). I use a/c machines (Miller Suitcase & Lincoln stick), so odd-numbered rods.
@@WhatDadIsUpTo good to know....i wanna make an 11ga carport in steel tube...my inverter is dc only and wont work with 6010 but it does work with 6011. I was going to mock up some coupons to try dcen vs dcep and also 1/8 rods and smaller. what size 6011 would your recommend for 11 ga tube? thanks for your informative response above
@@peetky8645 Honestly, I have no idea how thick my rods are, 3/16"? I dunno. I use Victory brand rods. I get them from J&I Mfg. in Madil, OK by the pound. What I do know is, 11 gauge requires way more heat. I weld 14-ga between 90 and 120 amps, but thicker, I honestly just crank it up a notch or two without looking. You'll know if you're too hot by testing your draw-back arc by pulling up, but retaining an (oxidising) ark. Experience lets you know by the sound it makes. You want sizzle, not crackling, while maintaining your 1/24" arc gap. The thicker the rod, the more amps it can handle, up to the point it starts blowing your cover gas away. BTW - what means dcen & dcep? 🤷♂️
@@peetky8645 If I may, 6011 in 3/32" diameter can work just fine for 11ga (1/8") tube, but so can 1/8" on it's lower end. 1/8" 6011 will typically work down to about 65A give-or-take a few amps, so it has a good range to work with depending on the joint configuration. Some configurations need less, some need more. In any event, I prefer DCEP, it just seems to run smoother IMO than DCEN.
You can buy 1/16 welding rods which I would use to weld anything smaller than 14 gauge. They are weird because they are flimsy. You can find them at the freight of the harbor.
Hey “A” man, as usual great content. Heat control is what you have to be aware of. Holding the puddle together and knowing when to get out of it before the blow out/through. Hood down lights on.
Cursive e’s is what you were trying to describe or at least that’s what my welding instructor called them years ago. 32 years ago now. Lol now days I’ll just grab the MIG and get it done. Or like another commenter said oxy-fuel weld it. It all depends on what the customer wants the fabrication to be and look like for me really. If they don’t care MIG it is then. It’s just faster and makes it look much cleaner to the eye. Like you say is it appealing to look at.
I worked as a fabricator and did repair life most of my life, and some of the best advice I ever got was "Don't trust a fast welder." This is because, as you demonstrate, good technique takes time, and even more so, good prep and good clean up between passes also take time. Someone who's really fast is very likely be getting very little penetration, welding rusty, dirty material, and getting lots of slag inclusions.
This was a huge help. I am a cattle guy from your area who is has been doing mission work in Malawi Africa for 7 years and there are only small dc welders with 6013. Most stuff here is thin and it has been a big challenge to “stick” it together. Any tips on walking the tightrope of too hot and slag inclusions with 6013? Thanks for putting out good clean videos.
Thanks Austin. I learned all these lessons recently building my first desk project. Poor fit up and beveled my edges! It’s been a nightmare. I ended up borrowing a mig welder from a friend, which I’ve never used before. I’m almost done with it, but it’s been a challenge!
Greetings from Arizona. Love the videos and info I learned to fill holes by trial and error. This is what I do mostly. Thanx. I’m retired maintenance and farm mechanic. I’ve had to patch / repair lots of crazy sh..tuff. Keep up the good work my friend.
The “proper settings” are usually under the hood where the wire is. I was taught and learned as you “boots on the ground”. For over a decade I thought I was good. I was but when swapping machines it took some time and many test welds. I always knew the specs were there under the hood but thought I was smarter. Wrong they give you a great starting point, and most times you don’t have to adjust anything.
Good video. I didn't even know this was possible to fix. I'm trying to get through welding school now, stuck on thin metal overhead, trying to find that happy balance between achieving enough penetration and not burning through
3/32" is decent with 6010/6011 but 5/64" makes life a whole lot easier assuming you're stuck stick welding it 😉 I would recommend 6013 downhill but most people hate it because it's a pain to learn (runs similar to the stainless steel electrodes). Of course, if I'm in a hurry and stuck welding outside then nothing beats .030 flux core on thin gauge bale rings and gates 😁 Being a expert at fixing mistakes and poor engineering decisions, buy some copper bar stock of different sizes to stick into the hole leaving about an 1/8" gap. The copper makes the filling process go so much faster because the gap for the weld puddle to fill in is more manageable and on top of that the copper pulls the heat out of the weld quicker making the repair process faster. This also applies to fixing holes in flat panels except you use copper plate instead. The weld metal won't stick to the copper 😉 I used this technique to repair a round metal chain wear plate on a John Deere baler. The chain links had worn two grooves through the plate and the master link was getting caught up in it causing the baler to throw the chain off. Worked like a charm 😎
If all you have is 7018 and you have thin wall you could reverse your polarity, the material you are welding is thin so it doesn't really need that much penetration, and you shouldn't really trap anything.
I use 1/16 or 5/64 stick rod for thin stuff. Lincoln makes 1/16 7018. 7014 is also going to better when trying to avoid blow outs. When using 1/8 rod, but you need to do some small tacking, just simply grab 5/64 rod using the same heat. The rod will light right up and won't stick. Then switch back to your 1/8 rod.
When it comes to thin metals I've found 1/16 E6013 to be fitting for these applications. The main amps is around 20-45 but for 3/16 steel tubing or welding T-posts the amps can be taken up to 50 and work just fine.
I use Texas tig for thin metals...works great for me but I love learning from others and their experiences. Being able to experiment with different techniques taught me that there is usually more than one way to achieve the end result. Of course some methods are better suited to each application. Thanks for sharing 👍
Man when I’m welding thin gauge material, unless the fit is very tight I don’t even bother trying to weld it “right”. I just grab another rod, break off the flux and Texas tig the whole weld lol
One thing you have to be careful about when filling large holes is to not build up what I call an igloo. In other words, make sure you’re welding flat, on the edges, rather than building those edges upwards, which is easy to do. If you do, when you sand or grind it flat, you’ll find another large hole left.
Gotta get your feed /heat ratio right to get a good puddle not an igloo. With stick it's big rod slow small rod fast
Can't take bugger all off on that outer corner mate, on the thin material. A tiny pass with a flap disc and lower amps will prevent the igloo and better yet, stop over penetration and ultimate blowthrough. The basis of the video.
And forgot, a fast pass.
I did this at work yesterday. My foreman wasn't happy. Not at all.
Excellent advice thank you
finally someone who speaks in layman terms that everyone can understand absolutely great thank you
You’re right, every welding machine an welding rod welds at different temperatures. Your technique was called buttering way back when. Great job with your teaching course on filling a hole. Retired pipe welder of 42 years 🇺🇸
A welder never retires 😉 as I'm sure you know. Everyone always has a job for the family fabricator 😂
Retired after 41 years working under the AWS D15.1 code. A good welder never stops learning! As far as thin stuff, the best lesson I ever learned was running DCSP with 6010, 6013 etc. DCSP (DCEN) has a tendency not to heat up the base metal as much as DCRP (DCEP). And Scrimdog is right. A welder never really retires! Ha!
If you have room you can put a brass chunk on the back side, it will also help with the heat. Not a welder but was a fitter for decades.
@@tomt9543I looked it up and dcen inputs 2/3 of the heat at the base metal and 1/3 in the electrode, is this right?
Great stuff mate. I'm a pressure welder here in Australia, and love to see the variations in procedures and ideas from other countries. We're artists in molten metal, mate!
Thank You so much for this lesson, I’m a Disabled Vet trying to get back into welding again. It’s the only job that doesn’t hurt when I work. I have a TIG, MIG and Rod welder now. I have never even seen anyone TIG weld when I started 1 month ago. But you are teaching specifically to people like me that didn’t or cant go to school for welding. Thank You again Mr Ross. I’ll watch the rest of the videos.
hello, a great resource specifically for tig welding weldingtipsandtricks here on youtube is great for all welding tips but specifically good for tig
1:53 your honesty here is quite refreshing. You are proof that there is a thing called practical knowledge. I am returning to stick welding, I learned by doing at my local bowling alley, your videos have been very helpful.
Square tubing 10 GA or thinner I use old school oxy/acetylene with 1/16" filler rod. I know it's slow but it looks awesome. Saves me a lot of time on clean up.
I just get the mig out lol
I love oxy/acetylene it is so accommodatein and versatile👍
Something to notice is he using his opposite hand from holding the stinger to hold the stick closer to the hot end. Lower amps cause sticking, and he does a smooth start using his stick hand. It gets hot fast, so let it go after light up!
I use the old "touch & stop" method.
@@mikem9584 yup that’s what he did to fix the hole
Great video especially for those just starting out; as an old school retired tank welder, you got all the basics right! speed is something you just have to get the experience to learn how,& when I had " blow outs" I have put a filler rod or scrap piece of similar material in the hole & weld it in place, if it's not for pressure or heavy structure. If it us for pressure or structural use,think about using a heavier gauge material to start with! And you got it made in the shade, with all the new steel & good equipment! If you have people ask about rusty metal; get it as clean as possible; the 6011 rod is a general purpose rod & is the only rod I will use on rusted or dirty metal, especially in the oilfield & junkyard scrap! I'm just glad that you and a few others are still out there working & willing to share your expertise & experience with others! Keep up the great work & don't let the devil get you down!
we use 6010 or 8010 to root piping up here, depending upon the usage/ regulations on the piping being used (Z6.62?) we use 8010 downhand. I like it for junk metal like you were saying and I like it for closing up holes because its a fast freeze electrode. Lots of people also don't know that it was originally marketed as a cutting rod for making quick fast cuts without a torch. Crank a 1/8" rod to 220 amps it'll cut a hole. But people started noticing that the rod had great penetration and lent itself to root welding.
Just to add a little to what you have already said, 6011 electrode is classified as a deep penetration, fast freeze electrode, which makes it excellent for welding down hand and rusty, painted wet metal. Generally the rod manipulation is to whip and pause, so basically after striking the arc you whip back away from the puddle without breaking the arc, which allows the puddle to cool and carry on with that motion. Very easy to start the arc. It does not have to be kept in a rod oven to keep it dry like the low hydrogen electrodes like 7018. It's an excellent starter, all purpose electrode. It is also often used on the root pass of a high pressure weld. 6010 is common as well and is very similar to the 6011 electrode.
Thank you Mr. Lee, my high school welding shop teacher. You are reiterating the principles of welding he taught us in the 90’s. Thank you for well made and informative videos.
I’m a maintenance welder who has worked for a few different companies. On my own I’ll use 6011. But in most circumstances I have only been supplied 1/8” 7018. Still works okay if you set it at 120 and whip it fast . Just don’t pop a hole or it will require some Texas tig
on really thin stuff flip the cables around, had to do that in a few pan washes beneath conveyor belts. If its thin you don't need much pen and you wouldn't / shouldn't trap anything. That being said I'd rather have 6010 for those situations.
Excellent topic. That’s what I tell my students, a welder knows how to work the metal. How to switch up rod movement, amperage, angles, arc length, and travel speed. Pipe welding is great but I feel that this builds experience, character, confidence. I’ve welded 14 gauge rectangle tubing with 1/8 6010. Made some stairs to a mobile home with them. I set the amps at 65-67 and as soon as I establish a puddle, I move. Whip and pause is really the best way to speed weld. I also keep a tight arc length.
Excellent point, most young guys just want to get in there and burn rod after rod and that may work on thicker materials. But real skill, comes in welding thin materials as we know! I used to have horses, and had pipe coral fencing and once in a while I would have to make repairs on that rusty old pipe. Now there is a challenge for you!!! Your better off splitting another piece of pipe and samwhich over the bad area, before you uses a box of rod or a spool of wire. But what is pretty awesome is the fact that somebody half around the world can chime in, in the conversation and give you his tips and tricks. Okay! Later you guys!
Experienced welders have been in many recovery scenarios. Welding thin material is challenging. If it wasn't for my mistakes, I wouldn't have learned anything.
I managed to flat weld some tubing and even filled in some holes with 7014 but forgot how I managed to pull that off.
Glad I'm not the only one that blows on my work to cool it. Great video I love the walk away method to many times have I got in a hurry and got rite back after it and made the problem worse. Excellent reminder to just take it easy.
Another tip that works well for me when burning holes, use a old/too short welding stick and stick it in and weld on it( much faster)
Texas tig
This was super great. As a handy man that welds sometimes, this was exactly what I needed. Very helpful and encouraging. Glad you’re back posting
Welder here 28 years experience, what I've learned over the years concerning thin metal it's best to whip and pause which gives the base metal a fraction of time to cool avoiding burn through at appropriate speeds. Practice makes perfect. Great video demonstration my man.
Perfectly said
Weld pause weld pause weld pause
Great videos sir, I'm a diesel technician by trade for the past 22years in no way a welder but I can stick things together and your vids have taught my quite a few tips I was missing and my welds are looking so much better! Keep up the great work man
What i like about your channel..your topics touch on novice secret questions......questions a novice may feel bad asking because their influencer may make them feel worse.But you cover it.Your honesty many can relate to...and your voice is not drab.Some voices that accompany videos...sheesh.Keep it coming.
Good tips! I do a lot of 14 and 16 gauge galvanized tubing on custom livestock handling equipment. We mig everything in the shop but in the field we stick everything. I use 1/8” 5P+ rod at 70 amps and hold a long arc and whip the poop out of it. All verticals I run downhill too. It takes a little to get used to and you have to move fast! I rarely burn a hole in anything anymore but the fit has to be good. Keep on keeping on brother!
Yes, I can relate to burning holes in thin metal with the stick welder.
It's comforting to hear you be honest about what you don't know. I've done 1G tig for so long I probably suck at everything else now lol
Thank god for people like you Austin. This was beyond helpful! Not only informative, more important you are real. Ok talking about failing, learning, and just being a human when it comes to steep learning curves like welding. Thank you thank you!
Doing a bit of pre-learning before getting some informal instruction, and I really like your teaching style!
Great tips Austin! Thank you for sharing your experience with us! I'm 62 but have only ever tried welding the odd thing here & there, and have not had too much success. Your instruction will certainly help me. Thank you and greetings from South Africa!
It drives me crazy welding thin stuff! I always learn new ideas from your videos!!
That's why I bought the weldpak 140, let the wire Welder deal with thin stuff 😏
Thanks Austin for most of us diy hobby welders, who for the most part are only welding small wall materials, and hardly of any decent length welds to really get a feel or understanding for the weld pool, since its a lot of stop start and blow out patching.
Watching you weld and solve problems, such a burnouts and closing gaps. You have the patience that it takes.
When filling larger holes, I will grab another rod, that I've already beat the powder off of, and dab it on the rim of the hole. Bridging the gap with a cold rod, for extra material quickens the process. My dad would just clamp it next to the main rod, but that takes practice to keep it close to the arc.
Thanks for all the tips I'm 74 and started welding about 5 years ago.
I sure do like repairing metal although it doesn't look that good but it works
Austin, very nice video. I’m looking forward to more of them. You and your wife are doing a great job
I love 6011, but when welding thin stuff I’ve really come to love 3/32 6013, so easy to weld with, and it’s also easy to make look good as long as your going uphill.
trying reversing your polarity its thin you don't need much penetration.
I'm working on paper thin and rusty and 3/32 6013 has been the only rod I can use without blowing through. All overhead.
1/16 will work but you have to be very fast.
3/32 half inch long bead, clean, cool, repeat.
They make 1/16" 6013 rods, just as a heads up. They are great for thin materials, and they lay a nice looking bead.
I just bought an inverter welding machine for house use, watching videos and started practicing, thanks for your informative video.
Didn’t know I needed this video but man it was excellent. So much of what I make is 2x2 11GA and these were some excellent tips!
I started welding by learning on my own with a Century AC stick welder, 6013 rods and building stuff out of 16g 1" square tubing 10 years ago. Super frustrating in the beginning with all of the porosity and blowouts but it was worth it. I've worked for myself ever since.
"Walk away" is some of the best advice ever! Also lowers my frustration level.
Some welders have an 'arc force' adjustment. It's basically adding some 'constant voltage' effect to automate arc-length. This is usually helpful but not for me on thin metal. It can get out of hand so fast. One thing I do is to turn arc-force off/down completely so I can control the heat on the fly. If it gets too hot then I crowd the arc to lower the power. With arc-force on much it will just punch a hole.
That sounds helpful. Will try it.
You're right about wanting to do it right the first time, but it takes time and practice. I've had a lot of practice filling holes on my neighbour's 1950s steel boat - 3 or 5 mm sheet metal, rotten down to 1 mm in places. Hills and valleys all over the bottom of the boat. Also painted with coal tar on the outside and inside, even after removing it, the welds still fizzed like soda. Sometimes a certain current setting worked well, until I met an area which was very thin, and blew a hole. Then had to run a 2 mm electrode at 40 Amps electrode negative (!) to not blow through. The worst hole I had to fill was about 2 cm in diameter. Patch it with a plate? Expect another
How does electrode negative help? Thank you.
Great vid, I came up with something like this technique for filling blow throughs when repairing an old car chassis with a very cheap welder, decades ago. The metal was like lacework in places, but strong elsewhere. Some places where the corrosion had made large areas thin, I'd add extra patches when this occurred, but other places I'd go around the hole building up with metal, cooling with water and chipping off the slag between each pass to save time.
Since doing that car I've done a lot of amateur stick welding over the years and I've never had welds with so little slag from the cheap rods I've used. I've also extensively used gasless (cored wire) MIG and the slag from your rods looks more like the welds from gasless MIG wire. My stick weld rods leave a thick slag more like a black ceramic which needs chipping off with a hammer. Sometimes it's so thick that it looks as though I've done a great weld, then I chip off the slag and the metal isn't even joined! Maybe I missed it, but what rods are you using?
Glad this video popped up in my feed! I'm doing a 14 guage sheet metal to 14 guage square tube build and got holes everywhere! I've been filling the gaps with 7018 and 1/8 round steel.
Most informative upload. As you say "patience " it takes as long as it takes. What you rush is when you make mistakes, gonna take twice as long
Some key points:
6:35 no bevels on thin material necessary
8:30 long arc as compensation for cold
9:00 stroke presented on school board, also 10:10
11:50 basic accedental hole tip: leave it alone to cool off
My brother has been welding for 25-30 yrs & he's teaching me to weld. On one of his lessons, he showed me how to fill in a hole & said, "in welding school, this is one of the more advanced lessons they will teach you later on in the course!" after about a couple 2-3 tries with hole patching & practice & practice & practice & more practice, I can "patch up a hole" fairly good. . . . but that was on thicker material using 1/8" 6013 rod.
I'm using an old "buzz box" Lincoln Arc Welder that my grampa bought back in the day. there are no "in betewen" settings on this critter ( though i really wish there was), just 40-60-75-90-100-115-130-145--160-180- 200-225 amp settings!
I'm like you. . . .a hands on, ask questions, boots to the ground, let's get going now, kind of guy. . . . . who tinkers out in his shop & wants to build stuff for me. I have all kinds of ideas exploding in my head just waiting to get out on physical projects & I'm excited about it all, like a little kid in a candy store.
thankya sirnfor sharing this video with us. I'm a new subscriber to your channel!!! Happy welding👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
It’s my pleasure! Thank you for watching!
Weird trick I do is hold very long rod angles, like 45 degrees, or more. It reduces penetration into the root, seems to help a bit.
I love your videos. About stick welding thin material, almost 30 years ago I made patch panels for my 1970 FJ40 Landcruiser and welded them in with stick. All we had on the dairy was a Lincoln buzz box. I found some 3/32 6011 that came on a pallet from a farm auction. I burned some holes. Filled them with the "okie tig" method. I did About 1" beads 8" to 12" apart and let things sit. I would go do feeding or something and come and repeat. I'm no body man by any means. But I got the job done.
thank you austin for taking your time and knowledge on teaching about your experience and techniques , i enjoy your videos and hope to see more
Thank you for the time and effort you put in to help people.
It’s my pleasure. Thank you for watching
He's a great tutorialist. And he's not full of himself.
@@mikem9584 You got that right & this is only the 2nd video I've watched on this feller. I like him alot!
Thanks for this video - building an exhaust jig now from 1.5mm material and having burn through but have to adjust settings for lower amps and work more precisely. looks like rod thickness is ok
Hell yeah I did the same thing I quit school when I was 16 and my grandfather said oh no boy you got to get a skill so yes he payed for a two year welding course in Tulsa Oklahoma triple A and I passed plate and then went to pipe and passed the 6G test and then I had time for tig root and 7018 hot pass and fill and cap I’m very glad that he did this for me I love welding and I love watching videos
one of the biggest mistakes is when the weld gets too hot and just about to burn is to try and save it by more welding, stop and let it cool down and then restart carefully.
Yes i agree of "walking away" and get coffee or meal if holes happens. Then get back to work when frustration gone. I used to do it 😊. Great tutorial! Salute 👍
Thanks for the video!
I've been using 1/16 or 5/64" 7014 for clean well fitting steel tubing when I do a continuous bead. But now the price for the 1/16" has literally doubled, so I don't t know if I will reorder when I run out.
So now I'm trying a dab-dab technique with 3/32" 6011. I really like 6011 because it's cheap and widely available. It is deep penetrating but also fast-freeze.
What you do is strike the arc, create the puddle, and break the arc. This only takes about a second (say "one-thousand-one"
). Then you watch it cool and while the bead is still barely red (before it goes dark), you strike the arc again and repeat. This gives good visibility and easy arc strike. You are making a bead of spot welds.
If the material is really thin you can just do it with scattered spot welds, or even cool the metal with compressed air or copper/aluminium chill blocks.
This isn't as fast as running a bead, but if you burn through just once you've lost that advantage. I am aware of TIG and MIG, and if I do win the lottery....
With this dab-dab technique I can use my 110v buzz box or my cheap inverter welder and get good results. I just need to unplug the microwave.
I've learned a lot from industrial welders like you, and also the auto-body wizards.
But a lot of home-shop projects fly under the radar. I've found most of the useful projects I've done welding are small.
Thanks again for a good in-the-field repair video, and if you have a big project, support your local welders.
Austin instead of 3/32 6011 try using 1/16 6011 for light gauge material and down hand is your friend! 1/16 is the key I build and installed ornamental iron for years and 1/16 is key!
I love the advice about walking away for a minute and grabbing a coffee, nice job filling that blow through
I learned to stick weld thin tubing in 1965 (I'd been stick welding heavy stuff since 1958 on the4 farm). Recovered a couple dozen sticks of 2x2x1/8 tubing from the post dump at Ft Devens Mass. Built a 6'x8' trailer including axle (had one stick for 1/4 for the axle. Cut everything by hand with hacksaw. H0bby shop had only stick. Still have the trailer. it's been lengthened to 12', widened to 80", rebodied (wood) 5 times over the years. I've had stick , MIG and gas in my shop for over 25 years, no longer use stick for anything but really heavy agricultural stuff. 98% of what I've done for years has been MIG. I point beginners to MIG, stick actually requires talent and practice.
Burned a hole in my kxt250 frame last night… first time welding. Probably should have put in some good time before trying to patch it BUT thanks to you I feel pretty confident I’ll be able to make it happen 🔥👌
Love it; I whip in weld and out with j’s and I like it hot (on my miller 225 run it 10 at 50amps w 1/8” on 14 gauge); so my hook of j is in the puddle and my long leg is filling the gap… so j on bottom a reverse j on top, if weld is getting to hot often move to long legs of j’s and work back toward the “weld” or further down the line while its “cooling” I like to get back in it, the split second the orange puddle fades off…
Side note: love your vids; have helped me move from a welders helper, to shop foreman in 8 months time!!!! Keep ‘em coming.
I'm right in the middle of welding school and I'm starting to realize that "spin the nob and watch the arc" is a completely valid method for adjusting your settings.
Thanks for putting this together and explaining things in simple terms.
Nice to see how its done in other countrys.
I have done a lot of high presure gaspipes mostly stainless tig and its very important to prepair the welds with the right angles and put enough material in between the gaps. On highload-constructionwork too.
Nice video.
I love your channel because it gives a more "out in the field" type of welding than being in school for welding. (I go to hobart right now for welding and I'm about to graduate.)
Great school Trippy ,the best of luck to you in the future!!!
@@kencalardo8767 it’s a fantastic school, never welding before going and no regrets. Only gripe is I wish they did self shielded fux because I’m doing it in a side job soon
Trippy get on you tube welding tips and tricks he has some excellent videos on self shielded and dual shield also , Jodie Collier is like Austin an excellent hands on teacher .
@@IPantherz Run the self shielded as you would a 6010 or 6011. You will like it.
“I know it’s dark but I’m just blowin’ on it a little bit”. 😅. Thank you for your videos my brother. You are a good teacher and have a very likable personality! I just put a whole like that on my 1st vertical weld yesterday… thanks again brother!
Well done Austin ! At 9:20 we call it " step in and step out " weave when running 6011's on thinner metal , allows the puddle to cool slightly then weave over it again .
I tell ya the what , the best welders learned on an old gas driven welder where the engine RPM surged , spit and sputter . You was constantly changing your pattern / style depending on the sound of the engine . LOL and keep up the great work !
Great information,
I carry hot rolled 1/4" round bar, just for that purpose and to fill big gaps, always like your information ! Thanks
Those are great little machines! Rod size, travel speed and arc gap all come into factor when welding thin stuff. I’ve had to knock the flux off a 7018 and use it as a TN TIG rod, lol.
Great instructional. My son finds it helps to have some scraps of the same material to do test welds in order to get settings right. So when you're cutting and fitting up, save some of the scraps to do a few setting passes on stuff that doesn't matter.
Thanks again Austin. I kind of learned filling holes (TIG) using the "I'm rushing - time for a break" routine - it works! Good video again.
Hey Austin.. I bought some 2.5mm square tubing mild steel from Amazon to build a frame for a table saw I'm building and I bought my 1st stick welder. One of those cheap inverter stick welders. It's a 10-80A inverter welding machine. Somebody told me ..
The reason I bought the welder was bcos I'm about to attempt to build out the frame of a home made table saw. It's goignto be a major project for me bcos I'm completyely new to all this stuff. I have my own little workshop and somebody told me to use 1.6mm 6013 rods and have the current at around 40-45..
I'm about to start building my frame for the table saw but I am going to get my hands on some steel bits and bobs from the local building site and practice my arcs and speed and drag methods..
I bought to different sizer rods.. 1.6mm & 2.0mm for starters.. I'm going to see how they work out for me plus my brother in law is fairly decent at this game so I'll get him togive me some tips also.. Great video my bro..Take it easy man.. Dublin, IRE in the house
Just recently I bought myself a stick welder. Cute little thing, super cheap but powerful. As a first project I went on to fix that thin sheet metal grill you can buy in a supermarket that I found.
It evaporated. :D
Ive been looking for some like this because im starting a small business and its super thin stuff and i have a stick welder this helps a lot
Prep and Patience! Damn that’s great advice and a good mantra to repeat - I blew through some thinner stuff yesterday and I’m giving this a try today !!! Love the videos
Thank you this was great!
From a VERY new beginner...need all the help I can get.
Down south here in Arizona
This is good advice, enjoy your down to earth approach to teaching.
i started out with a lincon 200 on 16 ga tube back in the 50s with a 1/8 6013 building columns and rails,still do the same now but have learned different ways to perform,didn't have time to keep adjusting heat so learned to use the heat i started with but keep in mind that as the metal heats up you gotta compensate for the heat
THANK YOU AR! Always learn from you!
Thanks Aaron. Something that’s happened to me a lot learning. I thought you had to chip slag off before each pass though. Cheers.
Built a hand rail on site out in the field around a conex that had a concrete platform with stairs. Did it all in the rain with a stick welder lol. I did end up with a few gaps due to fitment issues. Mainly overhead welds on some of the angled pieces coming down off the stairs. I ended up breaking the flux off a piece of 3/32 7018 and Texas tig welded it lol. When all was said and done all I heard all week from the people I was working for was how nice the hand rail turned out lol. I was mainly a shop fabricator/welder for a few years before I got a taste of field work, and you would be surprised how much shop knowledge helps out in the field on site.
Excellent tip for filling holes that I burn through 👍🏿👍🏿
I stick-weld 14-ga all the time by tapping my rod all along the weld path, establishing several "heat-sink bridges".
This gives excess heat a safe pathway to evenly distribute the heat load.
Once I have a dozen or so small tack welds, I turn up my heat a bit and lay down an even puddle.
Hand rails and fences usually get ground and painted. That even puddle makes even grinding a piece of cake.
Holes? Ya, they happen - mostly along cut edges. Tapping first lessens your chance of a run-away hole getting started. To fix a hole, tap first and let it cool before attempting to lay down a puddle.
are you using 6010, 6013, or 7018 when doing this
@@peetky8645
I use 6011 almost exclusively. I call them dago rods, BECAUSE, dago through dirt, dago through rust, dago through paint . . . Dago through almost anything. I build a ton of oilwell drill stem and sucker-rod pipe fences as well as custom metal buildings (11 & 14 ga).
I use a/c machines (Miller Suitcase & Lincoln stick), so odd-numbered rods.
@@WhatDadIsUpTo good to know....i wanna make an 11ga carport in steel tube...my inverter is dc only and wont work with 6010 but it does work with 6011. I was going to mock up some coupons to try dcen vs dcep and also 1/8 rods and smaller. what size 6011 would your recommend for 11 ga tube? thanks for your informative response above
@@peetky8645 Honestly, I have no idea how thick my rods are, 3/16"? I dunno. I use Victory brand rods. I get them from J&I Mfg. in Madil, OK by the pound.
What I do know is, 11 gauge requires way more heat. I weld 14-ga between 90 and 120 amps, but thicker, I honestly just crank it up a notch or two without looking. You'll know if you're too hot by testing your draw-back arc by pulling up, but retaining an (oxidising) ark. Experience lets you know by the sound it makes. You want sizzle, not crackling, while maintaining your 1/24" arc gap. The thicker the rod, the more amps it can handle, up to the point it starts blowing your cover gas away.
BTW - what means dcen & dcep? 🤷♂️
@@peetky8645 If I may, 6011 in 3/32" diameter can work just fine for 11ga (1/8") tube, but so can 1/8" on it's lower end. 1/8" 6011 will typically work down to about 65A give-or-take a few amps, so it has a good range to work with depending on the joint configuration. Some configurations need less, some need more. In any event, I prefer DCEP, it just seems to run smoother IMO than DCEN.
You can buy 1/16 welding rods which I would use to weld anything smaller than 14 gauge. They are weird because they are flimsy. You can find them at the freight of the harbor.
Hey “A” man, as usual great content. Heat control is what you have to be aware of. Holding the puddle together and knowing when to get out of it before the blow out/through. Hood down lights on.
Cursive e’s is what you were trying to describe or at least that’s what my welding instructor called them years ago. 32 years ago now. Lol now days I’ll just grab the MIG and get it done. Or like another commenter said oxy-fuel weld it. It all depends on what the customer wants the fabrication to be and look like for me really. If they don’t care MIG it is then. It’s just faster and makes it look much cleaner to the eye. Like you say is it appealing to look at.
I worked as a fabricator and did repair life most of my life, and some of the best advice I ever got was "Don't trust a fast welder." This is because, as you demonstrate, good technique takes time, and even more so, good prep and good clean up between passes also take time. Someone who's really fast is very likely be getting very little penetration, welding rusty, dirty material, and getting lots of slag inclusions.
Nice tips. Whip, drastic travel angle, push the puddle, or Texas tig…….whatever it takes. Keep the content rollin 💯
Thanks for the tips. About to screw around with some square tubing at home and the "get a coffee" tip may keep my garage from being destroyed
This was a huge help. I am a cattle guy from your area who is has been doing mission work in Malawi Africa for 7 years and there are only small dc welders with 6013. Most stuff here is thin and it has been a big challenge to “stick” it together. Any tips on walking the tightrope of too hot and slag inclusions with 6013?
Thanks for putting out good clean videos.
Thanks Austin. I learned all these lessons recently building my first desk project. Poor fit up and beveled my edges! It’s been a nightmare. I ended up borrowing a mig welder from a friend, which I’ve never used before. I’m almost done with it, but it’s been a challenge!
Greetings from Arizona.
Love the videos and info
I learned to fill holes by trial and error. This is what I do mostly. Thanx.
I’m retired maintenance and farm mechanic. I’ve had to patch / repair lots of crazy sh..tuff. Keep up the good work my friend.
The “proper settings” are usually under the hood where the wire is. I was taught and learned as you “boots on the ground”. For over a decade I thought I was good. I was but when swapping machines it took some time and many test welds. I always knew the specs were there under the hood but thought I was smarter. Wrong they give you a great starting point, and most times you don’t have to adjust anything.
I'm a novice welder, Thank You for for the Videos !
Good video. I didn't even know this was possible to fix. I'm trying to get through welding school now, stuck on thin metal overhead, trying to find that happy balance between achieving enough penetration and not burning through
3/32" is decent with 6010/6011 but 5/64" makes life a whole lot easier assuming you're stuck stick welding it 😉
I would recommend 6013 downhill but most people hate it because it's a pain to learn (runs similar to the stainless steel electrodes).
Of course, if I'm in a hurry and stuck welding outside then nothing beats .030 flux core on thin gauge bale rings and gates 😁
Being a expert at fixing mistakes and poor engineering decisions, buy some copper bar stock of different sizes to stick into the hole leaving about an 1/8" gap. The copper makes the filling process go so much faster because the gap for the weld puddle to fill in is more manageable and on top of that the copper pulls the heat out of the weld quicker making the repair process faster. This also applies to fixing holes in flat panels except you use copper plate instead. The weld metal won't stick to the copper 😉
I used this technique to repair a round metal chain wear plate on a John Deere baler. The chain links had worn two grooves through the plate and the master link was getting caught up in it causing the baler to throw the chain off. Worked like a charm 😎
If all you have is 7018 and you have thin wall you could reverse your polarity, the material you are welding is thin so it doesn't really need that much penetration, and you shouldn't really trap anything.
I use 1/16 or 5/64 stick rod for thin stuff. Lincoln makes 1/16 7018. 7014 is also going to better when trying to avoid blow outs. When using 1/8 rod, but you need to do some small tacking, just simply grab 5/64 rod using the same heat. The rod will light right up and won't stick. Then switch back to your 1/8 rod.
When it comes to thin metals I've found 1/16 E6013 to be fitting for these applications. The main amps is around 20-45 but for 3/16 steel tubing or welding T-posts the amps can be taken up to 50 and work just fine.
I use Texas tig for thin metals...works great for me but I love learning from others and their experiences. Being able to experiment with different techniques taught me that there is usually more than one way to achieve the end result. Of course some methods are better suited to each application. Thanks for sharing 👍
Thanks for the useful video. Ugh, hate burning through and your technique will help. I need to turn down the heat!
I don't do any kind of welding but it's fun to watch and learn about. Thanks for the video!
Great video my man!!! I am just about to start a project with this thin square tubing. This helped a lot!!
Weve all been here haha...got to love the thin & rusty stuff😂
Man when I’m welding thin gauge material, unless the fit is very tight I don’t even bother trying to weld it “right”. I just grab another rod, break off the flux and Texas tig the whole weld lol
Thank you so much. I mean it. I learn best just like you and I do appreciate everything about you sir.