WeldrDave, Mike was burning 6013/ 3/32. At first I thought he was running a Mig, and the extra splatter made me ask about his type of gas. For a first time with stick, he'll have the hang of it in no time.
Unless he wire wheeled the slag off, It does not look like 6013…. You usually see slag residue on "ANY" stick weld. Thats a pretty good trick. Most Mig's on mild steel will run Co2, I have worked where they will use a mix or argon. Usually argon is to costly and will only be used for aluminum. 6013 is a good AC rod, as a matter of fact thats what it was designed for. If that was his stick welding, he'll be fine, just needs practice 6013 can be dragged like 7018 or 7024 on DCRP it makes for a nice weld.
I don't know how I missed him saying that was 6013, but I went back and read… Yup…. Oh well, I missed it. , I'm tired…, sure looks like a mig weld though, flat, and almost convex, to much heat etc… As I used to tell my vo-tech students, keep burning till you can't hold the stinger any more!
Aluminum can be welded with dcen with helium scratch start. Will it pass x-ray probably not but for a lot of non critical jobs it will hold. This is a weld from another forum that was done this way. One of my instructors did a demo, but I never tried it. He took his cylinder of gas home so I can't try it.
Yes, I seen it done as well… I will not teach that though. You still contaminate the tunsten, also after 35 years of welding, "VERY" few people use helium any more for aluminum. Not to argue, but I know of no institution who teaches scratch start on aluminum now, whe Tig welding was in it's infancy and it was still called heliarc welding, yes. Also in the picture above, they wire wheeled the crap out of the bead to remove the black soot, Touching a piece of aluminum with a wire wheel "prior" to welding you just grind impurities in the metal unless your using a stainless wire. Even then it's not the best thing to do…
By no way am I saying it is good practice just saying it can be done. He was not really teaching it as much as showing it could be done, same with the guy that did the one in the pic. It also takes a buttload more amps (hence the helium) because it does not have the cleaning action of ac. I have a project coming up that should be fun an old Wilton vice that was my dad's. It has 2 cracks one on each side of the throat. I am still debating weather to gtaw it or smaw.
Being that the vise is cast, "and can be welded" but there is no gaurantee it's going to hold up, I would almost write it off as a loss unless it is sentimental. Either way of welding will work, your going to have to pre and post heat it. I've done many pump housings in the Navy and the CG, some hold up, some don't... It's a gamble and depends solely on the quality of the casting.
Thanks for the input. I had a chance to burn a few more rods. Tried some 7018 but it wasn't that much easier for me so I figured I'd stick with the 6013 while I work on my technique. I lowered the amps and that made things a lot more controllable. Here is the latest. (it's hard to get a good pic and things look a lot better in person ) What do you do at the end of the bead to avoid the ugly crater? 6013, 3/32 55 amps
Nice bead width, Are you having trouble with long arcing? ….. also make sure your cables are not coiled "at all" you shouldn't have those boooger splatters with those beads. your speed is good! Depending on your amps, stop for a half second more when you want to stop your weld and that "may" eleviate your crater. Break you arc quick also, lift your rod straight up. Your getting some arc fluctuation, are you running on DC or AC?
Magnetic amperage fluctuation…. Basicly this, having your cables coiled is like having an electromagnet situation, "4th grade science" but it throws off power in a crazy way! if your leads are on cement, high humidity, lots of metal near, and high water table. Yes K-mart shoppers, I have studied this! Try this experiment…. take you leads, coil them up and have someone start welding, through some small nails, ball bearings what have you in the center of the coil and watch what happens.
What is the result of the amp fluctuation on the rod while welding? When I think of the conditions I've welded in… looks as tho I could start all over again!
Well, Lets say you want to have a consistant 100 amps while you weld. With magnetic issues, your ampreage will be sparatic +- depending on the amount of coils, temprature, and other variables, you could lose 10 to 20 amps easely. Basically your amps will fluctuate and you won't have a constant flow of current without some kind of disruption. The best way to have your welding leads are in a straight line to your work. "NOW" we all know that is nearly impossible in most circumstances, but if you fake them out so they don't cross over one another you will produce "MUCH" better welds.
Thanks, The leads were coiled, on cement, next to a bunch of metal tool chests and there is a high water table under the garage Didn't realize all that would have an effect. I've been running DCEP. Been trying to keep a tighter arc; some of the splatter on the top right is from an earlier bead attempt. What do you see in the bead to say arc fluctation?
I don't use it for aluminum, but I have been known to throw a bottle of Helium on the big TIG at work for copper work when I'm pushing near 300 amps.
I tend to pause at the end then snap out of the arc towards the beginning of the weld to eliminate the crater. I give the vice a 50/50 chance of living . I have drilled the ends of the cracks and u-grooved . I also plan on peening between the root and fill welds. The cracks are about 1 1/2 inches long on each side of the throat. Fingers crossed as it does have some sentimental worth. I also have a bucket and sand for a slow cool and a 500° temple stick. I have done very little cast welding but I have to try.
I want to move the hydraulic valve to the top of the cylinder on my log splitter so I can use it from either side. If I weld this as pictured will it hold up (assuming a good weld and proper prep) or does it need more support?? The carpenter in me wants to put a support 'post' under the the left side of the plate. -
