Thanks for the kind comments, I appreciate them. I want to see people out there learning how to use their tools and building cool stuff. Knowing I might directly help someone learn a skill and build confidence makes me happy 😃.
Greg, you are the man! I have been looking all over for tips on how to get the horrible slag inclusions out of my 6013 fillets. Was about to give up and just move to 7018 when I figured I'd come back to your Stick series and see if you had anything. Literally grabbed a pound of 7018 out today so I could start learning it once I tried one last 6013 fillet before giving up. Your advice on pressing the electrode into the joint with some force behind it was exactly what I needed to hear. Night and day difference. Still fighting a minor inclusion here or there but nothing like the long strips of garbage I was dealing with before. Not bad for a guy who never touched a welder before a month ago. Thank you so much for this series. Best, David.
Glad it helped you 😀👍. 6013 seems to have the most watery flux that wants to run ahead of your rod and turn into a slag inclusion. On flat plate welds it’s not a huge deal because the flux can spread out when it’s liquid. On a fillet weld where the flux has minimal places to go it’s super common to have slag inclusions right at the start and randomly at points after. Cramming the rod in, a bit steeper rod angle, a bit more amperage, etc all help to keep that flux pushed where you want it. If you can run clean beads with 6013 you will find 7018 to be a joy to use on fillet welds once you can get good starts with the rod 😀.
@@makingmistakeswithgregyou said it in the video. There's just not that much difference between a weld that turns out really good and one that's a mess, at least with this rod and this type of weld. The good news is I got to work on tacking and grinding a lot 😅
@@zyx495 once you mostly master 6013 go to 7018. Expect frustration with the starts. However the lack of slag inclusions with 7018 will make things much easier. Generally the worst that happens with 7018 is the bead favors one side of the plate. Also, I still get slag inclusions with 6013 when I use it from time to time, so that should tell you how tough it is to fully eliminate that.
I am glad to hear I helped you out 😀. It’s amazing how a few small tweaks and some more info to help understand what’s going on can drastically change the outcome.
Hi Greg! Some rules of thumb for stick welding: Fillet welds need more heat generally...so run the rod rather to the hot side And for travel speed: Push the rod into the fillet and travel as it burns off. That said is only for the root pass. if you must lay in a cap, you use other technique as you explained. just touch and go And most important is preparation!!! Sharp edges and no gap between the parts! do not bevel the parts for fillet, unless you have really big welds to do!
I really enjoy learning about specifics of various rods. I learned the first two digits of the rod is tensile strength the third is a 1 or 2 1 in all positions and 2 is horizontal weld. The fourth is different flux coatings. Yes?
The fourth is indeed referring to the coating. Interestingly enough the coating number will give you a general idea what to expect with how the rod runs but there will be differences. A great example would be 7024 and 7014. 7014 can be run all positions, 7024 flat and horizontal only. They actually weld different and the finished welds look very different.
Excellent presentation, and the mentioning of many points and details, was helpful. I am now a very old man and while I am no welder, I had reasons which necessitated me to learn to weld (SS surgical tools) . I found that what helped me most was getting to know the "puddle", especially the " surface tension" of any material when it is in liquid state, including when I am drinking hot and cold tea or replacing thee oil in my cars! When my daughter needed to learn welding at University, I showed her how the surface tension in liquids behave, by dipping my hand in water and using the ends of two nearby wet fingers. I brought them closer and the wetness did not bridge the gap. Then that last little bit closer, bridged the gap in a spectacular manner, and in that bridged condition the surface tension was then flexibly versatile enough to play about with the molten "suspension" bridge. As long as the molten Bridge with its surface tension managed to bridge the two materials being welded, then the weld was fine. On her first day at welding, the instructor told my daughter, " But you have welded before!" where she explained what she knew about surface tension of liquids as related to temperature and state of the situation, and showed him the wetted finger demonstration. Surprisingly enough the instructor asked her to help him by starting the welding sessions with " wetted fingers" demonstrations. As a memory of my daughter's welding days, I kept all the work pieces she made, including the soldering she did when forming pots and pans in sheet metal work. Good old days. Again congratulations for the various points you mentioned in your excellent videos. Well done,
Thanks much for sharing your story, I really enjoy reading stuff like that 😀. How you described the surface tension is exactly what happens. It’s quite interesting how a molten pool of metal behaves just like it was a drop of water. When you understand that you can accurately predict behavior of a weld pool. Aluminum tig and brazing become much easier with better understanding of surface tension. I was fortunate to learn tig welding first, and the purity of what I saw (both of the metal and the lack of sparks/smoke) allowed me to understand so much as to what was actually going on. I wouldn’t have half the knowledge I do if I didn’t have tig under my belt.
Greg, I learned a lot about 6013 welding by watching this video. I was having the same problems with slag inclusion, arc wandering and poor fusion. I am learning to watch the puddle more and reducing the travel speed some and it really helps reduce the screw-ups. Using what you have taught has helped me be able to make some diagonal braces for my front porch to keep it more stable. Thanks.
Glad to hear it 😀. 6013 is a easy to run rod but it’s probably the easiest to get slag inclusions with. The worst welds I have ever made with stick have all been with 6013. I find it’s great in the flat position but with fillet welds it can be tricky. Running enough amperage, getting the travel speed right, and making sure the flux doesn’t run in front of the rod are the keys. Practice too of course. Sounds like you saw some improvements so far and you are on the path of getting it figured out 😀
Thanks Greg, your videos are detailed and in depth. Hopefully I can master my fillet welds by slowing down my travel speed and making sure my amps are high enough. I really need to learn this before I start my next project - a welding trolley.
Most people weld too fast and too low of amperage when learning, I sure did. Don’t be afraid of the amperage and slowly drag the molten puddle. It won’t take much to get pretty decent in the flat position with 6013 or 7014 rods. I will have videos coming out in the next couple weeks covering all the common rods, watch for them. I find 7018 much easier to weld with because it’s easy to see the puddle. It just takes some work on starts/restarts.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg I'm in Australia and we don't seem to have much selection of rods. 6013 is available everywhere and I've seen 7016/18 but I read they need to be stored in a special oven to remove the moisture, so I haven't tried them. All the welders on UA-cam seem to love 7016/18 and hate 6013. I would like to try them, but don't want to buy the oven and figure I can probably get by with 6013 as I'm by no means a professional welder.
@@JohnSmith-cl2iq here is the deal on the low hydrogen rods. They have requirements to be stored in a rod oven or used directly from a pack within a certain time. The issue is the flux can pickup moisture and the moisture can lead to the welds cracking. On mild steel the cracking risk for rods still stored in the factory packaging will be virtually zero. The reality is most steel that people weld with doesn’t need the strength of 7018. I prefer it because it runs a nice looking bead, it’s easy to see the puddle, and it’s easier to run uphill than 7014 and 6013. I have a mini rod oven but for practice I use cheap 7018s I have laying around. For higher liability stuff I use rods out of the mini rod oven (or baked in a toaster oven). I also buy small vac packed rods from esab (7018 prime) that are good to use without a rod oven. They are smaller packs that are easier to get through on a smaller job without a lot of unused rods. To me 7018 it just a better rod than 6013/7014 other than the start/restart being a bit harder. I do like 7024 a lot for flat welds which has a tough puddle to see, but it lays down nice smooth polished steel looking welds. In the rod comparison video i have coming up I will really compare the rods and show their strengths/weaknesses. If all you have is 6013 readily available you can do a ton with it. I just find it very susceptible to weld defects that other rods don’t have.
Hey, Thanks for your videos I really appreciate the effort and the time you take to make them, I'm currently learning to stick weld for hobby projects and while youtube videos doesn't substitute practice time, these are very informative and inspiring, thanks
Thanks so much for the comment. I am glad you find use with them, that’s why I am making them. I have a ton more stick weld videos coming up so keep a eye out for them. I have pretty much only been using 6013 but very soon I will be using a ton of 6010 and 7018. Vertical up, overhead, and even a massive rod comparison video. If there is something you want me to cover let me know, I will be sure to do it 😃.
Great start to the new year, another welding video from Greg! You referenced a specific drag angle for the 6013 rod. For those of us that are new to arc welding, is there a chart that shows the best drag angle for any of the different arc rods available?
I will be doing a big comparison video one how to get the most out of stick rods and I will definitely cover rod angles. 6013,7014, and 7024 favor steeper drag angles that 6010/11 and 7018. You will definitely see it in the video, should be out within 2 weeks (it’s going to be a big video 😀
Hello from Germany! Many, many thanks for this video series! Easy to understand and you have surely improved me knowledge on what to look for! To make your videos more popular, may I suggest adding tags like #stickwelding #arcwelding #smaw #welding to all of them?
You're welcome 😀. I am glad they helped you out become a better welder. Thanks for the tip, I still need to go back and add tags to many videos. UA-cam has a way of doing it without tags, on its own, but sometimes it doesn't work. My newer videos I have done it but older ones are hit or miss.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg Very much so! I'm a hobby welder. Have been focused on aluminum Tig for a while now and finally starting to get the hang of it. For steel (building) I'm 100% Mig and love it. Some time ago I realized the utility of stick welding. No need for any gas bottle. MUCH easier than flux core (MIG). Choice of electrodes. Cheap machines. But here's the thing -- there were very few videos that had actual instructional substance. Your video series is THE series to follow for stick. I skim some videos and watch others several times over. You might consider making a video comparing the different electrodes, not "all" of course but the main ones, and demonstrating the application where each shines (showing that contrast). Just a suggestion. Great job Greg. Keep it up!
@@stormbytes thanks again for the kind words. Stick rod wise I will be doing a few videos more coming up where I repair stuff, and I will make a point to mention benefits of some rods over others. I personally use 7018 and 6010 for everything. However different rods (7014, 6013, and 6011) can come in handy on oddball jobs (like welding super thin material). The hardest part for me is having mig-tig-stick machines (and being decently good at all 3) is that I have the luxury of picking the best process for the job. I am a fully capable welder that can repair anything, however that’s assuming I can use the welder I choose. Aluminum spool gun, stick on stainless, and a few others I suck at simply because I use other processes instead. For mobile repairs I much prefer stick or flux core wire, they are simple and both work well. That will definitely show as I start filming more repair videos in the future 😀
No problem, glad the video helped you out😀. Stick welding can be hard to learn but once you gain enough knowledge and skill it's really not that hard. Just dont give up 😀
Universally everyone moves too fast when learning to weld. The actual welding speed on 3/16th and thicker plate is pretty slow with stick. With thin material you often have to move faster, but anything above sheet metal moving slow, smooth, and steady is the way.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg you make it look easy, trying to figure out what amps , speed , angle and everything else while fighting a shaky hand is harder than I remember from high school 30 + years ago lol . Btw I’m a Greg also so just assumed the channel name was pointed at me 😂 JK
I see that in many of your videos, when you cannot start a rod, you bang it on the table rather than on the piece itself, can you explain a little better what is the problem and why is the "banging on the table" the solution. In my case (i just started) starting the rod and sticking the rod are the biggest hurdles I am encountering.
One of the hardest parts of learning to stick weld is start a rod and running it consistent. Every rod starts different, and restarts different. 6013 tends to be easy to start, and if you restart on a used rod it tends to be really easy. With a rod like 7018 it’s fairly easy to start but very difficult to restart. The reason restarts with 7018 (and some other rods) are hard is because a ball of glass forms on the rod tip when the arc is cut off. That ball doesn’t conduct electricity, and it covers the metal rod tip. You can’t get an arc started with it on the tip so tapping the rod on the table cracks the material off the tip exposing the bare metal. This makes it possible for an arc to start. Rather than tapping or scraping the rod tip on the metal you’re welding (which could cause arc strikes) doing it on the table gets the rod ready to start without potential arc strikes. Hopefully all that makes sense 😀
So 80 series rod is mostly used for higher strength steel. There is a lot of weird issues regarding this, because sometimes (without heat treating) a welded higher strength steel part may actually be stronger with a 70series rod over 80. 7018 produces a weld that is well over 70k (sometimes 80k in tensile strength) so it already exceeds most of mild steel. Over welding mild steel with high strength fillers won’t lead to much increase in performance, because the material is the limiting factor. 80 series rods are also far more expensive than 70, plus harder to get, so that’s why you generally don’t see them at stores.
Great videos. There are a lot of welding videos, but this series is one of the best out there. I really enjoy watching your videos.
Thanks for the kind comments, I appreciate them. I want to see people out there learning how to use their tools and building cool stuff. Knowing I might directly help someone learn a skill and build confidence makes me happy 😃.
Greg, you are the man! I have been looking all over for tips on how to get the horrible slag inclusions out of my 6013 fillets. Was about to give up and just move to 7018 when I figured I'd come back to your Stick series and see if you had anything. Literally grabbed a pound of 7018 out today so I could start learning it once I tried one last 6013 fillet before giving up. Your advice on pressing the electrode into the joint with some force behind it was exactly what I needed to hear. Night and day difference. Still fighting a minor inclusion here or there but nothing like the long strips of garbage I was dealing with before. Not bad for a guy who never touched a welder before a month ago. Thank you so much for this series. Best, David.
Glad it helped you 😀👍. 6013 seems to have the most watery flux that wants to run ahead of your rod and turn into a slag inclusion. On flat plate welds it’s not a huge deal because the flux can spread out when it’s liquid. On a fillet weld where the flux has minimal places to go it’s super common to have slag inclusions right at the start and randomly at points after. Cramming the rod in, a bit steeper rod angle, a bit more amperage, etc all help to keep that flux pushed where you want it. If you can run clean beads with 6013 you will find 7018 to be a joy to use on fillet welds once you can get good starts with the rod 😀.
@@makingmistakeswithgregyou said it in the video. There's just not that much difference between a weld that turns out really good and one that's a mess, at least with this rod and this type of weld. The good news is I got to work on tacking and grinding a lot 😅
@@zyx495 once you mostly master 6013 go to 7018. Expect frustration with the starts. However the lack of slag inclusions with 7018 will make things much easier. Generally the worst that happens with 7018 is the bead favors one side of the plate.
Also, I still get slag inclusions with 6013 when I use it from time to time, so that should tell you how tough it is to fully eliminate that.
Never stop teaching brother you have helped me out so much
I am glad to hear I helped you out 😀. It’s amazing how a few small tweaks and some more info to help understand what’s going on can drastically change the outcome.
Hi Greg!
Some rules of thumb for stick welding:
Fillet welds need more heat generally...so run the rod rather to the hot side
And for travel speed: Push the rod into the fillet and travel as it burns off.
That said is only for the root pass. if you must lay in a cap, you use other technique as you explained. just touch and go
And most important is preparation!!! Sharp edges and no gap between the parts! do not bevel the parts for fillet, unless you have really big welds to do!
Hey Greg, I am really liking the arc video, really helps.
Learning a lot. thanks.
I am glad you are, if you have a specific request I will be happy to shoot a video to help. I have a ton more in the works so keep watching 😀
I really enjoy learning about specifics of various rods. I learned the first two digits of the rod is tensile strength the third is a 1 or 2 1 in all positions and 2 is horizontal weld. The fourth is different flux coatings. Yes?
The fourth is indeed referring to the coating. Interestingly enough the coating number will give you a general idea what to expect with how the rod runs but there will be differences. A great example would be 7024 and 7014. 7014 can be run all positions, 7024 flat and horizontal only. They actually weld different and the finished welds look very different.
Excellent presentation, and the mentioning of many points and details, was helpful. I am now a very old man and while I am no welder, I had reasons which necessitated me to learn to weld (SS surgical tools) . I found that what helped me most was getting to know the "puddle", especially the " surface tension" of any material when it is in liquid state, including when I am drinking hot and cold tea or replacing thee oil in my cars! When my daughter needed to learn welding at University, I showed her how the surface tension in liquids behave, by dipping my hand in water and using the ends of two nearby wet fingers. I brought them closer and the wetness did not bridge the gap. Then that last little bit closer, bridged the gap in a spectacular manner, and in that bridged condition the surface tension was then flexibly versatile enough to play about with the molten "suspension" bridge. As long as the molten Bridge with its surface tension managed to bridge the two materials being welded, then the weld was fine.
On her first day at welding, the instructor told my daughter, " But you have welded before!" where she explained what she knew about surface tension of liquids as related to temperature and state of the situation, and showed him the wetted finger demonstration. Surprisingly enough the instructor asked her to help him by starting the welding sessions with " wetted fingers" demonstrations. As a memory of my daughter's welding days, I kept all the work pieces she made, including the soldering she did when forming pots and pans in sheet metal work. Good old days. Again congratulations for the various points you mentioned in your excellent videos. Well done,
Thanks much for sharing your story, I really enjoy reading stuff like that 😀. How you described the surface tension is exactly what happens. It’s quite interesting how a molten pool of metal behaves just like it was a drop of water. When you understand that you can accurately predict behavior of a weld pool. Aluminum tig and brazing become much easier with better understanding of surface tension.
I was fortunate to learn tig welding first, and the purity of what I saw (both of the metal and the lack of sparks/smoke) allowed me to understand so much as to what was actually going on. I wouldn’t have half the knowledge I do if I didn’t have tig under my belt.
Greg, what can I say more than thank you for all your video. Cheers.
Greg, I learned a lot about 6013 welding by watching this video. I was having the same problems with slag inclusion, arc wandering and poor fusion. I am learning to watch the puddle more and reducing the travel speed some and it really helps reduce the screw-ups. Using what you have taught has helped me be able to make some diagonal braces for my front porch to keep it more stable. Thanks.
Glad to hear it 😀. 6013 is a easy to run rod but it’s probably the easiest to get slag inclusions with. The worst welds I have ever made with stick have all been with 6013. I find it’s great in the flat position but with fillet welds it can be tricky. Running enough amperage, getting the travel speed right, and making sure the flux doesn’t run in front of the rod are the keys. Practice too of course. Sounds like you saw some improvements so far and you are on the path of getting it figured out 😀
Thanks Greg, your videos are detailed and in depth. Hopefully I can master my fillet welds by slowing down my travel speed and making sure my amps are high enough. I really need to learn this before I start my next project - a welding trolley.
Most people weld too fast and too low of amperage when learning, I sure did. Don’t be afraid of the amperage and slowly drag the molten puddle. It won’t take much to get pretty decent in the flat position with 6013 or 7014 rods. I will have videos coming out in the next couple weeks covering all the common rods, watch for them. I find 7018 much easier to weld with because it’s easy to see the puddle. It just takes some work on starts/restarts.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg I'm in Australia and we don't seem to have much selection of rods. 6013 is available everywhere and I've seen 7016/18 but I read they need to be stored in a special oven to remove the moisture, so I haven't tried them. All the welders on UA-cam seem to love 7016/18 and hate 6013. I would like to try them, but don't want to buy the oven and figure I can probably get by with 6013 as I'm by no means a professional welder.
@@JohnSmith-cl2iq here is the deal on the low hydrogen rods. They have requirements to be stored in a rod oven or used directly from a pack within a certain time. The issue is the flux can pickup moisture and the moisture can lead to the welds cracking. On mild steel the cracking risk for rods still stored in the factory packaging will be virtually zero. The reality is most steel that people weld with doesn’t need the strength of 7018. I prefer it because it runs a nice looking bead, it’s easy to see the puddle, and it’s easier to run uphill than 7014 and 6013.
I have a mini rod oven but for practice I use cheap 7018s I have laying around. For higher liability stuff I use rods out of the mini rod oven (or baked in a toaster oven). I also buy small vac packed rods from esab (7018 prime) that are good to use without a rod oven. They are smaller packs that are easier to get through on a smaller job without a lot of unused rods. To me 7018 it just a better rod than 6013/7014 other than the start/restart being a bit harder. I do like 7024 a lot for flat welds which has a tough puddle to see, but it lays down nice smooth polished steel looking welds.
In the rod comparison video i have coming up I will really compare the rods and show their strengths/weaknesses. If all you have is 6013 readily available you can do a ton with it. I just find it very susceptible to weld defects that other rods don’t have.
You advice is brilliant as I now know where I’m going wrong. Manny thanks
Glad to hear the info helped you out😀. It’s the little things that make welds better 😀
Hey, Thanks for your videos I really appreciate the effort and the time you take to make them, I'm currently learning to stick weld for hobby projects and while youtube videos doesn't substitute practice time, these are very informative and inspiring, thanks
Thanks so much for the comment. I am glad you find use with them, that’s why I am making them. I have a ton more stick weld videos coming up so keep a eye out for them. I have pretty much only been using 6013 but very soon I will be using a ton of 6010 and 7018. Vertical up, overhead, and even a massive rod comparison video. If there is something you want me to cover let me know, I will be sure to do it 😃.
Great start to the new year, another welding video from Greg! You referenced a specific drag angle for the 6013 rod. For those of us that are new to arc welding, is there a chart that shows the best drag angle for any of the different arc rods available?
I will be doing a big comparison video one how to get the most out of stick rods and I will definitely cover rod angles. 6013,7014, and 7024 favor steeper drag angles that 6010/11 and 7018. You will definitely see it in the video, should be out within 2 weeks (it’s going to be a big video 😀
Just came across your videos and wish I had much sooner. Great presentation and delivery. Appreciate the time
You’re welcome 😀
Hello from Germany! Many, many thanks for this video series! Easy to understand and you have surely improved me knowledge on what to look for! To make your videos more popular, may I suggest adding tags like #stickwelding #arcwelding #smaw #welding to all of them?
You're welcome 😀. I am glad they helped you out become a better welder. Thanks for the tip, I still need to go back and add tags to many videos. UA-cam has a way of doing it without tags, on its own, but sometimes it doesn't work. My newer videos I have done it but older ones are hit or miss.
Thank u Greg this course is incredible 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽thank u an God Bless always🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
No problem 😀
Love your videos! The arc shots are the icing on the cake!
Thanks for the kind words, glad you have found use in the stuff I have posted 😀
@@makingmistakeswithgreg Very much so! I'm a hobby welder. Have been focused on aluminum Tig for a while now and finally starting to get the hang of it. For steel (building) I'm 100% Mig and love it. Some time ago I realized the utility of stick welding. No need for any gas bottle. MUCH easier than flux core (MIG). Choice of electrodes. Cheap machines. But here's the thing -- there were very few videos that had actual instructional substance. Your video series is THE series to follow for stick. I skim some videos and watch others several times over. You might consider making a video comparing the different electrodes, not "all" of course but the main ones, and demonstrating the application where each shines (showing that contrast). Just a suggestion. Great job Greg. Keep it up!
@@stormbytes thanks again for the kind words. Stick rod wise I will be doing a few videos more coming up where I repair stuff, and I will make a point to mention benefits of some rods over others. I personally use 7018 and 6010 for everything. However different rods (7014, 6013, and 6011) can come in handy on oddball jobs (like welding super thin material). The hardest part for me is having mig-tig-stick machines (and being decently good at all 3) is that I have the luxury of picking the best process for the job. I am a fully capable welder that can repair anything, however that’s assuming I can use the welder I choose. Aluminum spool gun, stick on stainless, and a few others I suck at simply because I use other processes instead. For mobile repairs I much prefer stick or flux core wire, they are simple and both work well. That will definitely show as I start filming more repair videos in the future 😀
Really good advise on welding with 6013. Thank you.
You’re welcome 😀.
Thank you for this video. I really appreciate the information.
No problem 😀
Thank you very much
No problem, glad the video helped you out😀. Stick welding can be hard to learn but once you gain enough knowledge and skill it's really not that hard. Just dont give up 😀
I am understanding a lot of my mistakes thanks
Glad to hear 😀. It’s amazing how a few small changes will drastically change the outcome with welding.
You're the best
3rd weld at 10:00 still looks better than mine , pretty sure im going too fast and not close enough
Universally everyone moves too fast when learning to weld. The actual welding speed on 3/16th and thicker plate is pretty slow with stick. With thin material you often have to move faster, but anything above sheet metal moving slow, smooth, and steady is the way.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg you make it look easy, trying to figure out what amps , speed , angle and everything else while fighting a shaky hand is harder than I remember from high school 30 + years ago lol . Btw I’m a Greg also so just assumed the channel name was pointed at me 😂 JK
I see that in many of your videos, when you cannot start a rod, you bang it on the table rather than on the piece itself, can you explain a little better what is the problem and why is the "banging on the table" the solution. In my case (i just started) starting the rod and sticking the rod are the biggest hurdles I am encountering.
One of the hardest parts of learning to stick weld is start a rod and running it consistent. Every rod starts different, and restarts different. 6013 tends to be easy to start, and if you restart on a used rod it tends to be really easy. With a rod like 7018 it’s fairly easy to start but very difficult to restart. The reason restarts with 7018 (and some other rods) are hard is because a ball of glass forms on the rod tip when the arc is cut off. That ball doesn’t conduct electricity, and it covers the metal rod tip. You can’t get an arc started with it on the tip so tapping the rod on the table cracks the material off the tip exposing the bare metal. This makes it possible for an arc to start. Rather than tapping or scraping the rod tip on the metal you’re welding (which could cause arc strikes) doing it on the table gets the rod ready to start without potential arc strikes. Hopefully all that makes sense 😀
@@makingmistakeswithgreg explanation very thorough and understood. Thank you..
Thanks, could you talk about 80 series rod? What are the good for? Looking to make a flat bed for a pick up truck.
Thanks
So 80 series rod is mostly used for higher strength steel. There is a lot of weird issues regarding this, because sometimes (without heat treating) a welded higher strength steel part may actually be stronger with a 70series rod over 80. 7018 produces a weld that is well over 70k (sometimes 80k in tensile strength) so it already exceeds most of mild steel. Over welding mild steel with high strength fillers won’t lead to much increase in performance, because the material is the limiting factor. 80 series rods are also far more expensive than 70, plus harder to get, so that’s why you generally don’t see them at stores.
@@makingmistakeswithgreg thank you, i apreciate your time and videos
🥂 thanks