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New to welding, Advice please!


impala59
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2 hours ago, Walker570 said:

Don't think you will be disappointed OPP.  Make sure you buy one with an automatic off switch to save batteries. My first one did not have such and I was constantly replacing batteries. The present one will auto shut down if it doesn't get used and I have never replaced a battery ..ever..for ages.  They probably all come with the feature now.

hello, i have tried one before but i always kept thinking what if it did not darken, silly realy but when you have used the old masks for 50 years its hard to change, which one do you have now ? tool store and screw fix near me ?? or a machine mart in Swindon, cheers

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if you are still going to go down the route of arc welding...as i said before ask for a low fracture strength rutile rod....6013 / or 6010.....they are mostly a down hand rod that burns smooth ...........(and the arnt fussy about the damp)

steer clear of anything that says Lo-Hydrogen 7018.....they might say "oh these are the best quality high fracture strength ...blah blah blah"...........they are a quality rod for doing work where a high fracture strength is needed.............THEY ARE NOT AN EASY ROD TO USE IF YOU ARE FIRST STARTING OUT....steer clear of them...............and they need to be oven heated to get rid of moisture....(clue is in the name...Lo-Hydrogen)

there used to be a brand that was popular at one time called Fastex 5......satinex are definatly still about....

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5 minutes ago, ditchman said:

if you are still going to go down the route of arc welding...as i said before ask for a low fracture strength rutile rod....6013 / or 6010.....they are mostly a down hand rod that burns smooth ...........(and the arnt fussy about the damp)

steer clear of anything that says Lo-Hydrogen 7018.....they might say "oh these are the best quality high fracture strength ...blah blah blah"...........they are a quality rod for doing work where a high fracture strength is needed.............THEY ARE NOT AN EASY ROD TO USE IF YOU ARE FIRST STARTING OUT....steer clear of them...............and they need to be oven heated to get rid of moisture....(clue is in the name...Lo-Hydrogen)

there used to be a brand that was popular at one time called Fastex 5......satinex are definatly still about....

hello simon, farm bought me these last time i did some welding, Phoenix 6013, but i do not reckon you can beat ESAB  mild steel rods

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9 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello simon, farm bought me these last time i did some welding, Phoenix 6013, but i do not reckon you can beat ESAB  mild steel rods

its the coating that dicates the burnability of the rod....some of the coatings are similar to a high deposition rod that has iron filings in the coating itself   Phoenix 6013 are a good rod and the ESAB make..........but im sure there are some rods about that are even better for beginners........................

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well said Simon i am making some railings for the house steps , someone on here said try the  7018 , i could not get them to strike . So i went out and got a box of some rods i used a few years ago . They are called "super 6 " . Got a box  of 6013 in 3.2 mm . What a dufferant strike and run very nice .i am now welder , just self taught  , but the thing that helped me the most was the autodark helmet . Lets you see were you want to start . That helps and gives you a confidence  boost

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1 hour ago, la bala said:

I was once given a tin of pipeline rods, think they were called Fleets or something. Now they were interesting, I have seen seagulls do a better bead. :lol:

fleetwelds...............silica rods....more for doing a route run on the inside of a gas line....then fill and cap with lo-hy................

fleetwelds are an absolute bitch to use.....take a lot of practice and a decent machine ac/dc....adjustable OCV....Lincoln bullets were good machines for specialist rods...

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27 minutes ago, ditchman said:

fleetwelds...............silica rods....more for doing a route run on the inside of a gas line....then fill and cap with lo-hy................

fleetwelds are an absolute bitch to use.....take a lot of practice and a decent machine ac/dc....adjustable OCV....Lincoln bullets were good machines for specialist rods...

You know your stuff bor,  How is the head.

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9 hours ago, johnphilip said:

well said Simon i am making some railings for the house steps , someone on here said try the  7018 , i could not get them to strike . So i went out and got a box of some rods i used a few years ago . They are called "super 6 " . Got a box  of 6013 in 3.2 mm . What a dufferant strike and run very nice .i am now welder , just self taught  , but the thing that helped me the most was the autodark helmet . Lets you see were you want to start . That helps and gives you a confidence  boost

I think that was me and it was 7016 rods. I'm sorry you didn't have any luck with them. They do need an open circuit voltage of 60v and above to burn, some of the smaller inverter units run at around 48v and will struggle or just plain refuse to run these rods. 

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17 minutes ago, oneshot1979 said:

I think that was me and it was 7016 rods. I'm sorry you didn't have any luck with them. They do need an open circuit voltage of 60v and above to burn, some of the smaller inverter units run at around 48v and will struggle or just plain refuse to run these rods. 

Hey no probs , i still have them , just found them hard to strike . I got them of ebay loose so maybe not new ones !!! . The ones i did get to strike and run looked ok, loved the glass looking slag . Not sure what my inverter is rated , re volts . Amp wise it is ment to go to 200 amps . Will keep them . I just wanted to get on with the job i was doing . And at the time they did not work for me , so got some that i had used before .

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They can be hard to restrike part way through a rod as when you stop the slag seals the end of the rod, either a little whip at the end of a run to flick the slag off the end or a tap on the end of the rod with the side of your chipping hammer will make a big difference. A little trick I use when running 5mm rods is a piece of an old file tacked and screwed to the handle of my chipping hammer to quickly dress the end of the rod for restart.

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From asking my initial question, it has rapidly dawned"💡"on me that this welding business is a real minefield!

It is also very interesting to read the comments from experts regarding the suitability and qualities (or not) of various rods and also the various types of welding (and virtues/ problems of) have been discussed which has given me a much wider insight into the craft. I must confess that to me previously, welding was welding and done by magic. PW contributors have certainly opened my eyes.

I will endeavour to get some training, my boys college are sending me some details

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1 hour ago, impala59 said:

From asking my initial question, it has rapidly dawned"💡"on me that this welding business is a real minefield!

It is also very interesting to read the comments from experts regarding the suitability and qualities (or not) of various rods and also the various types of welding (and virtues/ problems of) have been discussed which has given me a much wider insight into the craft. I must confess that to me previously, welding was welding and done by magic. PW contributors have certainly opened my eyes.

I will endeavour to get some training, my boys college are sending me some details

excellent ..:good:..my welding coarse 35 years ago lasted 6 months...but that took me as far as a British Standard and API 1104 and ASME 9...........i burnt thousands of rods getting there.....i would hate to think what a full blown coarse like that would cost someone...........

we were always told the best welders were usually artistic...........and when you start to learn you will under stand that............

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1 hour ago, la bala said:

I can honestly say I havnt done any stick welding for years. In the corner of the workshop covered in dust is a little Oxford Bantam oil cooled welder, I wouldnt part with it for the world.

they are a good AC tool ...very stable arc............

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Thank you very much Ditchman. I take that as a real compliment from yourself. Very little chipping mostly just wire brushing, by the time you've completed the other side of the run the first one has cooled and the glassy flux shatters. Unless..... you have the amperage too high, in which case the flux runs into the undercut and glazes over the bead like a diamond coating requiring a needle gun, a hammer to rival Thors and 4.5 inch wire wheel mounted to a 9 inch grinder to remove. A mistake you only make once. Trust me.

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On 15/11/2018 at 22:40, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, i have tried one before but i always kept thinking what if it did not darken, silly realy but when you have used the old masks for 50 years its hard to change, which one do you have now ? tool store and screw fix near me ?? or a machine mart in Swindon, cheers

I believe it will be the other way around. The mask will stay dark if the battery goes flat or power is disengaged...... one can never say never but there are still a number of companies making these and selling them and I think just one such incident would see them go broke overnight.  Used one now for a fair number of years and only evr changed one battery.  I did have to buy a new one but that was after reversing over the one I had with the tractor.

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23 hours ago, oneshot1979 said:

I think that was me and it was 7016 rods. I'm sorry you didn't have any luck with them. They do need an open circuit voltage of 60v and above to burn, some of the smaller inverter units run at around 48v and will struggle or just plain refuse to run these rods. 

I have an old 250amp cytringhan oil cooled welder it has 50v and 80v connections and works with any rods. And I have a 170 amp inverter and it's rubbish by comparison I just cannot find a rod it likes. 

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