For everyone wondering when he will start giving the answer to the question posed in the title, just skip to @15:02 Before that, there's just video of him welding some pipes.
I have been welding for 35 years , have welded everything from heavy equipment, structural steel, pipe, pipe for natural gas and propane. Welded any position that was there, uphill downhill and sideways and have had great success doing it. The only rod I use 99% of the time is 1/8 7018 and you burn the whole rod. Have had welds tested and always passed.
I burned a lot of 5/32 7018 it's all we used in my family's shop. I used 3/16 rod, too, which was mainly 7024. We had 400 Amp DC welders so we could burn rod all day. The shop I'm in now, all they have is a buzz box it only burns 3/32. They really didn't do any welding till I started working for them it was farmed out.
I was always afraid of 7018, worried that it was too vulnerable to moisture for me cause I don't have an oven . I stuck with 6011 and 6013, well one day all I had was a few years old 7018 so I ran it. Boy I aint used anything since! Always comes out pretty too. And I pay for my rods, so I use it all the way till the flux is gone!
@@Alex-uy7pc I've welded with 7018 when the flux is wet you either heat them up with a torch or stick the rod let it heat up. I've welded stuff that's seen a lot of force on the weld I've never had a weld break. I never went for my trade tickets just have years of experience under my belt. I didn't want to become a welder for the rest of my life.
He starts talking about it at 13:27 and talks about it only until about 14:33 but also has about a minute of related followup at 15:01. You're welcome.
That bucket of half burned rods always came in handy for fitting/tacking or situations where I was using short skip stitch welds. Rod never went to waste.
@@MichaelKingsfordGray why god invented sealed tubes, ovens and color phase silica gel packs... Some time spent in a toaster oven dries out the rods and recharges the silica, then store them in an air tight tube. Some cheap silica packs that phase/change color when they get saturated will last virtually forever too and are handy for all _kinds_ of things like inside safes, CCTV cam domes, ammo cans, radios including inside larger antennas or other electronics you want to seal up long term and not corrode from temp changes turning humidity into condensation.👍
@@MichaelKingsfordGray I'm also in one of the _wettest_ places on Earth known to man besides the Ocean anyway, so I store all my new rods in the furnace room to begin with...
@@MichaelKingsfordGray Nothing a rod oven doesn't solve if working to code and if working to code the cost of the rod oven and running it doesn't matter. If not welding to code dry 'em out however you please that works.
@@MichaelKingsfordGray New rods are hygroscopic too. It doesn't magically suck up more water just because it's partly used. It sucks up water because it has access to the moisture in the air for a significant amount of time - used or new rod alike.
What? Distance, angle, speed and heat If your distance is correct, the angle of your rod is good to penetrate, your speed is also correct, then you have the right heat bc you can only change heat with distance, angle and speed. So as long as you're doing those things, your have a string weld, regardless if you push or pull. Don't forget how much welding has changed and the equipment we use has changed. The old antiquated welding is for the old antiquated people that learned from books that are now obsolete.
What your saying is that a 70,000# psi rod is stronger up hill than a 70,000# rod is down hill? When I worked a BM job in 74, after our section finished welding chill ring tubes, they had us 200 plus feet in the air on a painter's pic, downhand welding lap joint casing through paint with 1/8 & 5/32 7018. At the time this was billed as the largest suspended Broiler in the world. Unit 5 in Oswego.
That's what pa taught me ,burned my first 6013 at 6 on a buzz box pa and Russell Drackley made from an old transformer that was left in a ditch around 1965 . Hi ,medium , and low . That welder and pa built amazing things over the years . Back then a point beer can could be welded to exhaust pipe , and often was .
I worked natural gas pipeline for 38 years . Hot tapping and stopping . Every welder I've ever worked with weld uphill . Especially if I had any blow by . It's easier to fix the leak on top than on the bottom .
For any beginners in welding, one of the best welders I ever worked with taught me to make yourself do the more difficult procedures, especially on projects that are not going to be tested. Practice welding uphill, practice welding out of position. Also when you weld uphill, you will always use more rod. You will put more steel into the weld, and the HAZ (heat affected zone) is bigger. (more spread out) . This creates a more uniform molecular structure across the weld and into the base metal. If you are only going to have an x-ray test you can get by with welding downhill, but if you have to pass a bend test, you better learn how to weld uphill, and on grade. In fact most of the inspectors I've been around wouldn't even waste their time doing a bend test if you tried to downhill it. On big bore pipe never start a weld that you can't finish without stopping. Once you start a weld, you need to finish it. And if you are in a cold climate, especially if it is below freezing, you should pre-heat both sides of the weld.
@@mikeishome69 check it out. Watch some bend tests (destructive weld tests) being done. A good uphill weld will always stand more pressure and abuse than a great downhill weld. If you have ever welded in a refinery (which I know you haven't) then you would know they require you to weld uphill. For a reason. There is actually some science to welding, it's not just laying down some rod
I love reading the comments on ANY welding video. The “one upping” of skill level and kindergartner emotions is way better than any school yard banter! 😂
I've been reading comments for over 10 years. Ive read welding video comments on many of the major platforms, including youtube, instgram, and, even facebook. Given my long track record and impeccable reading skills there's absolutely no way you love it more than I do.
So the reason to start with a new rod: quality. This is the best reason to do anything a particular way, in every aspect of life. Great video sir, keep up the great work!
Mate, I'm an Australian welder who's worked in China, Thailand and all over Aus on Defence. Written and qualified 124 welding procedures as well. We always burn the whole rod taking into account access and heat input of course, and then there's economising for ourselves and the client. But as tested welders know, especially on critical LNG and fuel/oil know implicitly, more stops/starts mean more opportunities for weld imperfections and NDT failures.
thats what im saying.more tie in = shitty weld. thats when im welding pipe or anything else.i could make it look better than welding up.i can see using something just to fill in gaps and burn of any paint and shit.i like using 5p first but then its 7018 up. this is structual pipe i thought he was doing something else
Im in US, and we have a family business, selling, repair pumps, electric motors, phase convert and so on. We have done work w/ NASA NSA Aberden proving ground, Ft. Mead and so on. My Great grandfather started the business in 1901 (he was at Lincolns funeral he was 4). He as well as myself are inventor (have patent to our name I have 1 still under my name as it's no longer of use [it was monitor for DC motors, AC freq drive can pretty much do anything a DC can cheaper] he had dozens yet none except a couple are still w/ our names as we sell them to big business and they then own them..anyway) He put the generator in the Argonaut one of the first subs. We actually designed and built the ultrasonic shower in the ISS (space station). I was just a teenage, yet worked on it and carved our name in it. I wanted to be the first person to use as I finished my work on Saturday and was going to use it Monday, but my DAD went in on Sunday (not telling me) and powered it up and was the first to use it. He used the excuse that since I was a kid and this was a major thing he had to make sure I did it right..what BS I had already work on gov't crap. We also modified deep sea submersibles that kept leaking at deep depths, so I came up w/ the idea of putting oil in the stator to displace the air, and thats what we did. We also wound a MK 48 torpedo w/ silver magnet wire and a gold commutator as the NAVY wanted more speed, and distance w/o more power. The machinist set up all this new paper around the lathe before turning the commutator to catch the bits of gold that was machined of it, I told him that it was a waste of time b/c he wasn't going to take off that much gold. Anyway, I prefer arc welds for building up a shaft over spray weld b/c the arc is a stronger bond. I have dozen of rod at my house b/c they are decades old (4 ft the largest) and some are silver.
Most of the time you can get away with doing whatever works for you, but if there's a specified welding procedure it's best to follow it. Getting caught not following it is a good way to get kicked off a job site.
And not get another test. The WPS is there for a reason it's been mechanically and NDT qualfied and needs to by replicated to ensue structural integrity QA of the whole project. If a welder thinks he clever than the designers engineers and international standards boards why is he still a welders mate ?!?!
I've never wanted to become a welder, especially now that I physically can't due to my broken "Military Spine," but I've always wanted to know how it's done! So thank you for this amazing channel!!!
I was a certified welder for 25 years I have held bridge certs, many aluminum certs, and structural steel. I have welded with FCAW all positions UP any thickness. also weld pipe all positions UP E71T-1 3/16 and over without backing never ran down hand always ran from 6 to 3 then 6 to 9 with a grind of all stops and starts. then from 3 to 12 and 9 to 12. But never ran down even when I ran stick.
Same here. I was first certified in 1982 and have about the same experience as you. I was trained and used the same methods like you described. The only down hand welding was to build up an outside corner maybe. Always uphill.
Im an old fart too. Started as a pipewelder helper, in the early 70'. drove truck 60 ft, jumped out cleaned the last pass, jumped back in the truck after a moment drove up another 60ft and repeat, did this, for the root, hot pass and cap welders, had many jobs, took a wildcat grinder wt 9in wheel no guard and grind the root to request, leave wagon tracks or not or somewhere in between did this all day long, my trigger finger still gets locked, then i spaced with a grinded down car spring leaf, for a good while, carrying all sizes of clamps, knocking out the highs and lows making sure the seams are at 10 and 2 o'clock then putting the right space in, while the side boom operator is watching my finger signals, in less 30 seconds, or before the root welder,/welders gets there. the 12in and larger put the arms on me, filing was my favorite, i shined both ends up and correct the landings, stayed far ahead for peace and quiet. On straight the ways, we would do up to 200 welds, 160 -80 was average. We made our own 90's&45's and transitions at the end making the trees. Without realizing i picked up so much, like the setting, polarity, tricks of the trade, so when i started welding, so much came natural to me. I would relieve all the welder, giving them breaks, definitely a No-No, had no coupon. Passed my first test, bought an old Lincoln 200, started welding for the same company. It was done different back then, 6010 down hill root, with muscle memory and almost no blinding arc this could be done with no shield,, 7018 1/8 uphill hot pass, 7018 5/32 uphill cap, on 6inch pipe schedule 40 and over. Yes 5/32 uphill cap. People find this hard to believe, the most difficult to master. It isn't whip or weave or horseshoe, the heat was slightly higher then for 1/8, it was more of an up and down smear without sticking while quickly traveling up. Now ever weld pass is downhill with ××10+ rods, , where's the fun in that. I also became a pipe fitter without even knowing it. Years later i was doing more then pipe. Doing everything oilfield related. Tig and mig isn't hard, people just think it is, like they think overhead is, just a rumor, till you know better. Heavy equipment, hard facing, build up, aluminum, stainless steel, acetylene welding, and being a torch master. The world of welding is a great and satisfying way to go through this life, except the part of living out of motels especially for the married man, that would drown their sorrow hearts in liquor and Hank Williams (your cheating heart) But those days are gone, and for the most part so am i.. so i reminisce by watching these RUclips videos, and reading comments on how someone would tell the uploader how they would do it, or should do it. This is some mighty fine enough downhill welding.. though its not how i would do it, but this can be approached several ways and would have to be if there was too much gust or a high windy day....that also some mighty fine fitting, perfect for 8010, can't go wrong with penetrating to the depth of the width thickness and into the sidewall. No cap over either, just a solid weld.. I bet it's close to 100% depth penetration. I could still do it, but ill have to have a helper, to help me get down. But most importantly,, to pick me back up.. being to old to weld sucks. At least i can talk about it.
As a pipefitter for 44 years we did not weld pie downhill always uphill and was taught that made a better weld, downhill was always for nonpipe material.
Nonsense. Pipelines were more often than not run downhill. Uphill was more often than not used on refinery and powerhouse projects. Third generation pipeliner.
In my class back 1994 I was taught to never weld uphill because it collects trash in the ‘shelf’ of the weld and makes poor penetration. Last summer a welding instructor told me I was wrong, you have to weld uphill or it’s a bad weld. Then a recent TiG class (that was a waste of my money) I was again told uphill only. I don’t know what to think. I am not aware of anything I’ve welded having ever broken so unless I decide to go get certified (unlikely at 57yo) I’m just going to keep hot-glueing metal together and call it good.
an experienced welder one told me downhill for pretty, uphill for strength. Since a pretty weld is preferred, I weld down unless it is something I really need strength
Uphill, downhill whatever. If you were welding to a code or a standard you follow the welding procedure, period. None of this crap that this is better than that or "I have x years of experience" junk. Also most codes or standards call for any smaw low hydrogen electrodes to be maintained with hydrogen control in mind ie; throw them back in the holding oven or bake them.
My first stick welding class was from a retired U.S.M.C. Warrant Officer. Parker welded hotter that standard with lots of penetration. We students would take his cooled weld to the press and try to break his joint. We would rip the metal before Parker's weld failed. I guess that's what decades of experience does for you. You sir from the sound of your weld are quite GOOD at this skill. If you are a pipe liner I know you are GOOD! Thanks Ross
Non welder here. As an aircraft enthusiast I once took a course in aircraft tube welding with oxy acetylene. Developed a respect for the craft and enjoyed the demonstration and clear narration provided here.
I always tend to use as much as is necessary. Stops and starts in the most convenient place possible dictates the amount of rod I use, more so than how much I just decide. I'm not a pipeliner I'm a building trades pipefitter who used to be a pipe welder, but still welds a lot of pipe.
i do that if im doing like 3 miles of 3 on 12 or something crazy like that.1 rod will get me 3 3 in welds shit like that. fuck all the extra lumps and tie ins arc strike marks etc.....
I learned to weld and spent my first 15yrs at a shipyard building aircraft carriers and submarines. We were discouraged from starting a weld with a used rod also. Reason being, rods were a cheap commodity compared to repairing a failed X-ray, ultrasound or prod test. That’s all I knew and thought that was normal, industry wide till I hired in welding at a Ford plant. I’ve caught a lot of gruff at Ford for “wasting” weld rods and bending them before starting. After seeing this video, I feel vindicated! Also, as a game, I always play the “how many rods will it take to do this job”. Surprisingly, 60% of the time, I’m burning my last rod as I’m finishing up, then also going to my spent rod bucket for touchups if needed. Glad to have come across your video, thanks!
I worked on carriers and subs also my first 9 years as a welder. (At PSNS) No way in the world was we aloud to weld anything downhand. It traps crap in the weld. You have to bend them rods however you need to to get the angle and access you need. Especially on the subs. Everything is tight in there. Sometimes id even have my firewatch connecting and disconnecting the leads for me so I don't accidentally arc off anything getting situated.
I was apprenticed in the early 70s and we used 1/8, 6010 welding rod -DC, for the root bead, never ran a down bead, cleaned each pass. If the root bead is right, it will look like it was welded from the inside. The root bead was always put in "cold", minimum setting to properly run weld. They used destructive testing to grade the welds. !'m 73 now, so that was a long time ago. I still weld on the farm, all position.
they wont let me near a welder with my pacemaker...had to have an ablasion so no natural heart beat ....sure do miss welding stuff....LOVE fabricating stuff !!!
I know this isn’t a strictly technical related to welding comment, but, in this particular video (not sure if it is the camera or filter) I was amazed at the color, shape and constant motion of the arc. The color changes from an orange to yellow and finally blue, probably all effects of cooling, but truly amazing to observe. Thanks for taking the time to put this content out there. The “energy” that you put out is truly American! You have respect for work, experience and your fellow man! And at the same time you come across as thoughtful, soft spoken and kind. God Bless you AR
I’m just a novice with low experience with welding and I enjoy learning about how this trade works. Getting the idea of how the bead puddle works together with amperage is really helpful.
Just picked up your channel, good stuff! I have been welding for like 40 years all forms not a welder by trade. I will burn a rod to the stinger, and really never had a problem restriking a burned rod. And as I said I am not a welder by trade nor a pipe guy.
Nobody has a problem restriking. It's just that broken flux may leave an inclusion or gas bubble that might show up on an xray and it's simply not worth risking a repair for the price of a rod. It's standard practice for welds operating under high presure subject to radiography.
Yup! The first thing that came to mind was porosity at the start of the new weld when you restart with a used rod. When I was welding back in the 1970s, we were told to never restart with used rods on the mill jobs I worked around Pittsburgh. Really never gave it much thought until this video. There. I guess I learned something today...! Cheers! Whipple
This must be why I was getting porosity in college on restarts and never could figure out why because never got them on the first start with a new rod. I even said something to my instructor about possibly the flux or something breaking off somehow and getting in it on the restart. He never really confirmed that being a possibility. That's the only thing I could think of though. It could have been the rods we were using too. They were donated and I don't remember having that issue with other rods in the past the school bought.
I was taught by an old timer to burn as much in one pass as possible from top to bottom with out stopping if possible. Less tie ins and of course always start with a fresh rod.
The only welding I hated being around was chrome or chrome-moly. You could get a sunburn working the night shift. I was the fitter. My job was to make the welders job as easy as it could be. When I was grinding the welder held the extinguisher. When he was welding I got the extinguisher. Sometimes I had to put the fire out because the ground was burning. Refinery work is like that.
I agree I had to weld with three other people in a stainless box and it was altig but if you took your hood off to grab another filler Rod or something like that you were getting slashed from everybody else man it was terrible
I have worked around welders for years, and these people are heroes! The better ones are metallurgical wizards, but not only that, they routinely work in some of the most hellish conditions imaginable, like the pipeline welders for Southwest Gas in New Mexico working in a trench with the sun beating down at, no joke, 130 degrees in the shade, while these superheroes strike up huge heat-generating arcs as they join steel pipe segments. I will always admire all of them!
One time I had to bend a bunch of rods while welding in a tight structural spot to get the right angle where our flux core welder couldn't reach. I was hanging off the side of a high rise building on the 3rd floor in a harness. Ended up using only a third of each rod before risking burning the part where the flux was broken off. Couldn't fit a grinder in there either if I messed up. Good times.
still remember learning stick, was told if you can start a used rod consistently then you will be golden, then was put to work on a project and only had used 7018 rods to run with, my starts went from just ok to near perfect that day.
The important thing is to drop down and then weld back over where you first stuck. 98% of the time that will clean out anything in the strike . If the work is being x-rayed, and a repair costs more than 50 pounds of rod, it's not worth taking even a 2% chance. Start with a new rod every time.
ive been welding for 45 years! ive welded uphill downhills upside down sideways inside out backward and sometimes even through the fourth dimension, can confirm this guy knows what he's talking about!
Hey Austin! Could you show a close up of how you are whip and pausing on pipe? I’m practicing to be a pipeline welder and I can’t figure out how to get it to look as good as yours!
Get a blue weld lens after that everything will change. I assume you dont see what the puddle is doing, but i dont know that. I changed to blue glass and everything changed instant! Check every rod there is and weld them when you find a good alloy stick to it. Not every rod lays down smothly. And think about welding line spraying. The rod tip sprays the metal to the pol and the arc searches the shortest way possible to shortout the floww of current. Also a decend old heavy welding machine is a good start. Those mini inverters just dont deliver a dense hardcore current. After i bought for 100$ a 80pound stick weld only machine the whole game changed. I would never sell that ironpig because it gives the most decend welds! Consider those tips and many things willl change. Ebay has a lot of old machine. When you dont find blue lenses mail me i have some to sell. Depending where you life you will find them. Make mistakes learn progress =)
First job years ago was in a large maintenance shop as a sparky but would help the welders moving 20 to 21' lengths of pipe. For some reason every guy had their favorite welding rod so they just laid them everywhere causing moisture to ruin them. I got a ho!d of a broken refrigerator and installed two 120 volt heater strips to keep welding rods dry. Those guys always seem to use most of the welding rods. Asked the talented old timers to teach me how to do basic welds but they never showed anyone.
Depending on how serious the work they're doing, I wouldn't expect they'd show you "basic welds" on the job. That's like an 8 week course! There's a lot of knowledge behind that stack of nickels. There's got to be a tech school near you and you don't have to be a high schooler to take a course. It's only a couple hundred dollars not too expensive at all; and you'll be learning it the right way right off with no bad habits to break.
Thanks for sharing that with us Austin. Now I understand when I see welders tossing a half used rod. The Gateway is looking good and near to being set. Stay safe and keep up the great video's. Fred.
When using 6011 rods for pipe i was taught to throw them in a bucket of water then use them from the bucket. Always had great success with them like that.
I been welding for 25+ years. Not to be a but a p5 after gets hot doesn’t lite up good so I have tossed a few after only welding half or so. But to get a new rod every time, I’m sorry that’s waist full. If you can’t relight a rod you should practice more. Just my thoughts
Great information and video. I've noticed that the 7018 has a protective layer on a new rod. Where as your 6011, and 6013, 7014 and 7024 are bare ended. The electrode manufacturer states this is a protective coating to help with easier arc starting. The rest are chamfered on the ends to start at any angle. 6010+P I have found to be very good all the way to the end on DCEP for most pipe applications. I'm not a welder by trade, but I get the job done and have fun doing it. I'm self taught and love it. Thanks for the tips and heads up Ross.
Is nobody else going to mention the hidden top tip in this video? If you can find one of those blue top 2ft werner aluminum step ladders buy in NOW! 🤣 One of the most under appreciated tools/accessories or even ladders lol, but they are amazing and are dang near indestructible for many years! Hopefully they still make that model... I might cry if I lost ol shorty 😢 😆👍
I learned to weld initially solely with low hydrogen rods (7016 so not the easiest to restart but ok once you get the knack of it) and got pine-appled pretty good for not using the whole rod......its now funny watching other welders throwing away perfectly good 1/2 used rods of any variety.....its noted at work that the flux on my rod stubs is normally only ever about 1" long max.
I’ve been a mig welder for a few years now and I’ve got my own stick welder, trying to branch out and do jobs of my own and I had a huge problem with porosity on my last job (welding and fabricating a box section frame) I was wondering if you let me know the most common causes for porosity when doing MMA 😊
I like your photography technique. I've been around many welders, and of course, couldn't really watch what they were doing. Even if they loaned me a cowl, my eyes weren't used to seeing through them well enough to focus on what was actually happening. Your video was a pleasure to watch.
the first week or so all you can see is a bright light.they were talking about the edge off the puddle i couldnt see it for a week or so.i had no idea what they were talking about.9 months of welding school and it was still a few years until i was where i needed to be.its tough man. for someone like me who didnt have any talent at first.
I am not a pro but one of the tricks I learn very early was I kept a bit of concrete tile on my bench to crack the slag on the end of a rod before restarting. Stops it sticking 90% of the time..... The rest is me just being shit.
@@BrettDalton Yeah though concrete might introduce impurities to weld so i use steel plate that is not tied to ground. Seems to work decent, rest is me being shitty welder, but thing i repaired has had so much weight the tractors front end goes to air so it cant be that shit of a weld.
Hello im a welding student from Sweden, i see you Americans weld pipe downhill for the moste part and doing a sipp motion, my question is why? becuse what we learn is that when we do a open rot in 5g. We are going upp hill and to close the gap we go from side to side with 7018 🙂 ps in Sweden its apparently rare to weld with 8010
It's more common to run downhill on new construction because of production speed. There are also low hydrogen downhill rods. For maintenance work, it seems to be more common to run a downhill root at a hot pass with a low-hydrogen uphill fill and cap. In areas where there may be stress on the joint during welding, you will sometimes see all uphill welding because the larger convex root deposit will be more resistant to cracking.
I've been welding for over 30 years, mostly mig, and tig. I haven't done a lot of stick because it's not called for in manufacturing very much these days. But your knowledge of stick welding is awesome.
I did a lot of stick welding before the semi auto processes took hold. It takes a lot of hand skill which to me always made the work more rewarding. It's very versatile and the welds are high quality.
13:29 -- So it's not that you would stop at halfway through a rod, it's rather that you always want to start with a fresh rod for pipeline welding. You just stop where the weld ends and if a bunch of rod is left you just toss it in the bucket and start fresh. Because standards for pipelines are higher. And for simpler artistic or light structural welding, you'd use up a few of those half rods if available. Also, beginners would want to start with new rods because it's easier to strike an arc, and it makes it less frustrating as you're learning.
I am a mechanic by trade but do a fair amount of welding. I have always used wire cutters to trim the end of the rod for a restart no one told me this just allowed me to get cleaner restart and use more of the rod especially on 7018 as a professional what if any problems do you see with that...... thank you for your videos
When you stopped welding you can just whip the rod real fast and it will get the Liquid out of the tip make a better start for the next time you go to welding again
Always happy to see another Okie on RUclips making good content. Also, you are from an area I love. I spent all my summers as a kid on my grandmother's farm between Chandler and Wellston.
Question. When I was just starting out back in the day I was on a structural steel job. (Stone crushing plant). I thought it was a good idea to tape my leads together and just leave 10ft whips on the work end for convenience. An old timer told me not to do that because of induction buildup and that would cause arc blow. Is there any truth to that ? Since then I’ve done my best to keep them separated.
If you zip tie your leads together in a pair, like oxy-acetylene hoses, the inductance will be as low as possible. Inductance increases with the amount of area encircled by the leads. But too little inductance can be as bad as too much inductance because it can make it difficult to keep a rod lit while welding. Arc deflection is usually caused by gas currents or magnetic fields in the work, either because the work itself is magnetized, or from the welding current traveling through the work. Sometimes you can just reposition the work clamp if it's being problematic. AC might also make things easier.
It's not so easy crouching under things when you get older, that's becoming more of a problem for me especially after a hip replacement, i can still do it all it just takes more time to get into a good position to make the weld
I take my hat off to welders of your standard, I was taught to stick weld as a sheet-metalworker one thing I noticed rods improved over the years in the workshop we used a Lincoln oil filled set,they were the best I ever used
Without seeing more than a few seconds so far of this video, I'd figure the reason for a half rod burn is for reach reasons. That most pipe fitter welding is done with thick pipes and in tight spots, so not having to crawl right under a pipe to get that last six or so inches of rod is just easier and faster to switch to a new long rod.
I never throw rod away. It may not get used at the moment.... But it will get used at some point for sure! And you are correct Austin. Try not to restart a partially used rod on anything that really counts. Why throw an unnecessary risk of failure into the mix when you don't have to!?!?!? Thanks for the vids and tips. A lot of greener folks out there benefit from vids like these for sure.
I kind of hate having to restart a 7018 rod after it's been used. I haven't *worked as a welder yet* (just graduated welding school) but a half of a 7018 rod has been my biggest nemesis so far.
Pull out of your puddle quick and flick the last piece of molten out your rod. That way you have a nice crucibles cup. Pinch the cup and you basically have a new rod. If that doesn’t work for you take a magnet and pick up metal shavings with it. Still pull out fast and flick the rod then touch it to the magnet. It’ll pick up the shavings and that will act as a hot start.
What romy said! The flux on those rods is pretty hard, thats why u gota peck it pretty hard to get a restart. Pinch that lil bit overhanging the filler off and its way easier
The DOWB submersible globe was welded by human welders, in a continuous fashion, over several days, using a rotating fixture with several welders in a human stack. The metal ball compartment was about 6-inches thick, in two parts. All of the weld zones were pre-heated well ahead of the actual weld, using a gas heater assembly. None of the weld zones were ever allowed to go to room temperature. This allowed the DOWB to go down to 6000 feet under the ocean, on several missions, for the Navy and others. For high pressure applications, the hand techniques shown will not work, and will create areas where stress cracks can nucleate, or create uneven pressure zones, which weaken the structure, and initiate pressure failures. Similar to the Inet videos of the recent submersible failure, where several people were instantly crushed. This also applies to aluminum structures, which is even more finicky. We did both, but it was a hard learning process. GM-DRL.
I've been a welder for 95 years and 452 days.... I've welded upside down, right side up, left to right, right to left, left handed, you name it. I even wiped my butt back to front once and never got an infection. One time I forgot to put my hood down for two and a half sticks and didn't even close my eyes. Now I'm blind, but I'm told my welds still look like stacked pennies... mhmm.
We did the electric for #13 blast furnace bag houses at US steel, they required a breathing test because we had to wear face mask for the dust... We had a man named Tom who was a member of our electricians local but was hired in as a welder for the Inland coke battery expansion in the 70's. Tom never smoked but failed the breathing test, it got me thinking if 40 years as a welder damaged his lungs. Tom made it to retirement but passed away within a year. Tom was a good person and earned more time as a retired tradesman. Welding is a hazardous profession in my opinion.
Well welding fumes are a known carcinogen hence why every welder/boily I know wears a PAPR helmet/belt pack, even at work when I was spotter for their confined space works I'd be in a PAPR and we'd all have personal gas monitors on - using both SMAW & GMAW (using straight CO2)
I was a pipe welder and later an inspector. I always welded with 7018 after the root pass which was usually tig. I only welded uphill and usually burned my rod down to about 1-1/2”. Downhill welding was forbidden on nuc plants but the welders were often allowed to grind the cover pass before they called me for the final inspection. And when I saw a ground down cover pass i knew i was dealing with a mediocre welder.
Hey Mr.Ross, Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Is it a good recommendation for someone who wants to get into welding for general repairs around the home / shop to purchase a stick welder first to learn basic welding technique, and then move towards other processes that use shielding gas ? I know there are multi process welders available, but they seem to be quite expensive compared to a 240 volt stick welder.
@@jakeatkinson4913 If you learn stick, you can learn mig in 20 minutes, but it doesn't work the other way around. You might think it odd, but oxyacetylene welding is the best way to learn how to control a puddle. It's slow and clearly visible to a beginner. After that stick and tig will come much easier.
On pipes and structural steel I can see needing the highest quality welds. But I've seen welders dropping over half rods on stuff that just needs to stick together.
Back in the late seventies as an apprentice auto electrician I did a lot of work at a place that built truck bodies and transport equipment. There was an old welder named Jack Dempsey, he was just an amazing welder. He would just strike a weld and go through the whole rod on major welds for a tank. At the end of the rod he would just tap the slag at the end as the whole lot of slag peeled up as he was welding. A true tradesman.
nothing more satisfying than doing a 10 inch weld and just touching it at the end and it just pops off !!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE THAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! almost as good as S**......
I would think the main reason to discard half used rods is moisture penetration. It is my understanding that for many instances of “code” welding, take for instance 7018…must be used within 5 hours of breaking seal on can. I think you can recondition them one time assuming you have access to a “reconditioning” oven. Depending on how much of the can your going to use, if not all, you might as well use the best part of the stick. Though in all honesty, I seem to have more control with the second half of the rod. Great vid!
I am usually right handed, but when it came to welding I became ambidextrous. I could weld around a pipe, swap hands and do one continuous run. I mystified my bosses, because they could not see were I stated, and where I ended. With every other manual task, I was still stuck with being right handed.
I’ve been a weld NDT inspector for many years and sentenced welds in all materials and situations, certified to US and Aust. Codes. I’ve seen welds that were ‘A’ and beautiful and welds that were…not! Thing is it was funny when top gun welders were told they had a repair. Sometimes it was disputed as they ‘don’t get repairs’ others wanted to see the radiographs. It was always my goal to get the welder passed BUT a repair is a repair. However its very important for the auditor to have a good understanding of the codes and their intent. It was always a god feeling when the welder returns to say ‘yes’ I saw it during the repair. I’m a mug ‘home’ welder but learnt massively from talking to and with fellow construction people. Pipeline welders deserve EVERY PENNY THEY EARN. I’ve watched them, hard boys and hard work in extreme conditions, I know because I follow them thru’. Take care to all pipelines.
I'm strictly an amateur and generally use stick for heavier gauge steel, but rarely for long passes. Typically a few inches at a time, never more than a foot long bead. I find starting a hot, part used rod easier than a brand new rod. I think the heat helps. I also find controlling the shorter length easier too. I give the tip of a brand new rod a couple of strokes with a fine file or emery to expose bright steel. I do the same if a part used rod doesn't fire: it saves knocking flux off. That said, I fully appreciate the pros whose welds are x-ray inspected cannot get away with this. Quality comes at a cost. I'm sure amateurs could use those short rods for tacking-up and less critical stuff...
I agree - I am only about 6 months into my learning how to stick weld and find the short sticks are much easier to fire up and control - but totally understand that's only because I don't know anywhere near enough to be welding anything other than the occasional back yard project - either way welding is fun and I love it and also know I will get better with experience
What I learned is that if you arc strike somewhere other than the intended weld joint, it super heats the area which then cools down. This introduces very tiny cracks or stresses in the base material, making the material weaker in that area and allowing for more failure over time as the cracks get bigger.
The guy who taught me to weld used to weld 30' diameter pipe, then weld endcaps to both ends of the pipe. He did his work at a place called Mare Island in Solano County, California.
Thanks for sharing. I had some school mates welding on naval ships and didn’t think of xRay after. Their got paid by the foot, welds failed the xRay and got jailed.
I'm a novice stick welder and dislike wasting anything. Keeping a file at hand, I just file the flux off the tip on a used rod to get that new rod tip. Works great for me and takes a couple seconds.
For everyone wondering when he will start giving the answer to the question posed in the title, just skip to @15:02
Before that, there's just video of him welding some pipes.
Initially 13:30
Thanks
Thanks
Damn bro😂
Saved my sanity! 😂
I have been welding for 35 years , have welded everything from heavy equipment, structural steel, pipe, pipe for natural gas and propane. Welded any position that was there, uphill downhill and sideways and have had great success doing it. The only rod I use 99% of the time is 1/8 7018 and you burn the whole rod. Have had welds tested and always passed.
I burned a lot of 5/32 7018 it's all we used in my family's shop. I used 3/16 rod, too, which was mainly 7024. We had 400 Amp DC welders so we could burn rod all day. The shop I'm in now, all they have is a buzz box it only burns 3/32. They really didn't do any welding till I started working for them it was farmed out.
I was always afraid of 7018, worried that it was too vulnerable to moisture for me cause I don't have an oven . I stuck with 6011 and 6013, well one day all I had was a few years old 7018 so I ran it. Boy I aint used anything since!
Always comes out pretty too.
And I pay for my rods, so I use it all the way till the flux is gone!
@@Alex-uy7pc I've welded with 7018 when the flux is wet you either heat them up with a torch or stick the rod let it heat up. I've welded stuff that's seen a lot of force on the weld I've never had a weld break. I never went for my trade tickets just have years of experience under my belt. I didn't want to become a welder for the rest of my life.
Thay can't control the heat
Same
The noises you make bending over and moving around are probably the most relatable sounds I’ve ever heard
He starts talking about it at 13:27 and talks about it only until about 14:33 but also has about a minute of related followup at 15:01. You're welcome.
Thank you sir for your service
That bucket of half burned rods always came in handy for fitting/tacking or situations where I was using short skip stitch welds. Rod never went to waste.
Except that they are hygroscopic.
@@MichaelKingsfordGray why god invented sealed tubes, ovens and color phase silica gel packs... Some time spent in a toaster oven dries out the rods and recharges the silica, then store them in an air tight tube. Some cheap silica packs that phase/change color when they get saturated will last virtually forever too and are handy for all _kinds_ of things like inside safes, CCTV cam domes, ammo cans, radios including inside larger antennas or other electronics you want to seal up long term and not corrode from temp changes turning humidity into condensation.👍
@@MichaelKingsfordGray I'm also in one of the _wettest_ places on Earth known to man besides the Ocean anyway, so I store all my new rods in the furnace room to begin with...
@@MichaelKingsfordGray Nothing a rod oven doesn't solve if working to code and if working to code the cost of the rod oven and running it doesn't matter. If not welding to code dry 'em out however you please that works.
@@MichaelKingsfordGray New rods are hygroscopic too. It doesn't magically suck up more water just because it's partly used. It sucks up water because it has access to the moisture in the air for a significant amount of time - used or new rod alike.
As a 75 year old retired Boilermaker./Welder..I was taught that uphill is always stronger..down hill for light pretty welds.
right i think he was going to uphill cap it once he got the gaps filled with the easier downhill pass
What?
Distance, angle, speed and heat
If your distance is correct, the angle of your rod is good to penetrate, your speed is also correct, then you have the right heat bc you can only change heat with distance, angle and speed.
So as long as you're doing those things, your have a string weld, regardless if you push or pull.
Don't forget how much welding has changed and the equipment we use has changed. The old antiquated welding is for the old antiquated people that learned from books that are now obsolete.
What your saying is that a 70,000# psi rod is stronger up hill than a 70,000# rod is down hill?
When I worked a BM job in 74, after our section finished welding chill ring tubes, they had us 200 plus feet in the air on a painter's pic, downhand welding lap joint casing through paint with 1/8 & 5/32 7018.
At the time this was billed as the largest suspended Broiler in the world. Unit 5 in Oswego.
That's what pa taught me ,burned my first 6013 at 6 on a buzz box pa and Russell Drackley made from an old transformer that was left in a ditch around 1965 . Hi ,medium , and low . That welder and pa built amazing things over the years . Back then a point beer can could be welded to exhaust pipe , and often was .
I worked natural gas pipeline for 38 years . Hot tapping and stopping . Every welder I've ever worked with weld uphill . Especially if I had any blow by . It's easier to fix the leak on top than on the bottom .
For any beginners in welding, one of the best welders I ever worked with taught me to make yourself do the more difficult procedures, especially on projects that are not going to be tested. Practice welding uphill, practice welding out of position. Also when you weld uphill, you will always use more rod. You will put more steel into the weld, and the HAZ (heat affected zone) is bigger. (more spread out) . This creates a more uniform molecular structure across the weld and into the base metal. If you are only going to have an x-ray test you can get by with welding downhill, but if you have to pass a bend test, you better learn how to weld uphill, and on grade. In fact most of the inspectors I've been around wouldn't even waste their time doing a bend test if you tried to downhill it.
On big bore pipe never start a weld that you can't finish without stopping. Once you start a weld, you need to finish it. And if you are in a cold climate, especially if it is below freezing, you should pre-heat both sides of the weld.
Good information!
Somehow, I doubt gravity suddenly effects your weld less depending on where your rod is.
@@mikeishome69 It doesn't, but the magnetic fields produced by the Arc add a different force in a different direction.
@@mikeishome69 check it out. Watch some bend tests (destructive weld tests) being done. A good uphill weld will always stand more pressure and abuse than a great downhill weld.
If you have ever welded in a refinery (which I know you haven't) then you would know they require you to weld uphill. For a reason.
There is actually some science to welding, it's not just laying down some rod
maybe it was a typo but welding in position is when you cant move anything. not trying to start nothing big guy
I love reading the comments on ANY welding video. The “one upping” of skill level and kindergartner emotions is way better than any school yard banter! 😂
Best one so far!
I like reading the comments more
I've been reading comments for over 10 years. Ive read welding video comments on many of the major platforms, including youtube, instgram, and, even facebook. Given my long track record and impeccable reading skills there's absolutely no way you love it more than I do.
So the reason to start with a new rod: quality. This is the best reason to do anything a particular way, in every aspect of life. Great video sir, keep up the great work!
Mate, I'm an Australian welder who's worked in China, Thailand and all over Aus on Defence. Written and qualified 124 welding procedures as well. We always burn the whole rod taking into account access and heat input of course, and then there's economising for ourselves and the client. But as tested welders know, especially on critical LNG and fuel/oil know implicitly, more stops/starts mean more opportunities for weld imperfections and NDT failures.
Correct.
thats what im saying.more tie in = shitty weld. thats when im welding pipe or anything else.i could make it look better than welding up.i can see using something just to fill in gaps and burn of any paint and shit.i like using 5p first but then its 7018 up. this is structual pipe i thought he was doing something else
Way to much time watching an arc!!! Pat him on the back fot attention slap slap.
@@chrhadden Why are you not grinding the paint off?
Im in US, and we have a family business, selling, repair pumps, electric motors, phase convert and so on. We have done work w/ NASA NSA Aberden proving ground, Ft. Mead and so on. My Great grandfather started the business in 1901 (he was at Lincolns funeral he was 4). He as well as myself are inventor (have patent to our name I have 1 still under my name as it's no longer of use [it was monitor for DC motors, AC freq drive can pretty much do anything a DC can cheaper] he had dozens yet none except a couple are still w/ our names as we sell them to big business and they then own them..anyway) He put the generator in the Argonaut one of the first subs. We actually designed and built the ultrasonic shower in the ISS (space station). I was just a teenage, yet worked on it and carved our name in it. I wanted to be the first person to use as I finished my work on Saturday and was going to use it Monday, but my DAD went in on Sunday (not telling me) and powered it up and was the first to use it. He used the excuse that since I was a kid and this was a major thing he had to make sure I did it right..what BS I had already work on gov't crap. We also modified deep sea submersibles that kept leaking at deep depths, so I came up w/ the idea of putting oil in the stator to displace the air, and thats what we did. We also wound a MK 48 torpedo w/ silver magnet wire and a gold commutator as the NAVY wanted more speed, and distance w/o more power. The machinist set up all this new paper around the lathe before turning the commutator to catch the bits of gold that was machined of it, I told him that it was a waste of time b/c he wasn't going to take off that much gold. Anyway, I prefer arc welds for building up a shaft over spray weld b/c the arc is a stronger bond. I have dozen of rod at my house b/c they are decades old (4 ft the largest) and some are silver.
Most of the time you can get away with doing whatever works for you, but if there's a specified welding procedure it's best to follow it. Getting caught not following it is a good way to get kicked off a job site.
And not get another test. The WPS is there for a reason it's been mechanically and NDT qualfied and needs to by replicated to ensue structural integrity QA of the whole project. If a welder thinks he clever than the designers engineers and international standards boards why is he still a welders mate ?!?!
The best way to avoid that is to be the boss of the job-site.
You would be surprised if you were a welder in the sign/advertisement industry, Mike.
@@mike-cl7pb: Not only for a reason -- since _everything_ exists or/and happens for a reason -- but also for a *PURPOSE.*
I've never wanted to become a welder, especially now that I physically can't due to my broken "Military Spine," but I've always wanted to know how it's done! So thank you for this amazing channel!!!
I was a certified welder for 25 years I have held bridge certs, many aluminum certs, and structural steel. I have welded with FCAW all positions UP any thickness. also weld pipe all positions UP E71T-1 3/16 and over without backing never ran down hand always ran from 6 to 3 then 6 to 9 with a grind of all stops and starts. then from 3 to 12 and 9 to 12. But never ran down even when I ran stick.
Exactly how i learned it. That's just the most reliable way to do it.
Same here. I was first certified in 1982 and have about the same experience as you. I was trained and used the same methods like you described. The only down hand welding was to build up an outside corner maybe. Always uphill.
Well you guys are all a bunch of dinks, all the cool kids weld DOWN
Codes have changed. Pipeline is commonly welded downhill now
Lots of welding procedures out there call for down hand
Im an old fart too. Started as a pipewelder helper, in the early 70'. drove truck 60 ft, jumped out cleaned the last pass, jumped back in the truck after a moment drove up another 60ft and repeat, did this, for the root, hot pass and cap welders, had many jobs, took a wildcat grinder wt 9in wheel no guard and grind the root to request, leave wagon tracks or not or somewhere in between did this all day long, my trigger finger still gets locked, then i spaced with a grinded down car spring leaf, for a good while, carrying all sizes of clamps, knocking out the highs and lows making sure the seams are at 10 and 2 o'clock then putting the right space in, while the side boom operator is watching my finger signals, in less 30 seconds, or before the root welder,/welders gets there. the 12in and larger put the arms on me, filing was my favorite, i shined both ends up and correct the landings, stayed far ahead for peace and quiet. On straight the ways, we would do up to 200 welds, 160 -80 was average. We made our own 90's&45's and transitions at the end making the trees. Without realizing i picked up so much, like the setting, polarity, tricks of the trade, so when i started welding, so much came natural to me. I would relieve all the welder, giving them breaks, definitely a No-No, had no coupon. Passed my first test, bought an old Lincoln 200, started welding for the same company. It was done different back then, 6010 down hill root, with muscle memory and almost no blinding arc this could be done with no shield,, 7018 1/8 uphill hot pass, 7018 5/32 uphill cap, on 6inch pipe schedule 40 and over. Yes 5/32 uphill cap. People find this hard to believe, the most difficult to master. It isn't whip or weave or horseshoe, the heat was slightly higher then for 1/8, it was more of an up and down smear without sticking while quickly traveling up. Now ever weld pass is downhill with ××10+ rods, , where's the fun in that. I also became a pipe fitter without even knowing it. Years later i was doing more then pipe. Doing everything oilfield related. Tig and mig isn't hard, people just think it is, like they think overhead is, just a rumor, till you know better. Heavy equipment, hard facing, build up, aluminum, stainless steel, acetylene welding, and being a torch master. The world of welding is a great and satisfying way to go through this life, except the part of living out of motels especially for the married man, that would drown their sorrow hearts in liquor and Hank Williams (your cheating heart) But those days are gone, and for the most part so am i.. so i reminisce by watching these RUclips videos, and reading comments on how someone would tell the uploader how they would do it, or should do it. This is some mighty fine enough downhill welding.. though its not how i would do it, but this can be approached several ways and would have to be if there was too much gust or a high windy day....that also some mighty fine fitting, perfect for 8010, can't go wrong with penetrating to the depth of the width thickness and into the sidewall.
No cap over either, just a solid weld.. I bet it's close to 100% depth penetration. I could still do it, but ill have to have a helper, to help me get down. But most importantly,, to pick me back up.. being to old to weld sucks. At least i can talk about it.
When did you go to cleaners?...
As a pipefitter for 44 years we did not weld pie downhill always uphill and was taught that made a better weld, downhill was always for nonpipe material.
Nonsense. Pipelines were more often than not run downhill. Uphill was more often than not used on refinery and powerhouse projects. Third generation pipeliner.
In my class back 1994 I was taught to never weld uphill because it collects trash in the ‘shelf’ of the weld and makes poor penetration.
Last summer a welding instructor told me I was wrong, you have to weld uphill or it’s a bad weld.
Then a recent TiG class (that was a waste of my money) I was again told uphill only.
I don’t know what to think.
I am not aware of anything I’ve welded having ever broken so unless I decide to go get certified (unlikely at 57yo) I’m just going to keep hot-glueing metal together and call it good.
an experienced welder one told me downhill for pretty, uphill for strength.
Since a pretty weld is preferred, I weld down unless it is something I really need strength
Uphill, downhill whatever. If you were welding to a code or a standard you follow the welding procedure, period. None of this crap that this is better than that or "I have x years of experience" junk. Also most codes or standards call for any smaw low hydrogen electrodes to be maintained with hydrogen control in mind ie; throw them back in the holding oven or bake them.
you were a pipefitter for 44 years, and never knew pipeliners run downhill?
My first stick welding class was from a retired U.S.M.C. Warrant Officer. Parker welded hotter that standard with lots of penetration. We students would take his cooled weld to the press and try to break his joint. We would rip the metal before Parker's weld failed. I guess that's what decades of experience does for you. You sir from the sound of your weld are quite GOOD at this skill. If you are a pipe liner I know you are GOOD! Thanks Ross
Non welder here. As an aircraft enthusiast I once took a course in aircraft tube welding with oxy acetylene. Developed a respect for the craft and enjoyed the demonstration and clear narration provided here.
I always tend to use as much as is necessary. Stops and starts in the most convenient place possible dictates the amount of rod I use, more so than how much I just decide. I'm not a pipeliner I'm a building trades pipefitter who used to be a pipe welder, but still welds a lot of pipe.
buying rods and having them furnished makes the difference of what you burn
i do that if im doing like 3 miles of 3 on 12 or something crazy like that.1 rod will get me 3 3 in welds shit like that. fuck all the extra lumps and tie ins arc strike marks etc.....
spatter
I learned to weld and spent my first 15yrs at a shipyard building aircraft carriers and submarines. We were discouraged from starting a weld with a used rod also. Reason being, rods were a cheap commodity compared to repairing a failed X-ray, ultrasound or prod test. That’s all I knew and thought that was normal, industry wide till I hired in welding at a Ford plant. I’ve caught a lot of gruff at Ford for “wasting” weld rods and bending them before starting. After seeing this video, I feel vindicated!
Also, as a game, I always play the “how many rods will it take to do this job”. Surprisingly, 60% of the time, I’m burning my last rod as I’m finishing up, then also going to my spent rod bucket for touchups if needed.
Glad to have come across your video, thanks!
I worked on carriers and subs also my first 9 years as a welder. (At PSNS) No way in the world was we aloud to weld anything downhand. It traps crap in the weld. You have to bend them rods however you need to to get the angle and access you need. Especially on the subs. Everything is tight in there. Sometimes id even have my firewatch connecting and disconnecting the leads for me so I don't accidentally arc off anything getting situated.
Newport news sucks
Well Mr, Productions, I should trust a poster with such an obviously real name!
I was apprenticed in the early 70s and we used 1/8, 6010 welding rod -DC, for the root bead, never ran a down bead, cleaned each pass. If the root bead is right, it will look like it was welded from the inside. The root bead was always put in "cold", minimum setting to properly run weld. They used destructive testing to grade the welds. !'m 73 now, so that was a long time ago. I still weld on the farm, all position.
Interesting you used 6010 on dc- I've just put down a few beads on flat metal out of curiosity, interesting how it runs
Some younger and I can't even get into all positions !
they wont let me near a welder with my pacemaker...had to have an ablasion so no natural heart beat ....sure do miss welding stuff....LOVE fabricating stuff !!!
6013 is used a lot for general purposes it's easier to use if beginner. I use the whole rod. I find it's easier to control when the rod is shorter.
I know this isn’t a strictly technical related to welding comment, but, in this particular video (not sure if it is the camera or filter) I was amazed at the color, shape and constant motion of the arc. The color changes from an orange to yellow and finally blue, probably all effects of cooling, but truly amazing to observe.
Thanks for taking the time to put this content out there.
The “energy” that you put out is truly American! You have respect for work, experience and your fellow man! And at the same time you come across as thoughtful, soft spoken and kind. God Bless you AR
I’m just a novice with low experience with welding and I enjoy learning about how this trade works. Getting the idea of how the bead puddle works together with amperage is really helpful.
Your eyes say fun, but your knees say promotion. 😆 Great job on the video!
Just picked up your channel, good stuff! I have been welding for like 40 years all forms not a welder by trade. I will burn a rod to the stinger, and really never had a problem restriking a burned rod. And as I said I am not a welder by trade nor a pipe guy.
Nobody has a problem restriking. It's just that broken flux may leave an inclusion or gas bubble that might show up on an xray and it's simply not worth risking a repair for the price of a rod. It's standard practice for welds operating under high presure subject to radiography.
Yup! The first thing that came to mind was porosity at the start of the new weld when you restart with a used rod. When I was welding back in the 1970s, we were told to never restart with used rods on the mill jobs I worked around Pittsburgh. Really never gave it much thought until this video.
There. I guess I learned something today...!
Cheers!
Whipple
This must be why I was getting porosity in college on restarts and never could figure out why because never got them on the first start with a new rod. I even said something to my instructor about possibly the flux or something breaking off somehow and getting in it on the restart. He never really confirmed that being a possibility. That's the only thing I could think of though. It could have been the rods we were using too. They were donated and I don't remember having that issue with other rods in the past the school bought.
It's also why you gotta be careful handling new rods not to chip off the tip
Porosity is the result of damp rods or wind and poor technique.
I was taught by an old timer to burn as much in one pass as possible from top to bottom with out stopping if possible. Less tie ins and of course always start with a fresh rod.
Fewer
@@InchFab same shit
@@AquaTech225 Don't contradict the Grammar Police, you'll be making a rod for your own back 🤣
@@AquaTech225 Nope
Fascinating to watch, Austin! Thank you for sharing your talents with all of us.
I welded pipe in nuc plants, uphill, tig root pass and fill and cap with 7018, used the whole rod. World of difference, literally.
The only welding I hated being around was chrome or chrome-moly. You could get a sunburn working the night shift.
I was the fitter. My job was to make the welders job as easy as it could be. When I was grinding the welder held the extinguisher. When he was welding I got the extinguisher.
Sometimes I had to put the fire out because the ground was burning. Refinery work is like that.
I agree I had to weld with three other people in a stainless box and it was altig but if you took your hood off to grab another filler Rod or something like that you were getting slashed from everybody else man it was terrible
@@paul6g172 Zinc, Chrome and Moly will make you get sick. Wearing the 1/2. Mask also sucked
I have worked around welders for years, and these people are heroes! The better ones are metallurgical wizards, but not only that, they routinely work in some of the most hellish conditions imaginable, like the pipeline welders for Southwest Gas in New Mexico working in a trench with the sun beating down at, no joke, 130 degrees in the shade, while these superheroes strike up huge heat-generating arcs as they join steel pipe segments. I will always admire all of them!
One time I had to bend a bunch of rods while welding in a tight structural spot to get the right angle where our flux core welder couldn't reach. I was hanging off the side of a high rise building on the 3rd floor in a harness. Ended up using only a third of each rod before risking burning the part where the flux was broken off. Couldn't fit a grinder in there either if I messed up. Good times.
Which highrise? 😳
thats a monthly thing or an ironworker
Everyone here is praising the welds... but nobody showing love for those superb fitups. It's a thing of beauty. IYKYN... keep killin it sir!
still remember learning stick, was told if you can start a used rod consistently then you will be golden, then was put to work on a project and only had used 7018 rods to run with, my starts went from just ok to near perfect that day.
The important thing is to drop down and then weld back over where you first stuck. 98% of the time that will clean out anything in the strike . If the work is being x-rayed, and a repair costs more than 50 pounds of rod, it's not worth taking even a 2% chance. Start with a new rod every time.
It is the first RUclips video that I have seen that dimmed the camera view for the viewer. You make it look easy.
ive been welding for 45 years! ive welded uphill downhills upside down sideways inside out backward and sometimes even through the fourth dimension, can confirm this guy knows what he's talking about!
Welding for 45 years?
Do you never get any sleep?
You forgot to tell the 'crack of dawn' and 'break of day' jokes.
Hey Austin! Could you show a close up of how you are whip and pausing on pipe? I’m practicing to be a pipeline welder and I can’t figure out how to get it to look as good as yours!
Practice is key keep doing it
Get a blue weld lens after that everything will change. I assume you dont see what the puddle is doing, but i dont know that.
I changed to blue glass and everything changed instant!
Check every rod there is and weld them when you find a good alloy stick to it. Not every rod lays down smothly.
And think about welding line spraying. The rod tip sprays the metal to the pol and the arc searches the shortest way possible to shortout the floww of current.
Also a decend old heavy welding machine is a good start. Those mini inverters just dont deliver a dense hardcore current.
After i bought for 100$ a 80pound stick weld only machine the whole game changed. I would never sell that ironpig because it gives the most decend welds!
Consider those tips and many things willl change.
Ebay has a lot of old machine.
When you dont find blue lenses mail me i have some to sell. Depending where you life you will find them.
Make mistakes learn progress =)
Great photography of the welding! I've never seen such detail without overexposure. Well done!
never?
First job years ago was in a large maintenance shop as a sparky but would help the welders moving 20 to 21' lengths of pipe. For some reason every guy had their favorite welding rod so they just laid them everywhere causing moisture to ruin them. I got a ho!d of a broken refrigerator and installed two 120 volt heater strips to keep welding rods dry. Those guys always seem to use most of the welding rods. Asked the talented old timers to teach me how to do basic welds but they never showed anyone.
Depending on how serious the work they're doing, I wouldn't expect they'd show you "basic welds" on the job. That's like an 8 week course! There's a lot of knowledge behind that stack of nickels. There's got to be a tech school near you and you don't have to be a high schooler to take a course. It's only a couple hundred dollars not too expensive at all; and you'll be learning it the right way right off with no bad habits to break.
Thanks for sharing that with us Austin. Now I understand when I see welders tossing a half used rod. The Gateway is looking good and near to being set. Stay safe and keep up the great video's. Fred.
We had to use half a rod on tie-ins Sometimes there was only 6 inches between the botttom of the pipe and water in the bottom of the ditch.
When using 6011 rods for pipe i was taught to throw them in a bucket of water then use them from the bucket.
Always had great success with them like that.
Correct, moisture content is critical with cellulose rods.
It’s a fence job run them rods to the bitter end. Use an old soup can for a rod bucket
I couldn't afford to throw em away on a fence job
What works for you may not work for someone else man. The man must be doing something right. He’s been very successful
I've seen good welders, but your precision on large pieces and technique is a treat to watch.
I been welding for 25+ years. Not to be a but a p5 after gets hot doesn’t lite up good so I have tossed a few after only welding half or so. But to get a new rod every time, I’m sorry that’s waist full. If you can’t relight a rod you should practice more. Just my thoughts
Time is money, and with jobs where failure is sortofa big deal I bet tossing rod is cheaper than fixing mistakes.
Great information and video. I've noticed that the 7018 has a protective layer on a new rod. Where as your 6011, and 6013, 7014 and 7024 are bare ended. The electrode manufacturer states this is a protective coating to help with easier arc starting. The rest are chamfered on the ends to start at any angle. 6010+P I have found to be very good all the way to the end on DCEP for most pipe applications. I'm not a welder by trade, but I get the job done and have fun doing it. I'm self taught and love it. Thanks for the tips and heads up Ross.
Is nobody else going to mention the hidden top tip in this video? If you can find one of those blue top 2ft werner aluminum step ladders buy in NOW! 🤣 One of the most under appreciated tools/accessories or even ladders lol, but they are amazing and are dang near indestructible for many years! Hopefully they still make that model... I might cry if I lost ol shorty 😢 😆👍
Thanks sir, and thanks folks for commenting. Super awesome to see folks sharing experience.
I learned to weld initially solely with low hydrogen rods (7016 so not the easiest to restart but ok once you get the knack of it) and got pine-appled pretty good for not using the whole rod......its now funny watching other welders throwing away perfectly good 1/2 used rods of any variety.....its noted at work that the flux on my rod stubs is normally only ever about 1" long max.
I’ve been a mig welder for a few years now and I’ve got my own stick welder, trying to branch out and do jobs of my own and I had a huge problem with porosity on my last job (welding and fabricating a box section frame) I was wondering if you let me know the most common causes for porosity when doing MMA 😊
you can always use the half rods like Acetelyne welding but feeding them into the run you are making for more material deposit...........
Austin that is such a beautiful job you're doing! Thanks for sharing!
I use short rods for tacking work before running long beads with a full stick.
I like your photography technique. I've been around many welders, and of course, couldn't really watch what they were doing. Even if they loaned me a cowl, my eyes weren't used to seeing through them well enough to focus on what was actually happening. Your video was a pleasure to watch.
We appreciate you watching
the first week or so all you can see is a bright light.they were talking about the edge off the puddle i couldnt see it for a week or so.i had no idea what they were talking about.9 months of welding school and it was still a few years until i was where i needed to be.its tough man. for someone like me who didnt have any talent at first.
Depending on rod number whether to burn up or down, tap on concrete just after stopping will let rod light easier
Sometimes I'll use a cutoff wheel and cut where the flux isn't discolored on a mostly intact rod
I am not a pro but one of the tricks I learn very early was I kept a bit of concrete tile on my bench to crack the slag on the end of a rod before restarting. Stops it sticking 90% of the time..... The rest is me just being shit.
@@BrettDalton Yeah though concrete might introduce impurities to weld so i use steel plate that is not tied to ground. Seems to work decent, rest is me being shitty welder, but thing i repaired has had so much weight the tractors front end goes to air so it cant be that shit of a weld.
You can also use half burnt rods as heatsinks to prevent excessive heat build up.
Austin - those are welds to be proud of! You're an outstanding craftsman and providing a great value in educating others. Thank you!
I appreciate that!
If. Those. Welds. Can. With. Stand. 8' 600 of. Presser. Beating. On. Them. At. 800 feet. Of. Hole. Then. You. Something. To. Talk. About
@@edwinlyman6765 Are you having a stroke?
@@edwinlyman6765 can you type normally and also fix the typing mistakes? Almost impossible to understand anything.
Give him a break. He is obviously an immigrant. English is probably not his native tongue.
Hello im a welding student from Sweden, i see you Americans weld pipe downhill for the moste part and doing a sipp motion, my question is why? becuse what we learn is that when we do a open rot in 5g. We are going upp hill and to close the gap we go from side to side with 7018 🙂 ps in Sweden its apparently rare to weld with 8010
It's more common to run downhill on new construction because of production speed. There are also low hydrogen downhill rods. For maintenance work, it seems to be more common to run a downhill root at a hot pass with a low-hydrogen uphill fill and cap. In areas where there may be stress on the joint during welding, you will sometimes see all uphill welding because the larger convex root deposit will be more resistant to cracking.
I failed s weld on 36 inch pipe because of porosity in the root. I think your advise may have been the answer. Thanks for sharing!
I've been welding for over 30 years, mostly mig, and tig. I haven't done a lot of stick because it's not called for in manufacturing very much these days. But your knowledge of stick welding is awesome.
I did a lot of stick welding before the semi auto processes took hold. It takes a lot of hand skill which to me always made the work more rewarding. It's very versatile and the welds are high quality.
Why did u weld down hill? I was always taught to weld up hill, to keep the slag from running into the puddle.
Generally true, but with the right rod and the right heat it can be done. Don't weld down without the proper training from a qualified instructor.
13:29 -- So it's not that you would stop at halfway through a rod, it's rather that you always want to start with a fresh rod for pipeline welding. You just stop where the weld ends and if a bunch of rod is left you just toss it in the bucket and start fresh. Because standards for pipelines are higher. And for simpler artistic or light structural welding, you'd use up a few of those half rods if available. Also, beginners would want to start with new rods because it's easier to strike an arc, and it makes it less frustrating as you're learning.
I am a mechanic by trade but do a fair amount of welding. I have always used wire cutters to trim the end of the rod for a restart no one told me this just allowed me to get cleaner restart and use more of the rod especially on 7018 as a professional what if any problems do you see with that...... thank you for your videos
When you stopped welding you can just whip the rod real fast and it will get the Liquid out of the tip make a better start for the next time you go to welding again
We just dragged the tip on the concrete pad a few times to get a clean edge.
When you set your course at 150 then on your remote or fine course you have set 60 .Is that 60 percent of 150 amps on the course?
Technically yes. It more like if it's too hot, turn it down, and if it's too cold turn it up.
Always happy to see another Okie on RUclips making good content. Also, you are from an area I love. I spent all my summers as a kid on my grandmother's farm between Chandler and Wellston.
Question. When I was just starting out back in the day I was on a structural steel job. (Stone crushing plant). I thought it was a good idea to tape my leads together and just leave 10ft whips on the work end for convenience. An old timer told me not to do that because of induction buildup and that would cause arc blow. Is there any truth to that ? Since then I’ve done my best to keep them separated.
If you zip tie your leads together in a pair, like oxy-acetylene hoses, the inductance will be as low as possible. Inductance increases with the amount of area encircled by the leads. But too little inductance can be as bad as too much inductance because it can make it difficult to keep a rod lit while welding.
Arc deflection is usually caused by gas currents or magnetic fields in the work, either because the work itself is magnetized, or from the welding current traveling through the work. Sometimes you can just reposition the work clamp if it's being problematic. AC might also make things easier.
@@stickyfox thank you so much!
Why do you run the weld down hill? Learning to weld in the late 70s, my teacher told me never weld down hill for there is no strength.
He told you that for safety reasons. Downhill takes special training that you were not ready for. It can be dangerous.
It's not so easy crouching under things when you get older, that's becoming more of a problem for me especially after a hip replacement, i can still do it all it just takes more time to get into a good position to make the weld
I take my hat off to welders of your standard, I was taught to stick weld as a sheet-metalworker one thing I noticed rods improved over the years in the workshop we used a Lincoln oil filled set,they were the best I ever used
Without seeing more than a few seconds so far of this video, I'd figure the reason for a half rod burn is for reach reasons. That most pipe fitter welding is done with thick pipes and in tight spots, so not having to crawl right under a pipe to get that last six or so inches of rod is just easier and faster to switch to a new long rod.
I have been a jack of many trades most of my life, when I had to do welding ….. i’ll just hire one of you guys
Austin hope you are getting paid for these videos you definitely deserve it
you can bet he's making more money doing this than pipe lining
@@maryparvin3041 I am not buy that sorry
I never throw rod away. It may not get used at the moment.... But it will get used at some point for sure! And you are correct Austin. Try not to restart a partially used rod on anything that really counts. Why throw an unnecessary risk of failure into the mix when you don't have to!?!?!? Thanks for the vids and tips. A lot of greener folks out there benefit from vids like these for sure.
Pleasure is all mine!
I kind of hate having to restart a 7018 rod after it's been used.
I haven't *worked as a welder yet* (just graduated welding school) but a half of a 7018 rod has been my biggest nemesis so far.
Pull out of your puddle quick and flick the last piece of molten out your rod. That way you have a nice crucibles cup. Pinch the cup and you basically have a new rod. If that doesn’t work for you take a magnet and pick up metal shavings with it. Still pull out fast and flick the rod then touch it to the magnet. It’ll pick up the shavings and that will act as a hot start.
What romy said! The flux on those rods is pretty hard, thats why u gota peck it pretty hard to get a restart. Pinch that lil bit overhanging the filler off and its way easier
@@romy7533 The problem is that you can explain it to me the best way possible, but I still need to see it in order to understand what to do.
1 pass with a file, starts nice and crispy
a file works, just a quick pass.
The DOWB submersible globe was welded by human welders, in a continuous fashion, over several days, using a rotating fixture with several welders in a human stack. The metal ball compartment was about 6-inches thick, in two parts. All of the weld zones were pre-heated well ahead of the actual weld, using a gas heater assembly. None of the weld zones were ever allowed to go to room temperature. This allowed the DOWB to go down to 6000 feet under the ocean, on several missions, for the Navy and others. For high pressure applications, the hand techniques shown will not work, and will create areas where stress cracks can nucleate, or create uneven pressure zones, which weaken the structure, and initiate pressure failures. Similar to the Inet videos of the recent submersible failure, where several people were instantly crushed. This also applies to aluminum structures, which is even more finicky. We did both, but it was a hard learning process. GM-DRL.
I've been a welder for 95 years and 452 days.... I've welded upside down, right side up, left to right, right to left, left handed, you name it. I even wiped my butt back to front once and never got an infection. One time I forgot to put my hood down for two and a half sticks and didn't even close my eyes. Now I'm blind, but I'm told my welds still look like stacked pennies... mhmm.
We did the electric for #13 blast furnace bag houses at US steel, they required a breathing test because we had to wear face mask for the dust... We had a man named Tom who was a member of our electricians local but was hired in as a welder for the Inland coke battery expansion in the 70's. Tom never smoked but failed the breathing test, it got me thinking if 40 years as a welder damaged his lungs. Tom made it to retirement but passed away within a year. Tom was a good person and earned more time as a retired tradesman. Welding is a hazardous profession in my opinion.
Well welding fumes are a known carcinogen hence why every welder/boily I know wears a PAPR helmet/belt pack, even at work when I was spotter for their confined space works I'd be in a PAPR and we'd all have personal gas monitors on - using both SMAW & GMAW (using straight CO2)
Good advice as always. You have just got to the age where you groan a bit every time you crawl under something.😁
I was a pipe welder and later an inspector. I always welded with 7018 after the root pass which was usually tig. I only welded uphill and usually burned my rod down to about 1-1/2”. Downhill welding was forbidden on nuc plants but the welders were often allowed to grind the cover pass before they called me for the final inspection. And when I saw a ground down cover pass i knew i was dealing with a mediocre welder.
Hey Mr.Ross, Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Is it a good recommendation for someone who wants to get into welding for general repairs around the home / shop to purchase a stick welder first to learn basic welding technique, and then move towards other processes that use shielding gas ? I know there are multi process welders available, but they seem to be quite expensive compared to a 240 volt stick welder.
mig is the easiest to learn, stick is the best to learn
For small jome jobs Flux core MIG is the cheapest
Thanks guys
the new laser ones are a thing of beauty...pure Star Trek !!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@jakeatkinson4913 If you learn stick, you can learn mig in 20 minutes, but it doesn't work the other way around. You might think it odd, but oxyacetylene welding is the best way to learn how to control a puddle. It's slow and clearly visible to a beginner. After that stick and tig will come much easier.
Brings back memories of my dad. A mill wright. Loved welding more then anything. Then got to weld on nuclear subs. Crazy test for that
On pipes and structural steel I can see needing the highest quality welds. But I've seen welders dropping over half rods on stuff that just needs to stick together.
Back in the late seventies as an apprentice auto electrician I did a lot of work at a place that built truck bodies and transport equipment. There was an old welder named Jack Dempsey, he was just an amazing welder. He would just strike a weld and go through the whole rod on major welds for a tank. At the end of the rod he would just tap the slag at the end as the whole lot of slag peeled up as he was welding. A true tradesman.
nothing more satisfying than doing a 10 inch weld and just touching it at the end and it just pops off !!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE THAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! almost as good as S**......
Got taught to weld back in 1973, and to this day I still suck 😂😂😂
me too
Ditto 😢
Wow, you sure make it look easy! Beautiful welds in difficult positions!
I'm curious as to how much that pipe costs per foot? Using pipe for a property entrance looks outstanding.
Its one of those, " its not what you know, but who you know" things.
I just got a quote 4 inch schedule 40 pipe $ 390 a 21 foot stick. Probably scary price of 12 imch.😲
Pat from nw Wisconsin
@@cut4fun50 Find used oilfield pipe or casing
I would think the main reason to discard half used rods is moisture penetration. It is my understanding that for many instances of “code” welding, take for instance 7018…must be used within 5 hours of breaking seal on can. I think you can recondition them one time assuming you have access to a “reconditioning” oven. Depending on how much of the can your going to use, if not all, you might as well use the best part of the stick. Though in all honesty, I seem to have more control with the second half of the rod. Great vid!
I am usually right handed, but when it came to welding I became ambidextrous. I could weld around a pipe, swap hands and do one continuous run. I mystified my bosses, because they could not see were I stated, and where I ended. With every other manual task, I was still stuck with being right handed.
nobody needs a one handed welder. the end
Not only ambidextrous but on some jobs had to use a mirror.
I’ve been a weld NDT inspector for many years and sentenced welds in all materials and situations, certified to US and Aust. Codes. I’ve seen welds that were ‘A’ and beautiful and welds that were…not! Thing is it was funny when top gun welders were told they had a repair. Sometimes it was disputed as they ‘don’t get repairs’ others wanted to see the radiographs. It was always my goal to get the welder passed BUT a repair is a repair. However its very important for the auditor to have a good understanding of the codes and their intent. It was always a god feeling when the welder returns to say ‘yes’ I saw it during the repair. I’m a mug ‘home’ welder but learnt massively from talking to and with fellow construction people. Pipeline welders deserve EVERY PENNY THEY EARN. I’ve watched them, hard boys and hard work in extreme conditions, I know because I follow them thru’. Take care to all pipelines.
I'm strictly an amateur and generally use stick for heavier gauge steel, but rarely for long passes. Typically a few inches at a time, never more than a foot long bead. I find starting a hot, part used rod easier than a brand new rod. I think the heat helps. I also find controlling the shorter length easier too. I give the tip of a brand new rod a couple of strokes with a fine file or emery to expose bright steel. I do the same if a part used rod doesn't fire: it saves knocking flux off.
That said, I fully appreciate the pros whose welds are x-ray inspected cannot get away with this. Quality comes at a cost.
I'm sure amateurs could use those short rods for tacking-up and less critical stuff...
I agree - I am only about 6 months into my learning how to stick weld and find the short sticks are much easier to fire up and control - but totally understand that's only because I don't know anywhere near enough to be welding anything other than the occasional back yard project - either way welding is fun and I love it and also know I will get better with experience
Beautiful welding and pipe fighting Sir.
Curious what's the main issue with striking or arking the pipe
What I learned is that if you arc strike somewhere other than the intended weld joint, it super heats the area which then cools down. This introduces very tiny cracks or stresses in the base material, making the material weaker in that area and allowing for more failure over time as the cracks get bigger.
@@MrWaffles998 Yup, that's what I was taught in trade school. As the pipe heat cycles it'll crack, kind of like how cracks form in concrete over time.
The guy who taught me to weld used to weld 30' diameter pipe, then weld endcaps to both ends of the pipe. He did his work at a place called Mare Island in Solano County, California.
Thanks for sharing. I had some school mates welding on naval ships and didn’t think of xRay after. Their got paid by the foot, welds failed the xRay and got jailed.
Were they scamming? Honest mistake,?
Wtf would the charges be 😒
Jailed ? Please explain more.
You charge too much for shitty weld... believe it or not straight to jail, right away
@@Matt-bi2tn I don't believe it. Definitely got canned.
As the rod gets shorter it gets hotter and you have to compensate by moving it a little bit faster.
One thumbs down for taking so long to answer the question....
After welding for the last 45 years its always a good laugh watching "experts" pass on "knowledge".
Rods are cheap, repairs aren't.
All good bro. I used to change my clear lens twice a day. Did much GTAW, GMAW, and SMAW with The Shaw Group...
13:30
I'm a novice stick welder and dislike wasting anything. Keeping a file at hand, I just file the flux off the tip on a used rod to get that new rod tip. Works great for me and takes a couple seconds.
Welding down hand is for kids. Open butt tig, then 7018 fill and cap. UP HILL by professionals. Then x ray to boiler code.
I last did welding in high school, far too many years ago. But as soon as I see the rod, I can STILL instantly smell it 😀
I’m just curious I’m not a pipe welder but what is the pipe structure you’re welding going to be used for
Great video , awesome welds
It is an overhead entrance
My guess is a massive gate entryway for someone's ranch. I was curious myself.