welding thick rough metal

[greengiant]

hey,


quick question: What is the best rod to use for welding thick 3/8" rough torch cut steel? I was thinking a large diameter 6011 because of it's diversity.



thanks

[6gaws]

That depends on what type of project you are undertaking. That type of info will help us help you.

[hankj]

A little more info would help. How rough? It might be better for the project to clean up the edges, but we need to know more up front.

Hank

[BWS29128]

I've had very good results doing multiple passes of 1/8" 6011 on 3/8" rough-cut diamond plate. However, while I didn't "prep-out" the sides of the plate, I at least ground off the bubbles of slag left over from the kerf on the top and bottom. Several months ago I built a small welding table that could pull triple duty as a welding table, chop-saw stand, and (for future use, I hope) a plasma table. Since it sits over in the corner of my meager shop on my farm and my customers never see it, I wasn't real concerned with final appearance and had great results with the 6011. I'll also add that after 4 passes (with cleaning in between, of course) of 6011, I capped the entire seam (original bevel at approx 30 degrees with 1/8" land at bottom of bevel) with two side-by-side runs of 5/32" 7018.

[greengiant]

sorry forgot the project details: I'm making a simple but heavy duty bumper for my friend's chevy 3500. The welding i'm talking about will be some 3/8" plate that i will either have torch cut or plasma cut. It will serve at the mounting brakets for the bumper, so it will not be seen, and i will grind off the slag but it will not have extremly smooth or even edges. Again, all that really matters here is strength.

[BWS29128]

The 6011 will do fine for what you're describing. In fact, with an extra 5% or 10% than recommended for your Amperage/Application, you'll probably burn the edges straight when you're welding them.
Good luck and please post pictures of the finished bumper when you get a chance.
~Clint

[hankj]

sorry forgot the project details: I'm making a simple but heavy duty bumper for my friend's chevy 3500. The welding i'm talking about will be some 3/8" plate that i will either have torch cut or plasma cut. It will serve at the mounting brakets for the bumper, so it will not be seen, and i will grind off the slag but it will not have extremly smooth or even edges. Again, all that really matters here is strength.

I don't understand why the edges of the pieces won't be smooth or even. A decent torch cut is pretty smooth and even, and plasma cut is nearly the same as a shear cut!

6011 will do ther job fine.

Hank

[MAC702]

I'd spend more time making a clean torch cut than choosing the rod. In fact, if the steel was nice and clean, and since it'll be off the truck before you start you should be able to clean it well, I'd use brand new 7018 myself, if you have the machine to run it well. What machine is it?

I might run a first pass with 6010/6011, but joint design means more than edge prep.

[TEK]

I'd spend more time making a clean torch cut than choosing the rod. In fact, if the steel was nice and clean, and since it'll be off the truck before you start you should be able to clean it well, I'd use brand new 7018 myself, if you have the machine to run it well. What machine is it?

I might run a first pass with 6010/6011, but joint design means more than edge prep.

I'm with Mac on this one. With 7018 you can pause or drag a little to fill in the lows or kinda skip over the highs and come up with a fairly even pass.You can do the same with the 6010/11 but its easier with the 18...Clint said the same thing...

[enlpck]

I third Mac. Clean cuts and clean material make the job better and faster.

If the cuts are rough and already done, your best friend is a grinder.

[Sully2]

7018 rods...definately MY favorite!!....

[repairman]

7024 or 7018 AC stick electrodes are good for that kind of stuff, unless the metal is rusty. If its rusty, you should use this new tool called a flap disk. 7024 and 7018 electrodes are low hydrogen electrodes that leave great deposits and run like butter on AC, just make sure you have the right heat and that your putting all your weight down for the first pass. It should sound quiet like eggs frying. Don't ever waste your time with E60XX electrodes, they're weak, work poorly on high sulfur or high phosphorus steel, and leave dirty deposits. E70XX or nothing.

[MAC702]

... 7024 and 7018 electrodes are low hydrogen electrodes that leave great deposits and run like butter on AC... Don't ever waste your time with E60XX electrodes, they're weak, ....

7024 is NOT a low-hy electrode.

7018 is not designed for AC, unless it's 7018AC, and even then it's much better on a machine with a high OCV.

Define weak.

Any statement that begins "Don't ever..." is almost always wrong.

[repairman]

7024 is not a low hydrogen electrode, you were right, I had always assumed that until i google searched 5 minutes ago, but I meant that the rod I suggested was 7018AC not 7018 and I should have clarified that. By weak I mean that the tensile strength is lower and it is more suceptible to slag inclusions. Also, my machine has a nominal OCV of 90 Volts plus or minus 15, so I took that for granted.

[Zrexxer]

7018 is not designed for AC, unless it's 7018AC, and even then it's much better on a machine with a high OCV.

Actually, 7018 is designed for AC or DCEP. The last digit of the AWS designation indicates usability of the electrode, i.e. type of current and the type of covering. "8" indicates AC or DC and a low-hydrogen coating. 7018AC is specifically intended for low OCV sources, such as lower-end transformer welders.

Don't ever waste your time with E60XX electrodes, they're weak

There's an uninformed statement at best. 60-series electrodes have a tensile strength of 60 ksi, certainly more than the 36ksi of most mild structural steel. 6010 rods are routinely used on root passes on pipeline welding and out-of-position plate work.They have a light slag with little slag interference and are capable of x-ray quality welds, out-of-position. What part of that sounds like dirty and weak?