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welding question

R

Ray IN

Member
When stick welding in the flat position, would a right handed person normally prefer to weld left to right? Does anyone weld "North to South," so to speak, pulling the rod straight toward yourself?

Also I am wondering if 1/8 dia. 7018 could be used on 1/8 thick metal with satisfactory results.

Thanks for your thoughts.
 
Going left to right will usually let you have a better view of the puddle which in turn will help with travel speed. The amount of heat it takes to burn an 1/8 inch rod will burn a hole thru 1/8 inch metal.
 
I suppose it's what you are comfortable with.
But remember, a welder doesnt always get to choose which direction he gets to weld.
Think of a situation where you have just enough room to get your head arm into a place.
You might have to go left or right, toward you or away or a combination of all of the above to get the job done.
 
There are a LOT of videos on the internet, start watching them and see the different methods. I use 1/8 rods most of the time, but 1/8 metal is pretty easy to burn through, I might suggest a smaller rod and watch amperage. I weld with DC most of the time, seems to heat better without blowing through for me.
 
Being left handed I normally welded right to left on flat stuff and since I was the only southpaw out of about 10 millwrights It bugged the rest of them something awful.
 
Those little rods burn away too fast & a long arc gets hotter & can burn through easier. Back in my prime I could weld 18 ga with a 6011 5/32 rod on DC. At the time I was helping build a school building, not certified & my welds were checked & OKed.
 
May I add my 2 cents worth here as a certified welder having worked 20 years on the high steel buildings in Denver, 2013 is low hydrogen rod which has to be kept in heated can or oven to keep it extremely dry giving very stronger welds but the weld will porous if the rod is not kept heated/ dry. 6011 and 6013 are the ole stand bys and pretty forgiving!
 
I don't know how thick tractor rims are but I know they're nowhere near 1/8" thick.
I welded these 36" JD rims onto my Ford centers a few years ago with 1/8" 7018 (my rod of choice) with no problems whatsoever.
I would much rather use 1/8" rod as 3/32 whips more and is not as controllable.
This was a pretty simple job and I'm not touting it as an example of a hard or fancy welding job.
Fyi, I welded the JD rims on because 36" Ford rims are made of unobtainium any more but JD rims are common. It was a cheap and easy way to get the tractor going. The old rims were shot but it had good - 70? percent tires
P1010028-1.jpg

P1010026-1.jpg
 
One secret to a good welding job is getting comfortable, even if you're standing on your head and I have welded standing on my head. So do what's comfortable to you. Lots of times on multi-pass welds, I will run one pass left to right and one right to left. One pass right handed and one pass left handed just to keep from getting bored.
 
The secret to good welds is to have several sizes of your preferred rod in hand so you can choose the size for the job. Can you weld that with 1/8" rod? Sure, but something smaller would be better. As far as which rod number to use, it doesn't make any difference if tour welding mild steel, use which ever works best for you as they are all stronger than the steel anyway. A good weld with any rod is better than a poor weld with the strongest rod.
 
Never heard of a 36" rim on a Ford like that. I had 2 of the 4000 (4100) models and a 5000 (5100) and all others I ever saw were 38" not 36". Now some had a 30" rim for a wider tire. Also all rims on those tractors were a cast not a pressed steel So how did that tractor come about with that style and size rim?
 
It was a British built 4000.
Notice it only has 6 lugs on the wheels instead of the usual 8.
The Brits continued to use the 6 lug pattern and 36" rubber that was used on the Fordsons - Major/Super Major.
It also had the hand brake on the left side but that was completely shot so I removed it.
P1010022.jpg
 
If flat position try some 7024 if you can find it. That stuff makes great looking strong welds but is for flat welding only.
 
Welding direction can change with each joint. Yes you can weld 1/8 plate with 7018 .7018 is good for butt welds. { 1/8 plate would really be called sheet] .
 
I had forgotten that you had done that.

The rims on my Belgium built 4000, with the 36" 8 loop rims are shot. Something to think about.

Fred
 
Where are you located Fred?
I did keep one of the old rims.
It's a bit rough but I thought it was saveable.
I'm on my way up to my property this morning and could get some photos of it.
I would let it go pretty cheap.
 
Jerry

My centers are cast, 8 hole centers. 36" 8 loop rims.

Pretty sure they're 8 hole centers....I'm at the house, had a knee replaced 2 days age, feeling the percocet. This one seems to be bothering me more than the one last year.

Probably shouldn't be typing

And I live in southern Ohio, about 50 miles east of Cincinnati

Fred
 
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