help with stick electrodes

[new_guy90]

well i have been arc welding my first project its a set of in-built shelves for my shed they are nearly 3m long by 500mm deep i think anyway being in-built meant i have probably made it a very bad way but i made the 2 ends welded them to the support posts and i have now started putting in the bits for the shelves

down hand but welds are fine and my fillets may need help but they are ok to what im really having trouble with it my vertical up fillet welds and in particular the over head fillet/but welds. the electrodes i have a labeled JBS GP6012 and some very old HX E6013's on the packs they said they were general purpose so i though i should leave the over head welding till i get some special electrodes but i have no clue what would be appropriate

should i be able to get these welds done with the gear i have now? what electrodes should i look to get?

oh i blew some BIG holes in a few parts while overhead welding if i cant fix these holes would a bit of scrap plate say 50-75mm long welded over the top help strengthen the join?

[HazzaB]

Hey New Guy,

What size rods are you using? and what size material?, and what amps are you using?, as a rule when doing Over Head and Vertical Up, you generally drop the amps a bit (Well I do), it's a pretty brave move doing the job in place (if you haven't done a lot of welding before), do you have room to lay it down and do most of the welds down hand?? Gravity plays a big part in Welding. If give us some more details we'll try and help you out.

HazzaB

[new_guy90]

i did a cert 1 in welding at tafe but we mostly skipped the arc welding if i had a MIG i wouldn't have any troubles

im using 3.2 electrodes, 25mm box section 2.5mm thick i think and i have my amps around 100 i think and i have for the most part good access to everything at least 3 sides will be welded at each join but one where i can only get 2 sides but im not bothered by it

right now im tacking the middle supports in and hopefully the middle legs soon but they may have to wait ill get you guys some photos latter to show you all how its going oh and i switched to using the JBS GP6012 electrodes to do the over heads i got a few good welds in the vertical up and the over head fillet positions but i also got some bad ones to

thanks for the help HazzaB

[RustyArc]

im using 3.2 electrodes, 25mm box section 2.5mm thick i think and i have my amps around 100

For 2.5mm stock, I'd suggest 2.5mm rods - that'd allow you to drop the amps to around the 80 or so region, let you go a bit slower while reducing the risk of burn-through.

[Grahame Collins]

oh i blew some BIG holes in a few parts while overhead welding if i cant fix these holes would a bit of scrap plate say 50-75mm long welded over the top help strengthen the join?

If you are blowing holes in the plate doing an overhead bead,then the plate is likely too thin to do overhead on on your amperage on the rod is way too high.

GP rods are fine for to do an overhead bead with IF they suit the metal thickness. I suspect your metal is very thin.

In any case, shelves do not need weld on both sides of the the metal unless they are super loaded.

I would stick to down hand beads until you have practice on the vertical on some scrap of the same thickness you wish to weld on.

If you search the forum there is a how to on vertical if you absolutely have to do vertical up.

cheers
Grahame

[new_guy90]

thanks everyone for the advice ill get some 2.5mm electrodes latter this week and try to fix those holes next weekend

today didnt go to bad the shelves are mostly done i have the middle supports tacked in and ill weld them on the weekend or after work here is a picture below



i have the second middle support made i welded some bits of plate to the back of them so it just slips in and i dont have to weld it in on the back side that i cant get to lol it should all be welded up next weekend and hopefully painted ready for the ply, ill post pics when its all done

thanks again for your help guys

[Grahame Collins]

Looks good and its straight and square.

Don't let the vendor tell you that you should use satincraft as they are slag traps when your arc length gets a bit bit long. Any other GP electrode will do.

Try just weld across the horizontal contacts as extra welding will not make it stronger,but will serve to cause distortion and warping in your box section.

25mm of properly done bead in that box is probably strong enough to hold up your average family sedan.

I don't imagine you intend to put that sort of load on your shelves. Given that, you do not need too much weld bead at every horizontal /vertical intersection.

I see your transformer welder at the front of the pic.What will help make it easier is :is to scuff the area under the earth contact with your grinder /or file. Another aid is to have a piece of scrap to arc on just before you run the run each bead.

While the electrode is still red hot at the end, jump across and begin your weld..

Hopefully you can remove the paint where the weld needs to go as this make it hard to strike as well.

hope this helps
Grahame

[new_guy90]

Looks good and its straight and square.

Don't let the vendor tell you that you should use satincraft as they are slag traps when your arc length gets a bit bit long. Any other GP electrode will do.

Try just weld across the horizontal contacts as extra welding will not make it stronger,but will serve to cause distortion and warping in your box section.

25mm of properly done bead in that box is probably strong enough to hold up your average family sedan.

I don't imagine you intend to put that sort of load on your shelves. Given that, you do not need too much weld bead at every horizontal /vertical intersection.

I see your transformer welder at the front of the pic.What will help make it easier is :is to scuff the area under the earth contact with your grinder /or file. Another aid is to have a piece of scrap to arc on just before you run the run each bead.

While the electrode is still red hot at the end, jump across and begin your weld..

Hopefully you can remove the paint where the weld needs to go as this make it hard to strike as well.

hope this helps
Grahame

thanks for the advice Grahame i think ill just do selective welds from now on

the middle section is now fully in and ready to be welded ill do that Friday