need tips for vertical upwards

by dave
(long beach,ca)

i'm in my 2nd semester smaw and my vertical welds using e6010- 1/8"& 5/32" are frustrating the hell outta me !!! my root pass and about 4 hot passes are pretty decent beads but, the more beads i run all the way out my rod starts digging into the welds,making craters & globs of slag, which has my welds looking like bird crap. and the 5/32" rod i just cant get the hang of. on the 1/8" rod my amps are set at 90-100 & 5/32" at 110-120. now i'm smart enough to know to use 7018 on the filler & cover passes but my instructor has us practice with the same rod over &over till he says we can move on to the next rod. i have no problems with f,h,oh position but i could sure use all the tips & advice that anyone is willing to send my way. all will be greatly appreciated. thank you....... the angry welder!


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Sounds like you need to go to the water fountain every couple of beads to let the piece cool off for a minute.

seriously, if you just keep welding without stopping, things go south. the hotter the metal, the slower it cools and eventually gets out of hand.

Some other tips are ..
try to hold as close to 90 degree rod angle as you can...a little push wont hurt but usually you are using more push angle than you realize

hold as tight an arc as you can without sticking the rod.

use enough amperage so that you can hold a tight arc without sticking the rod.

whip and pause about once per second and get in a rhythm

regards,

jody


anyone else have anything to help this fella?