Stick Welding Uphill with 7018 on a 2 foot long Tee joint 3f vertical

This is a video about stick welding uphill using a 7018 1/8" electrode.

1/4" ( 6mm) thick cold rolled steel

1/8" (3.2mm) 7018 Lincoln Excalibur rods

Miller Thunderbolt ac/dc stick welder set at 115-130 amps DCEP

Stick Welding Uphill...first pass

A setting of 120 amps on the miller thunderbolt seemed a bit low so i bumped amperage up to 125.

5 amps might not seem like much but it made a difference.

I didnt use much electrode manipulation at all ..just a slight motion.

A basic stick welder like this does not have any special settings like hot start or arc force but it welds pretty good anyway.

Since I make welding videos, I wanted a basic stick welder with no fancy settings. So I found this miller thunderbolt on craigslist and snagged it just for making videos.

I use this welder for stick welding as well as scratch start tig.

Second Pass

Same amperage was used for the second pass.

They call this a Z weave but there are many different variations you could use...for example, a slight rainbow arc from side to side also works.

One of the main things to focus on is holding a pause and a tight arc at the toes of the weld....you can pause longer than you think and it will help prevent undercut.

Restarts are important and it is worthwhile to practice them a lot on a joint like this. I think that is why my welding instructor had us to a long vertical tee joint like this is because it gives you so much practice on restarts.

I try to stop on the left side every time and that way when I restart, I easily remember to also restart on the left side of a weave pass.

3rd weave pass

Up 5 more amps for the 3rd pass and same exact technique as the 2nd pass ...just a bit wider.

on restarts, getting back in the puddle each restart while everything is still very hot makes a big difference.

If I have to leave the weld for more than a few seconds, I chip slag before the restart because that helps.  But if I can get right back in the puddle quickly, while its still very hot, I dont chip or brush.

There are always negative comments that I need to chip and brush before each restart but after watching an old time weld lots of 5g pipe welds and going from bottom to top without chipping between restarts, and having all the welds pass x ray, I understood that getting right back in the puddle while it was nearly red hot, allowed a good quality restart.

Weave vs Stringers

Its good to learn both weave and stringer beads.

for many coded stuctural welding applications, stringers are a requirement.

But weaving is still a thing and is still used a lot...especially on pipe.

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Jody