AC Stick welding E6011 sheet metal boat

[takoateli]

I'm in the jungle of Venezuela and welding on a friend's metal boat. It's a canoe shaped boat make with an angle stock frame and then probably 3mm steel sheet bent over the frame and welded to the frame. The boat was neglected and in some spots about half the thickness of the steel has rusted in big flaky sheets and has come off. In the remaining metal where it's thin and also in some places where it's still full thickness the rust has eaten through in cone shaped pockets making small holes that I can usually weld around the edge some and then come across the pocket of rust to the other side and back to the center and fill it in with one quick weld. In some spots there's longer scratches which rusted deep so I'm needing to weld a bead which is a number of inches in length. In both types of welds I'm geting strange dimples or pockets and the bead is also thinner and flatter where I end the bead even if when I get to the end of the weld I do a few circles to fill in and finish the bead. I'm not a professional welder but I have some experience stick welding, mostly AC welding in the jungle with poorly stored rods but also some experience with a nice three phase 440v DC stick welder, boy that was a beauty. That machine made me look like a good welder, but it was the machine.

Anyway, I'm using a Lincoln AC welder with 1/8" E6011 rods with the welder set on 75 amps, sometimes going down to 60 or up to 90 amps as the work warrants.

I'd love it if people could tell me what I'm doing wrong.

[HAWK]

takoateli,

Welcome,

I'll say one thing: Very nice images. Quality in your photos shows.

Okay. Down to business. It looks like you are not keeping the rod in the puddle long enough and pulling out too quickly. I am sure this is because the metal is thin and rusty. Hopefully, you have access to a smaller rod such as a 3/32". This will allow you to turn down the heat and stay in the puddle longer. Welding downhill and a slight side to side weave will help as well.

The 6011 is the correct choice of rod and AC is the proper polarity. Go with the smaller electrode, weld in the downhill position and use a slight weave if possible. Of course damp electrodes don't help. Do you have anyway of drying the moisture out of the rods? A household oven works great! Keep in mind your welder adjusts in 5 amp increments. Up or down 5 amps from what you think is the proper heat may be what you need. You can run hotter if you are traveling downhill.

Hope this helps,

HAWK

[takoateli]

Thanks so much!

takoateli,

Welcome,

I'll say one thing: Very nice images. Quality in your photos shows.

Okay. Down to business. It looks like you are not keeping the rod in the puddle long enough and pulling out too quickly. I am sure this is because the metal is thin and rusty. Hopefully, you have access to a smaller rod such as a 3/32". This will allow you to turn down the heat and stay in the puddle longer. Welding downhill and a slight side to side weave will help as well.

The 6011 is the correct choice of rod and AC is the proper polarity. Go with the smaller electrode, weld in the downhill position and use a slight weave if possible. Of course damp electrodes don't help. Do you have anyway of drying the moisture out of the rods? A household oven works great! Keep in mind your welder adjusts in 5 amp increments. Up or down 5 amps from what you think is the proper heat may be what you need. You can run hotter if you are traveling downhill.

Hope this helps,

HAWK

Thanks so much for your advice! I really appreciate it. The rods aren't too damp, but they're not kept in a hot box. I did lay them out on the boat today and let them get really hot and dry from the sun and heat. Unfortunately those are the only rods we have here. But I think I'll order some smaller ones from town to have on hand.

Yes, I'm trying to only tarry as long as absolutely necessary and besides watching the arc and the puddle I'm watching the bead behind me as I go and seeing how hot it looks and how quickly it cools to have some idea how close I am to blowing through the work. Shorter faster welds seem to do better since I can spend the right amount of time on the bead without blowing through.

For most of the welds I was doing a weave (side to side or overlapping circles) with the rod at an angle of between 20 and 45 degrees but there were some spots where I was just dragging the rod flat against the work in a straight line to keep the arc as short as possible which seems to help not blow through.

The camera is a Canon 7d with a 24-105mm L grade lens, so yeah, it takes nice pics. Thanks!

Here's where I'm at http://gregihnen.me. It's not spam and I'm not selling anything. It's just a site about my life here in the jungle.

[crabber]

Thanks so much for your advice! I really appreciate it. The rods aren't too damp, but they're not kept in a hot box. I did lay them out on the boat today and let them get really hot and dry from the sun and heat. Unfortunately those are the only rods we have here. But I think I'll order some smaller ones from town to have on hand.

Yes, I'm trying to only tarry as long as absolutely necessary and besides watching the arc and the puddle I'm watching the bead behind me as I go and seeing how hot it looks and how quickly it cools to have some idea how close I am to blowing through the work. Shorter faster welds seem to do better since I can spend the right amount of time on the bead without blowing through.

For most of the welds I was doing a weave (side to side or overlapping circles) with the rod at an angle of between 20 and 45 degrees but there were some spots where I was just dragging the rod flat against the work in a straight line to keep the arc as short as possible which seems to help not blow through.

The camera is a Canon 7d with a 24-105mm L grade lens, so yeah, it takes nice pics. Thanks!

Here's where I'm at http://gregihnen.me. It's not spam and I'm not selling anything. It's just a site about my life here in the jungle.

Neat website!

You may want to consider looking for some 6013 as it is a lower penetrating rod that would work good for some of your projects.

Watch your toes and legs (referring to your photos wearing shorts, t-shirt and flip flops)! A little slag would hurt bad out there in the jungle.

-Ian

[takoateli]

Flipflops?

Ian,

Thanks so much for the suggestion about the welding rod selection!

Flipflops? I'm barefoot dude. I haven't had shoes on for more than a year. When I hit the jungle the shoes come off.

I'm wearing a tee shirt so I don't get an arc tan. I put sunblock on my arms and on my neck and chest where it's not covered by the tee shirt.

I do have a couple of blisters now from where slag I was chipping landed on me. I usually wait 20 seconds or so before chipping so it's not that hot but I was rushing.

Thanks again!

[MMW]

If there is any way to back the metal up on the opposite side of the weld it will help a lot. You can use an old chunk of aluminum or copper. Even a copper pipe that you smash flat. This will help so the puddle can not fall out the bottom on you & also will act as a heat sink somewhat. It should be as tight as possible to the metal.

[takoateli]

That's a great idea!

Yes, I think I could in a lot of places! Thanks so much!

Greg

[aametalmaster]

Amazing website Greg. People here sure don't know how the people have to live on the other side of the globe. My wife can't go 1 day without her hair dryer...Bob