[DSW]

1/8" 6011 on 1/8" plate is doable, but not the easiest for someone new. 6011 is a deep penetrating rod and 95 amps DC is typically about where we set it for students to weld 1/4" to 3/8" plates at the tech school. When the material gets close to, or thinner than the electrode diameter, things get much harder.

I'd drop down to 3/32" electrodes, or find yourself some thicker material to practice with at 1st. 1/8" steel is the very minimum I'd have some one learn on with stick, and if I can go thicker, say 5/16" or better yet 1/4" plus, that's what I'd use. I only tend to use 1/8" steel with guys who have underpowered 110v stick machines that have to run 1/16" rods.

As suggested I typically like to start out guys with 7014. I'd do 6013 if I can't get 7014. It's a drag rod, so all you have to do is keep the flux in contact with the plate. We run 1/8" 7014 typically at 125 amps DC on 1/4" material. On AC you may need to be slightly higher. If you want to run on that 1/8" plate, as I mentioned earlier, drop down to 3/32".


Also rust on the plate will make striking an arc difficult some times. At a minimum be sure to take a grinder to the location of the ground clamp, and preferably to any place you plan to weld. Wire wheels won't cut it. All they do is polish the rust. You either need a hard wheel, or a sanding disk and take it down to silver metal.


One way to get plenty of basic practice in is to grab yourself a 12" length of 1/4" or thicker angle iron and add some "feet" to it so it will sit like a V. Then run welds in the V to fill it up, overlapping one half over the last one. Be sure you cool the material every 3 or 4 welds, especially as it gets thicker. the heat build up will mess with the settings and cat like you are turning up the amps if you don't. I tell students if the piece is too hot to hold with bare hands, it needs to get cooled down in the dunk tank. Here's an example of the angle after we knocked off the feet for someone to move on to practicing horizontal welds off my scrap pile. You acn also do the same thing with heavy plate.

 

[DSW]

.... I have to admit, I am having a hard time keeping track of exactly where the puddle is and where the slag is. I don't know if it's my position relative to the weld, or the position of the weld, or just not paying enough attention, but I definitely am having a problem there. ...

... I still think my main problem with laying a consistent bead, especially in just one pass, is the fact that I don't have any good way to brace myself with the setup I am using. I can usually get through the majority of one rod before I have to stop and reposition, but there is always at least a 1/3 of the rod left.

Your inability to differentiate the puddle from the slag is pretty typical of new welders. Most new welders find their eye drawn to the arc, not the puddle. It will take a bit for you to train yourself not to look at the light, and even longer until you begin to actually "see" the puddle. It's even harder because the flux on different rods cause the puddle and slag to look different. There's a completely different look to 6011 vs say 7018 when you look at them while welding.

It's not at all uncommon for students to take quite a bit of time before everything "click" for them and they actually begin to notice details and really "see" the puddle. Right now you lack any sort of good reference to work from, much like when you 1st started to drive. Back then it was probably tough for you to maintain a consistent speed. Now I bet most of the time you do that without ever really looking at the speedometer. Various little "clues" like how fast poles are going by, engine sound and so on let you maintain a constant speed, even though you may be going up and down hills, around corners etc, all the while you are changing the radio, eating a snack or carrying on a conversation with someone in the vehicle. Welding is much the same way. Just like in the car, you'll need practice, and a lot of it. It's not all that common for students to pick up all the subtle clues running stick even in 40 hours of welding in a semester.

Just pay attention and keep burning rods. You will most likely be picking all this stuff up without really knowing it. Then one day, all the little bits and pieces will start falling together and you'll have an "Ah ha!" moment and things will suddenly start to make sense,


As far as bracing, take advantage of whatever you have at hand. Tables are nice, and make things easy, but at the tech school our "tables" are 6"x6" plates on an adjustable arm. That makes resting your arms on the work surface a bit tough. You learn to brace on your own body many times. I see a lot of new guys try to weld with stick with their arms stuck way out in front of them. I like to keep my left elbow in tight to my body as my "pivot". That leaves my right arm free to swing and adjust the rod down as it burns. I also prefer to weld slightly diagonally vs straight left to right. I start in close on the left, and get progressively farther away as I move to the right. The natural swing of my arm easily covers the distance a rod will need when burning. If you try to weld straight across, it gets to be tougher and it's not a big surprise if you have to stop and reposition yourself. Some of the other positions it gets a bit easier since many times you can brace on the column or wall. I prefer at home to have guys learn on my big table at 1st, but eventually you'll need to learn to do it free hand.



A good rule of thumb is most rods will give you between 6 to 8" of weld length, depending on joint configuration. If you are getting more or less, you need to adjust your travel speed accordingly. This should leave you with about 2" of rod left when done.

 

[DSW]

Agreed. You are fighting with that thin steel and large deep penetrating rods. Dropping down to 3/32" and running a medium to light penetrating rod will be a huge help. That or getting some thicker steel to practice on.

I find the slag on 6011 to be much easier to "read" than heavier slag rods like 7018/6013/7014. With 6011 there's more puddle and less slag. That said, 6011 doesn't make the really nice stack of dimes beads the others do with almost no effort. 6011 isn't the easiest rod for many to learn with. It's typically the 2nd rod we have students work with, the 1st being 7014 or 6013 if we are out of 7014. Each person "sees" things a bit different and what I see may not be what you do.


I still think your travel speed is too fast from the points on your ripples and the slag inclusions. Problem is with big rods and thin steel, it will be tough to keep the heat down enough you don't blow big holes in the thin material. Hopefully going to smaller rods and 7014 will help, or going to thicker steel. Keep in mind 1/8" steel with 3/32" rods will still be a challenge, just easier than doing the same with 1/8" 6011.

 

[DSW]

Not bad. As mentioned you are a bit cold, and the V shape to the bead ripples tells me you can slow down a bit more.