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Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

get the Wall Mountain Arc Weld videos by Steve Blile
buy them online, or get them from your library.


Watch the Jody youtube videos on arc welding 7018

Install the 220

Grind to clean bright shiny steel

Learn with 7014 3/32
Burn a 10 pound box on plates


Then go to 7018, burn a 10 pound box on plates, try it flat, horizontal, vertical and use it for everything.

I don't use the 60xx series at all.

7014 is more forgiving on starting and keeping it lit.
Once you can do that, 7018 is easier to go to.

Starting with 7018 is frustrating because you will constantly stick the rods.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Back to the electrical discussion for a quick second. I was digging around for some info on amperage and one of the data collection videos I made has some live amp readings. Note the 1st round in the video is 1/8" 6011 @ 115 amps DCEP. Circuit draw was upper 40's to 50a or so (arc start hit 53a right up front) . Then at 5min 10sec on the 2nd round was 5/32" 6011 (DCEN is noted on the video, was actually DCEP) @ 130 amps. Note that the circuit draw was hitting over 60 amps on the 2nd rod before the breaker went (ran 1 rod at around 50 amps draw and on to a 2nd).

I have another short clip of running 175a with a 5/32" 6011. I don't have the current draw on the circuit, though so I am not sure what it pulled. I got about 3" of a bead before the breaker went. The point, though, is even at that amperage the breaker didn't immediately trip. Should you do that? No - its well over-loaded. Thats what the breaker is there for. It, and the load testing in the video, was just that - testing to see what the circuit would hold and for how long. Running the 3x rods @ 115a directly back-to-back is pretty telling, though - that is still on the higher end of what I might "more normally" weld here. Rare projects would be very thick metal needing much more.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by JJN

Tried to get the powder coat, not even sure if thats what it is, off the gate hinges.

The hinge metal is very porous and had to grind more then desired.

Will the paint or PC on the hinge barrels affect welding with 6011 or 7018?

Any suggestions on what else should be done to prep the hinges?

Also, how much of the PC on the post needs to be removed around the area where the hinges will be welded?

And if the hinges are not 100% clean, is 1/8" 6011 a better choice and more then adequate structurally?

Your steel is not "porous",, it is simply a part made out of hot rolled steel, which has a rough texture due to the oxide on the metal during rolling.
No manufacturer removes the oxide completely during paint prep,, and if they do, they leave behind the rough texture.

The paint is in the low areas of the part, your grinder only contacts the higher areas.

If I were welding, I would remove enough paint to get enough electrical connection,
and an area to start an arc,, then weld it with one bead of 6011 (1/8").

No weld prep is needed other than to get the arc to start.

When I was being taught how to X-Ray quality stick weld, some of the students were complaining it was too difficult to successfully multi-pass weld a 3/4" thick set of plates with 6011,, because of all the effort needed to clean down into the deep ripples of the 6011 weld bead,,

The instructor took a set of 3/4" plates, mounted them vertically in the weld booth, and proceeded to weld the entire 3/4" thickness without ever cleaning ANY slag off from the previous weld pass.

Pass after pass,, he welded the plates,, only taking an occasional break to let the plates cool to under the required temperature.

The only grinding was done after completion of ALL of the welding, to give the flat profile required for X-Ray.

The weld was 100% perfect, not one inclusion, no porosity,, nothing,,
He had demonstrated how the 6011 was 100% capable of cleaning the base metal, and previous passes,, no wire brush, or picking needed.

That is why pipe welds are root pass welded with 6010 or 6011,, to get the best possible preparation for the subsequent 7018 passes,,,

I weld rusty, dirty, painted parts all the time,, with 6011,, but, NEVER with 7018 , or any of the XX18 rods. (I do not have any XXX18 rods)

6013 falls into the same category as 7018,, 6013 rod will not clean the base metal like 6011.

BUT,, 6013 should never be used where strength (beyond something like shop shelves) is required.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by M J D

If you clean back 3/4-1" you should be good.

And wear a good respirator, that stuff is nasty. I weld on New Holland big balers all the time and I'm not totally sure if it's powder coat or some sort of epoxy paint but its not good for you at all. I use a big fan too to blow it out of the machine.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Pretty sure the plate is steel - the barrel is welded to it.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

If you clean back 3/4-1" you should be good.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by FlyFishn

Porous might allude to those being cast parts. Are you sure that is steel? Or cast iron? Cast parts can be very tricky to weld and, as far as I know, cast iron can only be welded with stick (with really expensive specialty rods). Cast steel might be a different animal. Maybe someone that is more versed in welding castings can chime in here. I would not want to choose any usual carbon steel rod for that if you need a specialty rod.

Originally Posted by M J D

Try drilling a hole on the back side. If it's a fine powder like dust, it's cast. Steel will leave stringy chips unless you have a really dull drill. Use 6011 if it's hard to get down to clean metal. If it is cast iron,( which I doubt) I would drill holes and drill and tap the post, probably like 5/16" 24 tpi bolts.

Porous was the wrong word to describe the hinge plates. They were a bit rough, little gouges, making for more grinding to remove the paint/PC. Tried to edit the original post to change the word but cant seem to figure that out.

Will leaving the black on the barrel part of the hinge affect welding the sides of hinges? And how much PC is typically removed around the gate hinges prior to welding on the gate post? In other words, how much clean metal between hinge and PC for it not to affect welding? 1inch, 2 inches...

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Try drilling a hole on the back side. If it's a fine powder like dust, it's cast. Steel will leave stringy chips unless you have a really dull drill. Use 6011 if it's hard to get down to clean metal. If it is cast iron,( which I doubt) I would drill holes and drill and tap the post, probably like 5/16" 24 tpi bolts.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

It looks and feels and grinds like steel. And they have a shorter mounting plate version hinge specifically for welding. And are advertised as J bolt in steel with steel barrel hinge. The black coating was very very thick and hid all the imperfections.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by JJN

The hinge metal is very porous...

Porous might allude to those being cast parts. Are you sure that is steel? Or cast iron? Cast parts can be very tricky to weld and, as far as I know, cast iron can only be welded with stick (with really expensive specialty rods). Cast steel might be a different animal. Maybe someone that is more versed in welding castings can chime in here. I would not want to choose any usual carbon steel rod for that if you need a specialty rod.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by FlyFishn

I would be curious to know what it measures. See below for the specs - green box is the numbers I'm going off of, dare I say same as anyone looking to run something (not necessarily a welder) before actually having it to run and measure it for themselves:

Attachment 1726826

Your guess at 11.5-14.5a is about half of spec, or less. Why would a manufacturer spec twice or more what it actually draws? Not arguing the point - but I am legitimately curious where the logic is.

Edit:
On second thought - are you referring to the input current draw at lower welding currents and not max output? In that case the range you state makes a lot more sense.

I'm talking about max output on 240V specifically. Lower voltages would cause higher current draw in the input side. So when I say 240V, I mean 240V, not 220V. It's just a hunch nothing more. Even if it does consume more than what I anticipate it does, I still don't think it will consume significantly more than 20A unless the actually input voltage is REALLY sagging and in the 215V range. The whole point behind my guess is that ultimately he will be fine with 12ga wire, unless it is really long from the breaker.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

I have done some electrical and understand all of the above. The fact is, the garage subpanel is under serviced. The house was built in the 60's and the garage is remote. No easy way to run another drop from main service panel to garage sub. Will just have to live with what is their. Which is a 50 amp in main service panel to the 100 sub panel in garage. The newly installed 220v 20 amp 12/2 run from garage sub to Welder is ~40 ft. Since Im the only one in the garage, only one tool at a time will be running. And if the welder 220 20 amp trips then 10 gauge with 30 amp breaker it is. And, the well pump and pressure tank on a 220v 20 amp breaker in the garage may need to be turned off when welding. Dealing with the electrical is not a concern. Learning to weld is

In the vid posted earlier, the guy welding the 1/8 6011 measured 70 amp out. The 1/8" 7018 was 120 amp measured out. Im guessing 3/32" 7018 is somewhere in between. I understand these measurements do not tell us what the draw is. However, it does tell us that the draw was no where near maximum per the specs. When welder and misc. arrive, we will then discover what is required.


Tried to get the powder coat, not even sure if thats what it is, off the gate hinges. The hinge metal is very porous and had to grind more then desired. Will the paint or PC on the hinge barrels affect welding with 6011 or 7018? Any suggestions on what else should be done to prep the hinges? Also, how much of the PC on the post needs to be removed around the area where the hinges will be welded? And if the hinges are not 100% clean, is 1/8" 6011 a better choice and more then adequate structurally?


Attachment 1726833

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by SweetMK

The laws of thermodynamics state that you can not create or destroy energy,,
so this welder is gonna have to follow the rules,,

and,, where is our house electrical engineer??
Volts X Amps = Watts,, and watts is watts,,,

240V X 13A = 3120 watts,,

I do not know what the welding voltage is,, maybe 25volts?

3120/25 = 124 Amps,, with zero energy loss,, heck the welder has a fan, so it is loosing some heat,,
I can not weld much at 100 amps,, and most times, I weld 1/8" 7018 at over 124 amps,,,

I saw one pic where these little machines have a light that comes on when they are overheated,,
and how many watts are lost in those skinny welding leads?

Just saying,,,

Your calculations are correct. My estimate was just an estimate. Say 14.5A with the tolerance I specified. Even then, say it consumes even more. Still well within the 20A ampacity of 12ga unless the length is really long.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by SweetMK

I do not know what the welding voltage is,, maybe 25volts?

26.2v. It was the next spec up in the list in the screen shot I posted that got cut off (the spec list is in a sliding window). See link to manufacturers site on it:
https://yeswelder.com/products/arc-welder-165a

At 85a welding current (about the middle of the range of 1/8" 6011 on DC, Lincoln Fleetweld 35) with 26.2v that would be 2096 watts. However, the arc length changes the voltage and arc force plays in to that also (by boosting the amperage to compensate for lower voltage with shorter arc, etc). So there are a lot of variables to the "wattage" at any given point in time.

If you use 2096 as a base - with no energy loss in conversion, resistance losses, etc, etc - that would be 2096/240 = 8.73a. So for that same welding current (85 amps) after all the losses with what Oscar describes there is about a 2-4 amp difference to absorb those energy losses - with a 1/8" 6011 in the middle of the amp range. That would be close to in line with what my last comment was about the reference possibly being for welding at lower amperage. The question is how low?

You can weld plenty at 85 amps unless you are welding thick structural stuff all the time. Yes, a 1/8" 7018 is going to require more amps. If you stick to smaller rods and easier to run rods that would keep the power down. There again - the specs of the welder are that it can do 165 amps welding current. That would equate to (without any power losses) 4323 watts, or 18 amps. What are power losses?

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by Oscar

For that specific welder he wants to run, you're over-thinking it. It will not consume anywhere near 20A on a 240V circuit, even at full power. My guess is 13A ± 1.5A input current consumption @ 240V input power as long as it's less than 50ft. Betcha $5.

The laws of thermodynamics state that you can not create or destroy energy,,
so this welder is gonna have to follow the rules,,

and,, where is our house electrical engineer??
Volts X Amps = Watts,, and watts is watts,,,

240V X 13A = 3120 watts,,

I do not know what the welding voltage is,, maybe 25volts?

3120/25 = 124 Amps,, with zero energy loss,, heck the welder has a fan, so it is loosing some heat,,
I can not weld much at 100 amps,, and most times, I weld 1/8" 7018 at over 124 amps,,,

I saw one pic where these little machines have a light that comes on when they are overheated,,
and how many watts are lost in those skinny welding leads?

Just saying,,,

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by Oscar

For that specific welder he wants to run, you're over-thinking it. It will not consume anywhere near 20A on a 240V circuit, even at full power. My guess is 13A ± 1.5A input current consumption @ 240V input power as long as it's less than 50ft. Betcha $5.

I would be curious to know what it measures. See below for the specs - green box is the numbers I'm going off of, dare I say same as anyone looking to run something (not necessarily a welder) before actually having it to run and measure it for themselves:

Attachment 1726826

Your guess at 11.5-14.5a is about half of spec, or less. Why would a manufacturer spec twice or more what it actually draws? Not arguing the point - but I am legitimately curious where the logic is.

Edit:
On second thought - are you referring to the input current draw at lower welding currents and not max output? In that case the range you state makes a lot more sense.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by FlyFishn

How long is your cable run from the breaker to the outlet? Cable run = total cable length, not the straight distance from the breaker.

For that specific welder he wants to run, you're over-thinking it. It will not consume anywhere near 20A on a 240V circuit, even at full power. My guess is 13A ± 1.5A input current consumption @ 240V input power as long as it's less than 50ft. Betcha $5.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by JJN

Alright, 220v it is! Went through the electrical left over boxes and found a 20 amp 220 breaker and a lot of 12/2 romex. And an old Stove Top 220 female plug. Not the correct type so will need to buy the correct one. I will try using a 220v 20 amp breaker and see what happens. It should work fine and not, or rarely, trip. No 220 electric dry circuits or anything like that in the garage. Only the well pump Pressure Tank - 220v 20 amp breaker.

How long is your cable run from the breaker to the outlet? Cable run = total cable length, not the straight distance from the breaker.

The reason this is important is if you have a long distance that 12g wire might cause too much of a voltage drop. That voltage drop could cause a drop in the weldability of your set up.

The typical welder plugs are 6-50's - 6-50p on the welder going in to a 6-50r recepticle on the wall or end of your cable. They are readily available. The tombstone I have came with a range plug - a 10-50p. So I used a 10-50r recepticle. However, I have an Everlast PowerArc 210STL on the way and it runs a 6-50p. So I am upgrading the 240 gear to run the same plug. I got a few of those plugs coming so when I upgrade my air compressor I can put the same plug on it, also. Makes for universal plug-and-play.

Just a thought - if you are going through the effort to wire in a 240v outlet I would make the suggestion to run a 14-30 or a 14-50 outlet with 4 conductors.

In romex/in-building wiring lingo it would be something like 10/3 or 6/3. The first number, 10 or 6 being the gauge, and the second number, the 3, being the current-carrying wires, then you have ground on top of it. When you get above 10 gauge ground is not always there so be sure you get a cable WITH ground, or if you go SO or SOOW cord then it would be 10/4 or 6/4 explicitly calling out it has 4 conductors.

Reason being - this will give you 120v. If you have anything (like an air compressor or other large motor tool - table saw, large miter saw, large angle grinder, what have you) that draws a lot of current and has a high start up load you can run in to problems in the shop with ability to supply power. I had that happen all the time a couple years ago - I had fans running trying to weld and had my compressor going all on the same 20 amp circuit (not all the same outlet, but all the outlets tied to the same breaker). I had to run extension cords to different circuits to get around the issue - the welder (small 120v flux core) and compressor ran to a circuit where all that ran was either the welder or compressor. That solved my problem - but I needed to run an extension cord to get there.

If you wire the outlet as a 10-50 or a 6-50 all you will have is 240v. With a 14-30 or 14-50 you will have 120v also, then just make a pigtail to adapt to a 6-50. You just use 3 wires on the 14-30 or 14-50 to connect to L1 (hot 1), L2 (hot 2), and ground - nothing on neutral.

Last thought for now - does the shop/garage have a sub panel???

If it does you might run in to a problem with the cabling and breaker size from the main panel to the sub panel. The same voltage drop theory applies here as my point above with respect to a long 12g run to the welder. So just be aware of all the nuances with where the power is coming from/flowing to.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Alright, 220v it is! Went through the electrical left over boxes and found a 20 amp 220 breaker and a lot of 12/2 romex. And an old Stove Top 220 female plug. Not the correct type so will need to buy the correct one. I will try using a 220v 20 amp breaker and see what happens. It should work fine and not, or rarely, trip. No 220 electric dry circuits or anything like that in the garage. Only the well pump Pressure Tank - 220v 20 amp breaker.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by JJN

I realize the Yeswelder is bottom of the food chain but it should perform well enough for my few needs[/URL]

So long as you hook it up to 240V input power, and erase 6010 from your considerations, yes it should perform well after you have had enough practice on similar joints before attempting the actual project/job.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by JJN

A 120 volt dedicated circuit already exists in the garage. If a 220 volt circuit is also required, that is not a problem as I have breakers and wiring left over from other jobs.

I run my tombstone off of a 30 amp dryer plug (was already wired and accessible right inside the garage wall). It is a NMEA 14-30R connection = has all 4 connections (L1, L2, neutral, and ground) so you can run either 240 or 120. I split it in the garage at the end of the cable depending on what I hook up. I have more welding power available on this set up than I will likely ever use. Yeah, the welder is capable of drawing a lot more power - but I don't have a need to crank it up there. The vast majority of my welding can be done under 90 amps, and the draw on the circuit at that level is perfectly happy on the 30 amp circuit. I thought about bumping the breaker up to a 40a, but I don't have any real reason to and I don't want to stress the wiring that is there. If I ever need more power the best thing would be a dedicated run with heavier wire to match the breaker.

That having been said - if you have access to an electric dryer plug you can run that welder you got off of it at full capacity with no issues, guaranteed (spec input on that is 29A @ 220v).

I've drawn low to mid-40a on my 30a breaker while running 5/32" (next size up from 1/8") 6011 for a period of time before the breaker tripped - just as a test. Breakers don't trip right as soon as they detect higher amperage than their rating - there is a "grace period". The two things that will cause a breaker to go are heat and current. If you draw significantly more power than the breaker is rated for then, yes, it will trip right then. If you are bumping up over the upper limit of the breaker then it will let that current through for a time until it warms up then it will trip. So the higher above the rated amps you go the quicker it will trip. If you draw 35 amps at peaks on a 30 amp breaker, for example, it may never trip unless the duty cycle of the 35 amp period warms up the breaker to trip. When welding the current draw is erratic. You don't hold an arc 100% of the time. So the period you are not active holding an arc is time for the circuit and breaker to cool = you "reset" the tripping point. If that duty cycle is such that the breaker doesn't cool down sufficiently and every time you run a bead you are warming it up, then yes, you will trip the breaker. In my case - if I am running hard with a 1/8" rod at 100 amps it might take a few rods back-to-back with no cool-down time before the breaker goes. I don't think in practice I could ever do that anyway - there is slag chipping time etc in between. So there again - all the power I need is there in the 30a I have available. That, also, is on a transformer machine. Note that they are not as efficient as inverters. So for any given welding current the transformer machine will draw a noticeably higher amperage from the circuit than would an inverter machine - just the way it is.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by JJN

Note that his work is not directly grounded.

Sure it is. The table is metal and conducts. Therefore he has a direct path to ground. There are any number of ways to ground parts and welding on tables like that, for shop welding, is probably the preferred method, actually. Stands can help. There are tripod stands you can get, or make, that will add weight to hold the part down as you weld and also help keep pressure between the part and the table = better conduction path.

Speaking of tables - if you weld steel mostly then an aluminum table can be a good thing to have. The splatter from welding won't stick to it so you'll have a cleaner table surface and easier time cleaning it.

There is a guy, I think someone on this forum, that made their own table clamps that work with the kind of table top that has the holes in it. They were top notch. If I could have my dream welding set up that is what I would do - the hole'y table top and a good set of clamps and jigs.

***Edit -

What you DO NOT want to do with regards to grounding is have a conduction path through moving parts. This would include cylinders, pins, pillow blocks, anything that slides or uses bearings, or even some bolted assemblies. If parts aren't making a 100% positive connection or there is grease preventing such between them you can get arcing in them. Especially with hydraulic cylinders - you can destroy them by welding through them.

Edit 2 -

Here is an example of the type of hole'y table I referred to. Note the front of it has a vertical section of holes too - that opens up the doors on larger fabrication where you need to lay parts vertically and fix them to horizontal parts (holes = mounting for clamps to keep the parts rigid as you weld them - allow precise placement of them prior to welding/tacking and holding them in place while you weld).


Here is an example of the 3 legged weighted stand I was referring to - "third hand":

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

I feel very fortunate to have found this site. Thank you!


Their are several used welders on CL locally. Most of them far exceed my budget or look like projects, which their is no shortage of around here Their is a Lincoln Tombstone 225 amps AC, I read that a AC/DC is preferred, that looks good. Seller is firm at $225. For less then half that price and new, I decided to go budget. If an addiction occurs and the need for a more robust and quality welder occurs, I will definitely start another thread asking for advice on which CL listing to jump on.


I realize the Yeswelder is bottom of the food chain but it should perform well enough for my few needs and it was affordable. Here is a vid of the welder. If not for this person actually measuring the output and making several welds using 1/8 and 3/32 I would not have bought this one. Only a couple, three is all I found, of vids actually measure these cheap welders output amps.


Welded 1/8", 7018, 220v. Welder display set at 140, about 120 amps out. Note that his work is not directly grounded. He also welded 1/8 at the 165 setting, 140 amps out, but it was too high.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Originally Posted by JJN

This thread is being started to focus primarily on welding rods needed for the project and rods for learning how to weld. I just ordered a Yeswelder 165Amp stick welder.

I just came across your thread here also. See my post in your other one and keep the thought of a tombstone being reliable in mind - watch the used listings and when you find a good deal on one snag it while you can. You'll thank me later.

As to rods - 6011 for sure. For what your gate project is (hinges) - 3/32" should be more than adequate and with the smaller rod you can run them easier on lower amps. That will be what you want to do on such a small welder. It will still be capable and be able to weld, it just doesn't have the amperage and duty cycle for heavier welding. Thats OK to start with - you can weld a ton of stuff with what you will have in that box. The trick is the rods, as you've realized already. So good job there - you're on the right path.

I personally don't like 6013. A lot of people swear by them and there are a lot of examples of amazing things built and fixed using them. However, what steers me away from them is the other end of the spectrum - their welds being described as brittle and easy to crack. For a less-critical weld or sheet metal work they might work, so I do have a box of them (3/32" I think) around, but I haven't even opened the box. I've used them in years past welding on farms, though.

I personally like 7014 - within reason and limits. The same can be said for 7014 as 6013 in that the welds can be brittle. Why I like 7014 is two reasons. One is low penetration. If you have thin metal you reduce the risk of blowing through it with low penetration. A butt weld on thinner metal for example where the heat is concentrated on the edge of the part. It is real easy for a higher penetrating rod to melt through the joint and blow out the edges. With a fast-freeze rod you may be able to stitch the joint, but with a low penetrating rod like 7014 from the start it will be easier to control the burn-through with the bead right on/in the joint. The second reason I like 7014 is the bead appearance/cleanliness. It produces a lot of slag, but it comes off easy and the bead is real nice.

For anything of much structural strength - 7018 is hard to beat. It produces a ductile weld that can better withstand strain and vibration. You don't want porosity in the weld. To minimize it, or hopefully eliminate it, you need to practice. I get porosity on my starts but it goes away after a short distance so I need to work on it. But the effort will be worth it - for structural stuff I am not sure I would want to run any other type of rod.

Don't forget that combinations of rod can be used. If you have rusty/dirty metal that you are working with, for example, you can do your tacking and 1st pass with something like 6011 to get things stuck together. Clean that well with a wire wheel on an angle grinder to get the slag out. Hopefully that cleaning process also gets the base metal clean around the weld as well. If the metal is dirty the heat from the 6011 pass will either burn off whats there (paint, oils) or make what is there much easier to get off. Once the bead and base metals are clean cap it with 7018. There you get the benefit of joining the dirty parts with the 6011 and the 7018 on top gives you the ductility and strength that 6011 doesn't.

Don't forget that there are different techniques to running different rods. 7018 is, more or less, a "drag rod". You can run it by starting the arc, letting the pool build, then advance your travel across the joint, feeding the rod in to keep what arc length you want. Or, you can weave the rod up to about 3x rod diameter to widen the bead (that is 1.5 rod widths left and right, adds up to 3, so a little more than the width of the rod either side). If you go too wide on the weave your slag cools and when you pass back over the other direction you risk slag inclusion = contaminates the weld. Best is to not weave to start, but drag straight.

6011 produces low slag and it will eat through junk - slag or dirt/grime/oil on the base metal (6010 is better for cleaning, but you're not going to be able to run it - 6011 is a decent 2nd choice). You can stitch it, weave it, whip and pause, etc. If you are using it at higher amps to penetrate it is easy to blow through your work. That's where the whip & pause method shines. You get the hot amps in the whip to initially bite in to the work, then when you return back over it you lay more metal down, then pause on the front of the last bead to melt that back in and build up the profile. If you do it right it will look like a stack of coins pushed over - a much "thicker" lay of coins than the "stack of dimes" sometimes referred to with clean tig welds, or otherwise. The 6011 bead will be a lot uglier, but with the profile of the "thick coins" laid on top of each other. If you have a wide gap in your parts that you are trying to weld you can use 6011 to stitch it together. That is where you run the arc in a U pattern, advancing through the joint. With each leg of the U on the edge of the parts being welded you build up the metal and close the gap in the U. As you go back across each side and around the bottom of the U you advance the bead across the joint. You need both a fast-freeze rod and a low-slag rod to do that - and 6011 will do just that, just watch the amps! You can blow through the work and really screw yourself up. But that's part of practicing. Try it. Blow through some scrap and scratch your head for a bit trying to repair it - it will make you a better welder.

7014 is also a drag rod like 7018. Lots of slag, so you don't want to do too much weaving or stitching. It will destroy the bead quality. However, I find it a very easy rod to run. It lights off easy, feeds easy, and looks great.

Re: Beginner Needs Stick Rod Guidance and Misc.

Lincoln purchased an entire company to get the rights to sell the 7018 rod that they sell now,,
The Lincoln 7018 rod is absolutely different,,

I can easily weld Lincoln 7018 with a DC buzz box, with Hobart rod I purchased that same day, the machine could not keep an arc.
I went back to the welding supply company, and asked as to why the Hobart was difficult to weld with.

The sales guys had a laugh,, and said "You are not a good welder unless you can weld with Hobart!" Then,, more laughing.
They refunded my purchase.

I really like the AC 7018 Lincoln that is available at the stores like Home Depot (that was a year ago)
That rod welds real easy with AC or DC,,,