Oh man completely missed that he was learning SS. My post above was for general stick welding. I don't have any exp with stainless.

Poland308 wrote:Longer arc will contribute to more heat generated. Your better off with the shorter arc you described. Then just turn it up 2 or 3 at a time.

Interesting. Okay will experiment with this.

You may notice how your bead profile is humped up in the center. If you turn up your amps a little at a time you can get that to flatten out. I've been working to address this actually. I think part of the issue was that my arc length was too short. I was stubbing the plate with the slag before now...

Just wanted to share an updated picture. I lowered my amps into the low 90's things see much more controllable and the issues with undercut I was having appeared to have been dealt with.

Here's something's I've notice in my learning process: 1) Your rod wants to stick on arc initiation. Meaning when you touch it to the plate to start the arc it's going to want to stick there (stick welding...go figure). Get good at releasing the rod from the electrode holder rather than fighting wit...

Hi Mike. Thanks for your service. Welcome to the forums. I'm new myself but there seems to be a lot of helpful people and quality information around here.

Thank you both for the information (and correction). It's good to know this is an acceptable practice. I think I've been relying too heavily on the amp readout on my machine rather than paying attention to the puddle.

I've heard Jody recommend welding 7018 1/8 verticle up at between 210-225 amps. :shock: :shock: Ive never heard of anyone using those amps for 1/8” rod!??? Perhaps it’s a typo, but I would restrict your amps to 125 and no higher Wow you are 100% right. That is a typo I meant 110 and 125. The questi...

Welcome to the forums Tracy.

Welcome to the forums!

Welcome to the forums!

Pictures would help. The welds that are working, Are you welding two pieces of 3mm metal together or just running beads on a plate? Doing a butt weld is a little trickier than running surface beads on a plate especially if the fit up isn't perfect. Also, you said the flat welds are coming out well. ...

I've heard Jody recommend welding 7018 1/8 verticle up at between 110-125 amps. This produces good results on the first few beads but becomes hard to control without a serious weave as heat input accumulates in the practice plate. Is it acceptable to reduce amperage into the low 90's to compensate f...