It's all about the puddle......Different rods weld a little differently so I will speak to the crowd favorite 7018. The puddle should be uniform and consistent. Flat position........if your puddle is elongated and skinny you are going to fast, if the puddle is fat and short (or hard to distinguish) ...

Otto is right on point.....spent my share of time in boilers and tanks with steam coils. (hell have even had to window weld tubes on a few occasions.) Welding with a mirror for a young man......."Ok, when I strike I have to go left, I need to go left, I will go left.......DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!!"

Looks good, just like Poland said, watch those toes, rake em good. Why are you running cold on overhead? Overhead is just like flat (except overhead lol). Stay tight as hell and just burn it, not going to get into trouble unless you start long arcing and doing crazy movement.

Become a great stick welder not a good stick welder then supplement with TIG (both hands). You will make the higher end of the pay scale and you won't go hungry if you are willing to travel sometimes. Twenty years into your career you should be good at all processes and being out of position is no d...

Very nice hood, price not bad. The only reason I wouldn't go with it, is the external controls. Could be wrong but don't think it would hold up in some of the environments I work in. The grind mode LED is also a little annoying.

Easy 2-hole tip using inexpensive layout tool. Been using it last couple years when I do go out in the field to fit, saved me a lot of time on a lot of different things. Fit's right beside my torpedo in my pocket.

https://youtu.be/dITv_C7IE2w

Finished product.

You are on your way! Nothing left but practice now.

Well......I guess I haven't welded/seen everything in the last 40 years. But what do I know about art, I own an oil painting of Foghorn Leghorn.

Damn nice looking job! I am a Florida transplant and am also jealous seeing the pictures of God's Country.

If I was stuck on a deserted island and was forced to us a Buzz Box, the ONLY rods I would use to maintain sanity would be MG-500's.......period.

3/32 is a pretty tight gap for an 8" pipe using 1/8" rod, just run a little hotter. Depends a lot on what you are doing. For example if you are doing a WPS for a pipeline job (pipe going in the ground), you just get tight and boil the 5P down hand all the way. Powerhouse, process plant Sec...

Stick, practice in vertical up (actually easier, you can go a little slower)

TIG, Practice with both hands, it will pay off if you plan on doing pipe.

You are starting to get there brother. Here is what I would do. You said your base metal is 1/2" stainless steel correct? That is pretty hefty, here is how I would practice to get you dialed in. Step 1- Change out your tungsten to 1/8" (2% T is fine, pretty much general purpose) Step 2- Ma...

Sounds like you are doing everything correctly. Small diameter pipe is always a little tougher than the big stuff (lot of wrist articulation) Take it nice and easy and tap that keyhole like you are using a little tap hammer and get ready to start moving when you start coming to the top. I don't know...

Been around the mechanical/electrical trades since the 60's when my walker was getting hung up on leads in my Dad's shop. Passed my first Section IX 6G when I was 16 with my Grandad over my shoulder every step of the way. My evening job in High School was re-tubing/replacing electrical controls on f...