Just realized I was burning up my rods this whole time, old timer at the shop in Gary set me straight

Been doing this 9 years now. Always ran my 7018s hot, thought that was how you get good penetration. This guy I subbed with, must be 60, watched me strike up and just shook his head. He said "you're cooking em, the flux is peeling off before the puddle even forms." I had to stop and look at my last bead, sure enough it was flat and had that crumbly slag mess. He had me drop the amps from 130 to 110 and slow my travel down. Night and day difference. The cap looks like a stack of dimes now. How do you figure out the right heat without someone telling you? I was embarrassed to ask for so long. Has anyone else had that moment where a simple adjustment made you feel like an idiot for years?

2 comments

2 Comments

wesleyb201mo ago

Man, that hit home. I ran 6010s way too cold for years because I was scared of burning through thin stuff. Finally had a guy at the supply house tell me to crank it up and move faster, not slower. Same thing, night and day once I trusted it. It's crazy how we get locked into a habit and just keep doing it wrong because it feels normal. That old timer probably saved you a pile of wasted rod and rework. We all got that one basic thing we think we know until someone calls us out on it.

dakota4151mo ago

The funny thing is nobody ever talks about how the angle of your rod changes everything too. That old timer probably wouldve spotted that too if he watched you longer. I had a similar wakeup call when someone pointed out I was holding my rod too steep on overhead stuff, once I dropped it to like 10 or 15 degrees off vertical the puddle suddenly behaved. We focus so hard on amps and travel speed that we forget the third knob is just how we hold the torch. Its wild how one tiny tweak in wrist position can make you question every weld youve ever done.