learning to weld with stick welding (shielded metal arc) and my lines look like a giant blob (kinda like a slug actually). looked it up and according to the book either my amps are too high or im moving too slow. using 6013 and had my amps set at 120 (5 lower than normal). tried moving at different paces, but didnt help much. i am moving in a slight zig-zag.
any advice would be welcome. also how long should it take to weld a 3 inch line? i tried everything from 10 seconds to 3...similiar result though.

 

How thick is the base material?

 

1/4" or so

 

Make sure the bright part of puddle stays circular, if it starts to oval out, you are going to fast, if it starts to melt through, too slow. Also don't start zig zagging and weaving until you know wtf you are doing. Also you should be dragging the electrode, don't push it. Make sure you have a good ground. If for some dumb reason you feel the need to do the shipyard zig zag/weave, you should only weave total diameter of 3 times the thickness of your electrode. IE 1/16 filler, you weave max diameter of 3/16.

edit: post up pics if you can, that will help a lot.

 

What size 6013 are you using?

 

6013 is the size i thought? or do u mean length? they're 12" electrodes. book said to zigzag/make moons so i was trying the simpler of the 2. i'll try to post pics tomorrow, need to find my digicam. will just dragging make the bead pattern? just going off of here http://www.hobartwelders.com/elearni...gram7stick.jpg it looks close to the one for the amperage being too high, but i've already tried it 10A lower than the norm this time(115 opposed to 125). dont think ill get a useable arc going if i lower it anymore.

 

6013 is the type of rod, how thick is it

 

1/8th

 

Yes it will make the bead pattern because the electrode is making deposits into the metal. Also make sure your arc is close to metal you are welding...A good rule of thumb is width of electrode away from base metal. So in your case you need to keep the tip of the electrode 1/8" away from base metal at all times. This is sometimes hard as a beginner because as you are dragging you also need to be pushing and lowering your rod because it's being used and deposited into the base.

Post up pics.

 

Without pics it's hard to say but I'm thinking you may want to try turning the amperage up. I use a Lincoln AC225 at work and the last job I did was on 1/4" plate, 1/8" 6013 and I was set at 150 amps. If your playing with scrap it doesn't hurt to experament. As stated above one of the most important and hardest things for me is consistant arc length. The arc length should be equal to the diameter of your electrode and forget the weaving or zig zag for now.

 

ok took a pic with my phone, still cant find my camera. sorry for crappy quality.

think im getting better, you can see the actual beads this time atleast instead of one giant blob.

think im doing everything right. started back with 125A (forgot to mention before im using DC+) and found that 120-122 was drawing the best bead. holding it at just a high enough angle so the bead is circular (just a guess 60 degrees) and movnig forward once it looks like a good sized bead is in place. getting pretty good at keeping it a constant 1/8th inch away from the surface and gave up zigzagging. i'll try to take a better pic tuesday, guess my biggest problem before was the zigzagging. any advice for ending the weld though? i find that if i pull up i get splatter but if i run off the edge of the scrap that im using i get a chunk missing. or is this one of the cases where splatter is normally acceptable?