"Pete Snell" wrote in message
...
Ignoramus32683 wrote:


I used about 120 amps. I might have had the arc too short.

I haven't burned a ton of 7018, but when I have I've found it's almost
impossible to have the arc too short. I was taught to pretty much run it
with the coating resting on the work. (the rod burns off slightly up
inside the coating) Seems to work, and the guy that taught me was a crusty
old pipeline welder. (he was crusty, not sure about the pipeline)

Pete

I have burned a lot of 7018, and yes, you can burn it with literally no arc
length. This is good because it keeps the molten pool under the surface of
the slag. The slag is molten, too, and one is able to see the puddle
through it. I try not to touch the base metal with the rod, and you can
feel when you do that. Pushing at all may cause you to poke a hole. But
that does not mean that you can't rest the edge of the coating on the
surface. I just like to give it a very small gap, but still keeping the tip
of the rod in the puddle. It sure flows nice when you have the heat right
and all the variables aligned with Venus and Jupiter.

Steve