'85 Ranger Restomod

[85_Ranger4x4]

View attachment 54340

If you need any pointers let me know!

 

[Dirtman]

Those either were not AC rods, were 7018 AC rods but weren't cooked, or we need to talk...

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Those either were not AC rods, were 7018 AC rods but weren't cooked, or we need to talk...

1/8" 6011

I was told I needed to turn it up. I had it set at 75 which poking at it online here I see is the minimum for 1/8" not counting my miles of cable. Nobody can remember when the last time the stick welder at work was used, rods were in a plastic tube but age is very unknown. I have been the shop gofer since 2009 and I never remember being sent for welding rod so I suspect they are older than that. I would try and then grind it smoothish and try again so my little chunk of scrap probably wasn't the purest, I am pretty sure I was going too fast and I really don't remember the stick going away that fast the last time I did it 20+ years ago. Trying to do the pattern, do it slow and keep the stick going down takes coordination and I remember from high school that doesn't happen over night.

I was just kind of getting the swing of things I needed to play with and I had to shut it down.

Really for only poking at it by myself for 1/2 an hour I am happy. Those are basically my first three beadlike things, I had two rounds of squigles before that because I basically got excited, went way too fast and didn't keep the rod to it at all. And a bunch of rod sticking before that...

 

[Dirtman]

6011 doesn't go bad unless it was stored somewhere really humid. It is a pain in the ass rod and not made for what you were doing there so I'll cut you some slack lol. It's a deep cutting rod for root passes on thick material. On your best day it'll never be very pretty on a flat weld like that. 75 amps is too low though, kick that pig up to about 125.

 

[Roert42]

Rule of thumb. Set your amps to be approx the same as the thickness of the rod. .125=125a Then go from there.

 

[racsan]

Most of the time I run 6013 rod. I like to practice on scrap of the same thickness before I dive into a welding project. But then again I dont weld every day or even once a month on average. Always want a little practice before Im committed to the job at hand.

 

[Shran]

Is it totally necessary to bake 7018...? I know it's recommended... But I never have, I don't have a rod oven and I've used a lot of it over the years. It's hard to light but it makes really nice welds.

 

[Dirtman]

Is it totally necessary to bake 7018...? I know it's recommended... But I never have, I don't have a rod oven and I've used a lot of it over the years. It's hard to light but it makes really nice welds.

Short answer yes you need to bake 7018 rods. The welds will be brittle if you don't. How brittle depends on alot of factors but basically if you don't wanna mess with using a rod oven or baking the rods then there's just no reason to use 7018 and you should switch to 7014. 7014 welds smoother anyway.

 

[ericbphoto]

Is it totally necessary to bake 7018...? I know it's recommended... But I never have, I don't have a rod oven and I've used a lot of it over the years. It's hard to light but it makes really nice welds.

That's what I used when I had access to my ex-wife's uncle's shop. He had a big square can of it under the work bench and he never touched it. Open can in humid South Carolina year round. Always seemed to work for me. But I'm not a pro. I'd bang it on the concrete to chip off the slag so I could restart.

 

[ericbphoto]

Short answer yes you need to bake 7018 rods. The welds will be brittle if you don't. How brittle depends on alot of factors but basically if you don't wanna mess with using a rod oven or baking the rods then there's just no reason to use 7018 and you should switch to 7014. 7014 welds smoother anyway.

Now you tell me.

 

[Dirtman]

7018 is sort of the gold standard for work that needs to meet "code" so that's why so many people use it. The problem is it only meets those "codes" when handled and stored properly (i.e stored in an oven). It will still seem to weld fine if not stored in an oven (on the outside) but if you open the weld and inspect it with a microscope you will see alot of crystallization and porosity.

If you plan on just chucking the open box of rods on a shelf like most people do then 7014 will be stronger than 7018 because 7014 isn't effected by moisture in the air.

We are talking about structural work though. I wouldn't weld any steering components with improperly stored 7018 rod but if you're just welding your lawn mower together and have an open box of 7018 laying around then I think you'll be safe.

 

[Shran]

Is 7014 run on the same polarity that 7018 is? I always ran 7018 on DCEN (I think, may have been DCEP, been a while.) 6011 and 6013 I used AC.

I have some 1/8" 7018, it welds surprisingly good with my little HF inverter stick welder. Very hard to light it but once it's hot, you're good.

 

[Dirtman]

7014 don't care! It'll run on straight or reverse polarity, DC or AC. It's the most universal rod made. Also welds smoother, starts easier, and slag is softer than 7018.

7018 should only be used on DCEP (reverse polarity).

 

[ericbphoto]

7018 is sort of the gold standard for work that needs to meet "code" so that's why so many people use it. The problem is it only meets those "codes" when handled and stored properly (i.e stored in an oven). It will still seem to weld fine if not stored in an oven (on the outside) but if you open the weld and inspect it with a microscope you will see alot of crystallization and porosity.

If you plan on just chucking the open box of rods on a shelf like most people do then 7014 will be stronger than 7018 because 7014 isn't effected by moisture in the air.

We are talking about structural work though. I wouldn't weld any steering components with improperly stored 7018 rod but if you're just welding your lawn mower together and have an open box of 7018 laying around then I think you'll be safe.

So my receiver hitch bumper might come apart when I least want it to?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

So my receiver hitch bumper might come apart when I least want it to?

It will probably be OK with 3.0 sized loads and small hitch plugs