weldment , current adjustment needs to be high enough to get penetration through the back side , a small bead should form on the back side , the face of the weld should be flat . keep a small hole at the foward edge of the weld pool if your hole gets too big move foward along the bevel till your puddle freezes then back to root and proceed . hold your rod at 90 degrees to the weld so it will tie in evenly on the top side and lean about 10 degrees in the direction of travel . rod position is important , and you can vary it to improve your personal style . if you get a chance watch someone else do it and see what they are doing , also have them watch you . you'd be supprized what you can pick up fast this way , especially if you have any bad habits you need to change . once you have mastered this again you will feel good . hope this helps let us know how you do . willie
Keep the tip of the rod down in the groove - remember you are trying to put the root pass between the lands, and keep it off the bevel faces... if you get on the bevel faces you will both loss reliable penetration and cause the pieces to start pulling together, closing the root opening.
If you are jerking the rod off, be sure to move down in the groove as you move forward, and then move back before the rear of the keyhole solidifys completely. When you go back on the keyhole, the farther you go back and the longer you hold (within reason) the more reinforcement you will put on the inside of the joint.
If the keyhole is getting too small, stop jerking it off. If it is getting too big, increase the distance of the forward movement (within reason).
If using the jerking technique, be sure to move the entire rod forward and back, not just the tip - the rod angle should not change. When the rod is moved forward it should be parallel to where it was when at the back of the keyhole.
If keyhole is getting hard to control, don't be too quick to turn the current down if the keyhole gets too big. You many need to, but you may be better off with a heavier land, less bevel angle (I like 32-33 degrees), and/or a smaller root opening. Your technique may need adustment too.
If you lower the current too far in attempts to control the key hole size, you will loss arc density / arc stiffness, and the soft arc will not follow the movements you make with the rod very responsively - the arc may want to favor one side of the joint or the other.
Always drag on open root w/ 6010 regardless of position or direction of vertical progression.
For 6010 electrodes, from time to time I use ESAB 6010 (10P and 10P+ I think are the model names), Hobart Pipe Master, Lincoln 5P, and Lincoln 5P+. For open root I prefer the arc characteristics of Lincoln 5P+ (5P+ is their Grey colored 6010).
If allowed, DCEN can make open root passes considerably easier to control than DCEP.
I like to keep my line of sight behind the rod so I can easily see what the keyhole is doing - got to get up under there and eat some fire :)