I like to call the 60 series rods the "ugly rod". I've laid down plenty of good looking cap passes on pipe with a 6010 and thought how good it looks then I go do a lo hi cap and laugh at how ugly a 60 series rod is. With the 60 series rods you have to remember that anything you do, movement, hiccup, fart, anything that will disrupt your hand in the slightest way it will be forever caught in that weld due to the nature of the beast sort of speak. On pipe I whip the rod for the fill pass watching to make sure it ties in on the sides, fills and then on the cap I'm like a drunkin' crazed maniac changing from a swirl to the right or maybe to the left or whatever else happens along the way. This is mostly due to changing conditions. Maybe the arc wanders a bit or you start to get out of position and have to move.
Practice, practice on the stringers. My old teacher back in '98 always said, "a stack of dimes" when he had us using the 6011 ugly stick. It's really about concentrating on where your at, reading the puddle, knowing where you have been so you can get back to the right point for the next ring. I do a lot of hand beveling or other contractors employees attempt to bevel so all I am doing is welding so my life is full of imperfections that come up while welding and you have to deal with it, learn how to deal with it. Sitting in a classroom or shop doing it in the perfect conditions gives you the basics. My best experiences have been real world situations with some of the worst fit up and bevels a welder could have ever seen. This is year six in business for myself and every weld is the same to this day. Whip, pause, watch the puddle, it expands, ok that's good for this pass, whip pause, watch the puddle, ok thats good......never ending cycle. Once in awhile my mind will drift off to getting home, whats for dinner tonight but I can still feel myself thinking about, whip, pause, watch the puddle.
I always tell the younger guys that you really have to concentrate, analyze everything. If something is not going right then you have to remember what you have been doing so you can analyze it and figure out what you can change. Rod angle or speed, settings on the machine, how your welding rod is positioned relative to the pipe. Is the rod slightly pointed to the left? Right? There is a butt load of mind work involved, at least when I'm welding because that's how I am. This job I'm on now, another guy came out to help us out. He looked at my welds and said, "thats a good looking weld". I checked his welds and wish I could have said the same.
Depending on the situation you can carry a puddle and pile the stuff in there. Other situations you need to whip because the heat on the puddle to long will cause it to droop out, like a 3g. Or situations where you have to fill a bit more to get the correct profile on the weld. Again, job I'm on. I have nice fillet welds on this job. Nice 45's across the two members. It took a bit more to fill with watching the puddle to get the profile correct. The other guy has a lot of concave fillet welds. Moving to fast to get the job done and just hurries along. Filling a bit more and you have to whip out, come back and pause and watch the puddle fill until your experience says, "that's good".
Hope this helps out a bit, keep on pluggin' away at it.
How far and how long I whip out of the puddle depends greatly upon the material thickness, joint fitup, cleanliness of the joint, amperage, and arc force.
When I put a root in uphill on pipe, I often begin to get a bit larger keyhole at the top. I will then whip farther and long arc more (if the machine can handle it).
When I teach the basics of Stick, we do not do any whipping. I just have students run straight stringers. After they become proficient at bit 6010 and 7018 I will introduce whipping.
I never watched the internet videos to learn how to weld wiyth 6010. I believe my 1st info on whipping was in one of James F. Lincoln publications.
One of the nice things about whipping (down on the farm) is the ability to burn away some of the paint, galvanizing, or other coating in front your joint.
When I use 6010 for stopping leaks in liquor, steam, water and other lines at work I will whip way out of the puddle to allow the very thin material to cool and also keep some of the liquid vaporized.
My preference for putting in a root pass involves NO WHIPPING. Fit it up, put the electrode against the bevels, let the rod do the work and keep the fire on the inside. If you dont see sparks on the outside, you know there is weld on the inside.
Have a good day
Gerald Austin
Iuka MS
weldingclassroom.org
