Thread: Arc Welding Penetration

Originally Posted by Matty5700

Hi All,

I'm a new poster here, but my brother is into the wood side of things so i've seen a lot of your posts around for a few years, just decided to sign up the other day as i'm getting into the metal working side of things now

My question is about arc rod selection and the penetration depth of each. I have here some 6013 and 7014 rods and will be welding 50mm round tube (or is it pipe, I forget) with a 3mm wall. From what I read both rod types have a "medium" penetration. How far is this refering to and would these rods be sufficent later on for welding 25x25x3mm box tube for an offroad buggy I plan to build - that is after I make the workbench, shelves and possibly a trailer for collecting steel and timber

Matt.

Hey Matt,
The 6013 (USA) mmaw welding electrode is the same as the Australian Classification E4113. These numbers indicate, E for electrode, 41 (x10) or 410 MPA is the tensile strength of the deposited weld metal, which is the same tensile strength as the 25x3SHS, ( the old language is 28 tons per square inch) ,I indicates that the electrode can be used in all positions ( if it was a 2 it would mean that the electrode can only be used in the flat or downhand postion because of the fluidity of the welding flux on the outside of the electrode) the last number 3 indicates the chemical composition of the flux and in this case , Rutile. This electrode is the general purpose electrode which would be most suitable for welding the 25 x 3 square hollow section. A 2.5mm E4113 at around 75 amps should be just right. Make sure you leave a small gap (1/2mm) for butt welds to allow comlete penetration and always completely tack weld the job before starting the complete welds. The other electrode is designed for welding higher tensile steels and therefore an incorrect selection for your job. You will find no problem in achieving complete penetration with the E4113.
Contact me if I can be any further help. Regards Ted.

Thanks for the info TedSmall, i'll keep using the E6013 rods then. On the matter of amps I having been using 120amps for welding some 50x3mm tube and found that to work well, had it on 105amps and it didnt seem to work as well. That said should I be using a lower amperage to weld properly ?? The welder is a Lincoln 225 arc welder, that runs on 3 phase, or as it only has 3 pins connected including earth maybe its 2 phase. Not sure as i'm new to 2/3 phase.

I did leave a small gap but it was probably a 1-1.5mm so i'll close it up next time, just doing practice welding and cutting at the moment to get my eye in before I make something serious. Enjoying cutting the steel though, bought myself a new toy for the job see here https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/Pr...stockCode=B003

Also bought a rotary hacksaw black for my new Makita 125mm angle grinder. Not to bad but it tends to throw a bit of hot stuff around and leaves the workshop full of metal chips, its the metal working version of sawdust !! http://www.austsaw.com.au/ the biggest pain with it is that it has clogged up my magnetic welding angles (cant remember there correct term), so i'm going to make an electromagnet to pull the fillings off


Matt.