3 Stick Welding Electrodes Compared: 6013 vs 7018 vs 6010

Pick the right rod...Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) Basics

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[MrFanaticrat]

This man is a guru. I purchased his course and I have learned more in a month than in half a year practicing by my own. I highly recommmend it.

[hammaswingah]

Top notch teaching, warts and all, great job.
I only do farm type welding and only use 6011 and 6013. 11 for thick and rusty and 13 for thin and clean. Both are Hobart from Tractor Supply Company. 1/8" usually set on 90 or 105 on my Lincoln buzzbox. Never had any of my ugly welds break yet. I did just order online some Esab Sureweld 6013 green rods. Looking forward to giving them a try, I hear they're great.

[soundman]

Here in Australia 6013, is the dominant welding rod, because for decades CIG ( Commonwealth Industrial Gasses), THE dominant player in the welding market at the time, pushed their Satincraft 13 brand very hard.
So we all grew up using either Satincraft13 ( blue electrodes) or "GP" (grey electrodes, probably 6012) and most of us did not know about or use much else.
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They ( 6013) are easy to produce a good looking weld with, but it is also very easy to get a very poor weld, with poor penetration and lots of slag inclusion.
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We all learned on 120 amp buzz box type welders and 3.2mm ( 1/8) 6013 rods. Most did not progress any further.
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Two very important things I wish I had learned decades earlier
#1 run your rods high in the amp range, if you are not right at the top of the amp range, get some smaller rods.
This is especially true of 6013, otherwise you will get poor penetration and slag inclusion.
#2 learn about other rod types
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[YT-User]

My favorite, because I can’t seem to stick weld very good, is the 7014.
So easy to use.

[rowlinstoned]

Man I'm so glad I found u. U give the BEST instruction and tips. I've tried a couple little tips that seem so miniscule but can make a world of difference. Love watching. Some people just have an unwatchable personality or voice. Not even sure what it is but u have a good presence.

[jonbarnes]

I personally use 6011 & 7018 a lot at work, and don't really have any experience running any other rods. I like the channel because I feel it gives me an idea what to expect if I ever have to use anything I'm not familiar with.

[stormbytes]

Really informative. Would be great to have a sequel showing additional electrode types or maybe a video showing actual fab work. Thanks!

[F--kyouTony]

I learned early on( for me) that single free hand works a lot better because I kept getting pushed out of position towards the end of the rod. My left hand just kept getting in the way!!

[k.c.meaders]

I love your classes, I have found that the 7014 rod is the easiest to use in almost all my DIY and blacksmith projects. (1/8 and 3/32)

[georgegriffiths]

Served my welding apprenticeship in a British shipyard BOC Vodex 6013 were the dominant rod all position as with all 6013’s finding the sweet amperage is the answer I have always found they run better on AC back then I could get a peel in any position Vodex 6013 are the best general purpose rods I have ever used 6018 Philips 56 s take some beating and 6010 NU 5s are my go to only got 50 years experience behind me so maybe one of the older guys could throw me some advice 🤣🤣

[breandonross]

Thank god for you I’m in school now for this an I learn more from you than my instructor 💯

[autodidacticartisan]

I love 6013. 7018 is still my favorite go-to rod but 6013 has alot of benefits. It's great for thin metal since it comes in 1/16" rods which few others do. And like you mention it's easy to strike an arc

[williamscott]

Very nice presentation. I learned welding in a junior college night class 40 years ago and at that time stick welding was the state of the art although MIG was around but not so common. I like stick welding because it allows one to get into small places such as on an assembled vehicle.

I would like to have heard you comment on 7014 rods as that is what I have and use a lot.

I would have liked to have seen you weld some 1/8 inch mild steel onto the frame of a vehicle which is what I am doing now. I am very anxious about this because I know it is easy to burn through the frame which creates a weak spot.

[amfpvt]

Buy the course. Thank me later. It is great value. Yes, actual paying customer. It has excellent explanations and demonstrations. It's sequential and broken down so you don't get lost. You can re-watch parts of it many times if needed, which I have. I literally had no idea when I started and in fact have never welded. I just wanted to learn stick welding to do some projects around the house. So far, the courses helped me to not electrocute myself and not to burn myself or the house down (basic fabrication and safety part of the course). This makes my wife happy. Now starting to lay some beads of weld which look OK and doing some joins. How good. I literally started knowing nothing at all. Not a thing. If I can learn, anyone can. Thanks Tim. Awesome. Cheers

[Ezdoesit]

Those black stallion gloves have been the best gloves I’ve found over the years. Love them

[freon]

You really put your heart into the explanations. You are great teacher. Thank you, much obliged.

[kofibentum]

I'm watching you from Ghana and I'm in love with wilding job

[martinthompson]

I am in Australia and I do a lot of heavy repair work. I always use WIA 16tc rods. I guess you guys would have something similar. They leave a shiny glassy slab, and are an absolute pig to restart, I usually have an old house brick on hand, drag them across that and they start easily.

[bwhog]

I got pretty good when learning MIG/TIG/oxy welding but stick welding just absolutely kicked my butt, especially trying to get a full pen root-pass weld, regardless of whether 2F like you're doing or 1G. Could never manage to get the right behavior and then the school, the next semester, moved to inverters from the old transformers and they were a totally different beast that I never could get used to. (The large transformers were just a lot smoother.)

[yoelroque]

Thanks Tim for explaining everything in detail, I’m just starting to learn how to weld just to do small things around the house & as another hobby