6013 Stick Welding Tips 

I teach apprentices here in the UK. A majority of the welding exercises and testing are from the books produced by two training organisations, EAL (Excellence, Achievement and Learning Ltd) and the EiTB, (Engineering Industry Training Board). These two institutions detail the parameters of the welding practices and list the consumables to be used in each practice. The rods that are required are 6013's. The downside is that the practices and tests were written in the late 1960's to mid-1970's. Although the fundamentals are still the same, equipment changes and welding methods are always improved upon. It's up to the welding instructor to add up to date information on the content of the training package. I use your videos on youtube and the DVD's I've purchased from your store to back up key learning points. For those apprentices employed as TiG welders, I recommend that they invest in your TiG fingers. Top Item, really helps. The students over here aren't taught to weld vertical downwards as it's considered incorrect practice. Cheers buddy, keep up the great work.

Well, for someone who doesn't like 6013, you made some damn nice welds and decent re-starts.

I really appreciate the arc shot quality. I can finally clearly see what you and my welding instructor are talking about.

John here from the UK. Being a small island there aint a lot of cross country pipelines here like in the States.. Also, in commercial heavy gauge welding MIG has largely taken over this task. This is probably why we dont use 6010/6011 . In fact most welding suppliers dont even stock it ! Its lack of availability makes it a bit like living in Cuba ! So yes as far as welding steel is concerned, the UK is all about 6013 and 7018 .

Outstanding videos. I am a middle aged paper pusher. Inherited a shop (forge, anvil, vices, MIG, Stick, tables, etc.). To honor my deceased friend, I and his cousin are learning how to blacksmith and weld . . . . I dream of having the skills and knowledge that you share. One weld at a time . . . . Much obliged.

More rod angle is a great tip. I use 6013 on the farm a lot and have found that increasing the rod angle makes a huge difference, and like you mentioned combined with more amps and tight arc, I've come to like 6013 and it's become my go-to rod for most projects outside of my shop. Mainly because it's just easier with my service trailer and dc inverter stick welder. Great content, thanks!

6013 has always been known as basically a sheet metal rod:fairly smooth,low penetration welds,also think you gave great advice with the right to left,left to right stuff and for the beginner to pay close attention to the difference between the puddle and the slag is,of course,of critical importance...all in all I think you gave a good lesson that should work for pretty much everybody,thanks!

Currently taking a welding class and have been working with 6013 and recently tried EN instead of EP and it makes a world of difference, doesn't stick trying to start the arc and lays down much smoother.

Thanks for making and keeping these videos available. Your channel has become a visual reference library. I’ve been working on a small ornamental steel fence and decided to use a box of 6013 I had laying around. Well, I was having an aggravating time with slag inclusions and couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. I decided to consult the “Guru”. Well, it turns out I viewed this video a while ago, but watched again in entirety as a refresher. Boy, did my 6013 welding improve overnight! The 3 takeaways I applied: 1. Increase the stick angle to 30°. It felt a little weird, but really helped. 2. Move faster. I was going too slow trying to lay down a nice wide bead, but that slow travel was letting the heavy slag layer fall into my weld pool causing a mess. By moving faster, I literally outran the slag. Sure, I got a thinner bead, but it was clean. I simply laid down another bead or two to build a larger weld. After all, welding is more fun than grinding. 3. Increase amperage slightly. This allowed a tighter arc, faster travel, and avoided sticking That was it! My welding with this rod improved 3-fold! Thanks again Jody! Once this project is complete, gonna break in my new TIG finger and weldmonger F-clamp!

RU-vid led me here. Thanks. I have been practicing with 6011 and now 6013. You nailed my problem: not enough current (fear!) and not enough angle. Yesterday, I figured the sparks had to fly out of the arc--seeing the sparks fly for you confirmed that. 6013 seems less violent than 6011.

That was an amazing video on refreshing my old welding skills. Thank you for the recap. Been tinkering with welding again after 25years of not touching a stick

favorite rod. easiest to strike an arc and weld with . perfect for beginners.

Good to see the 6013 being covered, as it's pretty much all that's available locally. Interesting to hear your observations on it, and I learned a couple of things. The 6013 here is sold widely in farmer's stores and just about every hardware place that has any welding kit. I have to use it, as there's not much choice. Fortunately, the rods sold locally are usually decent makes, like INE. Of course, the cheap no-name rods can be much worse.

This man knows his craft. These videos are excellent.

Hi Jody, I'm Australian and I worked in a big steel mill in Australia. We only had AC welders in the workshops I was in and 6013 was THE main rod we used. We used "some" 6012 and 6011, but being a Fitter and turner we were not "Allowed" to do Fabrication (the boilermakers did all that using 7014, 7018, and 7024's) So I got used to burning 6013's. When I did an advanced welding course at Tech College we used a lot of 7016 twin coat electrodes. I really liked them.

as an apprentice in the steel mills in the 60's i learned to weld with 6013. all the maint welders wore a leather pouch filled with 6013 and 309 rods. this pretty much guaranteed they could repair just about anything in the field with any power source available when i bought my first welder for home shop use it was the old tombstone ac buzz box. and my goto rod was 6013. every job has a rod that will perform better than 6013 but 6013 is a decent all purpose rod that doesn't get any respect. good video thanks jody

These tutorials are very well structured. Thank you for being so patient and descriptive. You're funny too. These videos will be a lot of help for me now and in the future. Please continue to make them.

Always heard negative things about 6013's. I picked some up today and used them to weld c purlin down to a small trailer floor. Dialed in the maps for the 3/32" rods and they worked great. Ideal rod for thin metal. I have a mig, but wanted to try these. Followed your tips and am pleased with the results.

5:39 I've never realized how much I love that sound until today HAHA been hearing it for YEARS and never took it into such consideration.

Thanks for the great tips. 6013 is the most common rod here in Thailand others are not readily available. After a couple of months searching I was finally about to place an order for some 6010 and 7018. Now I am a happy welder again.

Thanks weldmonger I'm going to try this technique in about a month in my welding class. I watch your videos and you sir really help me out alot thank you for the videos. And I hope I make a career out of this. I didn't know nothing about welding but now every video and with school I'm learning. Thanks again

I have not been to any welding classes. I just learned by doing and asking questions to welders around work. I bought some 6013 rods on the advise of the welders and welding supply shop to do Thin welding on sheet metal type things and it seemed to do ok. My old Lincoln 225 AC only machine that I bought in the late 1960's still goes if needed, but I use a Ranger 8 that I bought in the mid 1900"s for most of my stick welding. Nice to have the DC feature on it. Thanks for you great videos.

Appreciate the time you take to do these videos really helpful as this is the most common rod available and is a tricky one to see the puddle.

I only had 1/16" - 6013 Rods last week for welding 18 gage sheet metal and I don't know if it was my Fronius TransSteel 2200 but I managed to make Micro-Beads no wider than 1/8" with these Rods on inside and outside corners with just 24-27 Amps! Very useful Rods with a nice appearance and easy peel slag. Easy to re-start as long as you DRAG the Rod to keep the slag at bay.

Signed up for a beginners welding course at the local vocational school by my house. Doing my first bit of welding this Monday night, so i'm learning up so i have at least half a clue what i'm doing :) Thanks for the tips and inspiration, Jody!

This helped alot because I've just started welding, thank you.

Loved hearing the sound of the buzz box w birds singing in the background

Thanks Jody! I never welded before but I have a 2019 black friday 210mp that I bought - it's been in the box for a year and I have to learn how to weld some bar stock onto some square tubing - I'm going to give the stick a try. Hope to see you again at WorkbenchCon next year!

Thank you for posting/sharing, i have seen guys bend rods before, but not like you did in this video. Really appreciate your videos, i know i learned more in the last 20 videos, than i ever knew about welding in my life

I like 6013 rods. Learned to stick weld way before i touched a mig and just got used to these when welding on thinner steel. When used right on DCEP, they lay a good bead without burning through the piece or warping bad (comparatively speaking).

Thanks for your video, I am a cabinetmaker so glueing wood together i can do BUT steel aarrrggg so after watching your tips should be able to weld my hinges onto the garden gate ( prey for the gate ), cheers from South Australia

Jodi, your videos are always great. I have 3 welding playlist on here based on the 3 main types of welding. Thank you.

as a welder from the u.k i can say i like the smell off a 6013.. takes me back collage days lol

Thanks Jody. I only have the opportunity to do FCAW but I manage to pick something up from all your videos. I appreciate your presentation manner and in-depth knowledge.

Great video as always, really liked the cut and arc shot of all the polarity. Thanks Jody!!!

Yeah 6013 is more popular over here it's not my favourite but I do like it iv done all sorts with 6013 some you wouldn't believe I learnt to weld with a 100a buzz box and 10kg of 6013s lol and your videos. And other welding videos, a few years ago now ..when I was young I always wanted to weld since I knew what it was but unfortunately never did it professionally, but it was these videos that made me realise I could learn by just doing it. And I bought a £40 100a buzz box and never looked back lol and I still have it and actually use it quite often, more than the mig

I use 6013 a lot, i'm not professional welder, i work in a farm and to weld not clean metal, for small fix(doors hinges, fences...) but also temporary weld on big stuff they work great. Used couple of times to tomporary fix some machinery, some pice broke in the morning, quick stop, run few beads and patch it and moved on, i'll later re-fix it with 7018 or bring it to the local mechanic-welder

My stick is going to take a lot more practice..a lot more...I am starting to understand why I am struggling with the 6013...as a long time rookie welder wanna be...my ac225 has the juice, it don't flinch at all... my Lincoln inverter maxes out at 90 amps with 3/32. I can try all three things like he did here, but I will stick to 3/32...should be interesting or hilarious....gonna need a lot more practice...great video!!!!!

And even if you intend to hold a steady, un-veering path with the electrode, swing a bit from side to side at the start to get both edges melting. 6013 can fail to get thru rust and scale, and while the puddle might look OK, it's so obscured with slag that you might not see how the edge is failing to penetrate.

Osm sir.. Aap bahut accha welding karte hai or aapse bahut kuch sikhne milta hai.. I like your all videos !

Outstanding, thank you. 👍🏻👍🏻 6013 rods are quite useful to me for outside corner welding. If you’re an amateur.....and burn holes in things on occasion....but seriously....useful rods with thinner material. Material under 1/4”.

Nice to see the uk crowd commenting on here. We're spoilt with high quality 6013's... someone said they don't run well vertical up? That's a walk in the park weld for a decent 6013 with the settings dialled in.

Thank you Jody. You're a big help man I'm a new welding student and your videos are awesome

thank you Jody love your videos I'm welding sheet metal and the 6013 is the most popular rod where I am. So thank you for your demonstration.

I use 6013 rods a lot on the farm I personally think they are great.

I use them all the time. 6013 good all position rod. Show us you take of up hill. Grate video.👍

I'm a pipewelder from US that is currently living in the UK. i was amazed the first job i went on and they wanted me to use 6013 rutile rod. job I'm currently on is having me do the entire weld, root and all with it. it makes for a hideous root. all the welders let the boss know... but they use it because its cheaper

I sure do love your videos and instructions.

I always thought of 6013 as a rod for sheet metal or as a filler/cap over a 6011 root. And for a non-professional who might only use a few rods per month there are no hydrogen-embrittlement open package storage issues like 7018. Certainly not a rod for critical applications, but it is cheap and easy to keep on hand and critical welds are likely to be hired out anyway.

Great video young man. I always throw 6013 rods over to about 30degrees. You can see the weld pool quite easy and the arc force (For use of a better term) pushing the slag wave back and away from the weld pool. I also keep the amps fairly high too to help get penetration. 6013 are not easy in vertical up or down in my opinion. The weld finish can be very nice indeed.

NIce, another good video, like your videos length, intros are good, get to the point and do the demonstration, thanks for forgoing talking down to your viewers.

I lost it at the frog in your quench bucket :D

He's a great person Sharing good knnowledge.

You talk about practicing alternate directions. But as a pipe welder. You should also talk about practicing alternate hands. Every welder should be ambidextrous.

I use 6013 on ac. I don't use it for any thing that carries vibration but It is good for shop fabrication and finishes off well.

Great vídeo Man thanks por the tips I work Mig/tig and I know little about arcwelding I just started a few months ago great vid

Jacuzzi action , lol, and I'm going to get out of my comfort zone and start practicing left to right, right to left and with both hands , im right handed and I need to ,like u said , while I'm practicing in school , get use to using both my hands and with them right to left left to right , uphill and downhill on all positions

Thanks for the take-aways at the end. Helpful!

Thank You Very Much, I really needed to see how the torch cables connected to the welder cables! So it has been maybe 60 years since I had the chance or should we say the need. I too picked up this old equipment to see if I can still make it work!!

This helped me a lot because I'm learning to weld, I have a DC arc and Tig welding machine 200A ( 2 in 1 machine ) thank you for this video : ) happy welding

Here in the UK you go to a welding supplier and more than likely the only rods they carry are 6013. I find that they work best with DCEP the rods melt or burn faster but there seems to be less slag trapping that way. I find it surprising that there is supposed to be more penetration with DCEP as it is the positive side that gets hotter just like in tig so the work piece in theory should be slightly colder with DCEP.

Nice Video as always! As far as i know there are more then one type of 6013. I know at least 3 different types with different flux compositions for different applications. One of them has a thick flux coating of rutile and u can get slagholes pretty easy, its really only good for flat welds in my opinion because the puddle is very fluid, its not for downhill welds thought. The next type has a rutile cellulose flux composition, which is rated for downhill welds (6010/11 uses cellulose in the flux), but the puddle is very fluid too. The last type i know has a rutile basic flux composition (7018 for example has a basic flux coating) and its better for uphill welds. But thats only what i think i know so pls correct me if im wrong! Keep it up!

Thanks for the great tips!! Your welds look great

The 6013 red extra by Hilco is a fantastic rod. I run it quite a bit with an ac Lincoln. Thin is good with them because they lay it quick. 7014 is my fave but at 18 ga or thinner I grab the red extra 6013..less penetration and you can speed drag at about 60 amps ......( if the 140 mig is not within reach.) JC, Put your hands on 332 Red Exrtra. I think you'll be surprised

I always learn something. Thank you.

I learned to stick weld on a 6013 in high school. I like it. Lol.

Always had trouble with rod angle. Got me a stinger v and no more issues! Would def recommend

Alright Jody running some 6013!! That slag is drag for sure! Great tip on push angle, I find u really gotta use that Arc to blow that slag back. 6013 is a tricky rod to hold a tight Arc on, even if u have really hot, if u touch the base metal like on 7018 ur gonna stick, at least I do anyways lol.

Years ago before mig welding was common and affordable, 6013 is what was used for welding sheet metal. Its smooth running and puts down a sizeable bead without putting too much heat into the work.

In my opinion 6013 is a great sheet metal rod. I also use it as a cap rod where weld is decorative. My main rod is 6011. Nivideo Jody

in mauritius, we have only 3 rods, 6013, nickel and stainless steel rods. any decent welding job and you need to import your own welding rods.

I liked this video ! thank you for helping us.

Great advice and going both directions is an excellent way to learn arc control. 👍👍

6013 was not my favorite for years. I burn a bunch of it now in my fabrication shop. There is a difference between rod manufacturers and some run better than others, especially downhill. My favorite is Hobart. They have a lighter flux covering and have a slightly more aggressive arc on A/C and will run downhill for the entire length of the rod without having to stop because the light slag will not drip down and overtake the puddle. My second choice is Raynor's, third is Washington alloys. If you really want to run a nice concave downhill weld bead on fillets then try 1/8" MG 80T-AC rods. Run them downhill on AC at 140 amps. Bead appearance is nice! I use straight polarity on anything thinner than .080" because the direction of current flow from the rod to the piece does prevent burn through on thin mower decks and such, because of reduced molten metal deposit velocity, predominately from the coating burning off at the same rate as the rod and not forming a cup to capture and focus gas pressure behind the molten metal forming from the rod as with DC+, which will accentuate burn through with the electrons pulling metal from the base piece when running positive. Experimentation is half the fun. Great video Jody.

Bro, do a series on .035, (617, 17 4ph, and 188 material).....t-joints (2f)....you can't find videos on these joints online any where....pulse/non pulse settings....those videos would be worth there weight in gold. nice vids brother.

Love your tips!!!! >Nothing what schools teach!!!!

If I may make a comment , thow I am not profesional welder, I work in constructions and here in Romania 6013 is the most popular rod used mostely for rectangular tubing and more, I personaly have burned more than 300 lbs of this stuff and it is a very useful rod, maybe because is so diferent than 7018 wich is also polular here but for structural welds; like Jody I prefer AC if it is posible because most portable invertors can' t weld AC , BUT welding with 6013 is an art on it's own, keeping a tight arc isn't always posible nor desired, when it commes to simple horizontal filets is the way to go or overhead, bot most of the times it takes skill to really do electrode manipulation because it is a fastfreeze rod and because of the slag, also it is not a verry hot rod, 3.20 mm is alot diferent then 2.50and even 2.00 mm, the slag can easyli be pushed out of the podle when needed (one should first try to do gouging with 6013, yes cutting with mma ) and one must 'feel' the piece that is welded , it can be to cold so longer arc or it gets hot fast and restarts like in tacks when the piece is to hot, all this will result in a verry good looking weld strong enough for most types of bodge work or non critical welds in the worst conditions eve, rust, paint, bad wheater, or simply for doing guality square tubing products with simple machines

I don't like 6013 either, not welded alot with it though. Didn't know they used it for pipe welding in the UK, in scandinavia it's 7018 all the way, root and all.

I love the sound from welding wicht Stick Elektrodes.

Great teacher skills

Interesting that 6013 is used and liked in the UK for pipe. I guess it's nice that at least someone likes 6013 . . . . I was raised in repair shipyards and 6010 was always the goto for hull plate and most miscellaneous welds..... so 'fast freeze' rods are my old friends. Lo-Hydrogen,7018-ish was not my every day rod. The 6013 'fast-fill' always reminded me of lo-hydrogen, could you compare/contrast the way the puddle looks and the way they run with 7018-ish rods? Do you see any similarities?

Thank you for the good honest free advice

congrats on 400k subs Jody. I really appreciate all the work you have done and i love your videos. I learned a lot from you for stick and tig welding so thank you very much and keep up the amazing work.

One thing that I do like about 6013 is how smooth the beads can come out. I think maybe doing a root pass with something else, then capping it with 6013 could work if cosmetics are an issue, and also penetration.

I love your channel,thanks for sharing!

I've found on stick like 6013, 7014 or stainless rods, running on AC helps agitate the puddle and pushes the slag back out of the way.

Great video , Thanks for sharing your knowledge

I’ve never heard of using 6013 for structural, but I do remember using it back in my garage for practice and fun simply because my machine was Dc only

Great advice. I was using 6013 - 1/8" to weld a relatively think base plate. I am getting my butt kicked... My welds are depressing, ugly. All lumpy and clumpy. I was welding with 85-90A. Now I will try 110A. Cross fingers b/c I am about to give up!

Man your channel is the best

as i’m being taught we using 6013 and i’m told we’re supposed to do circle or half moon motions when we weld but i’ve never seen that on stick and i don’t do it

That miller is purring beautifully

Hey jody great video, i like these stick weld tips. Inspires me get going with a simple machine doing simple stuff. Compared to tig or mig, there is not a really big amount of video content. Thanks!

Excellent content!

Los felicito son monstros para la soldadura y gracias por enseñarnos a transformar el mundo.

keep up the good work bud, appreciate the content!

I'm not sure why, both in the UK and here in Australia the 6013 is the default non low hydrogen rod! I did 10 years on site in the UK and it was all 6013 (vodex), they get the job done but not ideal! It's very hard to get 6010/11 rods here in Australia, and basically impossible to get 7014 which i think would be a great all round rod (going off what I've seen/heard but I've never used myself). I've been out of the UK for 10 years now so not sure if things have changed.

I have always preferred to run 7014 it runs much nicer and has easier arc strikes and better penetration! And I also prefer AC for 7014's as well the slag usually peels off on its own most the time!! Good video though

The best 6013 tip is to buy 6013 overcord z's. Ive been using them lately they are so easy to use and all positional including vertical down :)

I personally like 6013's. Pretty stable arc and very decent beads. But nothing beats a good ol' 7018. When I was in welding school they were stuck on 6011 ac. I hate those so bad