What a beginner fail!! They said 7018 is an EASIER rod! WeldONE ep 4 

I remember my trip through 7018. Rods which loves to be run hot. That was rough road over years. I am just garage welder, but can run any size 7018 on any steel thickness. Practice, practice, practice.

I'm sure glad I'm not the only one having this problem. I've been practicing for a few weeks now and doing fine with everything but this very same rod. Hobart 3/32 7018 rod. Same problem also. I do fine with the 1/8 7018 rod?? I'm still trying to figure out. Thanks

Wish I was there to help you. Don’t get frustrated and keep at it. Hobart 7018 is my favorite to run. I like it the most. Once you’ve run it for a while it will become a lot easier 7018 loves to stick so your technique Hass to be learned and these rough patches have to be gone through in order for you to get this down it’s just par for the course my friend good job and keep a great attitude you’re doing just fine

Good video, it goes to show that it’s not as easy as most people make it seem. I’m a patient person but damn I’m not sure how patient I’d be doing this 😳. Keep it up man!

I recently bought a machine to teach myself to stick weld. 90amps is good for 3/32” 7018. Your arc strike is way off, use a drag and lift like lighting a match and don’t jab the rod onto the metal. Once you stop the arc with 7018, you have to file the flux down and leave about 1/64” of the rod tip past the flux.

I'm with you, my friend -- Thanks for the video. Although so many folks say this electrode is soooo easy, I have been struggling with it for months. I know I'm missing something major.

I was looking for an alternative to DC for my welding. Alternative current sounds like just the thing!

90 amps is fine to run a flat bead. if your machine is really putting that out. I find that on my machine 110v 90 amps is not equal to 220v on 90 amps. If youre doing a lap joint itll take more amperage still. Maybe 105 amps. Other than that, be light on the rod and always keep it moving as you strike, you want to make contact as you are moving and continue to move after making contact. In other words dont intend to start your bead where you strike. When i do this its like the rod will initially dump a bunch of liquid metal onto the base metal and because the base metal is cold, it will freeze and stick. If you keep it moving that dump of metal wont be able to stick as easily. And if you stick, dont immediately try again. Wait till the rod cools off abit, because the rod is small, and it heats up so much faster than the base, it becomes closer to liquid each time you strike and then that liquid dump will just stick you more

Try the Lincoln rods on the 7018! You’ll thank me later!!

7018 is really sensitive to continuity. Make sure your material is clean and your ground is good. I can burn 3/32 7018 at 80 amps with a stable arc. Check your ground!

For surefire success clean the mill scale off your basemetal, 7018 prefers clean metal in comparison to the cellulose flux based 6011 and 6013. You can tap or bump start it but the match strike also works but you only get one chance before it will glaze over with slag after failing to initiate the arc so clean the tip of the stick with a file between starts. Your basemetal needs to be secured properly as well to ensure the best control. One rod is no better than the others, they are just different for their own purposes. I'm in first semester weld school at 39yo and killing it in part to YT videos! You will get the hang if you practice.

One tip the hobart 7018 electrodes are always garbage, the only way to buy 7018 electrodes is in hermetically sealed containers.

Yup I did the same never did figure out so I tryed 3/32 7014 ran great couldn't tell the different from 6013 on a small buzz box welder keep tryen will get better can't get worse is how I look at it lol

I had the same problem. I kicked the welder up to 105 and it worked.

Remember your ABCs Always Be Comfortable

You can't have the piece on a flexible support and use the jab technique to start. As Davon says, use a drag technique and after you sputter out you will need to scrape the flux off the tip. 7018 burns up inside about 1/8 of an inch. Some welders scrape it on a file to remove the flux some use the concrete floor or pavement. You can tap it on something hard but I think scraping is better. You should be able to manage 90amps on a 3/32 but nothing larger. 7018 is one of the hotter rods and runs similar to 6013. It makes pretty welds.

7018 is like light up a match, kinda like a scratch motion and they usually burn between 90 to 110 amps

Turn that heat up and scratch but make sure you’re comfortable and steady but make sure you keep that ark length!

The problem is the 120v welder. Junk. It’s not hot enough because your garage outlet is only putting out about 20A at the breaker and less at the outlet. If you had an RV outlet of 30A, it would be better. Best is a 240v machine, period.

it's crazy how hard it is to get 7018 to start when beginning. Once you figure it out it you never have another issue. 7018 needs heat. Hot start machine increases heat to start. or reduce the rod size

7018 needs 70 plus volts in your stick welder to work where as 6013 needs only 30 plus volts. Get a better welder and you will love welding with 7018. It is all I use.

Hot start arc force setting!

support the electrode with your other hand! insanely difficult to try and weld with jus one hand

So why you keep sticking is because you keep pecking the metal very lightly strike it like a match and find a way to lean on sum get comfortable it’ll help so so much

Drag the rod on your workpiece to be welded quickly to start the arc then keep rod off base metal by about 1/8in to maintain arc and continue to weld also try thinner rod and ive found 6013 is really easy but learning on 7018 is better to learn oncuz u can use it for vertical horizontal and overhead where as 6013 is strictly for horizontal welds just from my experience

Your machine isn't outputting the amps it needs.. it may read 90 but it's generally -20 below that

I never bother with which rod. If you have a high frequency start feature its easy. I'd recommend the S7 HF TIG/Stick/Arc welder. only $200. If you're a beginner for stick welding. Just set the machine to tig so you can use the push button to create an arc. You dont have to strike or tap to create an arc. The only downside is that you cant mig. But whats the point when you have TIG. Also you can weld aluminum with stick welding. Basically no gas required. A DIYer dream, the only consumable is the electrode.

It may also mean that your welder is not putting out 90 amps

What you didn't mention was which stick you purchased and what you are running. Did you get 7018 DC only sticks and you are running AC on your unit? It sure looks like what happens when you try and run DC sticks on AC. 7018 can be purchased in DC only.

So i purchased some hobart 7018 and they are extremely difficult to use. The Vulcan brand from harbour freight runs much easier for me.

Clean bright metal!

7018 1/8 at 220v, I have it around 130-140 amps. I guess that for me a 3/32 would do well around 90. But since you are running 120v you probably need a lot more juice.

Im about to start learning stick welding. I have always heard 7018 had a heck of a learning curve.

Not the rod more of setting on the welding machine! So go to 220 volts

I believe that on 110/120 most displays are erroneous. Some are as much as 60% of what is indicated. Step up the amperage until you can get a stable arc. A good arc matters more than the display.

You are setting things up to fail. 7018 is very sticky and the thing you are trying to weld is bouncing as you poke it. Get it on a firm surface so it does not move and try dragging it to start the arc. your machine is underpowered but it will work for a few minutes until it over heats. Why are you on here flying blind. Get a real welder person to show you how before making a how to video.

220 DC

Please check what AC means before making a teaching video.