6013 SMAW Electrode and Me !

     Yesterday and today I have been in my shop playing with a pile of 6013 3/32 electrode I found while cleaning. I find that it runs great for me in the 1 and 2 F & G positions however, when I switch to 3 & 4 F & G positions I have a great deal of trouble keeping the bead consistent.

 3G Vert Up sure looks good but this is the only set of good welds after 20 passes or so.

 I have 2 different types of flux coatings on the 6013 I have been using one is light grey similar to some 7018's I have worked with, some is dark grey with a black tip and much narrower, the second type seems to run much better up hill - both were ugly for the overhead which I did not photo as it was reaaaallllyyyy UGLY .

 Just like the container says, I have a "mixed blend" of 6013

It is safe to say that I enjoy GTAW much more than SMAW but, this has been a fun couple days of playing with Arc welding and it is likly that I will try to pick up some differing types of electrode in the near future (6010-6011 and some 7018 ect ) to play with.

Happy Welding !