Lincoln Excalibur 7018 welding rods

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Is there a difference in 7018 welding rods?

Oh yes! Some rods seem to fingernail and experience arc blow more than others and some seem to run smooth with easy slag removal.

I talked with a friend a few days ago and he happened to mention using some Lincoln Excalibur 7018 welding rods.

He said the slag peeled off slick as a whistle.

So in trying to mix in a few more stick welding videos and tips, I thought I would buy some and compare them with Hobart 7018 welding rods.

The cost was not that different…in fact I think the Lincoln Excalibur rods were actually cheaper than the Hobart..( probably due to buying the Lincoln rods at a welding supply store and the Hobart 7018 rods at Tractor Supply)

So I set up a few outside corner joints using 1/4″ thick flat bar.

I set the machine to 95 amps and ran half of a joint with the Hobart 7018 and the rest using the Lincoln Excalibur rods.

The video shows better than I can describe.

There is a big difference in how the slag peels off.

And that one thing is worth using them. It saves time and effort….not to mention just gives you a kick when you weld a whole rod and the slag just falls off.

Since both rods meet AWS specs for 7018 , I doubt one is better than the other as far as mechanical properties. But I did notice that the Lincoln rods were easier to distinguish the puddle, deposited more metal, and slag removal was easier…so for me , the Lincoln Excalibur 7018 welding rods are a slam dunk.

( As always, feel free to visit us at our sister site, WeldingTipsAndTricks.com. )

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