One pipeline welder in North Dakota told me: “I can weld a puddle in a 30 mph wind with 7018 that’s been sitting in a wet truck bed. Try that with your perfect stringer bead.” The most surprising fact? Puddle welding has been used in critical infrastructure — just under a different name.
Each puddle tells a story: here the welder paused because a gust of wind hit. Here the rod stuck for a second. Here the base metal was thinner than expected. A continuous bead hides those moments. A puddle weld preserves them. Want to learn puddle welding? Forget coupons. Get a piece of 16-gauge sheet metal. Drill a ½-inch hole in it. Weld it shut with 1/16-inch 7018 at 50 amps or .030 MIG at 16 volts. puddle welding
Dip filler (or let the electrode burn) until the puddle swells slightly above the surface. For stick, this happens automatically — just hold still. One pipeline welder in North Dakota told me: