SMAW · Carbon steel
E6012
A stiff-arc rutile rod that bridges gaps and welds sloppy fit-up without burning through, at the cost of shallow fusion into the joint.
What the designation means
Point at any character to see what it claims. The classification is a sentence written in fields, not a product name.
- EElectrode for shielded metal arc welding.
- 6060,000 psi minimum tensile strength in the weld deposit.
- 1All positions.
- 2High titania sodium covering, run on alternating current or direct current electrode negative.
At a glance
- Process
- SMAW
- Family
- Carbon steel
- Positions
- All positions
- Polarity
- AC or DCEN
- Shielding
- Self-shielded by the covering
- Minimum tensile
- 60ksi
Typical uses
- Sheet and light plate joints with open or uneven fit-up
- General maintenance fillets where appearance matters more than deep fusion
- High speed downhill fillets on thin material
How it runs
- Shallow to medium penetration with a stiff, quiet arc
- Heavy slag that covers the bead completely and lifts in one piece
- Convex bead profile that fills gaps readily
- Low spatter and steady arc even at reduced amperage
Storage and handling
Keep dry in a heated storage cabinet or the sealed container; moisture pickup causes porosity but no oven rebake schedule is required.
Compare with
SMAWE6013The soft-arc general purpose rod most beginners learn on, laying smooth cosmetic beads on thin steel with slag that almost lifts itself.SMAWE6011The alternating current counterpart to the cellulosic root rod, giving the same digging arc on the small transformer machines and engine drives found on farms and job sites.SMAWE7014A rutile rod with iron powder in the covering, so it deposits noticeably faster than a plain general purpose rod while keeping the same easy, forgiving arc.