Ask to use .045" wire. (.062" (1/16") is a poor choice for vertical or overhead welds, as it tends to produce excessive spatter and weld quality issues. ) -The best parameters for .062 wire for vertical up is about 120 ipm and 24-26 volts. 24 volts is ideal, but a lot of power supplies may not give you exact readings. Fine tune your voltage +-1 volt until you get the smoothest arc.. -The cardinal sin of vertical-up welds is undercut. You avoid undercut by doing your best to avoid sudden, jerk-y movements. If you do end up jerking or jumping a bit, pause for about a second to allow the puddle to fill in the crater. Don't try to go too fast when welding vert-up. Go slowly and allow the puddle to fill out a bit. Slow and steady is the key with stringers. -make sure your helmet is nice and clean so you can see what you're doing. -You want to be worried about slag entrapment on the first three passes. Slag pockets are particularly common at the edges of the weld bead. I'd advise you to grind out each side of the weld on the first three passes, until you don't see any pockets. -Take a break for a few minutes between passes. This will allow the weld to cool down a bit. If your test plate gets too hot, that's going to cause excessive fluidity in the puddle. You do NOT want that when you're using large size .062" wire. So don't be in a hurry. (Note: if you do manage to persuade the manager to give you .045 wire, the best parameters are about 275-300 ipm, and 25 volts.)