weld feedback

[claw]

Old rusty tailer stand of somekind.Friend at work needed rewelded. Got as much of the rust and old paint off as I could. Also removed all of the old weld. Just looking for opinions, feedback, input, or ridicule. (If the pictures show up detailed enough)

[Forrest Addy]

Without seeing the back side of ythe weld to judge penetration or being able to peel a sample for ductility I'd say your welding looks pretty good. No undercut, pinholes, or laps to be seen and it looks like good fusion between beat and base metal.

This is the kind of welding work one can do with clean materials and only a little care. Like painting, good welding is mostly in the prep work.

[lenord]

I can only dream of making a weld look that nice. Mine hold ok, but look like cr&^ compared to those pics.

You're suppose to clean the metal before welding huh, hmmm, will try that next time.

Lenord

[This message has been edited by lenord (edited 07-15-2005).]

[IOWOLF]

If it holds it is a good weld, appearance is only secondary, of course opinions vary.

IMHO

[G.A. Ewen]

Feedback; Work well prepared and a nice looking
weld.

Ridicule; Squirt guns are for girls.

Opinion; Learn to weld with stick.

[precisionworks]

One way to judge heat settings (critical for penetration) is to run test beads on similar thickness scrap. A cold weld will sit up high and have a rounded, convex look.

As the heat & penetration increase, the profile will flatten, as the filler is melting into the base metal. At some heat setting you'll finally melt through. When you know that setting, back the heat down slightly and move from the test plate to the work.

Fillet welds (90* included angle) always have more penetration on the flat part than on the vertical part because of gravity. The old-timers have a saying, "burn it deep" which still applies today, MIG, TIG, or stick.

[Smokedaddy]

Weld looks fine to me, especially for what it's being used for. Out of curiosity, what welding rod were you using?

If you're interested, here's a link to a diametric video weld setup. We're getting ready for a shut down at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station.

The first image is of the video equipment. The pictures aren't that great, but you can see the weld on the monitor (on the panel).

http://www.pbase.com/smokedaddy/image/46228543

http://www.pbase.com/smokedaddy/image/46174650

http://www.pbase.com/smokedaddy/image/46174649

-SD:

[This message has been edited by Smokedaddy (edited 07-15-2005).]

[caligearhead]

Looks like TIG to me. Looks nice and clean, no spatter, no slag to chip away.

[claw]

yes its tig. used just plain mild steel rod.

[torker]

I figured it was tig. You have at least two cold looking restarts. Try moving your torch back an eigth of an inch further and pre heating it till you get where you have to start the bead and adding filler. This will blend in your restarts a little smoother.
You also left a crater at the end of your weld. Add filler until the crater is full. A crater like that is an automatic failure on a proceedure test.
On a couple of views it looks like you have more filler metal on the bottom as Barry mentioned. Try adding filler to the top only, as you go.
I think I see a cold roll on the top of the bead on one side. Hold your torch a little longer on the top to blend that in as well.
All in all a good effort though. It IS a little tough to critique a weld from a photo and I could be wrong about a few things but that's what it looks like.
Was that free hand or cup walking?
Russ

[claw]

I always have had trouble with restarts. Thank torker for the input. I am self taught so having an expert to check it out make me analize what I am doing alot more. Also thanx to everybody for the input. Not sure what you mean by freehand or cup walking. I did not go back over it with just the torch to blend it smooth if thats what you are talking about. Just one pass adding filler as I went.

[QSIMDO]

Heh!
Looking at that beautiful weld got me to thinking;
Why is it, after a few birthdays, your welds look like your signature used to and your signature ends up nearly a straight line?