Thx guys, ur help and advice is greatly appreciated...it really aided in my progress. Much obliged

Haha..thx Steve. It's been a while man. You helped me a bit with my 3G welds last year I think...very informative. Actually it was Xray...been thru it already, so i was relieved to have passed.

Well said Otto, this was kind of a 'need to pass' for a 'want' gig..if that makes sense. Anywho, here are a few pics of the finished root and then the cap. Should have tried to get better shots. I also think they look a bit better in person. Bottom line is, I passed and the nerviness is over...for n...

My passes were pretty good. Again, the hot pass had some slag...had to grind carefully...but in the end it worked out. Cover pass went on nice and smooth, at least it felt pretty smooth. What I realized is that I have to find a way to calm my nerves a little bit...cuz the day after I tested...did so...

Thx a lot guys! Ya it was tough..but the grinder came in handy...ill get pics up here soon. Thx for all the help, I put all of that advice to use, and it helped. What a relief

Passed it!!

hey guys, I really appreciate all of the advice on this subject..its been great. After reading thru your stuff..I guess I may just be over thinking/over reacting...which is good news to me. Superior, I can use a grinder and definitely will, haha. I took a test last week and failed it with a 1/2"...

Here is a better pic of what I'm talkin about. Notice the slag on the left side..what can i do to prevent this? It's always on that top bevel. I purposely hold the top longer. As for the slag, I'm able to grind most of it out...but I want to be able to correct this. I'm tempted to start running stri...

That's a good question. To be honest, I feel I have a little bit more control with the 3/32 rods. Plus, I dont have to weld as hot with them as opposed to 1/8. I've been taking classes at a community college, and the way we do it there is, we use 3/32 for hot and fill passes..and then we would do a ...

I'm gonna post the cover pass any minute now. I'm still having a tough time with the hot pass, everything else feels pretty good. It's hard to see the problems in the pics tho. mainly, when I run my hot pass..I weave and my heat is around 87-90. The thing that is really frustrating is that I'm leavi...

John, I checked out that video, watched the whole thing. There were some really good shots of the puddle and whatnot...definitely took something from it...good recommendation. And AZSA200, I try not to grind to much either. I pretty much use a half round file, a wire wheel and a cut off wheel for cl...

Thanks a lot Jonathan, I really appreciate it. That's a great point about grinding or not grinding before the cover pass. That's always a tricky part of the weld, because slightly below flush is the standard. I actually put a cap on this weld last night, I just forgot to snap a pic...I will definite...

haha, thx for the post script. gonna check it out now, thank you.

AZSA200,
That's perfect. I think I definitely need to bring my heat down just a bit. I'm using a Miller XMT 304 at work. I appreciate all of the info greatly.

I watched the previous one posted on this thread...many times. Jody has been teaching me for a while, but if there's another one you're talkin about, ill definitely check it out

Video??

ArizonaSA200,
Thx for the info, and ya..finding out how a machine is dialed in is a task itself. I posted my last before I saw your reply. It just feels like I'm holding the sides forever on that hot pass.

I guess I still may have to hold the sides a little bit longer on the fill pass, I just don't want that puddle to spill over the bevel.

So I did another weld last night (6G pos)...I made some changes. I'm not sure the pictures portray the best image compared to what I was actually seeing...but I used a much tighter weave--good advice! I feel the fill pass came out much better when tightening up my weave. The hot pass is still giving...

Thx for the replies guys. I feel like my rod angle is straight from side to side. And as for pausing on the sides longer, I will give that a try, I hold about two seconds at the top bevel and one on the bottom. Can u try and explain what you mean by tighter weave? Right now I use almost a figure 8 p...

Hey everybody, it's been a minute. So I'm getting ready to test out on 6" sch 40 in 6G position. I've been hitting it pretty hard lately and am making improvements. For the root, I have been cutting my tacks out. I'm burning 1/8" 6010 at 77-80amps, arc control/dig around 60. The problem th...

Exactly Steve, that's what makes these forums so great. Takin little bits of info from different welders who have a lot of experience and putting the the tips to work, finding what works best for me. Thx again, I'm sure ill have more questions in the future...

Alexa, Thx for the input. This weld was driving me crazy when I first began practicing it. I felt that my rod angle and speed of travel was fine, I just couldn't understand why it would begin to melt/crater when I got to the very top. I undertood exactly what Steve was sayin with the breaking of the...

Thx for the advice, I'll definitely put it to use. Another good suggestion with the long arc, always appreciate it...

Welcome from Chicago