Welding Tips and Tricks

I am going to take a structural welding test soon. the test is supposed to be 3/8" thick plate with 1/4" backing and a 1/4" gap.
A36 steel. its a stick test in vertical and overhead. i am not sure of the rod but am pretty sure its 7018.
I need some tips. is it better to run one root pass or 2? what amperage for 1/8 7018?
i think there is a limit on bead width so i may not be allowed to weave. i am concerned about trapping slag with stringer beads

anyone got any tips?

You usually can call in and ask what the welding parameters are.
Thats what I would start with.

I have passed this test a number of times.however using 1" plate the best advice i can give is make sure you clean real good between succesive passes. I put a wire wheel on a 4" grinder and used that in lieu of a wire brush,also i sharpend up an awl or even a welding rod to a fine point to get deep in any crevices

If the backing strip sticks out pretty good on each side, start your bead at the end of the strip so you can judge your rate of travel and get the correct bead width.
I like 1 root and 2 hot passes. I also use a wire wheel on a 4in grinder and have had no issues in nick breaks.

Depending on the brand of rod, amperage should be between 100 and 120. closer to 100 on 3G and closer to 120 on 4G. I personally like 2 roots. If you run 2 roots, Turn your angle steep into the plate your tying into. Move as fast as possible, without skipping any spots, stay on the leading edge of the puddle. the smaller you can make your stringers the less chance of cold lap. With a 1/8" rod, the strongest bead size is 3/16". CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN. between passes. Good luck!

I like to carry a scribe with me to weld tests. A scribe is used for writing on softer metals, it looks like a steel pencil with a very fine tip. Some even have daimond tips. They range from 15-30$ I think. You can use this to pick out any slag that gets caught in the weld after wire wheeling it. This works wonders. Some people sharpen a stick rod, but the point always seems to bend.

-Rick

Dear potential certified welder,

It amazes me as to how many times I have said this over and over in reference. It is apparent to me that many of the new and upcomming welders have not been to a welding class or a welding school. This is very apparent because everytime you guys ask for advise it is about heat settings. This really disappionts me!! I want all who have this reoccuring question to LISTEN to this very important statement and REMEMBER what I am saying for the duration of your welding career. There is a basic starting point in all of welding theory with varients learned along the way. This lesson being being a basic stick welding test for a (structural) welding certification. All welding rods will be 7018. Most likely there will be no weaving allowed on this test!! The reason being it is easier to have slag inclusions in the weld zone as opposed to using stringer beads only. These test are usually exrayed for sound quality but may be bend tested as well.

The BASIC heat setting for rod diameter vs heat range is:
1/8" rods the heat setting is 85 to 125.
5/32 rods the heat setting will be 125 to 150.

These settings are ABSOLUTE basic settings. All welding machines run differently. No two machines run exactally the same not even two miller trailblazer 225 NT machines. They WILL have differences!! You will most likely beusing a machine you are unfamiliar with. Play with the heat a little if allowed on a piece of scrap. Ask the instructor at the test facility if this is allowed.

You are only allowed to use a CHIPPING HAMMER and WIRE BRUSH on these test. DO NOT!!!!! chip off the slag with your chipping hammer. This WILL create slag inclusions and fail your weld. Make sure you have a sharp point on your chipping hammer before you get to the test facility and cleanly scrape the sides especially of the welds. Make sure to wire brush each weld pass very cleanly before running the next pass. If the test is done with a 1/8" rod you will probaly need two passes in the root. If the test is given with 5/32" rods the root will require only one pass as it will creat a wider weld bead. Always REMEMBER!!! Overhead welds are always run hotter. Approximately 5 to 10 amps or hotter depending on the machine being used. ALWAYS test your heat before a test!!! Use this information as your basic starting point and you will have a good chance of passing this test.

Good Luck!!

James L. Porter
First Class Welding & Fabrication

dear fcw3269, good answer. however i dont feel that one needs to go to a school to learn. i am a 3rd generation welder/ironworker.ive never been to a class or school a day in my life.everything ie learned has been passed down from family members and old timers as i was in the shop and job sites as a kid. however i would recomend that anyone getting into the buissiness go to a schooll since it seems to me that lately nobody wants to teach newcomers the trade anymore.

I'm an old welder that has schooled many young welders in my time, some good some not so good. you think you haven't been to school but in realaity you went to a better school for a longer time than most of your fellow workers. congrats on graduating. by the way been doing this for 36 years.

Do you mean that you are only allowed a hammer and brush to certify at James L. Porter Fabrication? That's certainly NOT true on every welding certification test.

Mike

fcw3269 wrote:Dear potential certified welder,

You are only allowed to use a CHIPPING HAMMER and WIRE BRUSH on these test. DO NOT!!!!! chip off the slag with your chipping hammer. This WILL create slag inclusions and fail your weld. Make sure you have a sharp point on your chipping hammer before you get to the test facility and cleanly scrape the sides especially of the welds. Make sure to wire brush each weld pass very cleanly before running the next pass.

I know what fcw3269 is talkin about as far as the heat settings. Every machine will perform differently, and the way i look at it, and this is all in my humble opinion, welding is more feel than science. If your using 7018 you really dont have to worry much about slag, as long as you have your heat dialed in. Now if your talkin about 6010 ,thats when you have to get all archealogical about it and pick out the slag with said sharpened objects. 7018 dialed in should just roll off the weld by itself, if properly set. Again this is a feel for the machine youre working with. I would assume theyd let you run a few stringer beads before the test to best find the settings, fcw3269 has some really good starting points, but again those are refrences. The machine and your natural ability to pick up on the way that puddle is flowing will tell you all you need to know. Yes , my spelling and grammar are hideous, but i can lay a pretty decent bead Cheers to everyone im new on this forum and hope to obtain all your wisdom.

zorlac wrote:I know what fcw3269 is talkin about as far as the heat settings. Every machine will perform differently, and the way i look at it, and this is all in my humble opinion, welding is more feel than science. If your using 7018 you really dont have to worry much about slag, as long as you have your heat dialed in. Now if your talkin about 6010 ,thats when you have to get all archealogical about it and pick out the slag with said sharpened objects. 7018 dialed in should just roll off the weld by itself, if properly set. Again this is a feel for the machine youre working with. I would assume theyd let you run a few stringer beads before the test to best find the settings, fcw3269 has some really good starting points, but again those are refrences. The machine and your natural ability to pick up on the way that puddle is flowing will tell you all you need to know. Yes , my spelling and grammar are hideous, but i can lay a pretty decent bead Cheers to everyone im new on this forum and hope to obtain all your wisdom.

I beg to differ on not worrying about 7018 slag...in the last 6 people testingfor a aws 6g pipe cert at my school, tig open root, tig hot pass, 7018 out, the ones who failed their first try was do souly to slag inclusions. Agreed if dialed in, it should just peel off, but that does not mean we arent taught to go over every pass very maticulously(sorry if i speeled that wrong, i to am not an english major). Today my slag was falling off before i even got a chance to look at it, but upon closer inspection there was still bits of slg in different areas. This is true as well in getting a structual steel cert. biggest reason they fail is slag.
6010 will run through almost anything, we try to get the slag out but never stress about it, just run it hot and it will burn out any slag. Our teachers call it a cleaning rod because of this property.

As far as a wire wheel not being allowed...we're allowed to have one but told that if we are running it right we do not need one. Our teachers also have horror stories about people using them.

My advice for finding your heat setting is to find out what is too hot, then come down from there. The hotter you are with out being too hot, the better your welds should be. On 3/32 7018 2g filler passes im running 110amps, if i try and run the whole rod, it will burn up, i run it a half rod at a time. Its on 8" pipe so running a half rod at a time works out great and lays in amazing.