Welding Tips and Tricks

I am practicing 7018 uphill on a piece of angle iron. I am starting to get the feel for it. I plan on cutting this in multiple pieces to check for any defects. Does this look normal so far? The 3g test states stringers only. I am having a hard time with that. When I weave it comes out much nicer. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I do think I went to fast.

It's supposed to be vertical. The pic is horizontal for some reason.

Fast is in over-all hurried, or fast on running the beads? Fast over all can play havoc with the inter pass temp, which may have been a problem, but it looks like you may have been slow on the stringer. You're on the verge of cold lap, and have a questionable spot there in the upper right.

Without knowing the settings, I'd say either turn the current up a little, adjust the inductance/arc force lower (for 7018) if possible, or possibly both.

Getting a good start at the bottom of a plate or at the start of any weld takes some time and effort, but enough can't be said for getting a good start leading into a smooth bead. But by the time you get the knack for that, everything else will be better too.

You're on the right track though.

Turn up your amps a little until your beads flatten out a little more.

Poland308 wrote:Turn up your amps a little until your beads flatten out a little more.

I tried that and it dug into the metal so much, like 6011. What amperage would you run 1/8 7018 vert up?

Depends on how many passes have already heated up the part. Anything from 90-130 depending on the machine. Can you do the test with 3/32?

Poland308 wrote:Depends on how many passes have already heated up the part. Anything from 90-130 depending on the machine. Can you do the test with 3/32?

No, I believe it is all 1/8 rod. 1" plate with a 28.5 degree bevel.

Poland308 wrote:Depends on how many passes have already heated up the part. Anything from 90-130 depending on the machine. Can you do the test with 3/32?

Same range for me. I've experimented at 135-140 before, have to move quick but the puddle was nice and flat

You did a good job not undercutting as you welded. The bead profile can be flattened out with a slight side to side motion. the side to side is very small, fast, and with a brief pause on each side. This will allow the base metal to remove some of the heat from the molten puddle which in turn cools it off faster and gives it less time to sag.

If a bead was to be made with no manipilation at all, convexity increases.

Other things to cosider are...

1) Get Comfortable. If you have the piece positioned where its in front of your face as you weld, consider dropping it down where you can look over the top and from the side.
2) If you can't get completely comfortable, place the piece and position your hands where you start uncomfortable and finish comfortable.
3) You can't keep your arc too short. (it looks like yours is fine since a long arc vertical will often result in undercut
4) How you stack your beads agaianst each other will affect how each layer looks. A blind man should have a hard time counting them.

http://www.weldingdata.com/VerticalWeldingTips.htm may have some more info.

So I decided to cut the piece in a few places and this is what it looked like. Does this mean it would pass a 3G test since I don't see any defects?

Nah. Although its nice to see what is and is not inside. That undercut into the base metal is too much, and the profile and what not still need work.

Keep at it. It takes some time on the metal.

PeteM wrote:Nah. Although its nice to see what is and is not inside. That undercut into the base metal is too much, and the profile and what not still need work.

Keep at it. It takes some time on the metal.

Yes the profile and undercut I'm aware of. I was concerned with what's behind all of that. I think it's because I'm using 1/8 rod on 1/4 angle. Gets hit real quick. The test is on 1 inch plate.