Welding Tips and Tricks

I was filling some holes in a truck frame build and after I was done welding one of the holes but still had the gun pointing at the weld the weld had a nipple grow on it. I chiseled it off and had a crater underneath of it. Using 75/25 gas ,frame was wire brushed to remove rust. Any Ideas?

Not uncommon. I would grind deeper into the weld. It may be filled with porosity. There by being a compromised weld. Posible causes would be gas flow issues, metal contamination, or even contaminated wire.

Another outside possibility is that the frame is sealed and you welded up the last possible vent hole. The accumulated gas/heat from welding has to go somewhere- blow out. This is not likely on a truck frame, but, in certain conditions, it is a real possibility.

Just something to bear in mind while you work-

Very common I've found if you weld it like tracing the petals of a flower and not like a spiral it helps greatly I think by going around the ring and then capping the center it accidentally creates an air pocket that blows out like welding a sealed container

cj737 wrote:Another outside possibility is that the frame is sealed and you welded up the last possible vent hole. The accumulated gas/heat from welding has to go somewhere- blow out. This is not likely on a truck frame, but, in certain conditions, it is a real possibility.

Just something to bear in mind while you work-

Frame is an open channel.

Mike Westbrook wrote:Very common I've found if you weld it like tracing the petals of a flower and not like a spiral it helps greatly I think by going around the ring and then capping the center it accidentally creates an air pocket that blows out like welding a sealed container

Thanks, I never thought about that happening.