Welding Tips and Tricks

i have been welding on and off for the past 5 years from small jobs to welding galvaneil to industrial steel like i am now.. but the job i went for required a 1G test in order to work i can lay down some nice passes including open root horizontal and vertical but never had a hard time welding flat and never used 0.52 wire my root was good but i cant weave on it and thats what i learned by and when i layed my stringer down it was good but laying down the next ones on the bevel it wasnt fusing good enough and also the inspector said it had to be near level with the top and not to "hilly" so when he shined with it with a flashlight he couldnt see a shawdow.. any tips onto getting this so i can pass this test? failed once and got only one more chance to pass or i dont get the job

Not the person to answer mig questions, but I'm hoping your talking about .052 and not 0.52 like you posted. Half inch wire would have to be fed off a spool on the back of a truck

Lots of great mig welders here to answer your question though. They'll be soon to answer. Nice to have you here and soon you'll be answering others questions.

Len

correct sir!!!:lol: not used to using a laptop at all along with the word predictions it follows just trying to get some pointers on this test so i can have a job since the 1G test is required to get it. but the inspector was inpressed with my weaves but failed my coupn

When I weld in the 1g position, I weld with lots of heat and lesser wire speed

Meaning, that you don't want to weld with to much wire speed

To much wire speed can cause a lot of problems.

So take some time and dial in your ipm.

Set it nice and hot with a smooth arc and dial down the wire speed.

.052 is some big wire, so I imagine its spray transfer and 1 inch plate with a wide bevel

We need more information

John

AKweldshop wrote:When I weld in the 1g position, I weld with lots of heat and lesser wire speed

Meaning, that you don't want to weld with to much wire speed

To much wire speed can cause a lot of problems.

So take some time and dial in your ipm.

Set it nice and hot with a smooth arc and dial down the wire speed.

.052 is some big wire, so I imagine its spray transfer and 1 inch plate with a wide bevel

We need more information

John

its 1/2 bevel with 45 degree with a backing plate... and never got a chance to look at the welder to determine the speed since im not highly knowlegeable on the actual different welders but seen it was .052 wire and it was very hot!!! speed was a tad fast and my root was good but once i flipped the coupon around and did the sides to melt down hill onto the root the inspector said stringers only and i couldnt weave or lap so i failed 1 of 2 and the next the welder was spitting and found out was low on gas then i had it all well and a guy behind me had his grinder cord tangled up in my lead and made me go off track and i failed 2 of 2 guy said i can come back and try again and give me some scrap to practice on the try the coupon again but said only got one more chance and this job depends on my rent due soon and if i have to move back to maryland with family to get back on my feet

honestly it might of been 1" since im not to exp in the field only picking up a lead and learning from there they liked my weave skills on a horizontal plate at 90 degrees with perfect penetration. and walking the cup on tig but didnt help me with the 1G

well, since there is a backing strap, you, can run some really hot stringers.

I think your "lack of fusion" is caused by TOO MUCH WFS!!!!

You shouldn't be getting "cold lap' with this hot of a welder.

Since you have some scrap test plates, I would recommend running some sample plates with some lower WFS.

Try and go steady with your gun pointing at the toe of the previous weld.

spray transfer shouldn't have "cold lap".

John

i know the top of the backing plate and space between the bevels was 1/8 inch maybe bigger because the guy made me tack it up and he placed a stick rod in between the entire plate to space it. am i better off to fill the entire gap with a rainbow lap weave brush off and then let it cool down to do my 2nd and 3rd pass? or am i better off to lay stringers down and on my cap pass set it hot and lap it? any info would be great!!!

AKweldshop wrote:well, since there is a backing strap, you, can run some really hot stringers.

I think your "lack of fusion" is caused by TOO MUCH WFS!!!!

You shouldn't be getting "cold lap' with this hot of a welder.

Since you have some scrap test plates, I would recommend running some sample plates with some lower WFS.

Try and go steady with your gun pointing at the toe of the previous weld.

spray transfer shouldn't have "cold lap".

John

WFS?????

Its hard to do a bad stringer, in my opinion.

To fill the root, always use one pass, if your saying you've got 1/8 gap and your using .052 wire you should be doing a slight wiggle and tie both plates together.

On your second and third passes, unless the wps specifies, you can do a weave or stringers, which ever you prefer....

John

WFS stands for Wire Feed Speed

so am i best to do 2 passes on top of the root then a cap? or make its only 3 passes so the test will pass in the inspector eyes so it can be bent tested? because i seen some videos on here and youtube of miller company doing only 3 passes and one of the vids was one root a overlapping 2nd at a down hill then fill the rest in as a lap/stringer

The second pass is up to you, there should be enough room to stack two beads but if your more comfortable with a weave....

John

yeah i know what you mean i dont want to be a follower and you cant teach a welder how to weld differently but all advice is accepted at this point i just hope the company calls me back and is going to give me some scrap to practice on before i do the coupon on a 2.5ft i beam thats back breaking and cant get comfortable nore keep from my gloves gettin to hot to hold the gun steady so had to use my wrist and " peace" sign it to keep a steady path

egsir2 wrote:yeah i know what you mean i dont want to be a follower and you cant teach a welder how to weld differently but all advice is accepted at this point

I don't understand your comment - you sure can teach a welder to do it different if what they are doing isn't working.

Be a follower - a follower of techniques that work every time - copy them and also do it right,

Over the years I've adjusted techniques to do it better. That means I now weld just like someone who was better than me.

Sorry you did'nt succeed 1st time round - it does'nt sound like you had the best of conditions especially if this sort of weld is outside of your normal experience then some guidance could have been given by the tester - maybe they thought you had relevant experience so little help was given on machine setting ? - unless it's one with digital display volts / amps it's hard to set without a little practice on scrap 1st - if your using .052 I'd assume it to be spray transfer so WFS is more tolerant - I would think given your comments you actually used globular transfer by accident - machines vary & the gas mix affects this a bit but if you get a second chance make sure you have at least 35volts OCV - take a cheapo meter with you if need be if there is no indication on the machine - either way ensure it's hot enough to get true spray - my machine does'nt display wire speed so this is a guess - but if that one does I'd expect around 370 IPM to get you somewhere in the ball park - after that just practice a bit - also stick out will need to be longer than you maybe used to - the glove heat is just the nature of the beast - you will need to get comfortable holding the torch much further back if you have'nt welded at this sort of power level before.

Best of luck with "the gig"

i wasnt exactly sure what it was set on it was hot as hell because it was almost warping the coupon. and i would of adjusted it but it was equipment i have never used before one machine with a wire feeder cart with the spool on it only had 2 dials analog no digital and V was set at 5.5/10 speed was 6/10

Well it's tricky when you don't know the machine - most 350amp sets & above here are remote wire feed- it's normal practice as the power source is often too heavy / big to get access around some jobs - my 500amp is like that - only controls on the wire feeder will usually be speed / burn back & trigger latch - if the machine was basically set for the parameters of that weld for you then the test was really only to see if you could run some basic parallel beads - so if you did'nt cope it maybe not the job for you or with your current experience - if you were meant to demonstrate the ability to set the machine then they should allow you to play on some scrap & / or measure what any given setting is giving you - I set just by experience - but if that weld was to any sort of WPS then parameters of voltage / wire speed should be given & you should have the chance to get these set on some scrap prior to the test even if this means measuring wire speed with a tape measure & volts with a meter.

If you really need this job & you get a second chance then go for it - but it sounds like a couple of firms around here - they are only looking for "trainable monkeys" & the pay / conditions are cr#p with little prospect of improvement - best left alone if you can find anything better.

well the company i am applying for is big jobs and will be inspected by not only the companies inspector but by the jobs also so they want to make sure everything goes as planned and if i pass this test then they will work with me on 2G 3G which i can pass but cant do a 1G... and its low pay starting but if i pass the test and show up on time for 30 days then i get a 7$ raise

In your first post you mentioned welding open root in 2g and 3g so I am wondering if you are familiar with spray transfer GMAW. Unless you have pulse capability you are restricted to flat and horizontal fillets only. Spray is going to seem really hot if you are used to short circuit. You need to weld forehand (push) when welding spray transfer. They probably have the machine set where it sprays best with the wire they are using. Your electrode stick out will need to be greater than with short circuit.

Good luck

iv'e been used to using .045 for the past couple years doing 16 gauge galvaniel with the gauges set at 255wfs and around 16.0-17.2 range not used to the equipment they use at this new company but its basicially ran from a big box on a lincoln electric wire feeder with 2 settings on it im just used to miller mig welder that was digital and and i could tell what i was running and how fast it was spooling out like i said been doing it on and off for the past 5 years never had to take a test just proof i could fill a gap keep straight make sure penetration is good and also a nice looking weave at points unless it was dual shield with a stringer then cover pass doing a vertical from top to bottom

Spray transfer is different, especially if you are used to pulling when you weld with short circuit. You should push spray, and it is going to look hot to you. You should not be making any spatter and you should not be getting a bacon frying sound at all. The end of your wire should look like the end of a hose with water spraying out and it will be making a humming sound. Unless they have a pulse machine you will be welding flat and horizontal fillets only.

The test you are taking is structural and GMAW-spray is accepted on structural weldments where as GMAW-short circuit is not accepted as a pre-qualified procedure. This means that you have to weld it in spray transfer mode and that usually starts at around 24 volts depending on the shielding gas used.