Welding Tips and Tricks

Hi folks,

I am having to do an in house weld test at work, the welds (mild steel) required are:

90* outside corner downhand, (4mm plate) easy and completed

6mm fillet in the horizontal position, (6mm plate) easy completed

12mm fillet in the horizontal position (12mm plate) - with a root pass and a single cap over the top, not completed

When i have done 12mm fillet welds previously i had to do them as 3 passes ( a root and 2 caps)

Ive been out of the game for about 16/17 years (and a few months into this new job) and just after a few pointers. I'm not sure if my root pass was too big? What size should it be ideally? The cap had early signs of coldlap I'm using a lincoln set with 1mm wire...

Cheers,
MrO


**edited to say**
If anyone can give me an idea of volts and inches/metres per min wire speed just to get me going that would be most useful

MrO,
Welcome to the forum!
I will attempt to answer, but I am not sure I got the conversion to inches correct.
In my terms you are welding almost 1/2" material and welding with .035 wire.
Your weld settings will depend on the gas you are using. Are you going for short-circuit transfer or spray arc transfer?
Use Millers (or others) welding calculator to get you close. These calculators have a very broad range, but will get you close for a start. http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/ca ... ulator.php
I too have done this fillet in 3 passes verses the 2. My guess is you will want to run it hot (spray arc) and build it up as much as possible. I think this would also depend on the bevel and gap you start with. I would have to run one to give you exact specs.
Hope this helps
-Jonathan

Welcome to the forum MrO.

Thanks for the welcomes, and the reply I now have the Miller app on my iphone

(i hope to be around here a bit more often)

It now seems i read the sheet wrong and it isn't a 12mm fillet with a root and single cap, which i thought it was a bit strange... I could be wrong but thought 3 runs was more normal for a 12mm?

The actual weld required is:

A t-fillet using 12.5mm steel with the weld being a suitable size for the parent metal (weld to include a root pass amd a single cap)

Hi Jonathan,

i think you got your conversions about right as 1mm is just under 40thou...

Im currently working on the production of dumper trucks www.thwaitesdumpers.co.uk

when i used to work in this kind of trade 16/17 years ago we used to use 1.2mm wire which i found more suitable to heavy guage welding...

If you were doing this weld ie: root and cap, would you put any weave into the cap?

cheers,
MrO

Welcome to the forum, MrO.

MrO wrote:
If you were doing this weld ie: root and cap, would you put any weave into the cap?

cheers,
MrO

It would depend on the set up. What is your bevel and gap in the plate? I can do it either way. Most would do stringers. It is up to you or how they want it to be done. As long as it is not over 3/4" you can weave. My last test I did stringers. I believe I have a 1" practice piece I will try to find and snap a pic for you.
-Jonathan

Superiorwelding wrote:

MrO wrote:
If you were doing this weld ie: root and cap, would you put any weave into the cap?

cheers,
MrO

It would depend on the set up. What is your bevel and gap in the plate? I can do it either way. Most would do stringers. It is up to you or how they want it to be done. As long as it is not over 3/4" you can weave. My last test I did stringers. I believe I have a 1" practice piece I will try to find and snap a pic for you.
-Jonathan

It's all quite strange There is no bevel or gap, just a t-fillet / root and single cap / flat position / using .035 wire on 2 pieces of 1/2" plate... when i look at the miller app or the lincoln app that i now have, neither of them recommend 1mm / .035 wire for 1/2" plate (which i mentioned in a previous post, ive used 1.2mm / 0.45 wire for this kind of work before)

The gas i'm using is 25/75 and the welder im using is a Lincoln CV405-I and a LF 30 wire feed unit..

By 'stringers' do you mean just a little side to side movement?

Hi Paul s

I got the pic now.
If your doing a filet with mig, flat t-joint, do stringers.

I know the exact test your attempting.
I'll run out side and get a pic for you.

In the flat always do stringers, which are narrow beads you stack side to side.

~John

Well I am very embarrassed I was thinking of a groove not a fillet. Anyway I beat you John to the pictures
This is 3/4" plate I had laying around. Specs 75/25 gas, .035 ER70S-6, 29.5 V, 515 wire. I went with what my MM252 recommended for 1/2" plate just to give you a reference. If you can switch to 90/10 or 95/5 it will be a much smoother arc and a true spray.
-Jonathan

For the single pass cover, I would recommend running your root either smaller or hotter to burn it in and get a concave weld. Then for cover run it at your setting you settle on and hold still to fill it all in. I should have done one for you, will have to sneak out to garage again tomorrow.
One thing you didn't mention is what is the fillet size? This will help in recommending settings and how to fill it in.
-Jonathan

Thanks again folks...

The paperwork asks for a fillet thats of a size suitable for the parent metal which is 12.5mm / 1/2"

MrO
If the requirement is a 1/2" fillet, I do not feel you would get there is two passes. If you did, you would have to step up to a bigger wire or run extremely high amps. Food for thought.
-Jonathan

Superiorwelding wrote:MrO
If the requirement is a 1/2" fillet, I do not feel you would get there is two passes. If you did, you would have to step up to a bigger wire or run extremely high amps. Food for thought.
-Jonathan

Sorry, i perhaps didn't explain it well (i did think it meant a 12mm fille was required, and this was my argument, ie: the wire needed to be stepped up to do this in two passes) but it says a size suitable to the parent metal, the metal is 12mm so i'm thinking the weld could be a 10mm fillet?

MrO,
Technically you would want a 1/2" fillet on 1/2"(12.5mm) plate but I would say 3/8"(9.5mm) would suffice for a test. This is the minimum I would want to put on in a real world situation. Personally I would still push for a 3 pass equaling 12.5mm because this is correct. I guess just do what they ask and move on. The best of luck to you on this test. Keep us posted.
-Jonathan

Those are lovely welds Jonathan.
That is what I like to see in a filet.
Nice and wet out.
I'll try and get you a shot of mine, once I get it set-up.

~John

AKweldshop wrote:Those are lovely welds Jonathan.
That is what I like to see in a filet.
Nice and wet out.
I'll try and get you a shot of mine, once I get it set-up.

~John

John,
I look forward to seeing your welds! I have been kicking around starting a thread called" The best of the best" where pro's can post their best looking welds for everyone's amusement. What do you think?
-Jonathan

Johnathan,
I would love that!!
Which process's are we going to use, which material, and which process???

~John

AKweldshop wrote:Johnathan,
I would love that!!
Which process's are we going to use, which material, and which process???

~John

John,
Any and all processes. Any material. It could start out specific and the let the wind take it where it may. I think it would be fun.
-Jonathan

I'll try and get some pics of the misc work I'll be doing.

One of my greatest regrets in life is not getting pics of everything I've worked on and fixed.

Great Idea,

~Johnathan

Well, i did the test tuesday morning and it went well. I was that far into what i was doing i forgot to take a picture and after the pointers from you guys it was the one thing i wanted to do....

Since then i have been doing some uphill mig (not for a test (yet)) and it's easier than i thought. Time to visit another thread i think

Cheers again....