Critique these welds please

Thanks to all for your previous suggestions. I would like to hear your opinion on what I should improve, based on what you see.

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I burned about a dozen electrodes today. I worked on laying beads on flat 1/8" pieces, using 6013 electrodes.

My main focus was to automate the hand movement, to move the electrode in accordance with the weld pool condition, and also "feed down" the electrode as it is consumed. The photos below are my last welds of this day.

Unfortunately, I am forced to spend rather large amount of time on family bullshit and did not practice as much as I would like.

(Click on the thumbnail images to enlarge)

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Reply to
Ignoramus14408
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Rod: Too cold. Otherwise very nice man. :) Maybe that 110 amps setting you were using is best. Try fillet welds you have been having problems with. And give us your welding perameters.

-- Rod Ryker... The intricacies of nature is man's cannon fodder.

Reply to
Rod Ryker

Thank you.

By too cold, do you mean not enough amps?

If so (or otherwise), what was the sign of "too cold" that you saw on the pictures? I would like to learn a little bit.

I have not yet done any fillet welds, ever, so I am not sure if perhaps you have someone else in mind. I will definitely try some fillet welds, thicker material, etc.

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Reply to
Ignoramus14408

Rod: Yes.

Rod: The edge of the welds. They have a radius. They would ideally be sloped like a ramp. That and the metal (work) is not warped to hell. ;)

Rod: You are correct, I was mistaken. :)

-- Rod Ryker... The intricacies of nature is man's cannon fodder.

Reply to
Rod Ryker

Rod: Everytime you put "Rod:", it reads like you're addressing yourself. We know the words are yours, because they're the only ones not quoted by your newsreader with leading >'s.

Reply to
Tom Lawrence

Thanks. I will try to think about it. Suggestions from some books showed diagrams of "good welds" having a radius. Thusly, I thought that it was a good thing. I will think about it some more.

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Reply to
Ignoramus14408

Rod: I'll thank you not to snip my sig. Thank you Sir. :)

-- Rod Ryker... The intricacies of nature is man's cannon fodder.

Reply to
Rod Ryker

Igor

Wish I knew the size of what I am looking at. If you told us how wide or long those plate is it would provide very helpful additional information.

My comments offered given I am not an expert and currently at a college where tutor's advice has massively improved my welding, which previously passed a modest vocational qualification...

Judging by spatter, your arc might still be longer than necessary. With 6013 your rod can be really in close, with an arc which gives a very regular "hiss" and very little spatter. You can really avoid having clean-up to do. How short is short? Well, they say have the rod core diameter. So for a 1/8th rod that's 1/16th arc length. I can't really see that. It kinda looks shorter than that, without being a dragging contact... But at this arc length, do feel the electrode bumping against previous spatter, previous bead irregularities, etc (told you I am not an expert!)

Electrode angle - the exaggerated "fishbone" pattern - the "V" shaped solidification swirls - in the weld bead suggest your slope "drag" angle is too great. For very smooth cylindrical beads being about

70deg off the plate / 20deg off vertical is good. Can't be more upright than that, because needing arc force to be keeping slag to back of weld pool - more upright and you risk slag getting forward and making slag inclusions.

Wish I could know the scale / dimensions - but your run-out - how much length of weld you deposit - your run-out should about equal your rod length. Or put another way - if you burn an inch of rod you lay an inch of weld.

So in summary, I would guess - hold short arc, keep electrode less sloped at about 20 to 30 deg of drag angle and aim for a run-out as long as the welding rod.

Richard Smith

Reply to
Richard Smith

Rod: The *edge(s)* of the welds should have little or no radius. A radius would indicate a cold lap, which means little penetration on the *edge(s)*. Don't mean to nit pick, your welds are good. :)

-- Rod Ryker... The intricacies of nature is man's cannon fodder.

Reply to
Rod Ryker

Going by memory, 1/8" thick, 3" wide, a couple of feet long.

Thanks. I think that you nailed the issue -- electrode too sloped and arc too long. My runout is about what you say it should be. I will play some more.

The issue (maybe wrong) with shorter arcs, that I had, was that the bead was too high and narrow. Looking like an upside down "U", rather than "(" turned 90 degrees clockwise. And not as much deposition. I hope that it is clear what I mean. Quite possibly, I am fully wrong, I will try making some more beads soon to see what happens if I keep the rod much closer.

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Reply to
Ignoramus1729

Oh, I see. thanks Rod.

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Reply to
Ignoramus1729

Much better than the earlier ones you showed us. Still not as even as they need to be. That, of course, takes practice. Eventually you want the weld bead to look just the same all the way down its length -- the tiniest little ripple in the surface (that happens automatically with 6013; I don't know why--or at least it happens with mine) but otherwise no obvious bulges, humps, or other irregularities.

In addition to rod angle and holding the rod very close in (as Richard has pointed out), how are you bracing your welding hand? Make sure you are braced in such a way that you have good, smooth support all the way across the motion you need to make.

Reply to
Andrew H. Wakefield

Thanks, I will try to get to that point. Does anyone have a picture of a "good stick weld"?

That's a good point. I placed the steel flat on the floor of my garage and kneel in front of it. I do that because I hope that it minimizes the distance of how far the sparks would fly. There is no gasoline or other flammable fluids in my garage.

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Reply to
Ignoramus1729

I have a good picture well it is a chart from the Lincoln Site I believe; It is approx 40KB I could send it too you if you like.

John Noon

Reply to
John Noon

That's great! My email addresss are ichudov AT yahoo DOT com and ichudov AT algebra DOT com.

Thanks!

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Reply to
Ignoramus1729

I just finished welding school and did pretty good. If you need some advice, or questions ask me at snipped-for-privacy@nexicom.net I even just got a job mig welding. dan

Reply to
danny switzer

weldin speen I think is to slow, tell by the way you r beed has points in it. Should be rounded and more consitent. Voltage may be to high also. To much splater. Could also be your arc ditance is to far. But I'm not there to see you welding. email me with questions if you like snipped-for-privacy@nexicom.net

Reply to
danny switzer

Congratulations!

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Reply to
Ignoramus1729

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