Welding Tips and Tricks

hey folks im gettin readdy to take my pipe test here in a week or so and everythings goin great, roots good fills good caps fine except on 2g and the overhead section of 6g im still gettin some pretty bad sag. Not gettin too much undercut though just a lumpy bottom end of my 7018 cap pass. I've tried turnin down my amps, stickin on top longer and changin rod angle but nothin seems to be showing definate improvement. Anybody care to give me a few tips on how to prevent that sag?
thx a bunch

BurninRod wrote:hey folks im gettin readdy to take my pipe test here in a week or so and everythings goin great, roots good fills good caps fine except on 2g and the overhead section of 6g im still gettin some pretty bad sag. Not gettin too much undercut though just a lumpy bottom end of my 7018 cap pass. I've tried turnin down my amps, stickin on top longer and changin rod angle but nothin seems to be showing definate improvement. Anybody care to give me a few tips on how to prevent that sag?
thx a bunch

Burninrod , this is a problem every welder has encountered . Its harder to explain in writing than in person, but here goes.
I dont know what diameter or thickness your welding but that wont matter much. If the diameter is 6" or under i'd definately cap with 3/32 rods . Once your flush allow coupon to cool down some, but not room temp. If the coupon feels like its been in the sun all day in july, thats good base metal temp to cap. Now, you need to be around 90 - 95 amps (if 3/32) . The angle of your rod for 6G is basically same as 2G . You may need to choke up on the rod some making it more stable. I would NOT
recommend trying to even slightly weave (or osccilate) your rod because gravity is already working against you. Fire up on the bottom and holding a fairly tight arc , let the puddle spread out as you maintain a steady travel speed. I'd advise you to grind all starts on the bottom before starting next bead on opposite side.
***Repeatative practice and NEVER STOP trying to make the next bead , look better than your last bead***

Thx a bunch for the advice OrbitalX, I'm welding 3/8 inch thick 4" pipe with 3/32 6010 (sometimes1/8 depending on the land they machined for me) rod for root and fill then 1/8 7018 for cap. I'll try your method out tomorrow and post how it works out for me. I have been weaving all my caps which seems to work fine on 5g position but 2g even turned down is still saggy.
Thx again and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Hey man tried out your advice but it seems to be impossible to get a bubble wide enough to cover the entire cap area without turning it up hot enough that it would sag horrendously. So far my best looking beads have been weaved. Continued to get fuckin pissed off today because no matter what i try there is still sag in my puddle, tried so many patterns and angles that by the end of the day i was so frustrated i was making worse beads than i had this morning. Hopefully tomorrow works out better when i start fresh.
any further advice from you pro's out there would make my day.
thx again OrbitalX

BurninRod wrote:Hey man tried out your advice but it seems to be impossible to get a bubble wide enough to cover the entire cap area without turning it up hot enough that it would sag horrendously. So far my best looking beads have been weaved. Continued to get fuckin pissed off today because no matter what i try there is still sag in my puddle, tried so many patterns and angles that by the end of the day i was so frustrated i was making worse beads than i had this morning. Hopefully tomorrow works out better when i start fresh.
any further advice from you pro's out there would make my day.
thx again OrbitalX

It sound like you are trying to cap with one wide bead in the 6G position . I advise you stringer the filler and cap . You say the coupon wall thickness is 3/8" , It should take @least 2 stringer beads to cap, but I suggest go with a 3 striger bead cap to get a better looking profile. Odd number stringer bead cap look better cosmetically because you have a center bead giving the cap that "crown profile". If you are trying to cap a 6G or 2G weld with 1 weave pass cap , that is your problem (NEVER DO THIS). This will result in heavy , overlapping beads. Run smaller , multiple stringers beads so the puddle is lighter mass and not being pulled down by gravity. You will learn in welding to adjust and comply with laws of gravity. It can be your friend or enemy. Definately use (3/32 7018s to fill and cap) on pipe that small and thin. good luck. Dont give up , if you have a true passion for welding , you will succeed.

thx a bunch again for the advice. My problem is my CWI want's me to cap in 1 pass, not sure why so i think it's gonna have some sag to it no matter what when i do a bead that wide, i guess as long as i don't have any undercut and it's a solid bead i won't worry about a little bit of sag. Seems inevitable.

Your gonna encounter some QC's that have very little welding experience or none at all. The QC's job is to verify correct material, correct weld filler, welder certs are current , correct weld process , and other essential requirements.
I understand a QC requesting a weld be capped w/multiply stringers when needed because a wide single bead would be difficult and not sufficient. Section 9 says the weld must be free of any abrupt valleys and ridges, but makes NO comment or reference
of a weld re-enforcement (cap) requiring only a single bead pass.
All other test shops will not allow you to single bead cap in 6G... dont challenge the QC's requirement unless your in good with job managment , or got another job lined up. He's definately over-stepping his authority. Sorry about your situation , goodluck.

why is the hell would he tell you to run a 1 pass cap on a 4" 6G? the dumbass is smoken some shit. i run 3 to 5 beads on a 2" S 80. but mostly just 3 and no less than that as well. I really hate when CWI's have never picked up a stinger or done any real welding, then try and tell a welder how it should be done. ...... but any way, orbit is right, you want to flush it out with your filler, then run a 3 bead stringer all the way around, starting on the bottom of course. when you start your fillers, dont weave what so ever, just small tight beads all the way out. and if your bottom is humped up gring it down. it sounds like you may be moving slow as well. you want to make sure it not too hot, and not too cold, then move your ass. pausing trying to fill in or what ever is why is humping up. gravity + more deposite then needed = humpage and possibly slag inclusions.