[DanW]

Hi Guys,

I recently attended my first day of welding training (had not picked up a welder before in my life) and loved it

I did stick welding first with 6013 (might have been 6011, mind is a little fuzzy) and 7018 electrodes.

I first of all welded up a small plate of steel to get the hang of it then did a 3 pass fillet weld in flat position followed by a vertical up cap over the fillet (using 7018 electrodes)

here are some pics of the pad welds for interests sake, would love to hear any criticism and suggestions





anyhow, back to the point, when i was doing the fillet welding and capping etc, my instructor told me to add a very slight weave between the plates, and then when doing the 2nd and third pass, to put a slight weave again from halfway on the root pass down to the plate and so on

i assumed this was just the way it was done but I've read now that some don't weave at all when laying these welds until they get to the cap weld over the top of the lot of them. My question is, when doing a straight 'stringer' bead are people actually weaving slightly between the plates or the plate and the root pass, but not enough to consider it a 'weave' bead? or is there actually zero electrode manipulation and the electrode is just held at the point where the plates form a corner, or for the later passes where the first bead meets the plate?

By the time I was up to the fillet weld my welds were looking much smoother and the ripples closer together than on the pad weld above, and they said I did a great job on the vertical up cap weld as well using an inverted U weaving technique pausing at each side

this is of course something I should be asking my instructor but I'm not in for a couple of days and very curious

I suppose a more mundane and individual question is, the biggest problem I had while making long welds was I would get to a point where i'd have to reposition and at that point consistently the electrode would get out of control slightly and poke up or down from the border of the bead. is the common practice to break the arc clean the slag and start again when you have to reposition? i found this a problem in the flat position, but not in the vertical up

anyway I had a great time welding cant wait to get back to it. they said I did well for someone who's never had a welder before and that made me pretty proud, they also said I may be able to do a 3g vertical up test on a butt join by the end of my 2nd day

thanks in advance
Dan

[kermdawg]

My question is, when doing a straight 'stringer' bead are people actually weaving slightly between the plates or the plate and the root pass, but not enough to consider it a 'weave' bead? or is there actually zero electrode manipulation and the electrode is just held at the point where the plates form a corner, or for the later passes where the first bead meets the plate?

The part in bold is what constitutes a stringer bead. Now, keep in mind you can and will (especially if your welding plates of differant thicknesses) have to change your angle at times to make sure the toe (the part where the deposited metal meets the plate) ties in. Its possible and happens more often than not that you can run a PERFECT looking bead and have poor/no tie in or penetration. Its always better to make a quality weld with proper penetration and toe tie in than it is to make a good looking bead with no pen/tie in.

I suppose a more mundane and individual question is, the biggest problem I had while making long welds was I would get to a point where i'd have to reposition and at that point consistently the electrode would get out of control slightly and poke up or down from the border of the bead. is the common practice to break the arc clean the slag and start again when you have to reposition? i found this a problem in the flat position, but not in the vertical up

What worked for me-Turn the machine off and put a rod in your stinger. Find a position where you can run the full length of the joint while remaining comfortable. I know your not going to be able to run a whole joint with one rod, but get in the habit of spending the time and doing whatever it takes to get comfortable, especially when your first starting out. Cant stress the comfortable part enough man.

In terms of restarts, you want to keep them as few as possible. For instances, you shouldnt have 6 or 7 restarts for a 6 inch weld. But, with experience and practice you will be able to run longer and longer beads, so that comes with practice. Ask your instructor to show you the proper way to tie in your restarts. Its easy to cold lap at those points if you dont do it correctly.

Have fun and good luck bro!

[DanW]

thanks for the reply mate!

i've been twice more since I made the thread and have done much better at getting comfortable and holding the stinger/rod steady, without having to adjust mid-run and go offcourse for a second.

for most of the runs i've done i've been told to weave slightly from plate to plate, I guess that's just to make sure i'm biting in on both edges of the weld, anyway i'm in the middle of doing a 3g open root test now. did the root run with good penetration on my 2nd shot and have done a few fill passes, ready to do a cap next time i'm in. having lots of fun with it

on the restarts, my instructor has me feathering the edges for about 1 inch with the cutting wheel on the grinder, to make a "ramp"

i then strike at the bottom of the ramp, bring the arc back to the start of the ramp (to where the ripples from the last bead end) and run it at a slightly faster speed down the ramp again till i'm welding a new section. sound good to you? I try and make sure i can see a decent puddle before i move onto fresh plate if that makes any sense

after i've done the 3g here i'm hoping to do some MIG and TIG aluminium training, as my goal in the end is to work with aluminium boats

cheers again
Dan

[kermdawg]

Sounds like your goin in the right direction man. All ya need now is seat time Have fun