Welding Tips and Tricks

I have been practicing a 6g on 8 inch pipe just to get my root corrected. 3/32 gap at 75-80 amps with 1/8 land and 1/8 6010, when I am running my root it ties in fine and everything looks god except the bottom half of the pipe shows a little shallow and even undercut in some spots. I have tried slowing down and even changing my angle with no success, I am thinking if I turn up my heat and move faster it may lay down flat and not push much of a root pass inside and if I turn my amperage down then maybe I can push more in because it is a fast freeze rod. Is my thinking backwards for wanting to weld this way? I have no issue at all with a 2g or 5g, 2g the root goes in nice and the 5g the root can be stacked on top of itself so it is easy to get a nice built up root. With the 6G my issues are all on the bottom half either under flush and undercut. What should I do?

How well are you cleaning up the inside of the pipe? Might just be a rod angle issue if it's only the bottom giving fits.

I am just putting a land on the pipe and knocking down any sharp edges on the inside. Should I clean it up really good with a flapper wheel on a die grinder?

I do. Under cut can sometimes come from scale on the pipe.

I cleaned up the inside of the pipe really good and still had issues with being just under flush. what could you recommend? it seems if I run it at a higher amperage then it lays out flat and I have issues and the only way to counteract this is to maybe run it at 75 amps or below or use a whipping motion. Like I said before I don't have many issues when doing 2 inch pipe in the 6g position but I am practicing 8 inch pipe in 6g to get my root down correctly. I understand most tests are 2 inch tests and maybe I am having so many issues because I am trying to see what will happen on bigger pipe in the same position? Well if you have any other tips please send them my way.

If you getting the edge broke down but still under cut then you really close. Don't be afraid to turn it down a little. Just don't make big changes. Only change the amps up or down about 2 at a time. When you almost get dialed in its the most frustrating and the all of a sudden you just get it.

If you are wearing ear plugs try taking them out and listening to the weld for a few rods. When I run my root I push the rod up until it appears to come to a point(^). Then I maintain that depth while whipping back and forth about the diameter of the rod never letting the puddle cool and slowly letting it follow the rod. By listening to the sound of the weld you can usually tell if you are not feeding the rod the same or whipping too far.

Thanks I will try that. I only wear my earplugs when I am doing a lot of grinding or in a very noisy area but I do take them out especially for the reason of running my root pass. I like to listen to the sound and make sure it is penetrating good enough. I don't have these penetration issues when doing a 5g or 2g but I am thinking maybe that I am messing around with 8in on a 6g that is a little bit odd. Anyways I guess I will mess around with it some more until I get the root corrected. Thanks I appreciate all the advice.

You could trying turning arc force up to help push more metal through. That works well for me to help keep a lower amperage.


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I am currently running the arc force at 75% I guess it won't hurt to bump it up more to see what happens. It is a practice joint anyways. Thanks.