Welding Tips and Tricks

This might help some of you just getting underway with stick. Rod angle is very important to not only be correct, but consistent along the work piece. In this video I demonstrate how to do the flat position wrist roll, keeping the rod continually consistent. Works great on pipe, use an entire rod, weld at least 270 degrees (all the way if you can see over top, just roll wrist back to original). Can weld three sides of square tubing without stopping and again all the way if you can see over top.

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All is saw was this giant white ball of fire where the action was, put the camera in a welding hood or demonstrate the technique without actually burning a rod.

And hold the phone/camera horizontally.

Patience young man, watch end of video, this is a technique video not a "puddle" video. Watch the body and hands, at the end is a dry run demonstrating the roll less the "fireball"

Distortion?welding 3 sides of box,or 270 degrees of pipe in one go is destined to pull like a bitch.even big tacks wont stop that

Anything under 2 in you can do it all day and be fine.

And that my sir Poland is why you are a weldmonger lol. It's funny when I go out in the field and put out three times more than the young guys. I am a cigar smoking, coffee drinking, old man in my 50's.......with 40 years of tricks up my sleeve (accumulated by 30 years of mistakes). Just today I stopped to check on one of our jobs and a newb cut the bottom of a cope 1/2" short on a L6x4 wall angle and I introduced him to the Texas Tig RIg. The only time I have distortion is on purpose when I am pulling the bubble back between the lines.

Well I don't yet have 30 years in. So I do still fight with SS from time to time. But carbon I don't worry about any more.

Id expect that kind of welding on a farm.or from someone who doesn't know how to use a level properly.

ROFLMAO, I have welded a few things for farmers over the years. No, wheremejumper trying to help you the young guys, my fault I didn't explain myself well enough. The wrist roll technique is taught in pipe/steam fitting union apprenticeship classes. This is a speed technique for small stuff like poland said, it's for weld-o-lets, and unfortunately if you are stuck doing something unglamorous like hand rail. Things that take one rod or less. There is no "distortion" which I think you mean pulling, because that occurs from a significant temperature delta. One rod happens so fast with no stop and start the delta is balanced within a few degrees and if you do 270 degrees or 3 out of 4 sides you have geometrically locked the piece before the cooling occurs.

Conversely if you are welding something larger that takes more than one rod you do have the potential for draw in level and plumb planes. If it is extremely critical you should always check level/plumb as you go on and let experience guide you on possibly stitching using the temperature delta in your favor to balance the amount of draw.

Quality first, speed second, big bank account third.

On some small diamiter pipe welding 3/4 of the way around or even all the way around for a single pass is not going to cause warping issues. An example of this would be welding half couplings onto pipe for test ports or taps. If it was tacked well and sitting tight to the pipe it has no where to pull to. If this were not the case and stoping durring the first pass was required to keep it from warping then the use of positioners to rotate a pipe continuously as it is welded with a mig machine would cause all sorts of problems. Yet fab shops everywhere successfully weld even large diamiter pipe where each pass is welded in a single weld from start to finish.

Yep we do it all the time in. We do this thing on chilled water called a "hybrid" piping system. We pre-fab weld pipe in positioners (flanges, el's with flanges, etc.) and then put Victaulic grooves on the other end for bolt up on site. I think it's cheesy, but that is what they pay for. In the engineers mind it should be a seamless bolt up, just like a Lego set, zero on-site welding. When that happens I will make sure to report back.

I also weld pipe by day.some jobs you get by with being close.most of the work i do,close isnt close enough.
if youre welding a spool thats tacked in position you can worry a little less about distortion,as the structure holds itself holds some strength.if you are welding 2 flanges to a short pup then the tolerance is tight.a 2 inch flange is probably 6 inches diameter, 1/32 out over that 6 inches is a big deviation from true.the fitter better have a big hammer

I couldn't agree more. I actually just finally received the utility patent early this year for a tool we designed that is perfect for the application you are talking about. We are currently working with a well known tool company (their tools are red) to finalize the manufacturing engineering and anticipating store shelves mid 2017. Attached is a couple of the prototype photographs in our patent documents. Our people have been field trialing it for 18 months and the fitters won't do without it. (Target retail price $22.00)

You could install those two flanges on the pup (stub) in less than 5 minutes, including tacks with laser two hole accuracy and both axis dead nuts square. Leaving your pipe stands and two hole pins in the truck.

Great idea. Will have to try when theyre out

Nice stuff