Welding Tips and Tricks

Hey guys,

I was wondering what the strongest welds are? I know any weld can fail if not performed correctly.

I have heard that vertical up is the strongest weld, followed by horizontal then vertical down is this correct?

Any input would be great.

In any case is a vertical down suitable for welding 1/2" plate with a few thousand pound load?

Thanks,

I would not characterize the welds by "strength" the way you have listed them.

Vertical up gives excellent penetration into the base metal.
Vertical down gives shallow penetration and is best left to 1/8" thick material and below.
Vertical down is also good for sealing up large gaps. Then switching to vertical up for the fill passes on thick material.

Personally, I would do vertical up, or just flat/horizontal. As those are "easier" so to speak.

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

Hey,

Overhead welds also have excellent fusion because the base metal is assisted by gravity to mix into the weld not hindered by it as in flat welding.

Mick

Downhill on 1/2" is a ridiculous thought!

How would it enter your mind, Jason??

AKweldshop wrote:Downhill on 1/2" is a ridiculous thought!

How would it enter your mind, Jason??

I have no issue with downhill on 1/2".

It's going to be a mulipass, done with surprisingly low current. The voltage is high relative to the wire speed, approaching "globular transfer". Using Tri-Mix (90% He) is a big plus, but it can be done with 75/25.

Steve S

I have seen many applications where down hand was used, even for structural uses. Might or might not be correct but it is still holding to this day. Keep in mind, while its not a pre-approves process, AWS D1.1 allows ANY direction or procedure to be qualified. As long as your down hand test piece passes testing it is then approved.
-Jonathan

Got on my mind because we had some larger Parts to weld together and I ended up going vertical up.