[Olivero]

Hello Guys,

I keep seeing these pictures of Stainless and aluminum that seems to have been welded 100% perfect, bead pattern is even, straight in line and just looks really darn good!

I have been welding for about 2 years now, I work as a titled Engiener as in, I am not certified or schooled as an engineer, I just fix and build things all day every day.

I have built things out of aluminum, stainless, copper, steel and had to fix a few things in brass, cast iron and cast aluminum but its rare that I can get such nice welds as what I see here. I hear a lot about Jody's videos but I would like some written advice.

I have attached some pictures so you can see some of the work I have done. I don't normally take pictures of the welds as much as the whole unit but I do have some to show.

These 4 are an aluminum walkway that was required by the FD, bought stock and built it in 2 days. the customer ordered a 4 foot walkway, was sent a 2 foot and had final inspections in the building 3 days later so no time to get another one, me and 2 other co workers put it together. They cut and figured, I just welded

Aluminum handrail work for a fire exit

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The complete shot of it

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Another one

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and another one

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This is a pipe flange seal that I made with a co worker after having had to cut out our chilled and hot water lines going from exterior through concrete to interior, the seal we used on the pipe did not seal so we made this instead to keep the water out of the room.

Pipe flange wall seal. 304 S.S stainless.

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another one of the pipe seal

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Here are only a few shots of some pan racks I built out of aluminum. what you see here is the shelves.

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Hopefully that gives a pretty good idea of what I am running into, I would love to be able to stack dimes like what I see but it seems I can only do it when the circumstances are just right but I feel it should be possible every time.

[Farmwelding]

You have a fairly decent handle on your welding. The main thin is sitting down and putting down beads on all types of joints. Play with the foot pedal practice feeding your rod and get a rhythm. And as they always say-clean, clean, clean.

[Olivero]

Thank you,

What makes those welds look like that? I tried getting into the technical aspect of it all but I think its just a matter of method, I don't know if its depending on how hot the piece is or what but I would like to be able to do it every time.

[CanMoulder]

one big word
3 little words
Practice --the more you weld the more you learn the better you get the better i looks
read and ask questions

i don't know what else to tell you

i just fix injection molds and you can always tell when someone is not as experienced as others


Kevin

[Coldman]

Your welds look good and strong, that's the most important thing. I reckon you're also doing real good work too, nice to see variety.

OK stack of dimes.
Firstly, I recommend you watch Jody's videos to see the method.

Secondly, its all about timing and heat input. Puddle, pause, back up a little or lift torch a little (to prevent tungsten contamination), add filler move forward, repeat.
In your last pic, you started off stacking and then it smoothed out due to heat. As heat builds up you need to back off the amps. If you are not using amp control you can either stop, cool, restart or continue as you are doing now.

Finally, what grade of filler are you using? 4043 tends to finish more shiny and smooth. 5356 flows a little less and is easier to stack. Gives stronger welds too depending on parent grade.

[Olivero]

thanks for the feedback, have yet to have a weld fail in service.

Just finished welding a pipe coupling on for a piece of pipe for one of our generators, confined angle so part of it don't look too good but I will post pictures after.

I use a variety depending on the alloy, I keep 4043, 5356 and 4943 on the shelf so it depends, if I am doing 6061, I use 5356 if its anything else in which cases I don't know what it is, I will start with 4043 and if it doesen't work or run well, switch to 5356. I rarely use 4943, I don't trust it 100% yet... not sure why.

[MosquitoMoto]

I agree with others here, I think you are doing good, solid work.

I practised until I was blue in the face doing aluminium beads, but since then it seems that every project I take on requires only joints about an inch long. So all of that clockwork 'finding your rhythm' stuff goes out the window and it's suddenly 'get started, move, add some extra, stop!'

Well done on your work, I think it's looking great, just some heat control issues here and there. The dimes will come with time.


Kym

[LtBadd]

Good advice from all the replys

I'll add that sitting at a bench practicing is much different then welding in the field. It's always easier to weld in ideal conditions that you can control as opposed to standing on a ladder or....whatever else/situation you may be in.

Good job Oliver.

[Olivero]

Thanks a lot guys, appreciate it

Barely had any time to practice, just kind of picked it up where I work as it was needed. I pretty oversee, maintain and repair all of our equipment in the kitchen, they cook for 2500 people every day, 7 days a week so everything in there gets beat up a lot. Eventually decided that having to farm out work and figure out strange ways to fix things it would be easier to just learn how to weld, we even had a Dynasty 200 machine in the shop. studied everything I could find online and read and read and read and went on the next thing tried to use what I read and that's kind of how it went


Here we are 2 years later

Here are some pictures of my stick welding, I want to be able to capsulate the weld in one even pattern, I see these pipe welds and man, the weld is just continous and overlaps the whole thing, no change in shape, hills or curves just one flat bead, even wide ones. Don't know how to get em like that. I did 3 runs on this, 1 6010 for root, 2 7018's for hot and cap.

one side

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other side

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inside of pipe, burn visible all around.

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Hopefully it holds the 20 PSI it will be introduced to Or I gotta pull out the TIG.

[Oscar]

If you wanna stack dimes, you need to master heat control, and filler rod addition. The stacked dime look is the result of the puddle forming a freeze-line at the rear of the puddle when filler rod is introduced to the leading edge of the puddle. When you add just the right amount of filler rod to the stationary puddle, it wicks the heat out for a split second. Then when you move the torch forward along the joint, the freeze line stays put, because you're moving away from it. You have to have the right amount of heat input in the first place, so you get good penetration, AND enough heat to melt "just enough" filler rod when you add it to the puddle. Easier said than done, that's for sure.

[exnailpounder]

If you want to stack dimes....never say to yourself..no matter what it is...that it's "good enough". Be your own worst critic and no one will ever be able to pic you apart. We can't always do weld porn quality welds but if you do a weld that, in your minds eye, looks bad, then you should be trying to figure out what was wrong and how you can improve on it the next time. 99% of craftsmanship is attitude...the rest is just practice.

[Olivero]

Makes sense, I think Oscar got my problem right, I tend to have trouble figuring out just when to add and how much, I normally add less and move faster as I don't wan't blob welds, Its easier to add afterwards than to remove so I think that's where I need to practice.

Exnailpounder,

Couldn't agree with you more, I definetley think that's what sets the pros from the dilettantes. I have seen people who just settle for the "as long as it stays together" weld and the ones who practically won't call it good unless it looks good and was done right.

In most cases I will grind out my weld and redo them over and over until I get them the way I want, added another hour or so to a job a couple of days ago because it didn't look right, had to switch from stick to a MIG machine to get it right because the stick was just too hot and it would blob.

[exnailpounder]

I get mad at myself when I get rushed and turn out a piece of crap repair even if the customer thinks it looks great and is happy. I have let things go out of my shop that were adequate but not pretty and I fault myself for that. I try to live my life like there is a camera on me all the time and a narrator is describing me to an audience. I only escape that reality when it's time for a few cocktails and I need some privacy to play air-guitar. Better get your shit wired tight Olivero

[dirtmidget33]

Watch and try this practice routine.

https://youtu.be/vWNZioJ_FOc

[zank]

For me, it can be a confidence issue. I just did a job for a friend welding some small aluminum tubes together. Thankfully, he machined some extras to give me a chance to get my settings dialed in and my confidence up. I always run a little cold and the beads look ropey until I get a handle on things. The same can be said when I am not in my usual comfortable position when welding. I think as a weldor's experience grows, they are more confident from the get-go with a new project/material/position.

To me, it just looks like you are running a little cold and slow, and you are adding a bit too much filler. Jody just did an aluminum butt weld video. In it, he talks about watching the bead sink and he knows he is getting full penetration. Stacking dimes is all about getting into a rhythm. I still like to just run beads on a sheet of aluminum and practice different ripple spacing. This last job required much smaller wire than what I am used to and I had to recalibrate how much rod I pushed with each dab. I did that by practicing on one of the extra tubes. I just ran beads down the length of the small tube.

Have fun with it. Keep posting questions.

[Olivero]

Zank,

I saw your pictures on those bikes, stainless welds i believe, nice colours super nice beads. How do you get that?

I don't normally go asking for help as I don't like to display incompetence but I saw all the welds in the "What i welded today" thread and when I saw yours I said, you know what, fuck it. Maybe they can teach me something and posted this.

Whats your argon flow? I am guessing your tigging?

[MosquitoMoto]

Zank,

I saw your pictures on those bikes, stainless welds i believe, nice colours super nice beads. How do you get that?

I don't normally go asking for help as I don't like to display incompetence but I saw all the welds in the "What i welded today" thread and when I saw yours I said, you know what, fuck it. Maybe they can teach me something and posted this.

Whats your argon flow? I am guessing your tigging?

There's a podcast featuring Zank on here somewhere. The man is a master - perfect, almost airtight fitup, back purges even on carbon steel and spends a lot of time thinking/setting up/practising. His work is always inspiring (stainless, titanium, aluminium) and I'm very glad he's here!



Kym

[LtBadd]

I don't normally go asking for help as I don't like to display incompetence but I saw all the welds in the "What i welded today" thread and when I saw yours I said, you know what, fuck it. Maybe they can teach me something and posted this.

Asking the question isn't incompetence, it's intelligence, we learn by instruction which includes questions.

Whats your argon flow? I am guessing your tigging?

If Zank will allow me, I'd answer, if your getting proper shielding then you have gas coverage.(yes, it's possible to have too high of a flow rate) Unless you're welding at very low amps, that's when shielding flow is more of a factor.
I think Zank's answer of stacking was the word "rhythm" is key, the consistency of heat input, torch angle, filler addition and travel speed all in rhythm, which is to say "lots of practice"

[Rick_H]

Practice, Practice, Practice

[Otto Nobedder]

Practice, Practice, Practice

Perfect timing! I was about to ask how to get to Carnagie Hall.

Every episode of the podcast can be downloaded or streamed from here:

http://wttpodcast.libsyn.com/

Scroll down to episode 13, Mike Zanconato, and give it a listen. You're in for a treat. Simply paying attention to how much attention he pays is a lesson.

Steve s

[Welding]

It's basic mechanics.

Correct arc initiation, correct puddle initiation, consistent and correct travel speed, consistent and correct torch angle, maintaining a correct heat induction and puddle size as the joint progresses (either via your mechanical control or your travel speed) and the biggie, consistent filler rod induction (and learning how to feed filler rod consistently is hard, especially if its on hungry puddles like thicker aluminum)

Put it all together, it's why this is a highly skilled trade that requires at least some 'commitment to suck' before you eventually learn how to do it right.

(Disclaimer: I'm by no means any guru at this but I did run miles of beads in trade college to become a decent TIG welder and know just how freaking hard this is to do even semi-competently. Hobbyists who pick it up in the side have my utmost respect, no way in hell I could've ever done that without months of dedicated hood time)

[AndersK]

Not claiming I'm very good at this but just wanted to show how much difference diameter of filler rod can do.
Hadn't done any welding in 6 months when I did these.
First pic I used 3/32, crap....
changed to 1/16 filler in the second pic.

Tube is slightly less than 1" and 1/16 wall, 6061 T6.

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[Olivero]

I guess the size of the filler could make a significant difference in appearance as well. I just run through 1/16" rods like butter if I use them on anything thicker than 1/8"

[Rcc]

Practice practice and more practice, great video Jody has about just running beads. Get a piece of 1/8" aluminum and just run beads on it. Play around spacing when you add filler and just practice. Aluminum you can just run beads on beads. The pic is 1/8" thick using 3/32 filler

[Olivero]

When the day comes I can run beads like that...... I better get a raise