grade my welds

[arekaybe Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close arekaybe]

First of all I should say hello, I've posted a few times before but not very often. I bought my first welder in September (Stickmate LX 235 AC/ 160 DC). I'm also a heavy equipment mechanic which is what got me really interested in welding. I've built a small table that supports at least 200 pounds.

I'd say these are some of my better looking beads but I really don't know. This was all done with 1/8" Lincoln 7018 at 118 A DC+.







I don't know how much can be told from these pictures but if anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate it.

[moya034 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close moya034]

Not too bad. Keep your arc length short and travel speed constant and you'll be good to go.

If you're welding on angle Iron, you may as well weld in the corner and pretend it's a fillet weld. Just keep stacking beads on beads. The first bead goes in at 45 degrees, the 2nd at 30 degrees, and the 3rd at 70 degrees. You are basically bisecting the angles between the beads.

[arekaybe Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close arekaybe]

That's not angle iron it's 1/8" X 2" inch flat. The way I had the camera does make it look like angle iron. That's just a single pass at 45 degrees I have a few other pieces where I went over with multiple passes.

[moya034 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close moya034]

Hmm, the bead appears to be flat on the bottom piece of steel instead of being a fillet at a 45 degree angle. You'll have to work on that. You want to keep the leg size equal.

[arekaybe Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close arekaybe]

It does look really flat in the picture I'm definitely not a photographer. The actual weld has some angle to it but it's something I need to work at. I just want to make sure I'm on the right track.

[Hotfoot Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hotfoot]

Maybe a picture where you step back another foot or so...I find it confusing to look at. Also, how about a picture of the back side. The bead itself looks good, but everything else is somewhat dis-orientating.

[enlpck teacher student weldicatr Find all posts View Profile Close enlpck]

The weld looks like it ended up with poor fusion on the vertical piece (look at the toe of the weld). (See my diagram)

You want to aim the stick right into the root, hold it tight, and angle slightly below 45 deg, with a little drag. Don't be afraid to work a little oscillation between the plated as oyu go to insure sufficient burn in, and you may find that oscillating from the lower plate to the upper plate, with a little more time on the upper, will help. The molten metal will be pulled down by gravity to a point (less so with '18 than with some others) The lag time on the upper plae should be just long enough for the metal to completely fill in to form the fillet. The oscillation should be maybe 1/8" to 3/16" max, and the general motion should be sawtooth: up, wait, down diagonally, wait less, up, ..... like this:

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The goal isn't to put more heat into the top piece, but to force it to fill. A key sign of fill fill and proper heat with '18 is that the slag will come off easily with none stuck in the toes of the weld. When things are just right, the slag will peel itself off but normally a drag with the corner of the chisel end of the slag hammer is needed along each toe.

It can be done with a straight stringer (just drag the rod along) as well, but you need to be able to see the puddle well and have a feel for how to direct the heat.

[arekaybe Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close arekaybe]

I did a few more yesterday and they were a little bit better. I'll keep all the advice in mind next time I get to weld. It's hard to get anywhere when you don't have anyone to criticize your work. Thanks for all the help.

[Mr Meck Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mr Meck]

Grade C weld.

[pkts1474 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pkts1474]

a teacher once told me "a welder that doesnt cleans his welds doesnt clean his behind"
it looks pretty good to me, jus gotta get your travel speed steady

[dnesvacil Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dnesvacil]

these welds are alot better than mine...too me these look excellent

[FWI Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close FWI]

Slow down a little bit and try to root into the vertical piece of plate by correcting your stinger angle a little. You have the right idea and with a little practice you'll get in your groove. Looking good man

[alumguy Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close alumguy]

first off i would like to say hi to everyone and that i really enjoy the info from this site. judging from the pic and you were running at 118 dc isn't that kind of cold when i burn 7018 i usually run around 130. just thought i would ask?