Welding SMAW D1.1 3G position.

[B.M.800]

So Ive been going to Voteck welding. Im enjoying it for the most part. I do not enjoy however the AM class. Half of them are morons... to put it politely.

These pieces are made from 2 3/8in 7in long X about 3in cut with an included angle of about 45*. 22.2* on each piece. They are set to a 1/4in backing bar with a gap approximately 1/4in -/+ 1/16in.

When it is tacked together, it is welded using SMAW, or stick welding in the the 3g position, otherwise know as vertical up. I used 3/32 7018 at about 94-98 amps.

I believe we are allowed up to 1/8in inclusion and still pass for certification.
The piece on the left is the Root bend, you can see 2 small boogers, I believe they are from small amount of slag where there was a gap between the 3/8in plate and backing bar. The bend was slightly off center, but it still would pass.
The other piece, the Face bend you can see right in the middle is where I didnt grind down quite far enough. It actually looks worse than it really is, when it was bent it makes the welds more pronounced. Instead of it being smooth like when it was ground down, you can actually feel the weld beads.

Hopefully, I can do this again when it comes test time. ...and hopefully i got all my facts right up there lol

This coming week I will start over again, but this tin in the 4G, or overhead position.

 

[machinist@large]

So Ive been going to Voteck welding. Im enjoying it for the most part. I do not enjoy however the AM class. Half of them are morons... to put it politely.

These pieces are made from 2 3/8in 7in long X about 3in cut with an included angle of about 45*. 22.2* on each piece. They are set to a 1/4in backing bar with a gap approximately 1/4in -/+ 1/16in.

When it is tacked together, it is welded using SMAW, or stick welding in the the 3g position, otherwise know as vertical up. I used 3/32 7018 at about 94-98 amps.

I believe we are allowed up to 1/8in inclusion and still pass for certification.
The piece on the left is the Root bend, you can see 2 small boogers, I believe they are from small amount of slag where there was a gap between the 3/8in plate and backing bar. The bend was slightly off center, but it still would pass.
The other piece, the Face bend you can see right in the middle is where I didnt grind down quite far enough. It actually looks worse than it really is, when it was bent it makes the welds more pronounced. Instead of it being smooth like when it was ground down, you can actually feel the weld beads.

Hopefully, I can do this again when it comes test time. ...and hopefully i got all my facts right up there lol

This coming week I will start over again, but this tin in the 4G, or overhead position.

Slag is your enemy; when in doubt, grind. When running 7018 vertical up, you need to be totally aware of what's happening at the outside edge of your weld puddle; your motion needs to be smooth. You need to just "KISS" the edge of the parent plates. If you hold to long, you'll get an undercut, leading to a slag inclusion.

And if you think you might have a slag inclusion, did I mention to grind (it out)?

I wouldn't be afraid to tinker with the actual amperage; anyone who tells you that you have to use a setting, period, for stick welding is delusional. Your personal rod angle, travel speed, arc length etc. just proves that you need to learn what works for you....

Here's a tip; on your root pass, try ramping up your heat a little, and burn into the backer bar a bit deeper; if you haven't ground the backer bar down to clean metal, you're probably getting issues from the hot rolled scale on it....

As for certifications, you'll have to pass the class, and find a job that requires them; the new job will then train you to the standard that they want to certify you to.

Good luck!!

 

[B.M.800]

Here's a tip; on your root pass, try ramping up your heat a little, and burn into the backer bar a bit deeper

I think I will have to try this.

If all goes well, I will get the D1.1 cert and a certificate saying I know how to weld.

 

[redlinemotorsportts]

Half of them are morons...

Same story at my diesel class. Its actually entertaining to a point though.

 

[andrewmacc]

I wouldn't be afraid to tinker with the actual amperage; anyone who tells you that you have to use a setting, period, for stick welding is delusional. Your personal rod angle, travel speed, arc length etc. just proves that you need to learn what works for you....

Not to mention, even identical machines run differently. Power supply, extension cords, lead length, etc all make a difference on how a machine runs. No two machines are the exact same, and when you're passing certs, you want to get that big boy dialed in.

 

[B.M.800]

Not to mention, even identical machines run differently. Power supply, extension cords, lead length, etc all make a difference on how a machine runs. No two machines are the exact same, and when you're passing certs, you want to get that big boy dialed in.

Thats true. Im hoping I can use the same one more.
I might be able to get a specific one all to myself...

Didnt start the overhead one yet. We been cleaning up shop some and Im working on building a mini sheet metal brake.

 

[machinist@large]

Not to mention, even identical machines run differently. Power supply, extension cords, lead length, etc all make a difference on how a machine runs. No two machines are the exact same, and when you're passing certs, you want to get that big boy dialed in.

This is true, and leads to my response below...

.... Im hoping I can use the same one more.
I might be able to get a specific one all to myself...

While that might help for a learning exercise, learning how to identify and compensate for less than ideal setups/ circumstances will actually get you a lot further ahead in a career than just figuring out how to optimize just one machine.

Lincoln had a short fad of having totally digital control pads on some of their machines; when I was in welding classes, we had over a half dozen of them. Since they were the "WTF?!?" element, we were all forced to try and decipher them without the manual. Our instructors made a game out of it, recording what amperage settings all of us students preferred for various weld positions.

We also had to switch booths each class.

The totally non scientific amperage range they loosely recorded for a given electrode, used in a given position was over +/- 30% from the so called "Ideal" setting.

If you want to learn how to weld, you need to learn how to deal with all the unknowns. It's just the way it is.

 

[andrewmacc]

ALSO on that same note, haha,

with the machines we were running for hardwire, we had some old machines, some with dials, a couple with digital displays for voltage or amperage. Wire speed on all the large 350+ amp machines were just dials scribed with "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" on a piece of steel, and you finetuned purely by sound and voltage. We didn't fine tune to amperage so much because we didn't do X-ray stuff, so just get it right, get it hot, and lay it down. This is all spray transfer, btw.

On the note of 3G welds though, weave with 7018, stack with 6010 - unless you're pipe welding, then ya gotta shove it in the root. I have a couple pics of my buddy pushing the rod into the root so hard that the rod is bending.

 

[B.M.800]

Well I havnt gotten to do the overhead yet... we are working on stuff for Nocti tests.
Was workin on aluminum t joints... ugg.

 

[andrewmacc]

Well I havnt gotten to do the overhead yet... we are working on stuff for Nocti tests.
Was workin on aluminum t joints... ugg.

Aluminum SMAW?
Cool, that's not generally practice you'd get. Aluminum stick rod is NOT a novice thing to run cleanly. Cold starts a-plenty, the rods burn 3x faster than a normal mild steel rod, the white runny yogurt flux makes it difficult to see the weld puddle, and man you better move fast!

Got any pics?

 

[B.M.800]

No not SMAW. I wish... we do have some aluminum rods with a blue coating at the shop no one knows how to use them though.

We have to do a aluminum t joint with tig for the nocti testing.
I think I got that figure out now. Woot.

 

[B.M.800]

Not the best Ive done, but anywho... some aluminum