rate this weld ?

[PhillipM]

Assuming 6mm? or even 10mm plate thickness you would just blow big holes in the metal with that sort of raw power. Welds just become uncontrollable with two much power and you end up with a big slumped undercut bead.
Our sets are 400 amp, and one, I think, 500 amp. Rare we weld anywhere near the top end as even if you are welding an extreme of say 50mm plate, you can only lay a 10-12mm bead maximum before it starts to slump so you make the overall weld size up with a load of 10mm beads.
The benefit of the big machines is it will weld all day long without missing a beat.

I meant for his method of overlapping tacks, I wouldn't like to try a run at it
Well, I would, but at less amps and not messing about tacking...

Still, at least he's left plenty of areas and crevices for cracks and corrosion to start from, means it'll need doing again at some point, maybe he's planning ahead

 

[Welderpaul]

Absolutely, garbage.

Worrying thing is, we see this stuff quite regularly.
We've been doing some work on a job where they had a smaller metalwork contractor doing some bits and pieces for them as well - ladders, swing gates, handrails round floor slab openings etc.
One of my lads was asked to take off one of their ladders because they had fitted it in the wrong place. He used a crowbar behind two of the brackets welded to the sides of the stringers and snapped both welds clean off!
There's two swing gates where the hinges have snapped off because the welds are of the bird poo variety. Handrail posts welded to side fix plates at the top of a stair just tacked on....not welded. Great.

Everything was condemned by the Client and we ended up remaking everything.

 

[sardine]

The new plate is 6mm, and the vertical is solid D section.

I'd like to measure this welds actual throat thickness, but I don't have a gauge. You can't do it with a digital vernier can you ?

 

[Welderpaul]

I'd like to measure this welds actual throat thickness, but I don't have a gauge. You can't do it with a digital vernier can you ?

Throat thickness is an American way of measuring weld sizes, it's the leg length you need to know which is how weld sizes are specified round 'ere. You can buy cheapy little gauges for a few quid or expensive ones which measure undercut, leg length, throat thickness, prep etc.

For something like that, you can eyeball it pretty close with a little ruler.

 

[Richard.]

Leg length x .7 will give you the rough throat thickness.

 

[sardine]

Trouble is this weld is like the alps, I wondered what it was at its thinnest.

 

[backpurge]

Fillet size will be totally irrelevant, the fusion and penetration will probably be non existent, it needs cutting out and completely re doing

 

[fizzy]

Must have gone to the Mr Blobby school of welding!
My very first welds were way better than that. My Clark 230 will run continuous beads on 10mm with good penetration using neat CO2 so what is the problem. Maybe they used a car battery?

 

[dannyp]

sadly the destructive power of a numpty is nearl alway massivly underestimatd. i have a photo of the weld that brought that home.

the numpty responsible for this one was useing a murex 400A power sorce. only after seeing it done 1st hand is it possible to accsept that someone can **Language** up this badly. ( this person has seen a welder before had even been to colledge and done some course and apparently told him he was good )



worst bit was if he knew he was been tested or watch he would do it right. at one point even got him to do a load of sampels and bent them round a former in the press to show what differance things make to the weld.( prep power technique )

 

[Richard.]

sadly the destructive power of a numpty is nearl alway massivly underestimatd. i have a photo of the weld that brought that home.

the numpty responsible for this one was useing a murex 400A power sorce. only after seeing it done 1st hand is it possible to accsept that someone can **** up this badly. ( this person has seen a welder before had even been to colledge and done some course and apparently told him he was good )

View attachment 56823

worst bit was if he knew he was been tested or watch he would do it right. at one point even got him to do a load of sampels and bent them round a former in the press to show what differance things make to the weld.( prep power technique )

95% of that run is on the pipe. It's hardly touched the flat at all . Does not look as if it's ever been cleaned prio to welding either.
The weld looks as if it's been run at good heat given the bead spread just none of that heat or penetration has touched the flat.
I would of put a prep on that pipe to ensure I went right through.

 

[dannyp]

there was no cleaning or prep and the weld was probaly pulled. didn't see the numpty again.......

on stuff like that after grinding i usally lift the one edge of the tube a littel and then tack it them level it up and tack in another couple of spots. gives a littel bit of a root gap then whip round it ( usally a bit hotter ). the important bit is the tube collapses and bends before departing what it's welded to

 

[sardine]

I took a 1 mm stainless flue pipe for a wood stove that had a mitre in it to a local sheet metal firm for welding, they handed me back a mess that had to be scrapped, then claimed they couldn't weld it properly because it was dirty. It was , i left the prep to the welder thinking no one would be daft enough to weld it without cleaning the grease off first .

They said £40 please ? I said, Er no, you owe me 2 m of stainless !

 

[Robotstar5]

They said £40 please ? I said, Er no, you owe me 2 m of stainless !

Did you get it?

 

[sardine]

Yes. In cash not metal.

 

[Zbro7863]

What do you think of this weld

 

[sardine]

What all of it ?

 

[Robotstar5]

What do you think of this weld

I think it's in the wrong thread?

 

[backpurge]

Absolutely no need to put a prep on a fillet weld, one of the easiest ways to ensure you get lack of root fusion, all you need to do is make sure you have a sufficient power source and point your torch in the right direction, don't weave and keep your travel speed up

 

[Richard.]

Absolutely no need to put a prep on a fillet weld, one of the easiest ways to ensure you get lack of root fusion, all you need to do is make sure you have a sufficient power source and point your torch in the right direction, don't weave and keep your travel speed up

Are you talking about the broken pipe to plate?

 

[backpurge]

Yep, a clean 90 degree edge with no gap between the components will give you the best results