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Posted by Rick Barter (rvb) on April 4, 2008, 7:33 pm
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Weldors,
I graduated from my welding class and *thought* I was certified. Well
I was certified by the school, but not by AWS. The instructor is a
CWI and I passed multiple guided-bend tests, but I want to pay my $375
and get officially certified. That's the goal I set for myself and I
want to reach it.
I am very comfortable and confident using 7018 for fillets,
horizontal, flat, etc. I can see the puddle and get it to do what I
want/need it to do, but not in the vertical up position. Some days
I'm okay. Other days I flat-out suck.
It's like I can't see what's going on with that dang puddle and I need
some help. I've had my instructor show me what he's doing and watched
videos and I understand the technique, but am having trouble
duplicating/translating it.
I've tried looking down the rod or from the side. I've tried turning
the amperage down and I've tried turning the amperage up. I've
adjusted travel speed and travel angle. I'm getting very frustrated.
If I turn the amperage down, I do better, but wind up traveling too
slow and gobbing too much metal on there. My thinking is that even
though, the puddle isn't dripping down I can't see what's going on
well enough to see the weld going in. If I turn the amperage up, it
gets too hot (again because i'm probably moving too slow) and drips.
I am going slow because if I go much faster, the bead looks ugly and I
get undercut and thick and thin spots. I should mention here that I
am weaving back and forth. Maybe I should do circular motion? Maybe
I should just run the rod straight up? I'm at my wits end with this.
I want to do this as well as I do the other positions.
Help is appreciated.
Thanks,
rvb
--
As Iron Sharpens Iron,
So One Man Sharpens Another.
Proverbs 27:17
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Posted by Grant Erwin on April 4, 2008, 8:39 pm
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Here are my notes from when I got certified:
7018 vertical:
Check each electrode to make sure its coating is intact.
Don't switch electrode brands during a test.
Before you start welding on the test piece, set the amps and run some passes.
Make sure the electrode is clamped straight, not partly to the flux.
Adjust the angle of the electrode - I bent it down a few degrees.
The stick should be only tilted up a little. 15° max.
Sit solidly on a stool and brace your feet. Comfort and solidity.
Use an elbow rest. Hold the stinger so you can easily reach the workpiece top.
Hang the stinger lead wire over your left arm.
Make sure the stinger wire is as untwisted as it can be.
Move your arm as if you were welding a whole pass - does the wire bind?
Take a couple of deep breaths before starting a pass.
Check your grip on the stinger. It should be very relaxed. Don't "death grip".
Run the bead as hot as you can. Hotter in a vee than on the flat.
Don't go up by moving your wrist - move your arm. Don't change the angle.
Keep the arc short. Any long-arcing and you undercut or lose your puddle.
Keep your speed absolutely consistent.
Breathe, keep the arc short, keep the angle, go straight, speed steady.
Slag completely after every cut. A short piece of bandsaw blade can help.
Remove any spatter completely with a small chisel.
Rule of thumb: a 1/8" rod should get 6" of vertical bead.
And to make it perfectly clear, I go straight up - no weave at all. If you
do weave, you have to weave very slowly - moving quickly will trap slag
underneath and cause pinholes that will for sure make you fail.
Grant Erwin
Rick Barter (rvb) wrote:
> Weldors,
>
> I graduated from my welding class and *thought* I was certified. Well
> I was certified by the school, but not by AWS. The instructor is a
> CWI and I passed multiple guided-bend tests, but I want to pay my $375
> and get officially certified. That's the goal I set for myself and I
> want to reach it.
>
> I am very comfortable and confident using 7018 for fillets,
> horizontal, flat, etc. I can see the puddle and get it to do what I
> want/need it to do, but not in the vertical up position. Some days
> I'm okay. Other days I flat-out suck.
>
> It's like I can't see what's going on with that dang puddle and I need
> some help. I've had my instructor show me what he's doing and watched
> videos and I understand the technique, but am having trouble
> duplicating/translating it.
>
> I've tried looking down the rod or from the side. I've tried turning
> the amperage down and I've tried turning the amperage up. I've
> adjusted travel speed and travel angle. I'm getting very frustrated.
>
> If I turn the amperage down, I do better, but wind up traveling too
> slow and gobbing too much metal on there. My thinking is that even
> though, the puddle isn't dripping down I can't see what's going on
> well enough to see the weld going in. If I turn the amperage up, it
> gets too hot (again because i'm probably moving too slow) and drips.
>
> I am going slow because if I go much faster, the bead looks ugly and I
> get undercut and thick and thin spots. I should mention here that I
> am weaving back and forth. Maybe I should do circular motion? Maybe
> I should just run the rod straight up? I'm at my wits end with this.
> I want to do this as well as I do the other positions.
>
> Help is appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> rvb
> --
> As Iron Sharpens Iron,
> So One Man Sharpens Another.
> Proverbs 27:17
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Posted by Rick Barter (rvb) on April 4, 2008, 9:51 pm
Please log in for more thread options On Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:39:36 GMT, Grant Erwin
>Here are my notes from when I got certified:
>
>7018 vertical:
>
>Check each electrode to make sure its coating is intact.
>Don't switch electrode brands during a test.
>Before you start welding on the test piece, set the amps and run some passes.
>Make sure the electrode is clamped straight, not partly to the flux.
>Adjust the angle of the electrode - I bent it down a few degrees.
>The stick should be only tilted up a little. 15° max.
>Sit solidly on a stool and brace your feet. Comfort and solidity.
>Use an elbow rest. Hold the stinger so you can easily reach the workpiece top.
>Hang the stinger lead wire over your left arm.
>Make sure the stinger wire is as untwisted as it can be.
>Move your arm as if you were welding a whole pass - does the wire bind?
>Take a couple of deep breaths before starting a pass.
>Check your grip on the stinger. It should be very relaxed. Don't "death grip".
>Run the bead as hot as you can. Hotter in a vee than on the flat.
>Don't go up by moving your wrist - move your arm. Don't change the angle.
>Keep the arc short. Any long-arcing and you undercut or lose your puddle.
>Keep your speed absolutely consistent.
>Breathe, keep the arc short, keep the angle, go straight, speed steady.
>Slag completely after every cut. A short piece of bandsaw blade can help.
>Remove any spatter completely with a small chisel.
>Rule of thumb: a 1/8" rod should get 6" of vertical bead.
>
>And to make it perfectly clear, I go straight up - no weave at all. If you
>do weave, you have to weave very slowly - moving quickly will trap slag
>underneath and cause pinholes that will for sure make you fail.
>
>Grant Erwin
Thanks. Where did you get trained or did you practice on your own?
When you were tested, did you have a limit on the number of electrodes
you could use? Were you limited to hand tools (i.e. no grinder)? I
saw you mention a small piece of band saw blade. That's awesome. I
never thought of that; maybe even a small hack saw blade would be
good.
rvb
--
As Iron Sharpens Iron,
So One Man Sharpens Another.
Proverbs 27:17
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|
Posted by Rick Barter (rvb) on April 4, 2008, 9:55 pm
Please log in for more thread options On Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:51:48 -0500, "Rick Barter (rvb)"
>Thanks. Where did you get trained or did you practice on your own?
>
>When you were tested, did you have a limit on the number of electrodes
>you could use? Were you limited to hand tools (i.e. no grinder)? I
>saw you mention a small piece of band saw blade. That's awesome. I
>never thought of that; maybe even a small hack saw blade would be
>good.
>
>rvb
Oh, and did you get to take your little Miller Thunderbolt with you or
did you use a machine at the test site?
rvb
--
As Iron Sharpens Iron,
So One Man Sharpens Another.
Proverbs 27:17
|
|
Posted by Grant Erwin on April 5, 2008, 12:23 pm
Please log in for more thread options Rick Barter (rvb) wrote:
> On Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:51:48 -0500, "Rick Barter (rvb)"
>
>
>>Thanks. Where did you get trained or did you practice on your own?
>>
>>When you were tested, did you have a limit on the number of electrodes
>>you could use? Were you limited to hand tools (i.e. no grinder)? I
>>saw you mention a small piece of band saw blade. That's awesome. I
>>never thought of that; maybe even a small hack saw blade would be
>>good.
>>
>>rvb
>
>
> Oh, and did you get to take your little Miller Thunderbolt with you or
> did you use a machine at the test site?
Oh no - jeez, with a 20% duty cycle the little guy would have taken a long
long time to finish. I tested at South Seattle Community College where they
have big banks of large industrial welders.
GWE
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>
> I graduated from my welding class and *thought* I was certified. Well
> I was certified by the school, but not by AWS. The instructor is a
> CWI and I passed multiple guided-bend tests, but I want to pay my $375
> and get officially certified. That's the goal I set for myself and I
> want to reach it.
>
> I am very comfortable and confident using 7018 for fillets,
> horizontal, flat, etc. I can see the puddle and get it to do what I
> want/need it to do, but not in the vertical up position. Some days
> I'm okay. Other days I flat-out suck.
>
> It's like I can't see what's going on with that dang puddle and I need
> some help. I've had my instructor show me what he's doing and watched
> videos and I understand the technique, but am having trouble
> duplicating/translating it.
>
> I've tried looking down the rod or from the side. I've tried turning
> the amperage down and I've tried turning the amperage up. I've
> adjusted travel speed and travel angle. I'm getting very frustrated.
>
> If I turn the amperage down, I do better, but wind up traveling too
> slow and gobbing too much metal on there. My thinking is that even
> though, the puddle isn't dripping down I can't see what's going on
> well enough to see the weld going in. If I turn the amperage up, it
> gets too hot (again because i'm probably moving too slow) and drips.
>
> I am going slow because if I go much faster, the bead looks ugly and I
> get undercut and thick and thin spots. I should mention here that I
> am weaving back and forth. Maybe I should do circular motion? Maybe
> I should just run the rod straight up? I'm at my wits end with this.
> I want to do this as well as I do the other positions.
>
> Help is appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> rvb
> --
> As Iron Sharpens Iron,
> So One Man Sharpens Another.
> Proverbs 27:17