Welders struggle with consistent cap welds on pipe
19 posts across 2 communities in the last 60 days; 95% from r/Welding.
“I was having the same problem. I borrowed a torch from a friend. Both were using the same yellow tank map gas. Turns out my torch simply wasn't getting hot even though the flames looked the same. His melted and braised very nicely very quickly mine you could hold it in place for…”
“Been back on Smaw this past week, but today was the 1st time I’ve used 2 different electrodes on a joint as well as my first “open groove” joint. So this was different compared to the backing plate joints. I understand the the whole “key hole”. But Jesus that was difficult. How…”
“My 3F stick welds look something like this at best ,I weave my rod in a simple zig zag motion going uphill with small steps & try to keep a 90° travel angle Is this how a proper weld in this position should look like? What can i do to improve it?”
Multiple welders are experiencing difficulty achieving consistent cap welds on six-inch pipe, noting issues like high spots, unevenness, and lack of straightness. One welder specifically mentions struggling to switch between left and right-handed welding during the capping process.
SOURCES (19)
“My 3F stick welds look something like this at best ,I weave my rod in a simple zig zag motion going uphill with small steps & try to keep a 90° travel angle Is this how a proper weld in this position should look like?…”
“Round the circle, non rotated in horizontal welds. 5mm corner to corner, bis to mild. submitted by /u/Prestigious-Ball-435 [link] [comments]”
“A job is calling for us to do some 6in sch 10 stainless TIG they said no filler or gaps allowed, 1 pass. Has anyone ever done this? Welding will be done in position. My boss ran a couple out. The root was sagging on the bottom and sagging on the top, sides turned out fine. We want to try and dial in the sagging. Any recommendations? What settings were you running? Cfh on rig? Cfh on purge? submitted by /u/Cr0ssHairr [link] [comments]”
“I was having the same problem. I borrowed a torch from a friend. Both were using the same yellow tank map gas. Turns out my torch simply wasn't getting hot even though the flames looked the same. His melted and braised very nicely very quickly mine you could hold it in place for 5 minutes and it still didn't get hot to melt the solder.”
“So I’m going to test for my local union and this is the 6g test, my main question is what exactly are they expecting for the 2”? Do they just want a purely fused weld with no cap? Or do they mean the root is fused and the cap is filled with wire? I’ve been a stainless Tig welder in the food processing equipment field for 6 years so I’m confident in my abilities, just trying to get an idea on what this part of the test will be. Attached is a pic of a steam line I was building the other day for at”
“Done stainless 1mm & 2mm plates for a week, this is first pipe weld. I’m open for criticism or roasts. submitted by /u/Jacki1st [link] [comments]”
“How many of you here are ambidextrous (at least to a degree)? Just finished my first left-hand weld on the positioner - a sch10 3” 316L pipe. I probably spend more time cleaning the tungsten then welding, which is unsurprising but frustrating 😁 What I found funny is that normally I use the right foot on the positioner but the brain demanded the same hand that uses the torch to use to push the pedal. Also I absolutely can’t feed the wire with my right hand! I guess there are no secrets other tha”
“Last week I posted a picture of my first day ever welding. This is from my second day. What should I be paying attention to in order to improve? Doing 6010 1/8” stick at a community college. Goal is to eventually learn to tig for race car fabrication, hopefully. submitted by /u/claymatthewsband [link] [comments]”
“I got hired by a company in Germany to do stainless TIG after being a MIG monkey for years. I've been doing plates to practice 1G and while I got the root down pat now the second pass is giving me a hard time. Some of the guys in the shop are giving me advice but there's a bit of a language barrier for the finer points so I figured I'd ask here. First two pictures are the example weld I was given and the next few are mine. First number is the amps I did the root with, second number i”
“Recently, had to work on a new product where I have to install an aluminum cap inside of an open rail. Because of the intersecting rails at the bottom, the weld becomes twice as wide versus the 1st half. I start my weld at a standard width, and then when I get to the bottom, I start weaving and dabbing on every side of the weave. For this particular application, is it best to start a weave halfway down? Or should I do two overlapping passes, or one wide pass? It was my first time weaving aluminu”
“One week of learning flux core on YouTube by myself with a cheap welding machine. This is 3mm thick (two passes). I'll take any advice to help me improve! submitted by /u/Solallhorizzonte [link] [comments]”
“After a hell of a lot of practicing I took and passed my BC A pressure welding test. It's a 6" schd 80 pipe, Tig root (can opt for 6010), 7018 fill and cap. 1/4 done in 2g and 3/4 in 5g. 5g cap must be single weave. Yes not perfect but it was good enough and I will take it! submitted by /u/Alternative-Gap5204 [link] [comments]”
“What’s the proper way to end and restart on the same rod to avoid slag on the tip causing it to stick? I’ve seen people do the flick method to avoid having to break off the slag, but I’ve seen general “don’t do this” comments without an understanding of why. Is this practice acceptable? If not, how is it efficiently done? Say especially if you’re tacking and have a lot of restarts on the same rod. Are there different situations that tend to cause the slag tip more than others? I know 7018 it hap”
“Been back on Smaw this past week, but today was the 1st time I’ve used 2 different electrodes on a joint as well as my first “open groove” joint. So this was different compared to the backing plate joints. I understand the the whole “key hole”. But Jesus that was difficult. How do I avoid blowing through and having a massive drip underneath. I get practicing, but any tips to help my blow through problem. I did one flat (pictured) and one horizontal. It happened both times about 2 inches after I”
“Ive been doing a lot of roll outs, but the position welds are becoming more frequent. Been successful with it so far, but not confident in it. Busted my first xray with this process yesterday on one of my position welds. Just curious as to what the folks that consistently weld pipe in position with pulse are using for settings. 18" sch.40 Rmd root at 175 0.3 arc length. Hot pass/ fill in one go: i burned through on my first in position hot pass so I just fill from the root. Other than this”
“Thanks for helping me figure out how to make striking an arc with 7018 arc a lot more consistent and easier. This is also my second time ever stick welding (I have prior experience with MIG) submitted by /u/Chemical_Zucchini426 [link] [comments]”
“I wish I had pictures to provide but I don't at the moment. My root, hot and fill are pretty solid. It's just my cap I struggle with. I am switching from left and right handed on each side. My cap isn't consistent at all either high spots or too quick. It isn't very straight either. I wanted some advice to see if someone can help me out. Thanks! I am doing stingers and this is stick welding submitted by /u/Adorable-Yak-2913 [link] [comments]”