Fillet coding test failed !!!!!

[Joeyg]

If you get it just right, you can more or less push the rod into the joint with steady pressure. The arc burns up inside the flux and everything runs nice.

That first one looks good. But only cut and etch will tell you if you've got full penetration.

There are a lot of decent stick welding inverters out there these days. Even midrange ones are pretty darn good.

For the best.... (and it's just opinion)
These below are the inverters, that to me, are at the top end of small stick welding. They all behave like a much bigger machine. They make stick welding sooo easy. They're all rolls royce machines. There are others, but these are the ones I've tried.

Minarc Evo 180 180A 230V 61002180

KEMPPI MINARC EVO 180 180A 230V 61002180 All MMA Packages include MMA Lead, Earth Lead, 5.0Kg Pkt 6013 Electrodes, Wire Brush, Chipping Hammer, Welders H/Duty Gauntlets, French Chalk & Holder.230V 16Amp Plug fitted with 13Amp Adaptor Lead, (415V 16/32Amp, 4/5Pin) 3 Year Warranty Pre-Registered...

www.brooksideweldingsupplies.co.uk

Ignis 150A MMA Stick Welder Package With Lead Set

The Fronius Ignis 150A MMA Welder from TEC Products. Buy today and receive FREE standard shipping on orders over £100*

www.tecproducts.co.uk

New Lorch Micor 160 accuready Inverter Arc welder with optional rechargeable battery pack available at wasp supplies ltd

Lorch Micor 160 amp Inverter Arc welder with lift tig function that can be powered by a rechargeable battery, a generator or 240 volt mains power. 21 electrodes of 2.5mm diameter can be welded when powered by the Mobilepower1 battery pack. buy online from wasp supplies ltd.

www.waspsupplies.com

Of these three, I'd take the Fronius or Lorch.
Of those two, I'd buy the Lorch, all day every day.

Okay that sounds brilliant , I will have a good look at those three and see which one takes my fancy.

 

[Joeyg]

As per @Munkuls suggestion, i would also happily use any of those three machines.
I would probably pick the lorch, given that i have had the micorstick for 6 years and it's been fantastic.

Perfect thanks mate. People say welding guys can be so **Language**ing critical but I’ve had nothing but help and support from everyone. Really refreshing tbh

 

[Joeyg]

Can you blame them?

Welding is very rarely a well paid gig, and the last thing the trade needs is another untrained "professional" touting themselves as a coded welder.

Anyone can pass a coding on the right day, with a machine set for them, with a dead clean and square test piece.

Making consistent, dependable welds when you're in the field is often a completely different ball game.

I think you are trying to weld before you can walk in some aspects.

If you're not far from Colchester, the colchester institute does a half decent city and guilds welding course.

If that first part aimed at myself ? ..

 

[E T]

If that first part aimed at myself ? ..

Oh please don't.
You're getting all defensive now. Brad's giving solid advice and he knows his stuff. I get this every day at work. Newcomers(youngsters) interpreting advice as criticism.
It's not criticism. It's tips to make you better at what you do.

 

[Joeyg]

Apologies in case I’m assuming but I did say at the start “no I’m not a professional and don’t claim to be in that world “

 

[Munkul]

Don't take it personal mate, but passing a flat fillet plate code is really the minimum requirement of welding skill. What about positional welds, or upside down in the muck, or all the other crap that you have to do to get the job done, are they xray quality too?

Half the time the welder doesn't even design or set up the test. If you don't know it yourself, you're relying on a welding coordinator or the testing guy to help you out with setup. The little tips and tricks that help with passing are learned over time and years and by consistently trying to get better.

At least you're on the right track and I'm sure you'll pass the next test no bother.
You probably don't even need a new welding machine. But having the best gear does help

 

[Joeyg]

Oh please don't.
You're getting all defensive now. Brad's giving solid advice and he knows his stuff. I get this every day at work. Newcomers(youngsters) interpreting advice as criticism.
It's not criticism. It's tips to make you better at what you do.

That’s not what I meant at all , quite the opposite. I don’t want to give off the impression that I am in any sphere up there with you seasoned pros.

 

[Joeyg]

Don't take it personal mate, but passing a flat plate code is really the minimum requirement of welding skill. What about positional welds, or upside down in the muck, or all the other crap that you have to do to get the job done, are they xray quality too?

Half the time the welder doesn't even design or set up the test. If you don't know it yourself, you're relying on a welding coordinator or the testing guy to help you out with setup. The little tips and tricks that help with passing are learned over time and years and by consistently trying to get better.

At least you're on the right track and I'm sure you'll pass the next test no bother.

Yeah as I said all I need to do for my work is make a 90 degree bracket in a warm , dry workshop. 5 inch long bead maximum.

I can’t even imagine the years of hard learning that go into doing the myriad of welding techniques, positions theory etc etc.

 

[Shedendman]

Tecarc are at the low end of the spectrum. I've never found their products to be very reliable, but some people swear by them.

i swear by mine

 

[Joeyg]

So these are usually the sort of things I need to make , yes they can be heated and bent but sometimes very obtuse angles so to just be able to run a SOLID bead with plenty of pen on site would save a lot of time etc

 

[Joeyg]

In most cases they are there as insurance , if for example a big load bearing timber frame beam had failed , that would be an engineers advice and choice of what necessary.

 

[Mick Annick]

If you get it just right, you can more or less push the rod into the joint with steady pressure. The arc burns up inside the flux and everything runs nice.

That first one looks good. But only cut and etch will tell you if you've got full penetration.

There are a lot of decent stick welding inverters out there these days. Even midrange ones are pretty darn good.

For the best.... (and it's just opinion)
These below are the inverters, that to me, are at the top end of small stick welding. They all behave like a much bigger machine. They make stick welding sooo easy. They're all rolls royce machines. There are others, but these are the ones I've tried.

Minarc Evo 180 180A 230V 61002180

KEMPPI MINARC EVO 180 180A 230V 61002180 All MMA Packages include MMA Lead, Earth Lead, 5.0Kg Pkt 6013 Electrodes, Wire Brush, Chipping Hammer, Welders H/Duty Gauntlets, French Chalk & Holder.230V 16Amp Plug fitted with 13Amp Adaptor Lead, (415V 16/32Amp, 4/5Pin) 3 Year Warranty Pre-Registered...

www.brooksideweldingsupplies.co.uk

Ignis 150A MMA Stick Welder Package With Lead Set

The Fronius Ignis 150A MMA Welder from TEC Products. Buy today and receive FREE standard shipping on orders over £100*

www.tecproducts.co.uk

New Lorch Micor 160 accuready Inverter Arc welder with optional rechargeable battery pack available at wasp supplies ltd

Lorch Micor 160 amp Inverter Arc welder with lift tig function that can be powered by a rechargeable battery, a generator or 240 volt mains power. 21 electrodes of 2.5mm diameter can be welded when powered by the Mobilepower1 battery pack. buy online from wasp supplies ltd.

www.waspsupplies.com

Of these three, I'd take the Fronius or Lorch.
Of those two, I'd buy the Lorch, all day every day.

I’ve had a Lorch Micorstick 160 for 3 years now, can’t fault it.

 

[chrismac]

A word of warning if I may, should you go for one of the machines listed earlier, Lorch, Kemppi or Fornius, in my experience you need to look after them as you should with all inverters, but more so if your going top end, its a lot of money to put out on a machine thats going to get pulled out once in a while, as an example dont throw it in a damp corner stored and pull it out expecting it to work , not saying thats what you would do, I am paranoid about my inverters now after my castolin eutectic powermax failed, it was an absolutely brilliant machine, I replaced it with a thermal arc 170, it works good but not as smooths as the powermax was.

your welds are not far away, on that last photos I would say you need to either drop the amps a touch or as mentioned close the arc so the rod is resting on the metal, then its just more practice.

 

[Joeyg]

A word of warning if I may, should you go for one of the machines listed earlier, Lorch, Kemppi or Fornius, in my experience you need to look after them as you should with all inverters, but more so if your going top end, its a lot of money to put out on a machine thats going to get pulled out once in a while, as an example dont throw it in a damp corner stored and pull it out expecting it to work , not saying thats what you would do, I am paranoid about my inverters now after my castolin eutectic powermax failed, it was an absolutely brilliant machine, I replaced it with a thermal arc 170, it works good but not as smooths as the powermax was.

your welds are not far away, on that last photos I would say you need to either drop the amps a touch or as mentioned close the arc so the rod is resting on the metal, then its just more practice.

Ah that’s good information to know , if I do buy something of good quality I will store it in my airing cupboard with my rods then unfortunately my workshop is an old 70s concrete block building and it does like to get damp , as I found out with my snap on tools getting a dusting of rust on them. ( left eye twinges )

 

[E T]

That’s not what I meant at all , quite the opposite. I don’t want to give off the impression that I am in any sphere up there with you seasoned pros.

Maybe I was a bit harsh in my comment, apologies for that.
Like Munkul said, you're on the right track. Those fillet welds in you're last post look good. Travel speed looks good.
If the pen is not up to scratch up the amps and cram it in. Short arc and high heat. Removing the millscale helps prevent undercut.
You'll get there. Practice, practice, practice.

 

[Joeyg]

Maybe I was a bit harsh in my comment, apologies for that.
Like Munkul said, you're on the right track. Those fillet welds in you're last post look good. Travel speed looks good.
If the pen is not up to scratch up the amps and cram it in. Short arc and high heat. Removing the millscale helps with undercut.
You'll get there. Practice, practice, practice.

No you’re fine mate , if I thought someone was trying to claim they were a historic building restorer because they can lay a course of bricks I would get shirty. Especially when like yourselves you take ALOT of pride in what you do , especially when what you’ve been taught is somewhat guarded. By that I mean some of the old boys I’ve worked with I had to really work my **** off for a long time to be given that knowledge by them and I imagine it’s the same for you.

 

[willie.macleod]

So these are usually the sort of things I need to make , yes they can be heated and bent but sometimes very obtuse angles so to just be able to run a SOLID bead with plenty of pen on site would save a lot of time etc

For simple brackets I'd always want to heat and bend, even with a decent weld (which will take longer) you are going to be introducing heat affected zones, grain changes and a whole lot of faff. You tend to find a lot of defects in stops and starts, brackets like the ones shown are effectively a stop start. Have you looked at portable induction heaters for heat source for bending or oxy acetylene for heating/welding? Don't want to discourage anyone from learning to MMA weld, great skill to learn and one that will serve you well for going onto other welding processes as well but given the types of examples shown not sure it is a great application for that process.

 

[Erie Fred]

Can you blame them?

Welding is very rarely a well paid gig, and the last thing the trade needs is another untrained "professional" touting themselves as a coded welder.

Anyone can pass a coding on the right day, with a machine set for them, with a dead clean and square test piece.

Making consistent, dependable welds when you're in the field is often a completely different ball game.

I think you are trying to weld before you can walk in some aspects.

If you're not far from Colchester, the colchester institute does a half decent city and guilds welding course.

As I tell people, the "Uniformed Masses"....
"Brite light, loud noise, how hard can it be ?"