Newbie after some help tidying railing weld

[Steve5250]

HI there, I've been welding since last Thursday and have made an extension for some railings in the garden.

Is there a trick to cleaning up/dressing the welds around the bottom of the railings so they look better??

Thanks

 

[BrokenBiker]

use a flap disc on an angle grinder. use the edge of the disc at a bit of an angle, and go lightly. when you hit the base metal, stop. with a bit of practice and a steady hand you can make it all look like one bit of metal

weld equip sell good flap discs, or you can pickt hem up and diy shop or most motorfactors

 

[Steve5250]

Thanks for the swift reply broken biker.

 

[chunkolini]

Sound advice, but dont buy cheapo flap wheels.
It can help to grind a bevel on the poles before welding them in as well; helps improve penetration and means you can remove more of the weld from outside the joint, does that make sense?

 

[BrokenBiker]

Sound advice, but dont buy cheapo flap wheels

i have the handyness of cromwell stores owning the maintenance stores in my works, apparently the flap discs in there are of the finest quality and price, but i wouldnt know as ive only ever borrowed them

 

[Hitch]

Welding it nicely, is the best trick you can learn.

Using flap discs for things like that rapidly kills them.

Ideally you should be able to weld something like that without the need to do anything other than knock the odd bit of spatter off. A small chisel or scraper is ideal for that.
For spatter on the weld itself, I find a round file is ideal.

 

[chunkolini]

Good point from The Hitch,
If it is welded properly it should not grinding out.
Also saves a lot of vile fannying about.
We all hate grinding. Dont we?

 

[Seano]

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