New to welding!!!!

[Devil_Dog]

Hey everyone I have watched the forums for a couple weeks now and I decided I would register and post. I started welding school a week ago and today was my first day on bevel plate. So i snapped some pictures sooo GO EASY on me.. remember ive only been welding a week. It wont let me attack the back of the second plate but its penetration was perfect versus the smaller plate.

[Devil_Dog]

If anyone has any other advice or see anything im doing wrong please feel free to mention it!

[kcstott]

travel speed is a bit fast and your hand is not too steady but you're only a week into this so don't sweet it right now. work on watching the puddle and understanding what to look for when your arc is too long or your speed is to fast. the puddle tells all.
But once again you just starting out so practice as much as you can and focus on doing one thing at a time correctly. There are so many things to pay attention to when you are stating out it can be overwhelming so just take your time.

PS they look better then my first beads

[nfinch86]

Hey everyone I have watched the forums for a couple weeks now and I decided I would register and post. I started welding school a week ago and today was my first day on bevel plate. So i snapped some pictures sooo GO EASY on me.. remember ive only been welding a week. It wont let me attack the back of the second plate but its penetration was perfect versus the smaller plate.

Devil_Dog, Hi; Not Bad, I completely Agree with kcstott said in the above post !
As for being better than My first Welds, Well, I can't remember what My welds looked like in" 1967 " !!

What prosess are you using? Mig- Stick ? Looks like stick - 7018 Maybe? You are off to a Good start, Keep at It, and enjoy yourself !!
It's a great Profession, I hope you learn to Love It as much as I do !!

............... Norm

[eyesolator]

So far so good!
I would be curious to know how many hours a day you spend in the shop and how many days a week at school. And what electrode you started with.
Thanks

[Devil_Dog]

Well I ran my root with 6010 and hot pass with 7018 the smaller piece of plate is just a root and hot pass and the bigger piece has 2 fill passes. I spend about 4-5 hours a day actually burning rods. 5 days a week. with about 30-45 mins of class time a day.

[Black Wolf]

Don't take this as negative, because I do not intend it to be as sour as it may sound, but I do not understand why a school has you burning electrodes the first week of classes...

You should still be learning components of Oxy/Fuel rigs, safety procedures, and how to use them correctly.

After that, you should be into braze welding and soldering to learn puddle control.

After you have learned about the Oxy/Fuel process, then comes components, theory, and safety for electric arc welding equipment...

I see no point in turning students loose with electric arc welding equipment until you have a clear understanding of WHAT you are supposed to be concentrating on, and what a sound weld is supposed to look like.

Don't get me wrong, it is great that you are getting "Hands On" experience, but your learning curve would be faster if you had the theory first.

Everything kcstott above commented on, you would KNOW, if you had the theory in place.

If your education consists of less than 1 hour of theory per day as compared to over 4 hours of helmet time, your theory component will be severely lacking, and that will hurt you in the long run.

I will say that for the first week, your welds show promise, but I will stand by my opinion that you will make more of your time under a welding hood, if you have a broad, and thorough, understanding of the theory behind what we do, and why.

Welcome to the trade, and the Best of Luck with your schooling.

[Black Wolf]

Okay, time for constructive criticism. I am only commenting on the first three pics, as I have no idea what the last two pics are of....

First, could you please fill in some missing info from your opening post:

Am I correct to assume that this is a 1G Open Root on 3/8" plates?

30 Degree bevel?

What is your land?

What is your gap?

1/8" E-6010 Root, 3/32" E-7018 Fill and Cap? 3 Pass Total?

Step 1: Your root pass....

This is the most critical pass as it is the cornerstone for all the welds following.

Have your instructors better explain to you how to manipulate the electrode while running your root pass. You should have a very clearly defined, and evenly spaced pattern, and you should pass through the gap, and provide your weld with re-inforcement on the back side.

If your root pass is junk, the whole coupon is junk, as you will not pass a root bend.

Yes, I remember it is your first week, but I am telling you what to concentrate on...

Your Second Pass:

Also known as your HOT PASS.... It should be HOT.

Turn the welder up, and stick the electrode into your root pass. You have to use your hot pass to burn out any inclusions that you may have left behind with your root pass, and you should also fill the groove almost to the top, leaving yourself a very shallow cap pass.

All the slag you are seeing on both sides of your beads is trapped in cold lap, and other weld faults on the edges of your metal deposit. You will eliminate this if you stuff the electrode down into your hot pass and mix up the molten puddle as you travel, allowing the contaminants to float to the surface before the puddle freezes.

When you get your Hot Pass down, you won't have to "Chip" off the slag anymore, you should be able to lay you hammer down on the slag starting on the "cool" end, and it should pretty much fly off in one pass across the weld.

If you have to hammer, or chip, the weld is telling you that you are doing something wrong...

Any and all passes completed properly will result in a smooth finish on the surface of the weld deposit, that upon cooling, the slag will readily fall away from.

The Third Pass or Cap Pass:

Turn your welder back down to a normal range, and run a thin final layer of metal over the groove, making sure that you travel wide enough to travel past the edges of the groove, so you don't leave any wagon tracks behind.

Once you get the hang of it, it is a piece of cake.

Again, I remember that this is your first week, but I am giving you an idea of what you are trying to achieve.

Good Luck.

[steel]

Good looking welds for a beginer.And yes its a good trade but look around and see how many OLD welders r around.I've been welding 30 years and the oldest one I know is 68.

[nfinch86]

Good looking welds for a beginer.And yes its a good trade but look around and see how many OLD welders r around.I've been welding 30 years and the oldest one I know is 68.

I don't understand, what's age got to do with anything ?

........... Norm