Mig welding pipe to flat help.

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In my time as a member here I've gotten decently proficient with MIG compared to where I started anyway. I can make pretty consistent beads just about every time save for a hiccup here and there. What I have trouble with the most aside from overhead which I never have to do, and vertical which I never really do, is welding pipe. More specifically welding pipe to a flat surface.Anyone have any tips or is it just lots and lots of practice? I look at pipe welds (I'm talking smaller pipe by the way 1.5" at most usually) and I see a start and stop halfway around the weld. I can only make it around 1/4" of the diameter before having issues with gun angle or stickout and having 4 stop/start marks on a 1.5" circle looks kind of crappy.
Reply:It's all about maintaining gun angle in relationship to the center of the pipe. Think of the piece of pipe where you are welding as a flat line tangent to the circle. As you swing around the pipe, your gun angle has to constantly remain the same in relation to that tangent line to the center, ( just as it does on flat plate) but it changes in relation to the outside if this makes sense. Once you understand this, it's simply a matter of practice..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:You are not doing too badly, that sounds pretty normal.You can practice it without the actual welding part so you can focus just on the movement part. You want to do everything in real time thoughI don't do it as much or maybe not at all these days but I would often find myself welding in my mind trying to understand the puddle at work or falling asleep or waking up in the middle of the night or even dreaming.Tie ins as you already know need to be practiced. A decent welder will make you look hard to spot theirs if you can see them at all.
Reply:See if this video helps any, he uses stick and mig in it going around smaller stuff.http://welding-tv.com/mig-vs-stick-welding-technique/Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:BrooklynBravestIn 'welder speak', Open-Root is generally associated with pipe, but it is useful in a number of other joint configurations.Without a weld-positioner, this is how I weld pipe for 'looks'.First Consideration is gapping the pipe to plate.  To produce a uniform gap I use OA rod.  Take a filler rod and fold the end back on itself. It wants to be: a deep-U, both legs in plane, broad enough at the top to provide 4 points of contact, with generous extensions.The size of the gap [rod size] is dependent upon the 'wall & plate' gauge.The mission is not 100% penetration, but to recess the weld into the gap.This provides: good penetration, reduces the visible size of the weld,allows the sections to move which reduces bead stresses inherent in transverse shrinkage, and in varying the size of the gap allows leewaywith the bead contour.Prepping and Tacking the joint.With a narrow stone - notch 2 to 4 perpendicular grooves in the outsidecorner of the pipe for the tacks to fall into. With the OA rod in place, tack.Shrinkage will grip the OA rod - with your favorite chisel - part the rod projections, and, if tall, dress the tacks. Second consideration is weld position.  Lay the pipe in a vee/cradle so it doesn't roll, and weld down-hand.  Start with three passes - 1:00 to 5:00 - rotate - 1:00 to 5:00 . . .   It is more difficult to make two - 12:00 to 6:00's - look as good as three1:00 to 5:00's.To meld the starts/stop into one-another: take a small tapered or ball carbide-burr and hog a half-round to the root of the bead ends.An expansion of these considerations can be found in any edition of:Lincoln's - The Procedure Handbook of Arc Welding.Opus