Constructive Evaluation Fillet MIG Weld

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I'm not in a position at present to take classes, what I know of welding is self taught through the guidance of individuals on forums such as this and through a friend who recently took up the trade. As such I've done my best to put some hours in practicing techniques but am at a point where some feedback would be appreciated. Below are a series of photos of a fillet weld I had done. You'll note the electrode on the far end, I blew a fuse......different topic.I used my Millermatic 211, wfs 55, voltage 6, using .030 wire. Material is 1/8" steel, tried a pull technique. I believe I'm using a short arc transfer being on a 120V 15amp circuit, I feel that my weld is more convex than it should be. I've tried bringing down the wfs a bit without much change.......I guess general thoughts or suggestions?
Reply:maybe try a smaller wire like 023. what gas is being used? i would be more concerned about melting into the pieces vs getting build-up. the welds look nice but hard to see what type of penetration there is.
Reply:Originally Posted by welding_kidmaybe try a smaller wire like 023. what gas is being used? i would be more concerned about melting into the pieces vs getting build-up. the welds look nice but hard to see what type of penetration there is.
Reply:Originally Posted by WookieWelding0.023 is going to give less penetration as the wire carries less amperage due to its sizetry turning up the amps and wire speed to get a better burn in might have to plug into 220 to get the power for that 1/8 with solid wire otherwise your consistency looks good
Reply:Thank you, I appreciate the input. I'm using C25 and a .030 wire at present. I agree without cutting it up hard to tell on penetration, can the heat marks be any indication of quality of penetration? Thank you, I appreciate the input.
Reply:Originally Posted by TargetofGravityThank you, I appreciate the input. I'm using C25 and a .030 wire at present. I agree without cutting it up hard to tell on penetration, can the heat marks be any indication of quality of penetration? Thank you, I appreciate the input.
Reply:That looks pretty good to me. If you want to "flatten" the bead out, push the weld instead of pulling it. Your consistency looks great, although in the first picture, you can see where there is no fusion at the very beginning of the weldGive me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire.
Reply:Looks really good, but did you clean that base metal good?Does look a bit cold though.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:Just curious how your able to identify that it's a bit cold?I used a brass wheel on these metals prior to clean them up. As far as increasing fusion at the start of the weld, would holding the puddle at the beginning, rocking between the base metals help? Thanks.
Reply:Everything Wookie said!I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Based on some comments I went out this morning and cut my weld about 1 inch in from the starting point. Just a quick glance and I have to agree I didn't get the penetration that I had thought.........I'll try increasing WFS and see if I can't get some more heat into the weld.
Reply:Originally Posted by Drf255Looks really good, but did you clean that base metal good?Does look a bit cold though.
Reply:It's cold at the start because you can see a gap where the weld doesn't fuse into the root of the fillet weld.  There's an air gap in the very bottom of the corner.I wouldn't get too hung up on this, as all MIG welds will be cold at the very start of the weld.  One way to address this is to start ahead of where you want the weld to begin, quickly backtrack and overlap your true starting point.  You'll have some extra reinforcement at the beginning of the weld; unless you get everything just right.  But it will eliminate the cold start shown in your photos.The rest of the weld shown looks good to me. Cosmeticly a flat weld face looks better, but a slightly convex weld bead, like the one shown in your photos, has better fatigue properties(all other things being equal).  A concave weld face(the opposite of what's shown in your photos), can also look good, but has relatively poor fatigue performance.  This is all academic, if you weld both sides of the fillet, as it appears you did in the photo.100% CO2 will give you some additional penetration and piece of mind.  But I don't think you need to worry if all you're welding is 1/8" sheet, and your photos are representative of what you're capable of.Last thought,  change from a horizontal fillet to a vertical(with up or down progression), and you need to re-evaluate if your settings, gas, wire diameter, and technique are correct.  You don't say if this fillet is typical of the weld(s) you'll make one whatever you're practicing for.  Keep in mind that you need to prepare for all the different types of welds on whatever project you're gearing up for.  OR you need to orient the workpiece so you can make every weld in the flat or horizontal position and use the settings and techniques you've dialed in so far. Originally Posted by TargetofGravityJust curious how your able to identify that it's a bit cold?I used a brass wheel on these metals prior to clean them up. As far as increasing fusion at the start of the weld, would holding the puddle at the beginning, rocking between the base metals help? Thanks.
Reply:so if 115v 15A has about max output on 023 or 030 wire, wouldnt 023 be a tad hotter? sure, less metal but you can do multi-pass.post #6 & #7 http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=41339Last edited by welding_kid; 06-11-2013 at 11:04 AM.
Reply:Originally Posted by welding_kidso if 115v 15A has about max output on 023 or 030 wire, wouldnt 023 be a tad hotter? sure, less metal but you can do multi-pass.post #6 & #7 http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=41339
Reply:i use that chart often.sure, the larger wire allows more "in" on the bigger metals, but only if the machine can do it. i suspect the newer 115v model units do way better using 030 than units from years ago, but i still see many saying 023 works best in their 115v unit (most 115v outlets are only rated at 15A)its like having 1000watt speakers, but if your amp is only 50watt you aint hearing 1000, so using that 1/2"dia Monster wire doesnt help much, etc.
Reply:Originally Posted by welding_kidso if 115v 15A has about max output on 023 or 030 wire, wouldnt 023 be a tad hotter? sure, less metal but you can do multi-pass.post #6 & #7 http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=41339
Reply:wish my welds looked that nice.Hey~!! It's a hobby. It's not supposed to make sense~!!
Reply:Wanted to say thanks for the insight I've been getting. I'll have to pay more attention to my weld angle as I pull (I think I'm about 10 - 15 degrees) but if you can see the end of my weld does it look rather drawn out and flat? Is this due to weld angle?