Judge this 110 weld please

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hello again. below you will find a couple pics of a 110 flux core weld.my buddy was playing around with my machine, and i suggested we try a U bend test on it.this was 1/4in plate bevelled both sides, with a single pass each side.  wire was .030 hobart.  CH machine 110amp set at max.for the Ubend we used his 20 ton HF press.  the bit of metal was short though so we couldnt get a full U before it slipped out of the press.  i tired to do more in a vise but it wasnt having it.see anything wrong? advice to get better? im not exactly a qualified teacher, so i would like to learn from this too.  (i was just busy working on a braze, and didnt do any arc stuff today)thanks for your comments.
Reply:Did you clean the slag off the weld?
Reply:I'm a bit surprised. Looking at the beads I see quite a bit of blackish bead that I'll guess didn't have much slag coverage when you were done. The slag you do have at the edges and those tiny bits on top of the bead itself looks cooked. With off the shelf flux core like e71t-gs or t-11 all that dark color, especially on the weld bead, generally means no slag coverage as it was cooling. No slag coverage while it's cooling means it's all still in there or the most likely you were running a little too hot. Too hot as in voltage way too high relative to the wire feed speed. Bottom line, with a low budget 120 volt rig, if you were able to run a bit too hot,,,,,,,,,, that's a good thing. Your bead needs to have a light cover of slag when you're done and shinier metal underneath when you rake the slag off."The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:Truthfully I don't know. I didn't do this. Just posting for my friend.  Next time I'm at the shop I can give it a scrape.  And we can try some more of these. I'm out of scrap, need to get more bits to practice on.
Reply:Originally Posted by SandyI'm a bit surprised. Looking at the beads I see quite a bit of blackish bead that I'll guess didn't have much slag coverage when you were done. The slag you do have at the edges and those tiny bits on top of the bead itself looks cooked. With off the shelf flux core like e71t-gs or t-11 all that dark color, especially on the weld bead, generally means no slag coverage as it was cooling. No slag coverage while it's cooling means it's all still in there or the most likely you were running a little too hot. Too hot as in voltage way too high relative to the wire feed speed. Bottom line, with a low budget 120 volt rig, if you were able to run a bit too hot,,,,,,,,,, that's a good thing. Your bead needs to have a light cover of slag when you're done and shinier metal underneath when you rake the slag off.
Reply:Bead looks erratic and uneven in general. FYI when you go to do a bend test like that, you grind off the weld so it's smooth to the face of the original steel. The idea is to have a piece that's the exact same thickness as the original piece so when you do a guided bed test, it bends smoothly. Grinding also shows you several other things. If you have undercut on the original material, it will show up clearly if you grind to the original material face and no more. It will also show any major porosity in the top or bottom portion of the weld.Another thing, usually you would cut a 2" section from the plate and test that, not the whole plate. With a double bevel like he used, I'd be more inclined to do a 3/8" side bend so I'd actually see the center of the plate. If he buried slag down in the center, it wouldn't show up that well with a normal 2" face or root bend ( in his case he really doesn't have a root face to test, only two top faces.) Cutting the side bend would expose the center and quickly show any flaws in fusion in the center of the piece. Here's the basic specs for a bend test with backing. An open root test would be similar, but without the backing.Never done a side bend test on anything as thin as what he's working with though. You might have to do a series of tests, a 2" bend as well as cutting some pieces to see what the center looked like. If you cut, polished and etched the edge, that would also give you some good info as well. Rick V did a decent post on home etching of welds.http://weldingweb.com/showpost.php?p...8&postcount=47.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:Ah you beat me to it DSW But you were far more informativeBacked my CATMA over your CARMA oops clusmy me  What would SATAN do ?? Miller Trailblazer 302 AirPakMiller Digital Elite  Optrel Welding HatArcair K4000Suitcase 12RC / 12 VSHypertherm PM-45Rage 3 sawRusty old Truck
Reply:What's the logic behind requiring the face bend specimen being on the left and the root bend specimen being on the right?
Reply:Originally Posted by joshuabardwellWhat's the logic behind requiring the face bend specimen being on the left and the root bend specimen being on the right?
Reply:thank you for the advice and posting proper test procedure.  I will try some more and post pics(maybe my buddy too, i was at his shop to use his torch and brought my little machine with for him  to mess around with)in the short term i have a question.should there be so much flux left i should be able to chip it off with a hammer, stick welding style? just a light layer to wire brush?  wire is hobart E71T-11 0.030
Reply:Originally Posted by vashtsdaytonashould there be so much flux left i should be able to chip it off with a hammer, stick welding style? just a light layer to wire brush?  wire is hobart E71T-11 0.030
Reply:I seemed to have the same kinda problem with my 6011 welds today also? I was running some 6013's and then i decided to try out 6011 electrodes to see how i'd do with those.... I found that when i ran the 6011 my slag looked BURNT all blackish around and in some places it would peel and you'd get that nice shiny metal look but it was very minimal. I checked the electrode package they came on and it said Amps 75-130 which i find weird because i was running the arc at 125ish amps then i lowered it down to about 115amps give or take and it kept on doing the same thing? Any recommendations?
Reply:6010/11 has a completely different flux coating, and has a very light slag compared to 6013. What you describe sounds "normal", but without picts, it's hard to say for sure. We usually have the students run 1/8" 6010 at between 85-100 amps..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:Don't want to overtake vashtsdaytona's thread so I'll just make a new one with the questions and pics =P