Weld Blending

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Can someone help me with the correct way to blend the start of a new weld into the stop of the old weld?My welding is getting better but when I stop and start ex. round tubing it looks unprofessional.Thanks in advance!Mike
Reply:With TIG or O/A, it's easy. Reduce the filler quantity and let the puddle shrink as you stop. When you start, add filler to control growth of the bead to the desired size.With stick and MIG, it takes a little doing, but the concept is the same.With stick, you can bring the arc a tad longer and move a tad faster to shrink the puddle as you approach a stop. Not a lot longer, but a tad. Back up before stopping, so the stop isn't right at the end. You will get a nice taper-out. Starting is sort of the reverse. You need to hold long enough to establish the arc and the puddle, but you can begin to move with a small puddle and let it grow to size as you move. MIG is similar to stick, in that you can speed up a little, to shrink the puddle, but too much change in speed will blow your fusion and bead profile. It is (usually) not a crime to grind. Remember that. Unless specifically prohibited, I tend to feather stops with a file or grinder where I will restart (stick or MIG). If needed, I flush the weld off (generally need to to eliminate stress risers anyway. A flush weld is STRONGER than a weld with excessive buildup) with a grinder.
Reply:If I am understanding your question correctly, what I do is start about 1/4 inch up from where I stopped at with the previous weld just after getting an arc started then back up into where you left off at on the previos weld, then start welding on in the same direction you have been. It takes a little practice but after a little while you should have problems figuring out where you stopped and started at.
Reply:Ok, thanks for all your help.  I'll give that a try..Build a Barstool Racer at BarFlyRacers.com!