What's the right approach for this joint?

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I welded up the joint shown in the photo today. The photo is not the actual joint. It's a re-creation for demonstration purposes. (I won't be showing you the actual joint, because it's embarrassingly bad.) The joint is a T-shape made up of a piece of 2" square tubing and a piece of 2" angle iron. Both pieces are 1/8" thick.The problem I have with the joint is, along the bottom, the way the square tubing curves at the corner makes a crevice that I can't seem to weld up properly. What happens is, I strike the arc, the puddle never really seems to form, after some time I decide I better start moving the rod or I'm sure to burn through, the whole time I can't really see what's happening, and when I'm done, the weld looks awful, is spattery as heck, and sometimes is burned through in places. At first, I was trying to go back and forth between the two faces like a fillet, but that didn't work at all, so next I tried jamming the rod down into the crevice as deep as I could, and went down from 1/8" to 3/32" to get in even deeper. That helped a little, but I still really couldn't see what the puddle was doing all deep in there, and the resulting welds were terrible.What's the right approach? Attached Images
Reply:You said "rod" so I'm guessing this is SMAW, but what rod? 6011 or 7018? What's the thickness? 16ga or 1/4"? Anyways, direction of travel is left-right for bottom seam, up for the vertical, and dealers choice for the top seam. If the bevel is giving you beef, turn up the heat. Burn hot and burn straight!
Reply:That joint is referred to as a flare bevel.  You are on the right track to use a smaller diameter rod to help reach the bottom and focus the arc.  I would have my work angle fairly shallow (5-10 degrees off horizontal).  With the information provided, these are my suggestions.Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2Jay DavisAWS-CWIC-60 Specialty Welding ContractorLoving husband, and father of two boys (
Reply:Change the fit up and joint configuration maybe? I'm looking at the tube in relation to the top of the angle. Looks like both the tube and angle are the same size, say 2". Maybe you need to cope the tube so it fits better and you don't have a flare bevel to work with. Notch the tube on the yellow line so it can drop down and sit flush at the top of the angle.Next thought would be to build up the corner with some weld material and grind it down prior to placing it on the angle, so you remove the deep corner. You wouldn't need to fill the whole corner, just enough of it at the root to make it easier to weld.You were on the right track with trying to run smaller rods to get in deeper if you were just going to weld it up the way it is with stick. This would be one case where I'd suggest running 6010/11 for the root, since it can burn in deep and the slag is easier to remove and lighter. I'd run the root with the smallest diameter 6010/11 rod you have available. Then cap with the rod of your preference of a larger diameter..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:Are you welding it with 7018? I bet that slag is giving you fits running ahead of the puddle.get you a 5/32 6010 and fill that flare up with that, you can get the slag out easier. Then you can cover it up with 7018 and make it look all pretty.
Reply:Thanks everyone for the tips. Yes, this is SMAW, and yes I was running 7018, although once I blew a hole, I switched to 6011 and used it to fill the hole and the other remaining gaps.Sounds like the tips can be summed up as:1) Consider modifying the joint to get better fitup--cope the tube.2) Fill with 6010/6011 before capping with 7018. EDIT: Actually, that's not quite right. I think the actual suggestion was to build up with bead before dry-fitting the joint, then grind down so the joint still fits flush. I see how that addresses the problem!REDONE suggests adding more heat, but it seemed to me like too much and/or misdirected heat was part of my problem. My best guess was that I was long-arcing by not being able to get deep in the bevel. If that's true, wouldn't turning up the heat just make it worse?Last edited by joshuabardwell; 02-15-2013 at 12:07 PM.
Reply:I am with whoever said to work on fit up.  Cope it or cut it whatever you  need to do, its just an awkward joint - if you can notch it like DSW said it will be much more "standard".Miller Diversion 180Hobart Handler 140 (Soon to be replaced with Miller 211?)Miller Spectrum 625 Extreme
Reply:Originally Posted by Jon KCope it or cut it whatever you  need to do, its just an awkward joint -