GMAW testing; How am I doing?

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Hello, would like to see how I am doing in regards to professionals out thereI go to a Vocational school in Pensacola,Fl. My instructor has started to confuse me with his forgetfulness and sometimes seemingly wrong advice. I get different questions answered differently each day... Who knows it could be the cold weather and age starting to get to him, but I would not like that to interfere with my understanding and progression of going to school and maybe one day start a pipe welding job.For right now I had been stuck on flat position Open Butt V-groove welding(not really stuck just trying to make sure I have good root fusion and penetration.)3/8" low quality rolled steel30 degree bevel3/32" landing give or takeNormally 1/8" gap(root), also can do 5/32"This is MIG short circuit on a Miller 304 xmt with autolink, I am unsure how to calculate IPM but i am about 3.2-3.3 on dial gauge for wire feed.Volts- 18.9Amperage- 130Here is a 3/8 plate Open butt groove weld. 1/8 gap and roughly 3/32 landing. PUSHING2nd Cut( Not the best at my MIG CAP restart)My problem is that my instructor keeps telling me im running a little bit cold, and my root was not completely tied in? Other days he tells me its fine when it looks worse than that, And when i go too fast I will hump and crown the root which he thinks is good welding rather then what he told me not to do. One day he said he wants the root flush into the base metal... then another he says its ok to get it rough and crowned up?? He complained that I am trying to be a perfectionist, which i then responded "I am simply trying to do it correctly after you have critiqued me"Any informative job related material would be much appreciatedNick
Reply:The welds look really good to me, a little far away to really see though.Your instructor sounds a lot like my wife, I can't keep up with her either.Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:You calculate WFS by pulling the trigger for a set time & measure the cutoff wire, I usually pull for 3 secs & cutoff the wire (three times), measure the wires - average the three & multiply by 20. Since your power supply is reporting 130 amps & I assume .035" wire (1.6" of wire = 1 amp) then you should be around 208IPM if everything is balanced in your welding circuit. If it's .045 wire 1" = 1 amp.Like CEP said, I think your weld looks really good. But I also would note that you are likely never going to see that joint prep and that heat combination in the real world. With 3/8" plate in productive welding with hard wire you'd likely need everything that XMT can give you - HOT & FAST.Looks nice, Matt
Reply:Thanks Matt and CEP, Matt, It was .035. I only had the chance to ask one fellow that came back to the shop class how it was going. He just replied mostly aggravating and summer work is awful hot. He is contracted mainly for shutdowns in a widespread panhandle area, Fl. He said he does a lot of repair work from screw ups. He gets paid a decent amount and admits to liking it...Maybe??? But for the money he said it was a no brainer.The only tip he gave was possibly getting a job as a Position for Combo Pipe; fitter/stick/flux core/tig/Blueprints - and pointed out that you would mostly be welding as long as you are consistent at it and pass a xray and extensive background check.Our class only practices stick with 1/8" 6010,  3/32" 7018, We don't do any aluminum, except for one day with Push-Pull, We do GMAW on T-joints and groove welds(Flux core{gas}too), We do tig (steel only) T-joints and groove welds. And lastly we do pipe in all positions with MIG, TIG, & Stick. No pulse spray or globular, we don't use any ceramic backing, We don't weld anything over 3/8" thick, No stainless, No automatic welders or plasma machines. We have a Watts pipe bevel cutting machine, and we have a plate bevel cutting machine. We also don't do any projects for the sake of practice/experience on welding. It, however, is a very productive shop class we go through a lot of steel and electrical power... Almost 30 people total.There are machines not being used;A CNC Plasma, I think A GATA? Hydraulic shearing and punching etc machine. A lot of aluminum tubing not used.Our shop just received a Victor surplus from a drawing contest thanks to a real good guy in the class: We are receiving Victor cutting torches, Plasma cutter, and TD Fabricator 211i, I think  a couple other things too.But to this day I am clueless as to really applying for a welding job. Everyone in our class that ventured off west from Pensacola, FL did not pass a pipe test because of unfamiliarity with welding machines/consumables and possible nervousness and not knowing what to do. I think I can succeed where they failed due to witnessing their struggle and what they went through and let that be my guide.Matt thanks again for WFS example, Is there any other info you can give me as far as whats considered with Productive welding in the real world and possibly what is expected in a qualification test. What consumables are used, What setup, What procedure... Will we even receive a WPS for a test?Last edited by Hacadacalopolis; 11-17-2013 at 02:16 PM.