CC on my first test plate?

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Base material: 3/8" thick mild, 30* bevel both sides, 3/8" backer bar. wasn't sure on the gap but roughly 1/4"..each side will have 1" cut off of it. unfortunately i had 2 stop/starts in the middle of the dang plate so we'll see how well it tests out...some pictures...Root pass 7018 110 ampsclose up left side root pass.Third pass slagThird pass slag right sideThird pass middle... Should I be concerned w/ the slag not covering the bead?Third pass close upFourth PassFourth pass closeupfirst of two cover passes My question is.... on third pass middle, should I be concerned with the slag not covering the bead? it didn't pop off while cooling as this was taken immediately after I put the bead down.also, should I have bothered with the cover passes or left it at four? seems like there was minimal under cut, but I wanted to make sure i had proper contact on the surface which now means a lot of grinding.... "...My pappy was a pistol I'm a son of a gun...""...God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy..."
Reply:I imagine this was done flat?  If it was then your root looks like you were off to a good start but your backing bar needs to be 2 inches longer then you test plates.  Also maybe you should try running at 125 amps or more, at that setting you slag should peel off by itself.  If you would have ran the 4th pass as two separate beads you probably would have finished nicely instead of trying to run a wide bead.
Reply:one inch for a bend test 3 inches for an xray. he's got it right.
Reply:The lenghth of the backing bar that way he has run off tabs, making the ends fill in better.
Reply:Yep your right sorry i miss read what you wrote my bad. and agree fully with ya
Reply:Originally Posted by Jay OThe lenghth of the backing bar that way he has run off tabs, making the ends fill in better.
Reply:You probably better of running multiple stringers instead of weaving. It may not look as good but it usually keeps you out of trouble when it comes to slag inclusion.
Reply:Maybe the next time in class you should start at a higher then normal on amps and work your way down.  From what I see and remember when we are learning to weld we start on the low end and seem intimidated in trying higher amps. Out in the field 110 amps on flat isn't going to cut it and you'll be surprised on how hot people will weld at.
Reply:My theory is, use whatever amps you can make the rod work at with the machine your using.  I run 1/8 7018 at 105-110 amps at work with 550v powered 3 phase welders. At home with my Idealarc running on 230v single phase power, I use 110-120 amps with the same 1/8 7018 rod.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720
Reply:I am not sure why you are needing two cover passes with a weave.  the point of a weave is to carry a large enough cap to do it in one pass.  Now if you were to run stringers, which by the way is the only way our inspectors will pass you, you will need 3 and possibly 4 to make a cap.  I would settle the rod tip down a little.  the fill pass looks like you are shaking.  with this being downhand you should do ok.  just relax and have fun.
Reply:Originally Posted by Scott YoungI am not sure why you are needing two cover passes with a weave.  the point of a weave is to carry a large enough cap to do it in one pass.  Now if you were to run stringers, which by the way is the only way our inspectors will pass you, you will need 3 and possibly 4 to make a cap.  I would settle the rod tip down a little.  the fill pass looks like you are shaking.  with this being downhand you should do ok.  just relax and have fun.
Reply:Originally Posted by Scott YoungI am not sure why you are needing two cover passes with a weave.
Reply:disagree.. weave is acceptable.. if it done right..wouldn't run stringers on a pipe cap..well i wouldn't... if your running a flat or horiz. plate run stringers. but if you got a weave and its good no reason it shouldn't pass.
Reply:This is definitely not my thing.  Never been schooled on how to do it right.But, seems that 7018 likes it hot.  And on a wider bead I'd think you'd have a better chance of burning off/thru the slag at higher amps.  The weave in the flat position must leave some slag as you move to the other side.  It's a fill freeze rod, and it must be cooling immediately after the arc moves out of the puddle to the other side.I'll get out now, I'm probably out of my depth"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by Scott Young   Now if you were to run stringers, which by the way is the only way our inspectors will pass you,
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammThis is definitely not my thing.  Never been schooled on how to do it right.But, seems that 7018 likes it hot.  And on a wider bead I'd think you'd have a better chance of burning off/thru the slag at higher amps.  The weave in the flat position must leave some slag as you move to the other side.  It's a fill freeze rod, and it must be cooling immediately after the arc moves out of the puddle to the other side.I'll get out now, I'm probably out of my depth
Reply:Originally Posted by jimmiespencildisagree.. weave is acceptable.. if it done right..wouldn't run stringers on a pipe cap..well i wouldn't... if your running a flat or horiz. plate run stringers. but if you got a weave and its good no reason it shouldn't pass.
Reply:Big65mopar,Running 7018 hot will wet out the toes better allowing for less chance for slag to find places to stick to.  After wire wheeling any spects of slag will be very small that when doing your next pass they will be burnt out.Its best to learn to pass your vert up test in both a weave and stringers because the majority of vert up welds will require stringers.  You right in that you'll never know how you will be tested but its best to be prepared in be able to run either style of bead. If you run a weave all the time you will be probably exceed the required weld size and be wasting time and material, the people signing the checks won't like that.
Reply:I can fully understand what you all said. sorry if my response sounded rude. a different post annoyed me.
Reply:I don't know about other schools but mine teaches stringer, Z weave, box weave, staggered weave ( looks like an all right angle c on its back so if the name is wrong my apologies ) circle weave, and I'm toying around with an idea for another weave.  I've got to get a wire wheel for my grinder since I'm working on pipe now to get the slag off it but so far we are only running stringers.
Reply:Learning to run different weaves has less to do with trying to acheive a certain look and more with trying to get what's in front of you to work.  For example at the jobsite am at there are 3 different Miller Big 500's with each one having slightly diff arcs.  One is crisp, one is fluid like and the third sputters a little and to run vert up with each one requires changing technique slightly for each machine.  Also don't forget that the brand of rod can have an influence on technique and can change from one can to another.
Reply:i agree the hotter the better with 7018. the only time i run 1/8 is welding two inch sched 40 carbon pipe and i run it at 140-150 amps. rolling the pipe.
Reply:Originally Posted by reddragoni agree the hotter the better with 7018. the only time i run 1/8 is welding two inch sched 40 carbon pipe and i run it at 140-150 amps. rolling the pipe.
Reply:Originally Posted by Scott YoungLOLThis isn't a swipe at you.  I am just thinking of what would happen if I ran 140-150 on my machine.  The rod would catch fire.
Reply:Running anything over 120 amps with my machine and 1/8 7018 vert up, would end up looking bad at the top of the plate. Just too hot.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720yeah I would not go that hot for vert up. Just when I roll pipe cause I weld just slightly on the down  hill to flatten out the contour of the cap.
Reply:I run my 3G caps with 1/8 7018 at 120-130 and my amp readout is correct.  Its all in your motion, last time I ran a cap like that it was good enough to win my local AWS sections welding competition. You need to run your passes hotter, those look cold to me.  For flat I would be around 140, the more fluid the better because you have a better chance to wash and slag out before it freezes.As to the stringer/weave cap thing, it all depends on the code your working too, nothing else matters.  Some times one is ok, others its forbidden.  Learn how to do them both, but odds are you are never going to run weaves in any position other than vert up.Have we all gone mad?