Help me tear this up

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I just welded some 1/4" to 1/4" steel in a T configuration, I am getting pratice in for my AWS test and i know they bend the crap out of it but i don't have that type of bender, I guess i can beat the daylights out of it with a sledgehammer until it gives......Or will it!! JoeyStangnetShop Full Of Stuff. Joey
Reply:Vipermanz, it will break. Not a bad looking pass, but if you hit it it will come off. Bent towards the weld most mig passes like that are coming off pretty easy. Bent away from the weld it will take a lot more abuse.Thats what, 1/4 x 2 ?  I'm guessing  3-5 slaps with a 4 pounder and your done. A test coupon that they bend is usually beveled and is welded full-pen, ground flat, then bent.Bevel your 1/4 x 2 and butt weld 100%, lock it in the vise with the weld right above the jaws and then beat the #$@% outta it. It will stay together a lot better than just a 1/4 inch fillet. Good luck on your testing.
Reply:Snap your Tee open if you can and look at the broken section for slag inclusions, porosity and lack of fusion in the corner. That will tell you if you have a weld that will pass.  The standard  test is a fillet weld and a groove weld combined on a butt joint with a backing bar.  They likely will ask you to do a stop start in the middle of your fillet weld.  You should practice to get good tie-ins because this is one location of  test failure.The standard test is for you to put in a fillet with a stop start then you show the inspector.  He stamps the plate and tells you to continue filling up the remaining groove.  You cannot grind but it is prudent to wire brush off any glass before running the next pass.
Reply:Vipermanz,If you are looking to get certified in the AL-GA area and you find a center/inspector that is nearby and reasonably priced, would you share that info?  I had wanted to re-do mine, but havent found a site that is less than 6 hours drive away.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Originally Posted by smithboyVipermanz,If you are looking to get certified in the AL-GA area and you find a center/inspector that is nearby and reasonably priced, would you share that info?  I had wanted to re-do mine, but havent found a site that is less than 6 hours drive away.
Reply:RESULTS Couldn't break them, 1 was a tee joint on 1/4"x2" and the other i made an h beam of 1/8"x1" . Sledgehammered to death with a 12lb'er in the driveway. I cut them in half using a sawsall and it looks like full pen. i was using solid wire. i'll try a flux core .035 lateri need to find a piece if 6"od 5/16" wall pipe to practice on.. JoeyStangnetShop Full Of Stuff. Joey
Reply:Viper, my apologies.
Reply:Also remeber that they cut your test piece into 1" strips and bend from a few different places on the joint ie: start, stop and one or two places in the middle.  The butt weld should have full pen. and be ground smooth on both sides then cut into strips and bent. This is how the AWS test was when I was helping a friend that does the testing.Brett B & B Fabrication and Welding Inc.Spalding, MI.
Reply:With a fillet on both sides of the T it's unlikely that it would break.  If you really want to break a weld, try a fillet on one side and then hit it on the opposite side.-Heath
Reply:Originally Posted by halbrittWith a fillet on both sides of the T it's unlikely that it would break.  If you really want to break a weld, try a fillet on one side and then hit it on the opposite side.
Reply:halbritt, thats what I thought I was looking at, hence the apologies. My eyes may have been a little bleary(beery?)