Welding Penetration

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Is there anyway to tell how good or if there is any penetration of your weld by looking at it? I cut one in half with a saws-all. but it looks all the same to me. So does that mean my weld is just sitting on top? When I weld you can see the outline of the weld on the bottom. I also tried to grind one down and see if it was solid and it was.Thanks,Charlie Attached Images
Reply:To see the penetration or fusion of the weld you need to polish and etch your cut. Take a look at post 46 and 47 that Rick V did and you can clearly see how much depth of fusion he got. He explains the basic DIY process pretty well. ( I swiped one of the picts for quick reference from Rick's post.)http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...262#post415262What you are seeing on the back isn't penetration. It's heat marks and scale formed when the unshielded metal came in contact with oxygen while hot. That can be quite common with thinner metals and yet you may still not have good fusion and penetration..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