OverHead SMAW

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Aight lets hear it. I want all tha tips and tricks as I have never attempted it Before. Horizontal, Vert. are all under tha belt. Overhead is my next hill, but it seems more like a Mountain. Tips,Techniques, yer own insight would all be appreciated.
Reply:The arc end of the rod goes up.  Sorry, I won't be of much help.
Reply:Shove the rod in. Keep it tight.Get comfortable and brace yourself as well as you can.Clean is more important than in any other position.... Don't be afraid to grind if need be. Get ALL of the slag out between passes. It is a lot tougher to burn out overhead than in other positions. As pulser said. the arc end of the rod goes up.It helps if you think of it as welding flat, but upside down, with the exception you can't shovel in as much metal per pass, or you end up with grapes everywhere. So maybe flat upside down, but a bit faster.
Reply:Originally Posted by TheGingerBreadmanAight lets hear it. I want all tha tips and tricks as I have never attempted it Before. Horizontal, Vert. are all under tha belt. Overhead is my next hill, but it seems more like a Mountain. Tips,Techniques, yer own insight would all be appreciated.
Reply:I was taught that overhead was just like flat. And through that instruction and practice I found it to be quite true. I was certified in heavy plate @ a nuclear power plant. The certification test consisted of 2 plates  1" thick 6" x 6" to be welded together, don't remember the angle of bevel. There was a 1" x 1/4" backing strip, and the 2 plates were spaced 1/8" for the root pass. And I had to weld in 3 positions, 7018 was used to fill the bevel. But anyway overhead is just like flat welding. Except you want to keep your rod angle in more of a true vertical angle. And like someboby else said pour the rod to it, you can run quite hot (better penetration).
Reply:Just imagine it's flat...weld it exactly the same.
Reply:and keep the sparks out of your hair!! ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Overhead welding is similar to flat except gravity is now working against you! Make sure you wear some kind of welding leathers to protect your arms and chest from the sparks.Start away from you and weld back towards your body so you always see what the puddle is doing and you have a clear line of sight of the joint. Keep the rod tight to the joint but don't bury it in the puddle. A slight weave side to side will help too.Biggest thing is to make sure you're comfortable. If you have to, tack an angle or something in a spot you can rest one of your elbows on and still make the weld.Hope this helped a little more.Good luck!Tennessee Squire Association
Reply:i find overhead is just as easy as flat, slag removal is easy because it hangs at the bottom of the weld.
Reply:EARPLUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Trust me...
Reply:Full welding jacket and a good set of gloves to protect yourself from falling hotstuff, button your jacket to the neck if you can stand it. Position yourself and brace yourself as the fellas have recommended, try to get a hip and shoulder against something even if you have to tack it up yourself. Expect your arms to tire and to be sore in the shoulders and neck the next couple of days; no big deal cause repitition will build up the muscles you need. Keep your rod close into the weld or you will get a lot of spatter and drips and make a mess of it. Put your ground clamp as close to the work as you can get it. If this is v'd plate with a backing strip and gap make sure if you do the fitup that you pay close attention to an evenly spaced joint, and more importantly getting the backing plate flat to the back of the plates when tacking. If you find there is a gap, gouge out the tacs and start over. You'll thank yourself for doing so when you watch the other guy with poor fitup blowing his root apart. Mount your work HORIZONTAL, not on some angle. It can be done, but why make your life harder. And stringers only, no weaving. Keep your rod perpindicular to work. When you are laying the beads that tie in to the plate angle your elctrode into the corner.  I dont see it as the same as flat position welding, here's my logic for what it's worth. In flat position if you have a high spot in your previous bead you can "melt it to meet" on your adjacent passes. Try doing that overhead by hanging along the edges of the high spot and you will make matters worse. The melted metal WANTS to drip; gravity is working against you here. Breeze along the high spots slightly quicker while continuing to deposit. Your aim here is to have a finished weld that is even and cappable. Clean your slag thoroughly, scrape in the grooves with a pick and wire brush (did I say?) thoroughly. A light source will be valuable for you to better see the work; shop light doesn't point the way that you will be looking when welding overhead. Invest in a cheap reflector lamp and the brightest rough service bulbs you can find. Cover the bulb with a piece of plexi or acrylic to protect it from dropping hotstuff or it will blow. I used a clear mask lens and spaced it off the bulb so it wouldn't melt from the heat, secured it with duct tape. Ugliest thing I ever saw, and invaluable. Get it right under the work so you can see what you are doing. Good luck! You can do this! You have to put in the hours, no way around it. Put in extra time if you can manage it. I came in on any night I knew there was a free booth and it made a difference with overhead 4G as well as fixed pipe 6G when the time came.Last edited by Clanweld; 11-14-2006 at 11:54 AM.If you don't have the time to do it right, then you definitely don't have the time to do it over.
Reply:Lots of good advice here,Macs being one of the most important. You get a hot one in your ear and nothing else in life matters.......And you cant really treat overhead like flat. Clanweld explains that fairly well. Sometime you actually have to push the rod into the puddle and push the puddle,not drag it. In the real world, outside of the class, sometimes you dont have a choice on the position or angle of the repair. You can't always get in the optimum position, you don't get a back-up plate. If you are doing struct. welds then the above info is sufficient. It just takes a lot of hood time to get proficient, so practice with good technique till you get it.
Reply:Just like flat. Perhaps a little hotter. The is to get comfortable. Good sleeves and a hat over your exposed ear is a must. An old weldor once told me "weld with the world" That will work in any position.
Reply:Just a few additional tips to your clothing.  Make sure you have a collar that can button up and that the tops of your boots are covered.  If there is an opening anywhere - a spark or piece of slag will find it.However is its not you welding - it can make an interesting dance to watch for those who don't take care. Here in the Great White NorthMosquitoes can't fly at 40 below
Reply:Keep the arc length short and travel fast.  Don't weave.
Reply:How do i go about tieingin my cover pass? I tried a to weave, nope no good, i tried running a nice stringer, got undercut, Tried running a 8th inch 7018 and got ugly results along with a blob of molten slag dropped on me at tha end. Whats tha technique on tha cover? Thank you for all your replies especially Clanweld you are an invaluable member of this forum and all yer expertise is greatly appreciated.
Reply:Undercut comes from amps too high,Travel speed too quickIncorrect  electrode angle or Arc length too longor a combination of the aboveKnow what causes defects and eliminate them-Grahame
Reply:Clanweld ain't jokin' about buttoning the jacket all the way up and if you don't believe him I'll show you the scars on my back, and unfortunatley, my crack.....OUCH!!!!
Reply:Originally Posted by jdwelderClanweld ain't jokin' about buttoning the jacket all the way up and if you don't believe him I'll show you the scars on my back, and unfortunatley, my crack.....OUCH!!!!
Reply:Go into detail on tieing in the toes, rod angles, speeds. What do yall know about running stringer beads for the coverpass. Do you just lay a fat one in there or step across overlapping each other?
Reply:Well, aside from trying to keep things as even as possible, tying together your beads should go like this:1-2-3-4-5 Attached ImagesLast edited by Clanweld; 12-04-2006 at 10:31 AM.If you don't have the time to do it right, then you definitely don't have the time to do it over.
Reply:Sorry about that last post, timed out and didn't know how to pull the post.Anyway, Aside from keeping your beads even, if you are welding a closed root or slightly open root with a backing plate, then run your first bead down the middle, rod Pointed straight up and tilted 10 degrees toward the forming puddle (drag technique), and working from the far end of the joint towards yourself. If the root requires 2 passes then angle your electrode 30 degrees into the corner of the joint where the plate meets the backing, 10 degree back angle a before. If youv'e done this right you should Still have the other side of the joint exposed and clear of weld. Clean your 1st bead thoroughly and apply the 2nd bead opposite the 1st; 30 degrees into the corner of the joint and allowing the bead to overlap your other. Clean your bead, then it is repetition, increasing the number of stringers by 1 with every layer of bead you put down. (The 1-2-3-4-5 mentioned in the first post.)  Travel speed is a matter of practice. Too slow and you will see your beads begin to lump up and drip, to fast and you will undercut and leave wagon tracks. When running adjacent stringers, run your elctrode directly along the edge of the previous bead. As far as capping, I was taught to step your electrode down 1 size from what you used to fill the joint, and yes, stringers just like before. Ovelap the edge of the plate 1/8", making sure there are no low spots that are below the level of the plate surface. Hope this was helpful, I'm all typed out! Attached ImagesLast edited by Clanweld; 12-04-2006 at 11:33 AM.If you don't have the time to do it right, then you definitely don't have the time to do it over.
Reply:Thank you Clan you are a wealth of knowledge.
Reply:palms down
Reply:Such a wizard I made the drawing upside down... Attached ImagesIf you don't have the time to do it right, then you definitely don't have the time to do it over.