Gap filling with TIG

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How large of a gap can be filled with tig? How strong will a joint be when fill in by building a puddle on both sides and then connecting them with filler? The puddle stayed together and a crap load of filler was used.  Ugly as it is how strong will this joint be?1/8" thick 1" square tubing100ampsER70-S 1/16" rod Attached Images
Reply:Depends on what you're intending to hold up and how it will be stressed.  When in doubt, weld it all the way around and brace it with a gusset.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Wow that is crazy, I have come into situations like those though.Good to know the answer from a engineering point of view.
Reply:that gap can be filled pretty easily, but i recomend using maybe a 1/8 piece or tig wire. as you melt your wire weave it from side to side making a briged.
Reply:Would he have been able to have ran a bead on each side to close the gap providing good penetration and then run a final bead connecting both beads or is that not doable?  Would it have been better to do a weave from side to side letting up some on the pedal while crossing the center of the gap so as to not loose the leading edge of the puddle in the middle of the gap?
Reply:Old weldor's proverb regarding gaps:"If you can step across it, it can be welded."(Author unknown)MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:So then the trick would be as I thought with cutting back on the arc a bit to reduce the size of the bead enough so that it remains viable but not so large that it would risk collapsing into the aether so to speak?
Reply:That gap looks to be about 1/8 inch, which is common when pipe welding. You will lose structural integrity if you get it too hot but filling that gap and making the joint should be no trouble. If the Heat affected area in more that 3/4 inch from the weld joint, it may have gotten too hot.
Reply:looks like you got it a little too hot but it depending on what you are doing it could still be fine. Easier way to do it with 1/16 filler  would have been to lay down a bead on either side of the gap and then run a bead right down the center. With 3/32 or 1/8 filler you can fill that gap with relative ease.
Reply:If you're worried about filling that gap with 1/16 rod.  Cut a rod and half and hold them both together, this giving you a 1/8 rod.  Turn up the heat just alittle bit, and keep most of your heat into the solid piece of tubing.  You shouldn't have any problem getting that to fuse well. Matt.
Reply:By Matt80:If you're worried about filling that gap with 1/16 rod. Cut a rod and half and hold them both together, this giving you a 1/8 rod.