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Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: Tyler Durden on September 08, 2012, 10:25:23 PM

Title: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: Tyler Durden on September 08, 2012, 10:25:23 PM
Yes I did!  On Friday.  Pardon the bragging.   ;D

The ultimate part of the test is when two coupons/strips get bent into a U shape.  One strip is bent that stretches the root or bottom weld.  The other strip is bent the other way where it stretches the face or top most weld.

pics here:
http://s603.photobucket.com/albums/tt112/gryphon1994/3G%20Vertical%20Up%20Welding%20Test%20Three%20Eights%20plate/



Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: tombogan03884 on September 08, 2012, 10:29:51 PM
Vertical is hard, have you done any pipe welding  ? That's a real PITA.
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: Tyler Durden on September 08, 2012, 10:41:05 PM
Nope, no pipe welding yet, but that's coming.
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: MikeBjerum on September 08, 2012, 10:48:07 PM
Congrats Tyler!
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: TAB on September 09, 2012, 12:14:59 AM
Pipe welding is a whole diffrent ball game.  More so if its done on things like SS.   there is a reason why they make $$$.
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: Timothy on September 09, 2012, 08:26:55 AM
My company has some of the best welders I've ever seen.  We do a lot of piping in both A106 and 304L and most of the 304L is PED (Pressure Equipment Directive) or pressure vessel work.

Keep it up, it takes practice and time.  I can weld but I'm not a welder....
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: crusader rabbit on September 09, 2012, 10:36:42 AM
Congrats, TD.  Looks like some nice work. 

I am certainly not a "professional" welder, but I can recognize and appreciate skillful work.  (I am also not a professional chef, but I recognize and eat fine food with great gusto).

An old friend used to weld those huge petroleum storage tanks.  I guess the steel was pretty thick and he had to get the weld to extend all the way through to obtain maximum integrity. 

That seemed to me to be one of the toughest welding task one could undertake. 

But, like most other things worth doing, if you learn how to do it right and continue to hone your skills, the result is true artistry.

Keep up the fine work, buddy.

Crusader Rabbit
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: jaybet on September 09, 2012, 11:15:18 AM
Congratulations! What a skill....I couldn't weld a plastic soldier to a Playmobil with a plumber's torch, so I really appreciate that skill. Good luck with it.
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: PegLeg45 on September 09, 2012, 01:13:31 PM
Very cool, Tyler..... congrats!!!!




In the industrial facility where I spent the majority of my life, I was a "jack-of-all-trades, or millwright in some terminology..... I did a little of everything..... but as much as I loved hydraulics and electrical engineering, welding was my 'pet' area...... mainly because I enjoyed it and pushed myself to learn to do things others couldn't do.

It is a balance of both skill and art...... so keep at it ........... it is something that will serve you well.


PS: Overhead-uphill is a killer, but once you find the secret balance of heat, angle, and speed, others will think you are a welding genius.  :D
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: Solus on September 09, 2012, 01:17:02 PM
Congrats on the accomplishment, TD   :D :D
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: RTFM on September 09, 2012, 08:01:08 PM
Yup - congrats!

Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: deepwater on September 09, 2012, 10:05:02 PM
congratulations TD. I too weld (not always by choice) and as the rest of these bone heads... uuuhh guys, said, practice, practice, practice. I learned on ships, no classes. I have learned most of what I know by myself and become proficient through practice. some TIG, a lot of pipe welding and plenty of fabricating special tools to make some other job easier. a very good skill to have and always in demand. torch is another good tool, for cutting and soldering, etc.... 
what kind of course are you taking, to what level?


deep
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: Timothy on September 10, 2012, 06:31:01 PM
Something to aspire to!

 ;)
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: PegLeg45 on September 10, 2012, 06:33:33 PM
Ah, thanks for the memories, Timothy.....  :D  ;D  ;D  ;D
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: Solus on September 10, 2012, 06:49:49 PM
Geeze...I'm pleased when I get my solder joints that smooth.
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: PegLeg45 on September 10, 2012, 07:02:10 PM
I used to love TiG welding aluminum sheet........no one else could do it without blowing holes in the stuff.   ;D
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: Timothy on September 10, 2012, 07:59:35 PM
I used to love TiG welding aluminum sheet........no one else could do it without blowing holes in the stuff.   ;D

Yes, I've seen some really good aluminum welds in my life.  It takes a special aptitude and attitude to do aluminum well!
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: tombogan03884 on September 10, 2012, 08:02:26 PM
Something to aspire to!

 ;)

That's a pretty big gob pf slag in that top picture. ;D
Did they clean them up with Cratex or just a Scotchbrite wheel ?
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: Timothy on September 10, 2012, 08:05:12 PM
That's a pretty big gob pf slag in that top picture. ;D
Did they clean them up with Cratex or just a Scotchbrite wheel ?

Where?  I'm not seeing any slag...

I don't know what they're cleaning with Tom.  I can ask tomorrow.
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: tombogan03884 on September 10, 2012, 08:08:18 PM
Where?  I'm not seeing any slag...

I don't know what they're cleaning with Tom.  I can ask tomorrow.

That big gob of ( shiny) sh!t just below and right of the weld you're showing off.   ;D
I know, If you can't make it right, make it pretty .  ( it is very shiny )   ;D
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: Timothy on September 10, 2012, 08:14:24 PM
That big gob of ( shiny) sh!t just below and right of the weld you're showing off.   ;D
I know, If you can't make it right, make it pretty .  ( it is very shiny )   ;D

There are some inked circles.  Is that what you're talking about?

I was on my way out this afternoon after a 10 hour day and just snapped a few pics with the phone.  This is very basic stuff for us.
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: Frosty on September 10, 2012, 08:19:53 PM
Congrats Tyler!
Keep practicing & when you think your done practice some more! My oldest son went to welding school, he loves pipe welding and is working on getting his own rig to go out in the field, wants to work a pipeline. Good luck with your endevours and practice, practice etc.
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: tombogan03884 on September 10, 2012, 08:20:16 PM
There are some inked circles.  Is that what you're talking about?

I was on my way out this afternoon after a 10 hour day and just snapped a few pics with the phone.  This is very basic stuff for us.

Might be, REALLY looks like a lump under the right end of the visible weld where it disappears into the glare.
Dude, it looks like it will never come off on the outside, presumably noncritical, surface, I'm just busting your chops .  ;D
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: Timothy on September 10, 2012, 08:22:29 PM
Might be, REALLY looks like a lump under the right end of the visible weld where it disappears into the glare.
Dude, it looks like it will never come off on the outside, presumably noncritical, surface, I'm just busting your chops .  ;D

Heck Tom!  I don't care....I didn't weld it myself!  If I had, it's be one big lump of molten glob, believe me!  QC would take me out back and shoot me!

 ;D
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: tombogan03884 on September 10, 2012, 08:27:43 PM
Heck Tom!  I don't care....I didn't weld it myself!  If I had, it's be one big lump of molten glob, believe me!  QC would take me out back and shoot me!

 ;D

Same here, I'll machine it to +/- .0005 but don't ask me to weld or dremel anything.  ;D
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: Timothy on September 10, 2012, 08:38:25 PM
Same here, I'll machine it to +/- .0005 but don't ask me to weld or dremel anything.  ;D

That particular part has been machined internally as well as where those threaded boss's are welded in the second picture.  By the time the final welding is done, it's been in the machine shop two or three times.  After they tack weld the assembly, it's inspected to make sure the end flanges are parallel to about .008 or .010 and mounted in proper rotation to the bolt flange.  Once that's done, they do the final welding and then re-inspect the entire assembly on the CMM before it's approved for packaging.  Looks simple at first glance but that piece of pipe is worth well north of 5K when it's finally done and it's only about 18 inches long.
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: tombogan03884 on September 10, 2012, 08:58:36 PM
When I was working we had some parts, (Gas Flanges, forget the Customer, may have been GTE ) that were basically a hollow, gas tight dick 3 feet across that had to be square, and flat to something like +/- .003. I didn't have anything to do with that SOB though.
Nothing about it went easily.
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: Magoo541 on September 11, 2012, 09:13:00 AM
When I was working we had some parts, (Gas Flanges, forget the Customer, may have been GTE ) that were basically a hollow, gas tight dick 3 feet across that had to be square, and flat to something like +/- .003. I didn't have anything to do with that SOB though.
Nothing about it went easily.

Stainless?  That stuff loves to move around when you just look at it let alone machine it.  FWIW I've had good luck using HSS tools on 303/304/316, it seems HSS has a better edge that doesn't stress the material as much as carbide, coated or not.
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: tombogan03884 on September 11, 2012, 11:16:02 AM
Stainless?  That stuff loves to move around when you just look at it let alone machine it.  FWIW I've had good luck using HSS tools on 303/304/316, it seems HSS has a better edge that doesn't stress the material as much as carbide, coated or not.

They bought some type of super alloy tooling just for that job, 304 stainless they ran a 1/2 inch endmill  around 3 - 4,000 RPM
with some insane feed rate of like 30 inches a minute. all over the shop you could hear the machine basically screaming for mercy.
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: PegLeg45 on September 11, 2012, 02:21:32 PM
I used to love the Super Missle (nickle) ARC welding rods for TiG welding. I would beat the flux off of them and use them for TiG. They made some pretty welds....strong too.  ;D



When we would do a re-fit on some of our hydraulic presses, we would use up to 6" schedule 160 pipe. It has almost a 3/4" wall thickness. Talk about taking forever to do a weld joint. Two root passes with a Tig and then multiple cover passes with 7018 stick. Plenty of time all day long for internal contemplation and focus.  ;D
My all-time favorite was welding two halves of a 48" hydraulic cylinder together (almost 13' circumference with a 2" thick wall)......
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: Magoo541 on September 12, 2012, 10:56:20 PM
I used to love the Super Missle (nickle) ARC welding rods for TiG welding. I would beat the flux off of them and use them for TiG. They made some pretty welds....strong too.  ;D



When we would do a re-fit on some of our hydraulic presses, we would use up to 6" schedule 160 pipe. It has almost a 3/4" wall thickness. Talk about taking forever to do a weld joint. Two root passes with a Tig and then multiple cover passes with 7018 stick. Plenty of time all day long for internal contemplation and focus.  ;D
My all-time favorite was welding two halves of a 48" hydraulic cylinder together (almost 13' circumference with a 2" thick wall)......
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Why I wasn't a welder  ;)
Title: Re: Passed my 3G welding test!
Post by: tombogan03884 on September 13, 2012, 08:07:19 AM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Why I wasn't a welder  ;)

Welding in your leathers and helmet may be great in January, in August, not so much.  ;D