Another alternative to the 1" fillet would be a CJP groove weld. This way tension or compression normal to the effective area would be the same as the wall of the pipe provided matching filler metal is used. Keep in mind there is more prep time preparing the joint to be welded vs a multipass fillet.
A CJP groove weld will handle any moment the schedule 80 wall will handle. If it is subjected to shear you are still limited to what the wall of the pipe can handle. See Table J2.5 Allowable Stress on Welds in ASD 9th Edition or AWS D1.1:2002 Table 2.3 Allowable Stresses.
Best of Luck,
John Wright
PS. I'm not an engineer either, but I cheated and talked to our resident P.E.