feathering

By jrpowell_24 Date 07-20-2007 22:25

Hows it going fellas? Well as crazy as this might sound, I was told one time while i was in a welding class to feather a weld. In my mind im thinking ok, what the hell is feathering? Aftering being shown feathering is still a bit of a problem for me even if i dont grind on it. Basically What I guess im trying to say is im sick of seeing where my welds stops and starts. Im using a lincoln ranger 8 with a kohler engine on strucual. But when i have to weld a vertical pass 14 inches long and make it look like a continus bead you can see where i stoped and then started again with the next pass. Im the new guy here i guess you could say. So whats the dill? is feathering even have a part in this or am i just making crap up? lol.

By Mwccwi

Date 07-20-2007 23:29

Feathering as I know it is a technique for preparation of the restart location on open root groove.
Able to see where you restart- if you are talking about the root side, yes the feathering technique that you apply could be the factor. For the face side I don't believe feathering should be anywhere near it. Without seeing what you are doing oe even seeing what you have done it'll be hard to help. To get a better looking restart try stiking the arc a little higher in the joint than where the actual restart is flow back to the last bead end retart your vertical progression. Remember to look at what the arc is doing as you weld, maybe wiping the smoke of the face shield cover lense prior to each retart will help. Don't be dicouraged the skills will come with time remember practice, practice, and more practice .

By jrpowell_24 Date 07-21-2007 00:27

i do appreciate the help. i guess to explain a little better , when im welding one of the first things i do is check my lenses because for me in the past i have picked up glares and reflections and they blind me so that i am doing. When im doing a verticale weld and i have ran my first pass, i chip some of the flux or slag off the weld and restart about 1 inch above with a long arc and pull down i guess towards the weld and make like a backwards "j" and try to start the next pass. but in doing so i have caught my self either overlaping to much where it looks like it just puddled in one spot to long or there might be a small space where i didnt go down far enough to overlap the weld. Watching guys like yall do it its a breeze lol but ive been doing this for maybe 5yrs. and still catching my self doing bad practice. My welds on verticle are normally tight weaves they look and hold great but the starting and stoping of beads is eating my lunch. Normally on the job sites my supervisors tell me if you cant weld it with 7018 and no 6010 or 6011 you aint no welder, Ill flip them the bird and weld it my way. but usally there is no root pass on alot of what the specs on the prints call for.

By Tommyjoking (****)

Date 07-24-2007 08:50

agreed hard to give advice without seeing the bead

if you can go up in amperage a bit on the 7018 this will help you get continuity between your starts and stops. As far as the 60 series rods go this may sound crazy to you but long arc just a bit on the restart and get the top of that last weld HOT then jump in and go....you will be able to "boil" the flux up and make a smoother tie in. To make a smooth tie in to your last weld you must be able to remelt your weld as well as the base metal...this takes a bit more heat. Thats just somthing that might help your situation...good luck.

By medicinehawk01 (**)

Date 07-24-2007 09:26

I agree with "feathering" being used on an open root weld and means grinding the stop and start of your tack.
When I use 7018 on a vertical weld, I do not remove the slag after burning a rod, I quickly notch another rod and lite up (about 1/2" above where I left off) and carry on with the bead.This gives a reference point to stop and after running the next rod, the slag will look uninterupted (IF you have gone back far enough and not paused too long). The key is to get the next rod burning so the previous start is still really hot.