I know of no welding standard that places time limits on a welder qualification test.
As an employer; I would consider a time limitation simply because the test is a good indication of the welder's ability and work habits. If it takes him an inordinate time to set-up and weld out the test coupon you can pretty well imagine that is how he's going to perform on the production floor.
As a second issue, what the heck is a 1 inch fillet plate test?
The fillet break tests I am familiar with are performed using 1/2 inch thick plate, not 1 inch.
The actual arc time is less than a half hour for SMAW including chipping slag and wire brushing the bead. Set-up time; may-be fifteen minutes if all his tools and clamps, etc. are on the bench and he doesn't have to search the shop high and low for the basic tools needed. Maybe another 15 minutes to explain what has to be done, what is permitted, etc. All-in-all, maybe an hour should be ample time to set-up and weld the test piece.
Best regards - Al
Hi John,
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