got another one today.

Date 06-13-2013 02:03

this ones not hypothetical it actually happened.

do to some urine poor engineering on this job I'm on i had to weld a T plate to the center of a stiffener plate that was already welded into the flange of the beam. due to very limited clearance i couldn't even get eyes on it with a sock hood and flip lens. Plate was 1/2" 12"x12" that was just welded both sides to a 1/2" web stiffener in a W12x68.

Ended up having to use a mirror to see. I'm not going to lie, I actually impressed myself with how quickly i got back into the swing of mirror welding after not doing it for at least 10 years. The rub is it was FCAW NR-232 3G. just a simple 1/4" fillet weld 12" long only requiring a VT. The T.P.I. on the job wasn't sure about the answer and my code books were 75 miles away. He passed them off and complemented me on a job well done in hard going.

BUT if he had been a stickler and gone strictly by the book would this have been acceptable to AWS D1.1 2010?

By welderbrent (*****)

Date 06-13-2013 03:19

So, what is it that you are questioning? Rather a mirror is acceptable for making a weld in tight places? Rather the wire was acceptable for welding with a mirror? I'm a little lost here. Did you use pre-heat? That size WF may have needed it even though the plate wouldn't.

Have a Great Day, Brent

By Dualie

Date 06-13-2013 03:32

After reading that i decided i might have got a little to much sun today, that was quite a rambling mess.

My question was if it was acceptable to make a mirror weld with out having a special PQR or WPS.

it was done to my normal WPS for FCAW G3 position that requires no pre heat for anything under 1.5"

By eekpod

Date 06-13-2013 10:39

I am not aware that the use or non use of a mirror is an essential variable requiring re-certification, but it does make you wonder on certain situations.

By welderbrent (*****)

Date 06-13-2013 13:18

Yes, I can think of many situations that may make sense to do a test run to prove it could actually be completed in an acceptable fashion by the welder. But, I don't really think this is one of those times.

I see no reason to even wonder about it. Means and methods for a D1.1 structural member, as long as the finished product can be visually inspected and passed all is good.

Have a Great Day, Brent

By 46.00

Date 06-13-2013 21:09

The use of a mirror is not an essential variable in any standard I'm aware of. However, if you were to be performing 'Mirror' welds on a regular or daily basis, common sense would dictate that some form of in-house testing would be advisable. I know when I worked for a power station shut down company, we had in-house training modules for confined space mirror welding of boiler tube and only those welders who had passed the course were allowed to perform actual production mirror welds.

By Dualie

Date 06-14-2013 08:30

Thanks for the replay's.

It had been quite a long time since i performed any mirror welds, and then it was all TIG. FCAW made it a bit more challenging but got her done.

Just wanted to add this to my ever growing bag of "acceptable" tricks