Welding styles

[WAD357]

What are the pros and cons of weave welding as opposed to using stringer style? From what I hear there is no point to weave weld........

[Zullock Holmes]

honestly i dont think your style really matters too much, its all about prep, i take the time to grind down the the edges of a surface, like for welding something thick i like to taper down the edges and create a real nice spot for the weld to lay in, this also gives alot of penetration.

as for weaves or stringers, i've never heard these expressions before even in school. I always just made little circles with the pool, going from one piece of metal then to the other then back. They always come out looking like a row of nickles, thats how i know it was a good weld and when you can see the discoloration going about 3/4 of an inch in both directions away from the weld.

[ninetysix-ex-jay]

I heard of weave but not stitch. I agree with Matt, I never heard the other term even in school. As long as your penetrating both pieces of metal I don't think it matters. The only "style" I use thats different is whipping with an arc welder when the metal is starting to get too hot but thats it

[lakailimited06]

i use a couple different patterns when i weld, depends on what im doing sometimes i do ))))))))) or (((((((((( or <<<<<<< or like mentioned above just small circles...all these ways seem to create the same "row of dimes" look....i seem to have the biggest problem doing vertical up or down welds they always come out alittle sloppy and uneven...

[grundlepunch]

i dont get to fetched up on the name of a pattern that i use.

I like to prep the best i can, clean metal welds good. Also have the best ground (i.e. grind down to fresh clean metal and have it be CLOSE the where you are welding).
also getting the welder dialed in with wire speed, wire thickness ect. is important too

as for torch movement, I just make sure I spend more time on the cleaner/thicker piece of metal, and staying with the puddle, making sure that you MOVE the puddle and dont work to fast that the puddle comes to you. I kinda move in a figure '8' pattern, I had a Union pipe fitter (50 year old dude) teach me the basics but the rest is just trial and error. If im working on something important I weld of scrap that is the same thinkness to fine tune my welder/style and i cut it or try to break it to check penetration ect..

sorry if i strayed from your origional question, i hope this helps

[YJCrawler19]

AMEN to watching your puddle. iirc, Stitch welding is when you leave space between shorter welds to allow the metal to cool and help prevent deformation of your metal. Also referred to as skip welding or a wandering weld by some people. for example - 2 inches of weld / 4 inches of rest. This can also help if you are pushing your duty cycle.
A weave pattern can help keep a nice neat weld, tends to look nice, and you can maintain a nice balance of buildup and penetration. A weave pattern can easily be made into a step type pattern for vertical work.

[CSaddict]

I just let it have it. plain and simple. Bam.

[OWEN]

What are the pros and cons of weave welding as opposed to using stringer style? From what I hear there is no point to weave weld........

Do you mean stringer as in several beads on top of eachother versus weave meaning one fat bead?

[WAD357]

Do you mean stringer as in several beads on top of eachother versus weave meaning one fat bead?

Yes...

Reason I brought this up was because I just recently started a welding and fabricating class, and when my instructor demonstrated a good weld he didnt weave weld and I was like WTF? So I started a big debate and basically made myself look like a moron for thinking weave welding is the proper way to weld

[CSaddict]

There is no reason to (weave) when working a mig. Well there are reasons but most of them fall into the catagory of you are using too small a welder for the job or you are just trying to get it to look pretty.

[blakdot]

Yes...

Reason I brought this up was because I just recently started a welding and fabricating class, and when my instructor demonstrated a good weld he didnt weave weld and I was like WTF? So I started a big debate and basically made myself look like a moron for thinking weave welding is the proper way to weld

X2....

Strongest welds start with a perfectly clean surface and prepped (beveled if needed), then make sure your gap is appropriate for metal thickness, Then burn and go in a straight line slow watching the puddle waterfall into the gap.

when TIG welding we were taught to go as far as cleaning the weld area with soap and water.

[OWEN]

Yes...

Reason I brought this up was because I just recently started a welding and fabricating class, and when my instructor demonstrated a good weld he didnt weave weld and I was like WTF? So I started a big debate and basically made myself look like a moron for thinking weave welding is the proper way to weld

I think this is more applicable to stick welding.

I do a lot of stick welding (everyday) at work, I really cannot tell you the science behind it, but running stringers with a 70 wire always seems like a stronger weld weld and it runs a lot nicer out of position. If you are really laying the wire in a big pile vertical it will run like shit. Running 2 or 3 tight passes seems like you are using the heat to penetrate and not just melt wire.

[Buffalo Phil]

X2....

Strongest welds start with a perfectly clean surface and prepped (beveled if needed), then make sure your gap is appropriate for metal thickness, Then burn and go in a straight line slow watching the puddle waterfall into the gap.

when TIG welding we were taught to go as far as cleaning the weld area with soap and water.

Just today I was welding 3/16th plate with a 110v with .030 wire and I did the (((((((( pattern, making sure to hit both pieces of plate and putting some material inside as well. This may be the reason why I have such a build up of weld. If you just burn straight down with no side to side motion then I may be adding more material then needed.

This is what I got:



If the ((((( is unnecessary to bridge the two furthest corners, then it looks like I'm going back outside to start all over.

Oh and yeah, I just got my welder today so if my welds suck, eat me. I need a lot more practice.

[crosbike]

Phil turn ur wire speed up and move faster

[Buffalo Phil]

Phil turn ur wire speed up and move faster

I shall try that, but will I get the penetration I need?

Will and I had the wire speed higher but the plates where just falling apart, I wasn't burning into the metal. Hence why the wire speed is slow and I moved slow.

I'll get some more seat time in a bit. Thanks.