October Test Pieces

Didn't take long for my aim of blogging every week to go out of the window, but the good thing is its because I've been busy working on more test pieces and studying.
There has been lots of theory work to go along with the practical side and typing up just one page of notes can take me hours when I get distracted looking things up in more detail.
The practical work has been progressing at a good pace and I have now completed 4 test pieces that all passed, only one other student is also that far along with one or two not far behind us.
These are the side cut out views of the 3 test pieces I have passed this month.

The multi run fillet is just 3 runs but they are all done holding the electrode at a different angle. The middle 50mm section is then cut out and tested by breaking it. By breaking it you can tell if the weld fused properly to the two pieces of 10mm plate and it will show up any slag inclusions between your runs.
The closed V butt took the longest to complete, I had to grind back a lot of my runs to remove slag and smooth out the welds to prevent slag inclusions on the next run. After completing the top side it is then turned over and grinded back into the first run and tested with a dye penetrant which will show if there are any defects like cracks. After passing this test it is then filled with a final run. The middle 20mm is cut out of the piece and tested by means of a bend test of around 6 tons, the weld must withstand the weight without cracking or breaking.
The open corner is tricky to get set up and the first run is even trickier to do right. Because there is a gap between the two pieces of plate you must learn a new technique called 'key-holing'. The middle 50mm section is cut out for a break test in the same way as the multi run fillet was.

I will try to remember to take some pictures of my test pieces next time I'm in the workshop. We have to keep them in our lockers because some students have been stealing other peoples work and there has even been some vandalising of unfinished pieces. Personally I think you should have to pass some kind of maturity test before being allowed in a workshop.

Its now half term so I wont be doing any more welding for nearly two weeks, so I think I'll be catching up on some tv shows and reading.

First Test Piece

The pad weld was to get used to the Manual Metal Arc (MMA) technique and after 3 layers I was getting quite good. A clear sign of a good weld is whats called a scorpion tail, this is when the slag lifts off the weld as it cools and basically removes itself. Getting a scorpion tail is immensely satisfying and as I started my 4th layer I tried to get the biggest tail I could, this is one of my best.

After finishing the final 4th layer I moved onto the first test piece. Unlike the pad weld, which was on 10mm mild steel, the test piece would be on 5mm. A lap weld in the vertical/horizontal position with just one fillet of weld to join them. This is a side view of the lap weld.

After finishing the weld it is then tested by a destruction test to see how deep the weld goes and how it will break. A section is cut out of the middle and them the weld is pulled apart, it will then either pass or fail a visual inspection of how the weld broke. If passed all the pieces are then tacked back together ready for the college assessor to randomly pick out and inspect. If it fails then you go back and try again after figuring out what you did wrong before. 

My first test piece passed and hopefully I'll start on my second next week.

First week

Mostly just about Health and Safety and more Health and Safety.
Welding is very dangerous unless you follow the proper H&S rules so its important to take it all in. Some people think its more important than others though and theres already been some people being cavalier with their eye protection.
Then we started on a little bit of the theory side of welding, which I find really interesting and am very keen to learn. Unfortunetly there are others who just want to do the practical work and moan the whole lesson about wanting to leave early.
On the practical side of things everyone seems to be at the same level with MMA now. First assignment is a pad weld which is doing lots of lines overlapping each other building it up. I think mine is going well but I noticed my piece of mild steel has more distortion than the other students. Right now I'm not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing with such a large area being welded. I think its a bad thing, Ive possibly not turned down my amps as much as the others, will find out next week.

Never Give Up.

A New Beginning

2012 will be the beginning of things to come. I will be starting a 2yr Welding course and I plan on making it my new career.
Discovering what I should retrain in has taken a long time. With inspiration from various places and encouragement from my friends and family I found welding.
After a short taster course last year I knew I had found what I was looking for, and in a couple of weeks I will start a full course.
This blog is for my friends so they can keep track of what I'm doing and how well its going. I plan on updating it weekly so I hope you all keep coming back and wish me luck :)