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Go Welding.Org
Pipe Welding!
This page is about welding pipe how to pass the AWS B2.1 6G E6010 open root and E7018 fill and cap pipe welding certification. The pipe welding techniques used and the procedure is also identical to the ASME section IX pipe welding certification. Since welding pipe in the 6G position covers all of the pipe welding positions the information on this page can be applied to welding pipe in any position. The 6G welding certification is far from easy to pass and has a lot involved. Because there is a lot involved this page is pretty long and I also took a lot of pictures. I do want to say I barely passed this certification and came very close to failing it. When comparing structural welding certifications to pipe welding certifications there is a major difference. Structural welding is one position and rod angle at one time. The 6G position is a combination of all of the structural and pipe welding positions, with a full transition between them all, plus a hard side and easy side, depending on if you are left handed or right!
Since pipe welders can earn a doctors salary this is the most wanted welding certification! So obviously a lot of welding students want to have this welding certification before finishing welding school. I hope to give any student welders interested a head start on getting ready to pass this 6G certification. The one piece of advice I can give about learning to weld pipe is, get your structural welding skills down first. Otherwise it will take more time to learn to weld pipe!
http://www.gowelding.org/Pipe_Welding_6G_SMAW_Certification.html
21/01/2012
Pipe Welding and How to Pass a SMAW 6G (open root) Pipe Welding Certification
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Welding Equipment
Rotators, positioners & other welding equipment for sale or rent
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all positions. Signing up for the class I started practicing in the 6G position. My progress was OK and I felt I was ready to pass the 6G pipe test in a week or two. At the time I poked around looking for work and got a few good offers. Naturally I quit my job to focus on school, get my life back in order, and build this site as a selling point for my resume. What I did not expect is to hit a wall while practicing for the 6G pipe test. About a month went by and my welds visually did not get any better (it was a part time class). I got desperate and decided to get whatever welding certifications I could pass then. So I did my 3G MIG cert, then my 3 and 4G combo Stick cert, followed by 3G FCAW cert. Being unemployed I kept going to school and went back to the 6G pipe test. All of a sudden the 6G position became easy to weld in. I wised up and did the basics again. I did 1 through 4G plate with an open root and found my trouble spots. Then I practiced 2 and 5G open root pipe welds followed by the 6G pipe. After that I took the test and passed it. The point is, if you want to pass a 6G pipe test practice the basics first. Dont rush into it like me. I always say rushing is for fools and here I am one of them! I thought because I have done it before I can still do it now. If there are any positions that you may have trouble with, it is easier to find them on plate, and fix the problem there!
Resistance Welders
Specializing in Standard and Custom Built Resistance Welding Machinery
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My next step was to grind off the oxidation from where the bevel was cut, followed by grinding the mill scale off of the outside of the pipe a minimum of one inch back, then the inside of the pipe about a quarter of an inch back. Finally checking the bevel angles with a protractor. The angle of the bevel was right where it needed to be. Next I put my land on the bevel; I used about a 1/16th land. I used a grinder to make the landing and pretty much eyeballed it. After I was finished putting on the landing I took a 1/16th of an inch thick piece of scrap metal and used it to measure the landing.
http://www.gowelding.org/Pipe_Welding_6G_SMAW_Certification.html
21/01/2012
Pipe Welding and How to Pass a SMAW 6G (open root) Pipe Welding Certification
SMAW Welding Machine Set-Up For All Position Pipe Welding
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The welding machine set-up is a critical part for any type of welding and when it comes to pipe it is the most important! The machine I used for the 6G Pipe cert was a Miller DialArc 250. Its a real simple and nice Stick welder but unfortunately it does not have a hot start feature. When setting up my machine for the 6G position I did notice I did get some restarting trouble in the same areas. Besides the lack of the hot start feature the machine ran real nice.
Pipe Welding Machine Settings For The Fill And Cap With An E7018
Originally I tried a 1/8 E7018 rod and found it was total overkill for a 6 schedule 40 pipe, so I turned to the 3/32 E7018 electrode, and it worked way better. The amperage I used was 95 amps and the rod ran real nice on the hot pass and cap! This setting in any position puts down a real nice bead!!
http://www.gowelding.org/Pipe_Welding_6G_SMAW_Certification.html
21/01/2012
Pipe Welding and How to Pass a SMAW 6G (open root) Pipe Welding Certification
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Below are some basic guidelines for trouble shooting open root welds. Above all, when you are not sure about the root, STOP WELDING at once!
Keyhole Closing Up
Start pushing the rod forehand toward the direction of travel. Increase the angle of the push. Raise the amperage.
http://www.gowelding.org/Pipe_Welding_6G_SMAW_Certification.html
21/01/2012
Pipe Welding and How to Pass a SMAW 6G (open root) Pipe Welding Certification
got onto the tack I kept welding until I was past the feathered edge.
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The second rod I used was done on the root from the 9 oclock to the 12 oclock position. Before starting to weld I used my grinder to clean up the 9 o'clock tack that was piggy backed from the previous weld. Once it was cleaned up I piggy backed that tack and started whipping. When tying into this tack I did not pause too much. On the upper half of the pipe gravity is in your favor. In this case it is easy to have too much penetration on the inside of the pipe. The technique I used was just a whipping motion while dragging the rod about 5 degrees, and above all, the electrode needs to always be pointing to the center of the pipe. When coming up to the 12 o'clock tack I piggy backed half way over it.
My next root pass was from the 6 oclock to 3 oclock position. It is the easy side of the bottom half of the root if you are right handed. This is because you can easily see the keyhole for right handed people. On this side of the weld I used my left hand to lean on the pipe while leaning the electrode on my thumb to guide the rod. Once the electrode burned short enough I slowly took my left hand off of the pipe and went to holding the handle with two hands. Before starting to weld I grinded the 6 O'clock tack from the previous piggy back restart. Just like the other bottom half of the pipe I let the rod preheat and paused and pushed the rod into the root when burning into the 6 o'clock tacks feathered edge. After that it was just a whipping motion and then piggy back onto the 3 o'clock tack.
My final root pass was done from the 3 oclock to 12 oclock position. Before starting I grinded down and feather the edge of the 3 o'clock tack where my last weld stopped. On this side of the pipe I had to sit on the table to get a good view, otherwise I would not be able to weld 90 degrees in a single pass. I have a bad habit of making long welds even when I can't see where I am going. In most cases shorter welds are fine as long as you grind and feather your restarts. Just like the other top half of the pipe I piggy backed the restart onto the tack then let the electrode preheat, burned into the feathered edge, followed by using a whipping motion up to the 12 o'clock tack. Once I got onto the 12 o'clock tack I piggy backed half the tack.
http://www.gowelding.org/Pipe_Welding_6G_SMAW_Certification.html
21/01/2012
Pipe Welding and How to Pass a SMAW 6G (open root) Pipe Welding Certification
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Here is are the pictures of my hot pass. As you can see the bevel is mostly filled and there is no slag on the edges of the bevel. When putting in a filer pass the slag should come off pretty easily! If not, that means you are not holding the sides long enough and there is a possibility of slag inclusions.
http://www.gowelding.org/Pipe_Welding_6G_SMAW_Certification.html
21/01/2012
Pipe Welding and How to Pass a SMAW 6G (open root) Pipe Welding Certification
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Keep your electrode angle pointed to the center of the pipe at all times with very few exceptions. Keep your arc length as short as possible. If possible, drag your electrode slightly no matter what the position is. Most people will disagree with this but it works for me because it keeps the slag behind the puddle. Only move forward and side to side with the electrode otherwise the weld will become rough. When the pipe gets to hot let it cool down or put on a vice grip to lean on. Make sure you fuse the bevels edge. Overlap stringer beads from at least 25% to a maximum of 50%. The goal is for the weld to have a single profile when finished.
The cap was done from the bottom to top. There is not much to the cap except make sure you fuse the edges of the bevel and keep spreading out the weld. The pictures below are of the first stringer bead I put in. The weld is a little rough because I would sometimes pause or move the electrode slightly back into the weld crater. This is solved by only moving forward and side to side.
These pictures below are of the second stringer bead. The weld got a little smoother because I was spreading the weld better. On the forth picture you can see where my electrode got stuck on the top of the pipe. I had to grind that spot before restarting there. If your electrode starts sticking try not to long arc it. If you do you will end up with porosity in the weld. The best way to keep the electrode from sticking is to keep the rod moving.
http://www.gowelding.org/Pipe_Welding_6G_SMAW_Certification.html
21/01/2012
Pipe Welding and How to Pass a SMAW 6G (open root) Pipe Welding Certification
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The last stringer bead was done once the pipe cooled down enough for me to lean on it. On the last stringer bead I made sure I spread the weld over the edge of the bevel and into the second stringer. Those are the pictures below.
http://www.gowelding.org/Pipe_Welding_6G_SMAW_Certification.html
21/01/2012
Pipe Welding and How to Pass a SMAW 6G (open root) Pipe Welding Certification
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The coupons are then cut on a horizontal band saw. Some of the coupons did not come out even because the band saws vice had a worn out part that needed to be replaced. But again the coupons were a minimum of 1 inches wide so they were accepted.
Now the pipe is cut into bendable sections. The sections are two root bends, two face bends, and the larger pieces are the alternate coupons. All of them are marked to identify the proper sections of the pipe. R stands for root, and F stands for face, and the number refers to the position that the coupon was welded in. The pictures below are showing the root of the weld and the cap of the weld.
Once you have the test coupons they need the center of the weld to be marked with a center punch. This is done to make sure the weld area is being bent.
Finally the cap and root of the weld need to be grinded. When grinding down the weld reinforcement you are not allowed to go below the surface metal. On my root I had some concavity. This must be left alone. At first I thought undercut and concavity will cause the test coupon to fail. That is very far from the truth. So if you are taking a welding certification and have some undercut, dont worry about it as long as your weld is solid! The pictures below are before removing any weld reinforcement.
The rest of the pipe is there for an alternate bend test in the case a coupon fails. If a coupon fails it must be within the
http://www.gowelding.org/Pipe_Welding_6G_SMAW_Certification.html
21/01/2012
Pipe Welding and How to Pass a SMAW 6G (open root) Pipe Welding Certification
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AWS alternate rules notes. The most common allowed failure is a corner crack that has no evidence of slag inclusions.
Below are the prepared root and face bend specimens with the weld reinforcement removed by a grinder. On the inside of the root specimens you can see a little undercut and concavity.The edges of the coupons are also slightly rounded with a sander. This is done to keep the corners from cracking. The rules state you can round the edges up to a 1/8 inch radius. Now the root and face test specimens are ready to bend.
Here is the second face bend and this one came out fine too.
Now the first root bend coupon. It went through and there is a opening in the center of the root. This coupon needs to be examined closely to determine if it is acceptable. At the moment I don't know if I passed or failed!
Here is the second face bend coupon coming through. In the third picture you can see there is some thing there and the forth shows it clearly. This coupon is fine because it did not open up and that is just some concavity from the root.
This was a nail biting moment. The instructor took the first root bend coupon that had the opening in it and put it under a
http://www.gowelding.org/Pipe_Welding_6G_SMAW_Certification.html
21/01/2012
Pipe Welding and How to Pass a SMAW 6G (open root) Pipe Welding Certification
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magnifying glass. He used a digital micrometer and measured the opening. It came a few thousands of an inch less than the acceptance criteria allows. When taking the picture on the right I was real nervous. It's one of those moments you have no control over. There it is! The basics of pipe welding and that is how I passed the AWS B2.1 6G open root pipe welding certification.
Since I have taken this welding certification I have been at the Fluor craft welder training center for a long term job interview and an upgrade your welding skills course. So far I have almost perfected my stick pipe welding since taking this test and am working on my TIG welding skills. The test they give is a E6010 root with a 1/8 gap and landing, a two stringer fill, and a two to three stringer cap, using a E8018. The other main difference is, no grinding allow except on the root. They do not allow any concavity on the root or imperfections on the cap! The bottom line is you must weld better then the ASME code allows! Here are some pictures I took at the training center located at Greenville Tech in SC. My welds have seriously improved with just a little more practice and it is only getting better! This is a great program if you are accepted into it! Next Vertical MIG Welder Certification
http://www.gowelding.org/Pipe_Welding_6G_SMAW_Certification.html
21/01/2012