bbirder
Bronze Member
"Yesterday I couldnt spell welder. Bought a new macine today and now I are one"
Please critique the weld quality (photos enclosed)
- Thread starter plowhog
- Start date
- Views: 21657
Looks like mine - not too good…
The bottom line, really is… …the welds don’t look good. If the gate itself, looked as bad as the welds, would you accept it? The welder at the least, should have cleaned up the welds,(grind then) to look better. I already see rust in the welds.
andre12a
New member
Not enough heat and poor technique. These welds dont indicate sufficient penetration to be reliable. When i was in welding school the only way that the instructor tested our welds was by breaking them on a press and studying the penetration. Even welds that look smooth at times did not pass. These certainly wouldn't.
This is horrible work. My son is a welder/fabricator and takes a great deal of pride in his work. Those welds were done by a complete amateur. Your contractor likely thinks no one will take a close look at this. I would reject this job.
hcallaway
Platinum Member
It sure looks like stick welding. When someone makes my welding look good maybe great I would question their skills. Heat penetration is questionable. They kept adding beads hoping to strengthen the welds. It may hold but I would use a grinder clean up the welds and see the penetration. Make a new pass smooth out the welds and paint. Those little pits and holes will collect moisture. Just not an ideal weld.
That is not a good job of welding. The bead should be straight and even. Those beads are like that because the rod or wire kept sticking and they had to take it off and start over. Piss poor job.
coast40
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From the OP in post 39- "The gate construction welds are visibly different. To me, they look smooth and professional. The owner said he will redo all the hinge welds. The person who did the gate welds will redo the hinge welds."
It pays to read ALL posts...
It pays to read ALL posts...
pilotweld
New member
Plowhog, I'm a welding contractor and in the same trade continuously for over 50 yrs.
I'd not buy that kind of welding.
Powder coat cannot be patched with more powder (since it needs to be baked in oven)
Powder coat must be ground off or sanded off in the area of repair in order to weld by any process.
sorry to say but that weld quality is in the category of HIDEOUS!
I don't think those welds will last. They should ALL be replaced, and NOT just welded over!
My 15,000 lb work truck will eat too much fuel for me to come fix it.
Wishing you all the best.
Larry the bald guy on the LEFT Coast.
PS: STILL working my trade at 71yrs with no intention of slowing down (well... not more than I am already!)
in the year of covid (2020) I processed over 90,000 lbs of heavy steel with help from several
other local shops. Today, I fixed the steering spindle mount on a 60,000lb elevator used to load
igloos on UPS freight planes at Oakland airport. Sure, I'm still busy and love ever bit of my trade.
It's a few of those customer types that occasionally aggravate!!
Take care!
OP
plowhog
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I appreciate all the replies. For the record, my dad was a pipefitter welder who worked as a welder on large jobs such as nuclear power plants. He was a very good welder. Welds in that environment were xrayed after welding to ensure a proper weld. I wish he had taught me about welding before he passed.
The company owner brought his in-house fabricator to my property. This particular fabricator is the person who built the gates-- and the many welds on the gates look good to me. Over a period of two days, he ground off all the hinge welds in the photos, plus ground off all the hinge welds on the rear gates. Re-did them all. They look much better.
The job should be finished soon, likely first of the week. I'll post more pictures after completion. I'm really glad I had this re-work done. Given the weight of these gates, a weld failure could cause a really bad day ....
The company owner brought his in-house fabricator to my property. This particular fabricator is the person who built the gates-- and the many welds on the gates look good to me. Over a period of two days, he ground off all the hinge welds in the photos, plus ground off all the hinge welds on the rear gates. Re-did them all. They look much better.
The job should be finished soon, likely first of the week. I'll post more pictures after completion. I'm really glad I had this re-work done. Given the weight of these gates, a weld failure could cause a really bad day ....
davisjt1977
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Glad that it is working out!!!!
A good rule which is too often violated, but can easily forestall disaster is:
If you are welding, painting, cutting, etc., and it's not coming out correctly, STOP!
Take some time, do some more practicing, testing or, research, and fix it before continuing.
Continuing when they job isn't coming out, can often result in a much bigger, more costly, and labor intense error.
If you are welding, painting, cutting, etc., and it's not coming out correctly, STOP!
Take some time, do some more practicing, testing or, research, and fix it before continuing.
Continuing when they job isn't coming out, can often result in a much bigger, more costly, and labor intense error.
Looks like cold welds - not enough heat to pentatrate or flow. Very bad. I would guess many of these welds would crack with weigh applied in the first couple of years, if that long.
THIS is the reason I always say when buying a new trailer, be sure the company uses certified welders.
it appears this company does not. Those are the most consistent, obvious and worthless (WELDS?? hate to call them that) I have ever seen from any company.
They shouldn't have wasted the paint on them.
THIS is the reason I always say when buying a new trailer, be sure the company uses certified welders.
it appears this company does not. Those are the most consistent, obvious and worthless (WELDS?? hate to call them that) I have ever seen from any company.
They shouldn't have wasted the paint on them.
scootr
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Sounds to me like the owner is a stand up guy. Be sure to tell him that you appreciate him making it right.
That could have gotten ugly.
That could have gotten ugly.
Last edited:
California
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Best suggestion I've read so far. Do it!
Mcdust
Bronze Member
Garbage. Find a good welder
DGZRT
Silver Member
My instructor in High School always said the ground has to be good In order to get good welds . He taught me to find a good place clean it down to bare metal. Then place a piece of copper grounding wire In between my clamp and the cleaned spot to make better contact. Then prep both pieces your going to weld and you will have better results. That tip was 45years ago. And I still do that way today . Any other tips people can pass along ??
California
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I just learned something, thanks!
This will help make a good ground on something impossibly rusty, like this scrap of angle iron I used to strengthen a back blade modification.
Mholdeman
New member
Old man raised on a farm here. We used old lincoln buzz box stick welders to weld rusty steel and I would NOT let that guy get a way with that. I see you got it corrected BUT he should have STOPPED and corrected. welds don't always have to look good to be good, BUT they should not look like that. If I were paying that guy in a fab shop I would definitely do some research on what he has done in the past...
