WELDER‘S

HANDBOOK

WELDER’S HANDBOOK
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P. T. McDermott Indonesia
Welder’s Handbook

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Weld Defects, Causes and Cure

2. Acceptable and Unacceptable Weld Profiles

3. Welding Positions

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 WELD DEFECTS, CAUSES AND CURE

A. Weld Spatter

Sketch:
SPATTERS

Causes:
1. Current too high.
2. Wrong Polarity.
3. Arc length too long.
4. Presence of arc blow.
5. Wet electrodes

Cure:
1. Try lowering the current. Be sure the current is within
the range for the type and diameter of the electrode.
2. Be sure the polarity is correct for the electrode type.
3. Try a shorter arc length.
4. If the molten metal is running in front of the arc, change
the electrode angle.
5. Look for arc blow conditions, and control it as follows;
5.1 Change to AC welding.
5.2 Use lower current and smaller electrodes.
5.3 Try reducing the arc length.
5.4 Weld in the direction of the blow.
5.5 Change the electrical path to work by:
5.5.1 Shifting the work connection to the other
end of the work or making connections in
several locations.
5.5.2 Welding toward heavy tacks, finished
welds, or back-stepping on long welds.
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 5.5.3 Using run-out tabs, adding steel blocks to
change work current path, or tacking small
plates across the seam at weld ends.
6. Observe the proper handling of welding electrode.

B. Overlap
Sketch:
Overlap

Causes:
1. Welding current too low and travel speed too slow.
2. Contaminated base metal.

Cure:
1. Increase the welding current and the travel speed.
2. Clean the joint properly.

C. Underfill
Sketch:
Underfill

Causes:
1. Failure to fill the joint completely prior to the deposition
of the cap pass.

Cure:
1. Fill the joint up to the base metal thickness or at least
1mm below prior to the deposition of cap pass.
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C. Arc Strikes
Sketch:

Cause:
1. Carelessness of the welder.
Cure:
1. Properly secure all ground connections, welding cables
and electrode handle/gun.

D. Undercut
Sketch:

Causes:
1. Current too high.
2. Wrong electrode angle.
Cure:
1. Decrease the current and the travel speed.
2. Change electrode angle so the arc force holds the
metal in the corners. Use a uniform travel speed, and
avoid excessive weaving.
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E. Porosity
Sketch:

(a) Cluster Porosity

Causes:
1. Unstable or poor shielding.
2. Improper initiation or termination of weld.

Cure:
1. Keep the arc length as close as possible.
2. For the initiation of the arc, use the back-stepping
method to re-melt the cold start area and float the
gas out of the bead. Whenever possible, use tab
plates on each end of the joint.

(b) Piping/Wormhole Porosity

Causes:
1. Contaminated base metal.
2. Poor or unstable shielding i.e. poor moisture and
wind protection, too long arc length, unstable
electrode manipulation.
3. The electrodes absorbed moisture.

Cure:
1. Observe proper cleaning of the joint for welding.
2. Keep the arc length as close as possible.
3. Avoid too wide weaving.
4. Install proper wind protection on the work area.

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 5. Observe the proper handling of welding
electrode.
6. For GTAW process, increase the shielding gas
flow rate as required. Also, check the gas hose
and connections for possible leakage.

F. Slag Inclusion
Sketch:

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 Causes:
1. Poor inter-pass cleaning.
2. Current too low.
3. Unstable electrode manipulation
4. Groove angle too narrow.
5. Weld beads too convex.

Cure:
1. Observe proper inter-pass cleaning.
2. Increase the current.
3. Correct the too convex bead by grinding.

G. Burn-Through
Sketch:

Causes:
1. Too wide root gap, and too short root face.

Cure:
1. Correct the joint preparation.
2. Decrease the current, and increase the welding speed.

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H. Internal Concavity
Sketch:

Causes:
1. Higher current.
2. Arc length too long.
3. Root gap too wide, and groove angle too narrow.
Cure:
1. Decrease the current, increase the welding speed.
2. Make arc length as close as possible.
3. Correct the joint preparation.

I. Incomplete Fusion

Causes:
1. Groove angle too narrow.
2. Welding speed too high.
3. Weld beads too irregular.

Cure:
1. Increase the current and decrease the welding speed.
2. Correct the joint preparation.
3. Correct the irregular bead by grinding.

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Sketch:

INCOMPLETE FUSION

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J. Incomplete Root Penetration
Sketch:

Causes:
1. Current too low.
2. Arc length too long.
3. Improper joint preparation i.e. root face too long, root
gap too narrow, groove angle too narrow.

Cure:
1. Increase the current.
2. Make arc length as short as possible.
3. Correct the joint preparation.

K. Excessive Reinforcement

Causes:
1. Welding speed too slow.
2. Improper welding technique.
Cure:
1. Increase the welding speed.
2. Grind the excess thickness of the last layer to base
metal prior to deposition of cap pass.
3. Use the proper size of welding electrode.
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 Sketch:

L. Excessive Penetration

Sketch:

Excess Penetration

Causes:
1. Root gap too wide, and root face too short.
2. Current too high.

Cure:
1. Correct the joint preparation.
2. Decrease the current, and increase the travel speed.

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M. Cracking
Sketch:

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(a) Cold Cracks (Toe/Underbead Cracks)
Causes:
1. Rapid cooling from the welding temperature of a
relatively high carbon or alloy content steel.
2. Hydrogen pick-up during welding.
3. The joint is so restrained.

Cure:
1. Use low hydrogen welding electrodes.
2. Observe proper handling of electrodes, and
cleanliness of the joint for welding.
3. Preheat the joint to reduce the cooling rate, and
maintain the inter-pass temperature.
4. Reduce penetration by using low currents, small
electrodes. This reduces the amount of alloy
added to the weld from melted base metal.
5. For GTAW process, check the gas hose and
connections for possible leaks. Verify also the
purity of shielding gas and change with a higher
grade if found necessary.

(b) Hot Cracks (Crater/Throat/Root Cracks)

Causes:
1. Wrong welding technique.

Cure:
1. To control crater cracking, fill each crater before
breaking the arc.
2. On multiple pass or fillet welds, be sure the first
bead is of sufficient size and of flat or convex
shape to resist cracking until the later beads can
be added for support. To increase bead size, use
slower travel speed, a short arc, or weld 5O uphill.
Always continue welding while the plate is hot.
3. For rigid joints, whenever possible, weld towards
the unrestrained end. Leave at least 1/32” gap
between plates for free shrinkage as the weld
cools.
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N. Tungsten Inclusion (GTAW Process)
Sketch:

Cause:
1. Accidental touching of the tungsten electrode to the
weld puddle.

Cure:
1. Avoid contact of the tungsten electrode with the molten
weld puddle.

O. Insufficient Leg Size (Fillet Welds)

Sketch:

S2

S1

Cause:
1. Incorrect electrode angle.
2. Improper welding technique.
Cure:
1. Use the correct electrode angle.
2. For multi-pass fillet welds, follow the proper weld pass
sequence to attain the required leg size.
3. Use the correct diameter of the electrode for each pass.
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 ACCEPTABLE AND UNACCEPTABLE WELD
PROFILES
A. DESIRABLE FILLET WELD PROFILES

B. ACCEPTABLE FILLET WELD PROFILES

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Note: Convexity “C” of a weld or individual surface bead with dimension
“W” shall not exceed the following value;

Width of Weld Face or

Individual Surface Bead, W Maximum Convexity, C
W < 5/16” (8mm) 1/16” (2mm)
W > 5/16” (8mm) to W < 1 IN. (25mm) 1/8” (3mm)
W > 1” (25mm) 3/16” (5mm)

C. UNACCEPTABLE FILLET WELD PROFILES

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D. ACCEPTABLE GROOVE WELD PROFILE IN BUTT JOINT

Note: Reinforcement “R” shall not exceed 1/8 in. (3 mm).

E. UNACCEPTABLE GROOVE WELD PROFILES IN BUTT
JOINTS

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 WELDING POSITIONS
A. PLATE
1. Groove
1.1 Flat Position (1G)

Plates Horizontal
1.2 Horizontal Posiiton (2G)

Plates vertical; axis of weld horizontal

1.3 Vertical Position (3G)

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 Plates vertical; axis of weld vertical
1.4 Overhead Position (4G)

Plates Horizontal

2. Fillet

2.1 Flat Position (1F)

Throat of weld vertical Axis of

weld
horizontal

2.2 Horizontal Position (2F)

Axis of
weld
horizontal

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 Note: One plate must be horizontal
2.3 Vertical Position (3F)

Axis of weld vertical

2.4 Overhead Position (4F)

Axis of weld
horizontal

Note: One plate must be horizontal.

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B. PIPE

1. Groove
1.1 1G Rotated – pipe horizontal and rotated, weld flat
(+15O), deposit filler metal at or near the top.

Pipe horizontal and rotated. Weld flat (+15O).

Deposit filler metal at or near the top.

1.2 2G – pipe or tube vertical and not rotated during

welding, weld horizontal (+15O).

Pipe or tube vertical and not rotated during welding.

Weld horizontal (+15O).

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1.3 5G – pipe or tube horizontal fixed (+15O) and not
rotated during welding. Weld flat, vertical and
overhead.

Pipe or tube horizontal fixed (+15OC) and not rotated

during welding. Weld flat, vertical and overhead.

1.4 6G - pipe inclination fixed (45O +5O) and not rotated

during welding.

Pipe inclination fixed (45O +5O) and not rotated

during welding.

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 1.5 6GR – test position for T, K, Y connections. Pipe
inclination fixed (45O +5O), with restriction ring and
not rotated during welding.
Restriction
Ring

Test
Weld

2. Fillet

2.1 1F ROTATED – flat position

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2.2 2F FIXED - horizontal position

2.3 2F ROTATED – horizontal position

2.4 4F FIXED - overhead position

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2.5 5F FIXED – multiple position

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