Jerry Mathison

Q: I recently saw a comment that regular stick electrodes could be overdried in ovens to the point of causing poor weld performance. Is this true? We store all our electrodes, including low-hydrogen, at 135 to 140 degrees F at all times and have not noticed any problems. We are located in Arizona,...

Editor’s Note: This is the second column in a two-part series. Q: I work in a midsized job shop, and we weld with the FCAW, GMAW, and SMAW processes. Occasionally we encounter weld cracking issues. What causes weld cracking, and what can I do to prevent it? A: Stress cracking is similar to hot...

Editor’s Note: This is the first article of a two-part series. Q: I work in a midsized job shop, and we weld with the FCAW, GMAW, and SMAW processes. Occasionally we encounter weld cracking issues. What causes weld cracking, and what can I do to prevent it? A: To ensure that the measures you...

I work in a large manufacturing fabrication shop where we weld subassemblies and then fit and weld them together to complete the machines we manufacture. Currently we use gas-shielded, flux-cored wires from 0.045 to 0.09375 in. in diameter. At what point is a small-diameter wire too inefficient,...

Q: I weld in a large pressure vessel shop and use many welding processes, including SMAW, GMAW, FCAW, and SAW. Regardless of the process, our work clamps always get very hot. We’ve even had some arcing from the ground clamp. We have welded several grounds to the workpiece to remedy this problem,...

Q: We fabricate 401 stainless steel components and have considered using metal-cored stainless steel consumables. One of the issues with metal-cored consumables is the dull appearance of the weld compared to the appearance achieved with a solid wire. What can we do to maintain a clean or shiny...

Q: I work for a job shop that fabricates and welds process piping for various applications. The pipes, made from A106-88a carbon steel and 304 and 316 stainless steel, are welded using GMAW, FCAW, and GTAW. We have been experiencing porosity, primarily on the weld starts. Our shielding gas is a...

Q: Our shop won a contract that requires welding 4130 steel. I’ve been told this is a heat-treatable steel. Can you tell me which different welding procedures have to be used to weld this material? A: The most commonly welded heat-treatable steels are 4130, 4340, and 8630. However, any steel...

Q: For a recently acquired large structural job, we have had to qualify a single-pass 5/16-in. fillet using 0.045-in. E71T-9M flux-cored wire. We are having trouble passing the horizontal fillet test. When performing the weld break test on the horizontal fillet weld, there is incomplete penetration...

Q: I work for a structural steel fabricator and we are getting ready to start work on a bridge job that specifies A588 material. We have worked on this material in the past using a weathering-grade filler metal. Our engineer has recommended we use a 1 percent nickel electrode. Is this right? A:...

Q: Recently our shop started using metal-cored wire. On one side we perform full-penetration welds to D1.1 structural code on 3/4- to 1-1/2-in.-thick plate. On the second side we carbon-arc-gouge to clean the metal and then we do a magnetic particle inspection before welding. We encounter two...

Q: We performed an AWS D1.1 procedure qualification test using gas-shielded FCAW. We used a 0.052-in. E71T-9C electrode with 100 percent CO2 shielding at 200 amps and 26 V on 1-in. thick plate. We used a preheat and interpass temperature of 70 degrees F. Our pass layer sequence was three full...

When welding thin sheet metal, pay attention to the equipment and the welding technique to minimize common problems. Learn how to weld thin sheet metal.

Our shop won a contract that requires welding 4130 steel. I've been told this is a heat-treatable steel. Can you tell me which different welding procedures have to be used to weld this material?

Understanding GMAW transfer modes includes knowledge of globular transfer welding, spray transfer welding, and short circuit welding. Learn which is right for you.