Passing a 3G (Vertical Up) Flux Cored Arc Welding Certification

This page is about how to pass a 3G flux cored arc welding certification. Just like my other welding certifications I wrote down all of the detail on how to pass this welding certification and took pictures to illustrate the procedure. This is a very easy welding certification to pass as long as the welding machine is set right. I literally have not picked up flux cored welding wire since 1996 and it took about ten minutes of practice before I took this welding certification. If you can Stick and MIG weld, then flux cored welding should not be a problem for you.
Inspection and Marking of the FCAW 3G Welding Certification Test FCAW 3G Weld Cap Cleaned 3G FCAW Root and Face Bend with the Alternate

3G Face Bend Falure Outside of the Weld AreaAs easy as this test is I did fail it the first time. So this is the second time I am taking this welding certification. The failure of the first 3G certification was not caused by any weld defects. The weld held up fine but what happened was the test coupons broke about 1/8 of an inch outside of the weld area. At the time I was taking the test many other welders were failing their welding certifications for the same reason. What we all had in common was, when taking our welding certifications our test coupons were too close to the exhaust vents. Failing a welding certification that costs only $20 was not a big deal to me, but the fact I had to do it again got me thinking.

When I went home I pulled out my metallurgy book and started looking for an explanation. The most likely cause for this type of coupon failure seems to be coming from the “Heat Affected Zone”. I don’t know if what I am about to mention is completely true. Remember I am not a metallurgist or a welding engineer. I am just a welder and this is just a theory! Since all of the welding certifications that failed were too close to the vents in the welding booths and none of them broke in the weld area. I believe that the cause was coming from the test plates cooling too fast. The area where the test coupons failed is also where the metal is known for forming a coarse grain structure, causing that area to harden. Since that time, nobody at the school has tested with their test plates to close to the exhaust vets, and since that change, no one has had this type of coupon failure!

The pictures I am posting are going to be mixed up between the first and the second test. When I did this certification the first time, I took a lot of pictures showing how to prepare the test coupons, and how to remove a backing bar. Outside of preparing the test coupons and removing the backing bar all of the other pictures are from the test I passed.
Who Should Take a 3G FCAW Certification?

Flux cored arc welding is typically used when there is a lot of welding to do and it is out doors. FCAW is used in industrial shut downs for welding of boilers and pretty much any industrial construction projects that need high quality welds fast. For certain jobs having a 3G flux cored arc welding certification will get you in the door before someone who does not. It may also help in getting a structural welding job in a shipyard. I do want to mention that if you are going to test at a shipyard, you will also need to pass a 4G welding certification. The standard shipyard qualification test for structural flux cored arc welders is a 2G, 3G, and 4G, 1 inch thick plate test, with a ceramic backing tape. So if you are going to test for a shipyard, make sure you can pass their tests!
AWS D1.1 FCAW (Vertical Up) Welding Certification Procedure Specifications

The specifications for this welding procedure are very simple compared to my other welding certifications. The AWS D1.1 3G FCAW procedure qualifies you to weld in the 1F, 2F, and 3F positions and the 1G, 2G, and 3G positions. You are qualified to weld in the flat, horizontal, and vertical positions and not the 4G or overhead position.

This welding certification I passed is the limited thickness procedure that qualifies me to weld carbon steel from 1/8 to ¾ of an inch thick plate.

The welding certification is just like any other AWS welding certification when it comes to expiring. If you do not weld using the FCAW process, this welding certification expires in six months, or 180 from the time the test was taken. Every six months an employer or a welding school needs to sign the welding log in the back of the certification to keep it up to date. If you are not working simply take a refresher course at a local welding school to keep the welding certification up to date.

Here are the procedure specifications:

* Welding Process. FCAW
* Position. Vertical
* Vertical Progression. Up
* Joint Type. Butt
* Backing. Yes
* Backing Material. ASTM A36
* Root Opening. 1/4 to 5/16
* Grove Angel. 45 degrees
* Back Gouge. No
* Base Metal. ASTM A36
* Type or Grade. Steel



* Thickness. Groove. (in) .375
* Filler Metals AWS Classification. E71T-1
* Shielding Gas. 75% Argon / 25% Co2
* Gas Flow Rate. 40 – 50 CFH
* Gas Cup Size. 5/8
* Contact Tube to Work Distance. 5/8 to 3/4
* Electrical Characteristics. DCEP(direct current electrode positive)
* Stringer or Weave Bead. Either
* Interpass Cleaning. Mechanical or Wire Brush
* Electrode Diameter. .045

How to Pass the FCAW D1.1 Welding Certification

FCAW Machine Set Up

C25 Dual Sheilding Gas for Flux Cored Arc WeldingSetting up of the flux cored welder was not hard. I used the same Millermatic 350P that I did my 3G vertical up MIG welding certification with. All I did was change the wire from MIG wire, to flux cored E71T-1 dual shielding wire, and then the rollers. The bottle of gas on the machine was already C25 gas. The gas flow rate the procedure specifies is 40 to 50 CFH but I only used about 30 CFH. I am welding indoors, inside of a welding booth, with no real drafts, so my gas coverage was more than enough.

Millermatic 350P Set for FCAW at 23 Volts and 218 IPMThe settings I used were 23 volts and my wire speed was at 218 IPM (inches per minute). I don’t remember the exact amperage but those settings on most machines should put you into the proper range for vertical up welding. Remember each machine is different; even if you are using the same make and model, the settings will vary depend on how the machine is calibrated. When welding the sound had a fast deep crackle to it. With flux cored arc welding there are two types of wire transfer. Globular and spray transfer. True spray transfer has just a hissing sound to it, otherwise when the amperage crosses a certain threshold the weld crackles but it is spray transferring to the joint. This is especially true with flux cored welding!
Joint Preparation for the FCAW Certification

The test coupon preparation is the same as all of my other 3G welding certifications. In this 3G welding procedure the notes are taken from the same section of the AWS code that are used for the 3/8 inch limited thickness test procedure.
3G FCAW Test Coupons Before Tacking

I received my test coupons that were pre-cut and ready to prepare. All I did was grind the face of the test plates a minimum of one inch back from the bevel and a minimum of a quarter of an inch back on the back of the bevel. Next I cleaned the backing bar to bare metal with a grinder. And then cleaned the oxidation off of the bevel to bare metal.
Rechecking of the Bevel Angle

After that the bevel angles were checked with a protractor by myself, then the welding instructor rechecked them. Everything was good and then I tacked up my coupons. I set to root opening with two 1/8 inch welding electrodes and then the test plate was inspected for fit-up.
Pre-Inspection of the Test Coupon

The test coupon was put into the vertical position and marked with a white marker to make sure I do not move the plate anytime during welding or cleaning. This is done because the AWS procedure notes state:
The Root Pass
Inspection and Marking of the FCAW 3G Welding Certification Test

“Now the test will be placed in the fixed position. The test piece will be marked in position with a marker and the inspector may see the test anytime during the testing. (DURING THE TEST, THE PIECES SHALL NOT BE MOVED IN ANY DIRECTION AND OR REMOVED FROM THE TESTING PLACE WITHOUT THE INSPECTORS APPROVAL.)

The root pass was done by building a shelf of weld and moving upward from there. I using a side to side weave while washing into the sides of the bevel. I did not pause much on the sides. All I did was use a steady weaving motion and the root came out fine. This specific procedure does not say you need any restarts so I did not have any. The first picture below is the weld still covered in slag. All I did to clean the weld is use a wire wheel and the slag came off with ease. The second picture is the cleaned root pass. After that the root of the weld was inspected because the welding procedure states:

“The root of the weld shall be inspected, and there shall be no evidence of cracks, incomplete fusion, or inadequate joint penetration. A concave root surface is permitted within the limits shown below, providing the total weld thickness is equal to or greater than that of the base metal. The maximum root surface concavity shall be 1/16 in. (1.6 mm) and a maximum melt-through shall be 1/8 in. (3 mm)”

FCAW 3G Root Pass with Slag Coverage FCAW 3G Root Pass Cleaned with a Wire Wheel
The Hot Pass

Before welding the hot pass I did let the plate cool to the point that I could almost touch it. The hot pass was done using the same technique as the root pass. All I did was just use a steady side to side weave with-out pausing too much on the sides. I did the fill in a single pass and had no restarts. With flux cored welding the wire does most of the work. It is such an easy process to use and takes very little skill. All I did to clean the slag was use a wire wheel and the weld was cleaned.
FCAW Hot Pass with Slag Covering FCAW 3G Hot Pass Cleaned
The Cap Weld

Again before welding the cap I let the plate cool down till I could almost touch it. The cap of the weld was done using a weave technique while washing the weld about 1/16 of an inch past the edge of the bevel. I held the sides for about a second before moving back to the other side. The cap was also done in a single pass just like the root and hot pass. I typically weld past the edge of most bevels. What that does is give good weld penetration, preventing face bend failure and undercut. The cap of the weld came out to be 3/32 of an inch over the face of the bevel (just perfect). It had almost no undercut and it was more than acceptable. The acceptance criteria for the face of the weld are as follows in the words of the AWS:

“The face of the weld shall be flush with the surface of the base metal, and the weld shall merge smoothly with the base metal. Undercut shall not exceed 1/32 in. (1 mm). Weld reinforcement shall not exceed 1/8 in. (3 mm)”

The first picture below is the weld still covered in slag. The second picture is the slag lifting itself off of the cap. What I like about flux cored arc welding is how easy the weld is to clean and in many times the slag just falls off by itself. The last picture is the cap cleaned with a wire brush.
FCAW 3G Cap Weld with Slag Covering FCAW 3G Cap Weld with the Slag Peeling on its Own FCAW 3G Weld Cap Cleaned
Bend Test Coupon Preparation

FCAW 3G Test Plate Marked for CuttingThe test coupons were prepared just like my other welding certifications. First you mark a centerline on the plate. Then another line 1 inch above the center line and another line 1 inch below the center line. This is the section that can be used as an alternate coupon in the event of corner cracks with no evidence of slag inclusions. Next is marking of the actual root and face bend specimens. Using the top and bottom line, mark another line a minimum of 1 ½ inches above the top line, and then 1 ½ inches below the bottom line. The minimum width of a test specimen needs to be 1 ½ inches wide. Otherwise that test specimen will fail on the spot! After that they were marked by the welding instructor for a root and face bend followed by me cutting them on a band saw.
Backing Bar Removal

The backing bar removal was mostly done using a vice. First I put the coupon into the vice and took a grinder to the center of the backing bar gouging it. I kept grinding out the center till I was about 1/16” or so away from the back of the test plate. Next I locked onto one side if the split backing bar with the vice firmly. After that all I had to do was press down on it like a lever. I kept repeating this until all of the backing bars were removed on the test coupons. The pictures below are from the first welding certification that I failed. I am posting them because they give a good illustration of how to remove a backing bar.
FCAW 3G Test Coupon Backing Bar Gouged in the Center for Backing Bar Removal Split Backing Bar Locked onto a Vice Split Backing Bar Getting Removed
Backing Bar Almost Removed Backing Bar Removed Backing Bar Removed

After the backing bar is removed, the face and the root of the weld need to be ground flush to the base metal. If you grind past the base metal the test will be rejected for excessive material removal. After grinding down the root and face of the weld, I used a belt sander to round the square corners, followed by a buffing wheel to polish the weld area.
FCAW 3G Test Plate After Cutting on a Bandsaw FCAW 3G Face and Root Bend Coupons Ready to Bend with The Alternate in the Center
FCAW 3G Bend Test

The bend test went very well on these coupons. If you remember I took this test before and the test coupons failed before the weld area got a chance to bend all the way. On this test I had two bends done, a root bend, and a face bend. Below are pictures of the test specimens being bent.
Test Coupon Starting the Bend Test Test Coupon Half Bent Test Coupon Bend is Done

Both coupons were bent and I did not need the alternate. The results were flawless and this is how I passed the AWD D1.1 FCAW 3G Welding Certification!
Sucessful 3G FCAW Face and Root Bend Front View Sucessful 3G FCAW Face and Root Bend Top View Sucessful 3G FCAW Root and Face Bend with the Alternate Not Used

Passing a 3G MIG Welding Certification

This is about how I passed the AWS D1.1 3G GMAW welding certification. I wrote down all of the details on how to pass this exam and took actual pictures of my welding certification. I am hoping I can help anyone out there who is about to take this test pass it in less time. If I had known these details before practicing to take the test it would have saved me some time practicing.

Why Take the 3G MIG Welding Certification?

The GMAW or MIG 3G welding certification is one of the most needed welding certifications for anyone who wants to work in manufacturing or fabrication shops. If you don’t want to work outdoors, then this is the way to go! Since MIG welding is mostly used in shops and is a very cost-efficient welding process, it’s the first choice for high production indoor welding.

The 3G welding certification qualifies a welder to weld flat, horizontal, and vertical or 1G, 2G, and 3G positions, also includes the 1F, 2F, and 3F positions without having to take the 1G and 2G certification. This one test qualifies you for three positions. These are the positions most commonly used in welding shops. Having this welding certification makes you more valuable to an employer and gets you in the door much faster than someone who does not have it!

In a shop environment most of the welding is done in the easiest position to ensure a high quality weld. Therefore, welding overhead is rarely done. Once the fabricating is done, the welders weld out the work, and when a weld needs to be placed in the overhead position, the piece to be welded is usually flipped over to give easy access.

In my experience, I commonly flipped over single pieces I built using cranes in excess of 20,000 pounds to allow the welders to weld critical joints in the flat and vertical up positions. To the right is an inlet piece I built and flipped many times for the welders to get easy access. In a shop “time is money” and when it takes weeks to weld out a single component, flat welding is the fastest and best way followed by horizontal, and finally vertical up.

In my experience, I commonly flipped over single pieces I built using cranes in excess of 20,000 pounds to allow the welders to weld critical joints in the flat and vertical up positions. To the right is an inlet piece I built and flipped many times for the welders to get easy access. In a shop “time is money” and when it takes weeks to weld out a single component, flat welding is the fastest and best way followed by horizontal, and finally vertical up.

AWS D1.1 3G MIG Welding Certification Procedure Specification

The AWS D1.1 3G GMAW Welding Certification is a welding procedure that qualifies a welder to weld in the flat, horizontal, and vertical up and down positions. By passing this welding certification the welder demonstrates their ability to produce a sound weld according to the specifications of the welding procedure below. All this means is that the American Welding Society has tested this procedure and has approved it to be a proven method to produce a good quality weld! If you can follow their rules and pass this test then that makes you a certified welder!

This welding procedure comes in two metal thicknesses; 3/8 inch-thick and 1 inch-thick plates. The 3/8 inch-thick procedure is a limited thickness procedure that qualifies the welder to weld from 1/8 inch-thick material up to 3/4 inch-thick material. This is the test I have just taken and am documenting how I passed it to help anyone who is about to take this test to also pass.

Once you are certified in this welding procedure you must not stop welding for more than 6 months. If you do, you will end up like me! I stopped welding for 12 years and had this certification done on the 1 inch unlimited thickness procedure, but when the 6-month mark hit my former welding certifications expired making the time and money I spent getting certified useless. Here are the technical specifications of the welding procedure.

Welding Process. GMAW Vertical Progression. Up Joint Type. Butt Backing. Yes Transfer Type. Spray Current. DCEN Base Metal. ASTM A36 Backing Material. ASTM A36 Root Opening. 1/4 to 5/16 Grove Angel. 45 degrees Thickness. Groove. (in) .375

Shielding Gas. Stargon Composition. Ar.>90%, Co2<10%,> Flow Rate. 15 – 35 CFH Gas Cup Size. 1/2 to 5/8 Technique. Stringer or Weave Bead Multi Pass. Yes Inter Pass Cleaning. Mechanical or Wire Brush Preheat Temp. Min 60 degrees Amps:150/175 Volts: 24/26 Travel Speed: 4/6 for the root and 4/7 for fill pass 1, 2 and the cap.

MIG Welding Machine Set Up

Set up of the MIG welder needs to be done according to the procedure specifications. My welding certification was done using a Millermatic 350P. I had never used one of these before and I have to admit that at first I was intimidated. The machine has all of the bells and whistles and it is computerized!

First things first! We put on a bottle of Stargon gas (just a name brand), and then checked the welding cup size. It was a 5/8-inch cup, and then changed the welding wire to a .035 diameter E70S-6 electrode.

The way we set the welder was by using a practice joint that was the same thickness and joint type as the test plate. It was a 3/8-inch thick plate with a 45-degree groove bevel. The plate was put in the vertical position and I started to weld. At the same time, the welding inspector set the machine to read amperage. He fine-tuned the voltage and wire speed settings until the amperage was reading a minimum of a 150 amps. Although the procedure states a voltage of approximately 24 to 26 volts, the amperage is what needs to be met. This was the only way the amperage could be met on this machine.

All I could say was, “Wow”. I almost always weld at the maximum recommended amperage, but spray transfer at 150 amps in the vertical up position was extremely hot and took a little bit to get used to. The weld was very fluid, it was hard to control at first, and the least bit of hesitation in travel speed would make the weld droop in the center. As a note, the amperage needs to be set when you are welding in the vertical up position. We tested the same setting in the flat position and the amperage then read about 180.

For the root pass and two filler passes, the settings on the MIG welder were 21.6 volts at 155 amps, wire speed was set at 340, the INDU was set at 6, and gas flow at 25 CFH.

For the cap, the welder was set at 22.4 volts and 150 amps, a wire speed of 326, the INDU at 0, and the gas at 25 CFH. On the cap, the wire speed was decreased because with the other settings the cap was too high to pass the visual inspection.

Joint Preparation for the 3G Welding Certification

Here is the test coupons I received that was already beveled.

The first thing I did was grind the bevel to remove any slag left from it being cut with a torch. Secondly, I grinded the mill scale off of the face area next to the bevel with a minimum of 1-inch back. Thirdly, I grinded the mill scale off of the back area next to the bevel with a minimum of 1-inch back. Finally, I ground down the face of the backing bar.

After this, the bevel was checked with a protractor to ensure that the bevel on the coupons was a total of 45 degrees. Each bevel was exactly 22.5 degrees for a total opening of 45 degrees with complete feathered edges. The welding procedure specifies a minimum tolerance of 45 degrees and up to 55 degrees for the bevels opening.

Next, I tacked one beveled piece to the backing bar. Before tacking the next piece I took two 1/8 Stick welding electrodes to set the root opening. I laid the other bevel onto the backing bar and then took the two electrodes and pushed the root opening until it was two electrodes wide. The two electrodes could be moved past each other with just a slight scrape against one another. Then I tacked that piece on.

Finally, I put the tacked coupon in a vice to make sure the plates were sitting flat and then put two tacks on the middle of the back of the plate.

How to Pass the GMAW AWS D1.1 3G Welding Certification

Pre-Inspection of the Test Plate

Once I had the test plates tacked together, the inspector used the same technique to check the root opening. Two 1/8-inch Stick welding electrodes had to be able to slide past each other with no more than 1/16 of an inch space between them. The welding procedure states a root opening with a minimum of a 1/4 inch width to a maximum width of 5/16 of an inch.

Next, I put the plates into the vertical position and the welding inspector checked it. He then took a white marker and put a few marks on the mount that was holding my test plate. He does this to make sure that when you take the test you never move the plate out of its position and if you do he will know! As you can see in the pictures, he made multiple marks.

The Root Pass

To begin with, preheating of the plates did not apply to this test for me. I took this test on December 6, 2008 in South Florida. The weather at the time of the test was about 80 degrees. So I easily met the minimum preheat of 60 degrees.

To start the root pass I set the welder to the settings that I used to practice on and the welding inspector checked the amperage again. The welding machine was running at 21.6 volts at 155 amps, with the wire speed was set at 340, the INDU was set at 6, and gas flow at 25 CFH.

Since the welding procedure states the welder must stop and restart somewhere on the weld joint, I decided to stop in the middle of the root. At this point, the welding inspector checked the weld.

The technique I used to do the root was a tight side-to-side weave, pausing slightly on the sides until the feathered edges would melt through by creating a crater and filling it. As you can see, with the amperage so high and the wire speed so fast the weld is very convex. Again the welding inspector checked the weld.

This is done because it is in the welding procedure and the American Welding Society states:

“The root of the weld shall be inspected, and there shall be no evidence of cracks, incomplete fusion, or inadequate joint penetration. A concave root surface is permitted within the limits shown below, providing the total weld thickness is equal to or greater than that of the base metal. The maximum root surface concavity shall be 1/16 in. (1.6 mm) and a maximum melt-through shall be 1/8 in. (3 mm)”

Before I put the first filler pass, I ground down the center of the weld to make it flat. Otherwise the next pass would not fuse the edges properly and the weld would droop in the center too much.

Filler Pass #1

Before putting in the first filler pass I waited for the plate to cool. I use a very unscientific method that works well for me. I put my hand near the plate and when the plate becomes cool enough for me to touch it then I begin the next pass.

On the first filler pass I used the same welding machine settings as the root pass. What I did differently is that I paused a little bit longer when I washed the weld into the sides, since the joint is wider. It’s almost the same tight weave as on the root pass. I welded this pass without any restarts. Again, as you can see, the weld is very convex. Before putting in the second filler pass I ground down the center of the weld to make it flat.

Filler Pass #2

Again, I had to wait until the plate cooled enough to be able to barely touch it. Otherwise if I welded it when it was too hot the plate would over heat and I would run the risk of spilling the weld. The technique I used on the second filler pass was a side-to-side weave. The difference was when I paused on the sides I could slowly say “1001” before moving across to the other side.

Here is the trick. If you grind down more than that, you will either get too much undercutting on the cap, or if you grind down less than that the cap will be too high and you will fail the visual inspection. Once again, the weld is too convex to put the cap on properly due to the machine running so hot. The solution is to grind down the center of the weld until it has a flat surface. There is a very important trick when grinding down this pass. This pass needs to be ground down about 3/32 of an inch from the face of the plate.

The AWS D1.1 procedure clearly states that the cap must not be higher than 1/8 of an inch over the plate surface. In the American Welding Society’s words:

“The face of the weld shall be flush with the surface of the base metal, and the weld shall merge smoothly with the base metal. Undercut shall not exceed 1/32 in. (1 mm). Weld reinforcement shall not exceed 1/8 in. (3 mm)”

The Cap

When doing the cap you have to wait for the test plate to cool down to the point where you can touch it without burning yourself. The cap pass is going to produce a lot of heat because you will be using a wide weld.

While waiting for the plate to cool I changed the MIG welding machine settings to what I practiced on. The settings were 22.4 volts at 150 amps, a wire speed of 326, the INDU at 0, and the gas flowing at 25 CFH. When I started to weld, the welding inspector checked the amperage again. The cap was very tricky for me to get it to fall within the 1/8 in reinforcement rule. When I practiced the cap, the cap kept coming out too high at first. When doing the cap weave, you need to start by building a shelf of weld on the bottom of the joint. The technique I used was to hold the sides for two seconds then move across. In order to keep the weld from being too high you need to weave at least a 1/8 of an inch past the edge of the bevel on the 3/8 inch limited thickness procedure, or keep the weld to a minimum of 1 inch wide. Anything less will fail the visual inspection by having too high of a weld!

Although the cap passed the visual inspection, I am a little disappointed with the visual. As you can see, there is a slight bit of undercut but it’s within the 1/32 of an inch allowed. Unfortunately, I rushed the cap because the school was closing in 20 minutes. My last practice piece before the test had no undercut so I knew I could have done better if I had not felt so pressed for time.

Finally, I cleaned the weld surface with a wire wheel to make it shiny and expose the weld surface by removing the little bits of slag the weld produced.

Test Coupons Preparation

Since it was Monday and I took the test on a Friday it had enough time to cool down. First I marked the plate where to it was to be cut according to the procedure.

The first mark was put in the center of the plate. Then you need to put a mark one inch above it and one inch below it. Then the next marks are 1½ inches above the top mark and again 1½ inches below the bottom mark. The two outside marks are the bend specimens. In the case of a failure the middle of the plate can be used as a back up as long as the failure of the bend falls within the AWS acceptance criteria for a bend test.

Then the pieces are cut on a horizontal band saw.

Next the welding inspector marks the plates with a inscribing tool. He marks my initials on the two test specimens. One piece gets marked for a root bend and the other gets marked for a face bend. Then its time to remove the backing bar. First you need to grind the sides of the plates to get rid of the cut marks from the band saw. Second, the area where the root penetrates the backing bar needs to be marked. To do this you need to move the piece at different angles in order to see the root. Once you see the root you mark lines where the root is with a soap stone. Now its time to grind out the center of the backing bar. As a note, you need to be careful grinding because if you grind into the test plate, the test is automatically rejected. Then you grind out that section until you can get a chisel in and pry off the sides until they break off.

Before grinding the cap and root, the center of the welds needs to be marked with a punch to allow identification of the weld area later. The cap of the weld is grinded flush with the surface and the remaining backing is also ground flush. When doing this, you may not grind into the plate. If any of the area is ground lower than the mill scale, the test will be automatically invalidated.

The Bend Test

There will be two pieces bent. One piece will be a root bend and the other will be a face bend.

The rules of the bend test are as follows in the words of the American Welding Society.

“Acceptance Criteria for Bend Tests. The convex surface of the bend test specimen shall be visually examined for surface discontinuities. For acceptance, the surface shall contain no discontinuities exceeding the following dimensions: (1) 1/8 in. (3 mm) measured in any direction of the surface

(2) 3/8 in. (10 mm) – the sum of the greatest dimensions of all discontinuities exceeding 1/32 in. (1 mm) , but less than or equal to 1/8 in (3 mm).

(3) ¼ in. (6 mm) – the maximum corner crack resulting from visible slag inclusions or other fusion type discontinuities, then 1/8 in. (3 mm) maximum shall apply

Specimens with corner cracks exceeding ¼ in. (6 mm) with no evidence of slag inclusions or other fusion type discontinuities shall be disregarded, and a replacement test specimen from the original weldment shall be tested.”

Here is the root bend and the face bend. I have to admit, I was saying to myself, “Just my luck! No undercut on the root bend piece! Just the face bend piece!” I was almost sure I was going to fail the face bend due to the little bit of undercut that was on the face bend piece.

Finally, the pieces passed and this is how I passed the AWS D1.1 3G MIG welding certification!

Pipe Welding And How To Pass A SMAW 6G Welding Certification.

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!

AWS B2.1SMAW 6G Pipe Welding Procedure Specifications

• Welding Process. SMAW
• Position. 6G Fixed Position
• Weld Progression. Up
• Backing. No
• Current/Polarity. DCEP
• Root Opening. 1/16 to 1/8
• Grove Angel. 60 degrees
• Material/Spec. A 106
• Thickness. (pipe/tube): Groove (in) .280
• Notes. Sch. 40 Pipe
• Filler Metal Class . E6010Rt/E7018Fl
• Other Filler Metal Class. Rt 1/8, 3/32 Filler

Practicing To Pass a Pipe Welding Certification

When starting this web site I had just gotten back to welding for a few months while working in a fabrication shop. I was lucky I got that job because after 12 years of not welding, my welds sucked! Within about 3 months in that shop I was one of the best MIG welders and already the lead fabricator.

A long story short is I was going broke working there, so I signed up for a welding class to take my 6G welding certification and get a better job! At my last job I MIG welded pipe and plate with some Stainless Steel Stick welding in 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. Don’t 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!

From this I have learned two things. Don’t be a MIG welder in a shop or you will go broke! The second is welding certifications expire for a good reason, and I am a perfect example of why you should not stop welding for more than 6 months!

How To Bevel Pipe and Coupon Preparation for A Welding Certification

The preparation of the pipe coupons was simple. The way I received the pipe coupon was a single piece of pipe. The first thing I did was cut it in half on a band saw and then beveled it on a pipe beveling machine.

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.

Pipe Coupon Bevel Inspection

Once I had the coupons prepared the welding instructor needed to inspect the land and bevel angle. The bevel angle was just right and the land was the minimum landing criteria allowed of 1/16 of an inch. I did have a few spots that were rough from cutting the bevel with a torch. I was told to clean the oxidation off and bring the coupons back for another inspection.

SMAW Welding Machine Set-Up For All Position Pipe Welding

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. It’s 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.

Welding Machine Set-Up For Tack Welding Pipe With An E6010

When setting up the welder for a 1/8 E6010 open root weld I used 90 amps for the tack welds. I did this because the pipe and electrode were not pre-heated enough and needed this amperage to penetrate properly. On the actual root I used 83 amps to weld it all the way out. The lower amperage was no problem because I piggy backed all of my tacks, while the electrode and the pipe had enough time to pre-heat. If the amperage was higher the keyhole would be too big. When setting a welding machine to do an open root weld you need to find amperage setting that is hot enough to open up a keyhole fast but not too hot that the keyhole gets too big! The main thing to look for when setting a welding machine to run an open root weld is for the amperage to be high enough that the electrode does not stick when testing it on a piece of scrap metal. The amperage setting should be high enough for it to barely weld without sticking.

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!!

How To Tack Weld A Pipe For An Open Root Weld Joint

The set-up of the pipe coupons was done on a V Block. If that’s what the proper name of it is. Basically I used an angle iron to lay the pipe coupons on. It keeps the pipe coupons inline and makes it easier to tack. Then I took a 1/16 cutting wheel to set the root opening. Once the pipe was aligned properly I put in the first tack. Now once the tack cooled the pipe was out of alignment so I used a hammer to get the root opening even again. The tack welds will mainly shrink on the keyhole side of the tack. The next tack was done on the opposite side of the pipe. I had to tap the pipe a few times to get it to line up properly. I kept repeating this until I had four tacks. The first tack is in the 12 o’clock position, the second in the 6 o’clock position, the third in the 3 o’clock position and the fourth in the 9 o’clock position. All of the tacks were about 3/4 of an inch long. Finally I checked to root opening with the 1/16 cutting wheel and as usual the tack welds shrank. So I used the cutting wheel to open up the root opening. This is one of those tricks that not a lot of people will tell you about setting up open root welds. The cutting wheel will almost always make a perfectly even root opening! That is the main trick to passing any open root welding test! After I was happy with the tacks and root opening I feathered all of the tacks edged with the same cutting wheel.

Inspection Of The Pipe In The 6G Fixed Position

Once I got the pipe coupons tacked up, then I put them in the arm that holds the pipe in place. I took a level and set the pipe at 45 degrees. Next I set the height of the pipe to where I wanted to weld it. I prefer to weld the bottom half of the pipe on my knees and that also gives me a more stability then standing. Once everything was in place and I tightened the arm and called the welding instructor.

The welding instructor rechecked the root opening and then the position of the pipe. He then marked the arm in a few places to make sure the pipe was not moved during the test. This was done because the procedure states:

“Now the test will be placed in the fixed position. The test piece will be marked in position with a marker and the inspector may see the test anytime during the testing. (DURING THE TEST, THE PIECES SHALL NOT BE MOVED IN ANY DIRECTION AND OR REMOVED FROM THE TESTING PLACE WITHOUT THE INSPECTORS APPROVAL.)”

Open Root Pipe Welding Techniques

The 6G open root was done with a 1/8 E6010 electrode at 83 amps using a whipping technique. Most of the time I was dragging at about 5 degrees while pointing the rod to the center of the pipe. If you do not always point your rod to the center of the pipe and keep the keyhole centered you will get a lack of fusion. In the event that the keyhole is closing up you need to lead the rod at about 5 to 10 degrees. The hard part of the root is the bottom half of the pipe.

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 Getting to Big

• Increase the angle of the drag .
• Lower the amperage.
• Start to whip the rod in longer motions.

Keyhole Closing Up

• Start pushing the rod forehand toward the direction of travel.
• Increase the angle of the push.
• Raise the amperage.

Concave Root Or Suck Back On The Inside Of The Pipe

• Push the rod inside the pipe so the arc is in the inside when welding. The sound of the electrode burning should be coming from the inside of the pipe.
• Slow down your travel speed.
• Start to use a Very tight whip that is almost a slow steady motion. You want to give the electrode enough time to properly fill the root.
• Lower your amperage.
• Keep the keyhole smaller.

Excessive Root Weld Reinforcement

• Increase your travel speed.
• Use a longer whipping motion.
• Pull your electrode further out of the root when welding.
• Lower the amperage.

Restart Trouble Or Tie In Lacks Fusion.

• Feather all tacks and restarts with a grinding wheel.
• Piggy Back all restarts and tie ins at least a 1/4 of an inch.
• Pause for a second on all feathered edges to burn in properly.
• When tying in don't stop welding until you have penetrated the tack and covered most of it.

How To Do An Open Root Pipe Weld In The 6G Position

The first part of my root was from the 6 o’clock to the 9 o’clock position. Since I am mainly right handed this is my hard side for the root. What makes it difficult is that I am welding from right to left, so the handle and electrode naturally block my view of the keyhole. What I did was position myself in a way that I can see the keyhole at all times.The down side is it is very difficult to stay in that position without getting any muscle cramps. To start the weld I piggy backed on the 6 O'clock tack while preheated the electrode on the tack. Then slowly whipped the rod until I was on the feathered edge of the tack. Once I could see the weld burning into the feathered edge I paused for a second pushing the rod inside the bevel to let the arc shoot up enough filler metal to tie into the tack properly. After that I was just a simple whipping motion until I got to the 9 O'clock tack. When I got onto the tack I kept welding until I was past the feathered edge.

The second rod I used was done on the root from the 9 o’clock to the 12 o’clock 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 o’clock to 3 o’clock 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 o’clock to 12 o’clock 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.

Weld Inspection Of The Open Root

The root inspection was done after I finished the root. I did have a repair that I had to grind out and open it up with a 1/16 cutting wheel. I did the repair because there was a lack of fusion due the pipe root opening closing up from the weld shrinking. Repairing an open root weld is pretty easy if you know what to do. First the repair area of the weld needs to be grinded to the same thickness and approximately the same dimensions of the original bevel. Next you take a cutting wheel and reopen the defective root area. Then all you have to do is re weld the root and that is it. I will not show it because that might make my root no longer passable. But I will say that area was part of the bend test! Once I finished the root of the weld I cleaned the weld penetration up as much as I could using an electrode to chip off the slag. Most open root welds look like they penetrated properly when the slag is covering it. It’s one thing to have a nice looking root with slag on top of it but another to see the actual weld! The root was inspected thoroughly using a mirror like the dentist uses to check your teeth. My root pass was inspected and I got to move on! The rules for passing a root inspection are as follows:

“The root of the weld shall be inspected, and there shall be no evidence of cracks, incomplete fusion, or inadequate joint penetration. A concave root surface is permitted within the limits shown below, providing the total weld thickness is equal to or greater than that of the base metal. The maximum root surface concavity shall be 1/16 in. (1.6 mm) and a maximum melt-through shall be 1/8 in. (3 mm)”

Hot Pass Pipe Welding Technique

My hot pass or filler pass was done using a weave with a 3/32 E7018 electrode. The technique I used was to hold the sides until the weld washed into the bevel. The upper part of the bevel was held about 2 seconds and the bottom was held for about 1 second. This is the easiest part of the welding certification.

Hot Pass In The 6G Position

Before putting in the hot pass I grinded down the roots surface. When it comes to welding certifications some inspectors do not allow grinding at all but with the E6010 root they almost always allow to grind down the root. Most of the time everyone piggy backs there tacks, so you will have a few lumps on the outside of the root from the restarts. When it comes to grinding down the roots surface on critical joints it is always allowed.

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.

Pipe Welding Techniques For The Cap

The cap was also done with a 3/32 E7018 electrode using 3 stringers beads to put in the cap. The technique to putting a half decent cap in is to spread out the weld. That is a very tight side to side motion, basically a tight weave. This is something I did not do in the beginning and disagreed with the welding instructor who conducted this test. Since taking this welding certification I have focused my efforts on spreading out the weld when using an E7018 electrode. I should have listened to someone who has made a career of welding X-Ray quality welds is very difficult conditions. Since I took this test and passed it at the bare minimum I have come close to a almost next to perfect cap. The last 6G weld test I took was for Fluor and I was allowed to take pictures. They are posted at the end of this page.

Some basic guidelines for welding the cap are as follows:

• 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 Weld In The 6G Position

Before putting in the cap I cleaned the hot pass with a wire wheel and hit it with a grinder. I did not have to use a grinder, but if I can, I will. It’s just safer if you are allowed. A light grinding of the surface will expose any trapped slag or porosity.

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.

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.

Visual Inspection Criteria For A 6G Pipe Welding Certification

This visual inspection is the hard part of the test! Passing a bend test is easy but the visual part is much harder. I know this because I have bent some of my practice coupons that would not pass the visual examination, including coupons that I thought would fail. Not one coupon broke or opened up more than the procedure allows.

To begin the welding instructor conducting my test gives nobody any slack and goes sticky by the book! This is where I got lucky! He follows the rules and allows the use of a grinder to do repairs. Basically all of my welds had to be exactly within the AWS acceptance criteria. My best friend all of a sudden became the grinder. Overlap, arc strikes, and anything that is less than the procedure states is an instant visual weld rejection. I cleaned up my welds with a 1/16 cutting wheel because it gives total control unlike a grinding wheel. The rules state you are allowed one repair after the weld inspection, so I checked my weld thoroughly and cleaned up anything that was not suppose to be there. As long as you do your repairs before the weld is inspected then you have one repair left if you need it. In the end I passed the visual based on the AWS acceptance criteria. The two big criteria’s are no undercut over 1/32 of an inch and no excessive weld reinforcement over 1/8 of an inch.

Test Coupon Preparation For A Pipe Welding Certification

Preparing of the test coupons was done following the AWS procedure notes. First I marked the pipe with a template. The template marks the pipe from the 1 o’clock to 12 o’clock positions. Next lines are made to cut out 4 coupons. The coupons need to be a minimum of 1/ ½ inches wide otherwise they will be rejected. There will be two root bends and two face bends. The root bends were at the 11 o’clock and 4 o’clock positions. The face bends were on the 2 o’clock and 8 o’clock positions.

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 ½ 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, don’t 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 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.

6G Guided Bend Test Results

The bend testing was a nail biting moment. The coupons are put into the bend testing machine and they get bent. It's that simple and this is where you really find out how solid your welds are! The pictures below is of my first face bend. This one passed without any problems.

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 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.

An Actual 6G Pipe Welding Test For A Job

Since I have taken this welding certification I have been at the Fluor 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!