DONE!

I am pretty much done school! I have 2 welding tests to do.
these tests are a big deal.

the body of this entery is very dry and boring if you have no idea about welding. Just skip over it to the bottom of the page! hugs!

the process as follows:
-take two 6x6 3/8th steel plates and put a 30 degree bevel on one plate sand both places.
-take a 1/4 inch thick 8inch long by 2 inch wide strip and sand one side. this is going to be the  backing bar
- line up the 2 pieces of plate exactly 1/2 inch apart making sure the long end of the bevel is on the top
-place backing bar on the top of the 1/2 inch crack sanded side down
- tack weld backing bar to plates each take is exactly 1/2 inch long one on each end and one directly in the middle
-flip work over, now the crack is showing with one inch of backing bar hanging over each side of the plates.
- tack plates onto welding paddle. Once tacked to paddle it cannot be removed. Examiner will mark where your plate is an if it is moved then you will fail the test.
- with a 7018 [4mm(5/32)] rod (electrode) heated to exactly 240 degrees start welding at 175 amps on the flat side of of the plate in the crack (remember you only beveled one plate at a 30 degree angle). this weld should be nicely wetted into the side of the plate and slightly convexed
- For your second pass weave in the bead from the beveled side of the plate and allow it to reach about half way over the first weld pass. This should make the base welds nice and flat without any wagon tracks or convex areas.
- go back to the flat side of the plate and do another pass
- back to the bevel side and weave the weld in nice and flat.
-again with the flat side
-again with the bevel side
-you should be ready for your cap pass. the cap pass is the very top of your weld. The part that you will see.
- pull the rod slowly allowing the bead to get nice and round. allow the weld puddle to carry over the edge of the plate by 2mm. no more no less. the weld should be slightly convex
- now weave the puddle on the bevel side. Allowing it to go over the edge of the plate by exactly 2mm and allowing it to reach half way over the first cap pass.
- you will then call over the Examiner and he will measure that your weld is exactly 3/16th high off the plate. If it is over 3/16th high then you fail.
- when you get the ok to move on you will then go either to a Oxy-acetylene torch or to a gouger (depends on what student wants to use) and "wash" the backing plate off your weld.
- washing means you take the torch and slowly and meticulously heat and melt off the backing bar. If you use a gouger you will use a large diameter electrode rod hook it up to a large machine with lots of amps and compressed air and blast the shit out of the backing bar. It is very very easy to screw this part of the test up. one slip of the torch or gouger will make you fail. Total control is needed.
- after you show the inspector your gouge he will give you the ok to grind.
- We will take an angle grinder and grind off that cap pass that we did earlier so it is perfectly flat without any hint of welding
- then we will do the same to the back where we gouged off the backing bar, making everything perfectly smooth.
- take your plate back to the examiner and he will mark the plate with your welding id number and then punch a R or a F into the plate. (Root or Face)
- then we draw on very thin lines exactly 1 and 1/2 inches apart and cut then with a torch. so we have 3 strips exactly 1and 1/2 inch wide. You are not allowed more then 1/8th too large or to small on these "coupon" strips.
_ when the examiner measures the strips (coupons) you then go back to the belt sander and sand down the coupons so they are shiny without any grinding marks on them.
- you then had in the coupons.
-the examiner will then press them. The R or the F that he marked in the earlier will tell him if he is testing the face (cap) of the weld or the root (backing bar)
- he will put our coupons in a coupon press and press them into a U shape with my weld being at the very bottom of the U.
- If my weld passes there will be no defects ie: slag inclusion, porosity, cracking, pock marks, lack of fusion. It will be smooth and perfect.

I have to do this in four positions. One in flat, horizontal (gap is facing me and horizontal) vertical (gap is facing me but straight up and down) and then overhead (gap is facing the ground and I stand under with my arms in the air)
I have to do these four positions twice. Once for Arc (stick) welding and once for MIG (Gmaw) welding.

Start reading again here!
I have never failed a bend test yet, however I have never had to be so precise with my measuring.
All next week I get to practice! And hopefully be able to take the test on the 22nd of May. I know that I will pass and am not worried. although I am a little flustered that we only have a day to do 4 welds. normally it takes me a day to do a solid 2 bend test welds as it is so time consuming with so many steps.

The test costs approx $500. Apparently it's "cheap" because we are students and our tuition covers 1/4 of the cost.

I am hoping that I can get my wonderful family and friends to donate to help me be able to afford to take my test. I can repay you back with my welding services, small sculptures, house number sculptures, welding broken parts of car/truck frames, plasma cut pretty signs for your yard/garden.

If you are able to help out in any way,
please send donations to:

Kirsten Galloway
#306 - 74 Merrivale St
New Westminster BC
V3L 2P8