mr. bell,,,,put many a root bead in,pipe/plate,,mig, stick,little with tig,,,,and I kinda know what you are saying,,,and of course you don't want to put a big giant bead down,,if its not the right thing to do,,,in most cases its not,,,,you get your root in,,hot pass,fill,cover,,,some cases your fill cover may be the same,,etc.,etc.,,I was just kinda telling the guy,,,this,,grind the crack out,,weld it up the best he could,,both sides,,,he said he wasn't that experienced. There is never any need to use more heat,,,put more weld on,than you need,,,,once you have made two pieces one piece,,,its as good as it gets,,,putting a big cover will not make weld stronger,,,will probably make it weaker,,,,dime high,[thickness of dime],,,nickle wide,[width of nickle],,,is an old saying for down hill pipe welding,sch 40 pipe,,,,,but like I said a good gorrila weld,from an inexperienced welder,,is alot better than it being broke,,and in fixing a cracked bucket,,,may be just what the doctor ordered?? thingy