butt welding 1" plate

[bdog]

I am going to be butt welding a 6" wide by 1" thick piece of plate. It is not a critical part if it breaks but I don't want it to break.

Currently the part is made out of 6" x 1/2" plate and we have used it like that for 4 years and have had it break and had to re weld it maybe 5 times. My hope is with the thicker material it will last forever.

I have never really welded on material this thick before. I know I need to bevel it but can I just bevel it on one side or should I bevel it on both sides?

I was thinking of doing a 45 degree bevel using a piece on angle iron as a guide and my plasma cutter and doing it on just one side. The run a first pass with 6010 and then fill it up with 7018. The back side of the plate needs to be smooth so I was not even planning on welding the back at all but I can really build up the other side if need be.

 

[Reyer Farms]

30 -35 degree bevels and I like about an 1/16 to an 1/8 landing and 1/16 gap more or less depending on landing. It will be a slower process and warping can be a challenge. You should penetrate all the way and can grind flush after it cools. That is how I do it. Good luck.
What is it for?

 

[bdog]

It is for a piece of oilfield equipment. A 2" pin goes through two blocks and this part bolts on to the blocks with two 3/4" bolts and and keeps the pin from sliding out. It is a retainer.

 

[Shield Arc]

There are several ways to do it. Double bevel, two single bevels with open root, two single bevels with backing plate.

 

[dstig1]

Nobody asking if you have enough of a welder to do this??? 1" plate needs a lot of heat...either with some preheat or with a big honkin welder... Even for multi-pass - that is a lot of steel to heat up. I guess you did say oilfield work, so I would assume serious welders, but there is not a lot to go on here.

 

[SquirmyPug]

Nobody asking if you have enough of a welder to do this??? 1" plate needs a lot of heat...either with some preheat or with a big honkin welder... Even for multi-pass - that is a lot of steel to heat up. I guess you did say oilfield work, so I would assume serious welders, but there is not a lot to go on here.

1" plate could be welded with a small stick machine. If I needed to I could weld at 85-90 amps with 3/32" 7018 and fill the groove..I wouldn't want to because it would take lots of passes to fill the joint.

With small mig welders I would agree with you, need to have more power for thicker steel.

Bdog, with the 1/2" that's there, does it break in the weld or somewhere else? Can you get pictures of the part and how its used?
If you double bevel and weld from both sides it will help keep the steel from warping, just grind the side smooth that you need.

 

[dstig1]

Perhaps if you truly know what you are doing. You risk cold welds with an undersized welder, even a stick, on stuff this thick.

 

[SquirmyPug]

Perhaps if you truly know what you are doing. You risk cold welds with an undersized welder, even a stick, on stuff this thick.

Even large welders can make cold welds When stick welding and filling beveled joints you can get away with lower amperage. The penetration into the joint is done by beveling so you don't need very high amperage(large electrodes) to penetrate through lots of steel. Lots of welding of heavy steel is done with 3/32"-5/32" electrodes. Joint prep goes a long way in welding :thumbsup:

 

[bdog]

I have a 300 amp machine but will not be anywhere near that. Biggest rods I have are 5/32" which call for maybe 200 amps.

Maybe I am making these part sound more critical than it is. The previous one was 1/2" plate and sometimes when it broke the only welders we could find in the area were muffler shops and we had them weld it back together with their light duty mig machines. If it breaks the pin starts to come out very slowly but it can travel maybe 6" before it falls out and if it did you would just pound it back in with no real major damage. I just am tired of the part breaking and having to weld it again so this time instead of just patching it up I have some time in the shop and am going to fab up something stouter.

 

[ericher69]

Why not just cut an appropriate size of plate?

Why the welding?

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