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relation to the weld puddle. The gun is either
PUSHED (see Figure 11) into the weld pud-
dle or PULLED away from the weld puddle.
PUSH Puddle PULL
Figure 11. Travel Direction
For most welding jobs you will pull the
gun along the weld joint to take advan- -
tage of the greater weld puddle visibility.
2. TRAVEL SPEED is the rate at which the
gun is being pushed or pulled along the
weld joint. For a fixed heat setting, the
faster the travel speed, the lower the
penetration and the lower and narrower
the finished weld bead. Likewise, the
slower the travel speed, the deeper the
penetration and the higher and wider the
finished weld bead.
TYPES OF WELD BEADS
The following paragrap_hs discuss the most
commonly used weldin_]'beads.
Once you have the gun in position with the
wire lined up on the weld joint, lower your
helmet, pull the trigger and the arc will start.
In a second or two you will notice a weld
puddle form and the base of the bead be
ginning to build. It is now time to begin to
move with the gun. If you are just learning to
weld, simply move the gun in a straight line
and at a steady speed along the weld joint.
Try to achieve a weld with the desired
penetration and a bead that is fairly flat and
consistent in width.
As you become more familiar with your new
welder and better at laying some simple weld
beads, you can begin to try some different
weld bead types.
There are two basic types of weld beads, the
stringer bead and the weave bead.
1. The STRINGER BEAD (Figure 12) is
formed by traveling with the gun in a straight
line while keeping the wire and nozzle
18
centered over the weld joint. This is the easi-
est type of bead to make.
Figure 12. Stringer Bead
2. The WEAVE BEAD (Figure 13) is used
when you want to deposit metal over a wider
space than would be possible with a stringer
bead. It is made by weaving from side to
side while moving with the gun. It is best to
hesitate momentarily at each side before
weaving back the other way.
Figure 13. Weave Bead
WELDING POSITIONS
There are four basic welding positions: flat,
horizontal, vertical, and overhead.
1. The FLAT POSITION (Figure 14) is the
easiest of the welding positions and is most
commonly used. It is best if you can weld in
the flat position if at all possible as good
results are easier to achieve.
Figure 14. Flat Position
2. The HORIZONTAL POSITION (Figure 15)
is next in difficulty level. It is performed very
much the same as the flat weld except that