to push or to pull a weld...........

[Roospike]

I was talking to senior weldor the other day ( 15 years he says ) He tell me....." Ole boy, your doing it all wrong!" Told me i needed to ALWAYS push a weld bead and to NEVER pull a bead. Now the way i understood it was to push a weld on thiner gage and to pull a weld bead for deeper, thicker gage stock. ie: 1/4 up . He showed me a weld on his mig with 3/8 steel and it was a nice bead that laid on "top" so i said thanks for the info rooled my eyes and went down the road. Set the record stright for me so i dont get bad habbits if I'm incorrect.

[ian]

I will push material thinner then 10 gauge and drag everything thicker. That being said I have worked places where everything was pushed and welded vertical down. Stuff would crack/break and I would them that it was breaking because of the pushing and down hand welding.

[Roospike]

I will push material thinner then 10 gauge and drag everything thicker. That being said I have worked places where everything was pushed and welded vertical down. Stuff would crack/break and I would them that it was breaking because of the pushing and down hand welding.

Thanks IAN for my one and only answer. LOL ANYBODY else? Kinda like a poll.

[patrickmcveigh]

Depends. Pulling will give you the maximum penetration, but you should be careful to get coverage at the edges. I generally push everything I can, which gives better penetration at the edges of the weld, at the expense of absolute depth of the root penetration. Different strokes....

[ARCSTICKMAN]

I never really pushed my welds until today. At school today we got to use the aluminum MIG welder, I welded with it for about a hour, pushing worked really good for aluminum, now I'll have to see how pushing works for steel. I guess you will be able to see the weld joint better too. Check out my aluminum weld picture.

[chip hayden]

push, pull, backhand, forehand. after a "few" years of welding, i'm finally convinced it doesn't really make much difference. it wasn't too long ago on this board that i learned that many pipewelders push sma [stick] electrodes on "cloverleaf" [ASTM] work. that threw everything i was ever taught right out the window.

[enlpck]

You do what works for the job. If the application is critical, run a few test pieces and section them, bend them, pull them, and do what meets the requirments for the final weld quality. Otherwise, do what works, balancing the penetration vs bead width with MIG, and the burn-in vs slag control and risk of entrapment with stick and flux core. It does make a differnce, but often doesn't matter.

[RST200]

Say Arcstickman,
What kind of welder did you use for your alum weld?
Thanks for the info.

[MigManiac]

Whether you push, pull, or whatever, Bottom line is if dont know what youre doing, youre going to get the same results,It's like an art form knowing how to read the puddle and see how much penitration is going on, whether it's in the root or out to the toes,
Anyone can lay a decent looking bead down,But knowing whats going on takes experiance,
With all that said,I prefer to pull a bead ( Hot pass) on thicker material then go back and push( weave )A cap over it.

[thinkharderchri]

Pull on thicker, Push on thinner. It really does make a difference in my opinion. If you push it all the bead does is pile on top of itself and not get full penatration on the base metal.

[MusPuppis]

"Anyone can lay a decent looking bead down,But knowing whats going on takes experiance,"

I learn the truth of that daily. I can lay a decent looking bead down now but it doesnt mean I have the slightest idea what I'm doing. I was practicing butt-joints on somewhat thinner guage metal the other day, then grinding it down flush and testing the strength (practicing for when I do some body repair on a friends 67 Mustang) and my beads didnt look bad but I wasnt penetrating for shyte. As soon as I ground the bead down flush and blended it in, the joint had no strength what-so-ever.

Sorry, that really has no bearing on the topic at hand and sadly I know nothing so I cant contribute in a meaningful way.. But just wanted to second the statement I quoted.

[MigManiac]

"Anyone can lay a decent looking bead down,But knowing whats going on takes experiance,"

I learn the truth of that daily. I can lay a decent looking bead down now but it doesnt mean I have the slightest idea what I'm doing. I was practicing butt-joints on somewhat thinner guage metal the other day, then grinding it down flush and testing the strength (practicing for when I do some body repair on a friends 67 Mustang) and my beads didnt look bad but I wasnt penetrating for shyte. As soon as I ground the bead down flush and blended it in, the joint had no strength what-so-ever.

Sorry, that really has no bearing on the topic at hand and sadly I know nothing so I cant contribute in a meaningful way.. But just wanted to second the statement I quoted.

Your learning experiance is a contribution!

[hankj]

The pundits say "Pull" unless it's al, then "Push". I say "Maybe!".

I've subscribed to the teaching pro's (textbook type) advice, since my practiacal experience was nil, and my rookie attempts could not be considered "welds" in any sense.

What I've learned is that technique is not nearly as important as having the ability to read the puddle, and know what the **** you are really doing with the weldment. I'm not sure there is a right or wrong way to orient the stick, gun, torch, whatever, as long as you can tell from what you see that the right things are happening. I guess if you really doubt, you should submit a set of coupons to a testing outfit and see what you see.

Hank

[Mike W]

Sometimes I hold the gun at 90 degrees. What would you call that.....on the border between push and pull?

[yjweldor]

i've always heard push is best....which, for the last 2 years i've been welding, is what i've used, as well as my former boss, who's been welding for 30+ years, has always used...all things being equal, if you push a bead, given the right travel speed, it will result in a lower bead profile, than a pull....also, pushing gets the gas coverage out in front where it needs to be....the only time i pull a weld, is when that's the only way i can complete the weld....you dont pull a tig weld do you? you CAN, and it works....but you dont....b/c it's a gas coverage issue.....