3G & 4G Vertical Dual Shield Flux Core Welding Test - Vertical uphill - Common test for shipyards

3g Dual shield flux core test

3g dual shield flux core welding test - vertical uphill weld test.
and a 4g overhead test too.


My friend Andrew Cardin placed 5th in the world skills welding competition held in Brazil back in 2015.

So I asked Andrew if he could come help me film some videos on 3g and 4g welding tests.

4g overhead Dual Shield Flux Core Welding Test

Related videos

Dual shield pipe welding

3f tee joint with dual shield flux core

I have been wanting to shoot these videos for quite a while and it made sense to me to team up with Andrew.

I really hope this video helps someone pass a welding test.

Why Dual Shield Flux Core?

Because there are quite a lot of welding jobs out there that require passing a 3g and 4g dual shield flux core test in order to get past the gate.

Thats why they call it a gate test.

Shipyards are a very common place a welder might need to pass this test...but its also a very common test for lots of other industries and local union hall training centers.

AWS D1.1 structural welding code for steel has a provision that if a welder passes both 3g and 4g plate tests, the welder is qualified for all positions.

And since there are  Dual Shield Flux Core prequalified procedures available from the AWS, it makes the process a popular choice.

This page will start out with the video about 3g welding test using dual shield flux core...and as soon as the 4g test video is done, it will be posted here as well.

General Tips for passing and welding a dual shield flux core welding certification test

• Clean metal to shiny bright metal around 1/2" away from weld
• read and comply with the WPS (welding procedure specification)
• The WPS will list variables like wire speed, voltage, gas flow, interpass temperature, etc.
  
• ask questions about policy on use of grinders
• set machine using  scrap metal before welding on test plates
  
• let weld test piece cool a bit between passes ( follow wps)
  

settings used for this 3g and 4g  Weld test

It is possible to use the same settings from start to finish...but that is probably not the best practice for the 3g test unless the WPS requires that.

For the 3g vertical uphill test...The root pass seemed to weld best at 24 volts and 330 ipm using .045" e71t-1 wire. (lincoln ultra core 71A85)

But after the root was done, decreasing settings to 23 volts and 275 ipm helped control the puddle.

For the 4g overhead, 25 volts and around 360ipm worked fine all the way out...root, fill, and cap.

The specs for this  welding test

3/8" (9.5mm) plate

22.5 deg bevels

1/4" (.6mm) gap

1/4" (.6mm) thick backing

.045" (1.1mm) E71t-1 dual shield flux core wire

75/25 argon/co2 shielding gas set at around 35 cfh

watch more flux core videos

uphill flux core on a tee joint

flux core welding with JD

wikipedia article on flux core welding