Kevin reveals how to get that “long, clean weld” look without warping your piece …. In response to a viewer’s question, Kevin explains how to tie one weld into another to make it look like one long seamless weld. In a close up of a section of a sound sculpture stand he is working on, Kevin shows the ends of two welds that are about an inch apart. He wants to run a bead across the open section so it looks like he welded the whole section at one time – which he wouldn’t do because it would warp the piece. He shows how he starts about 1/16 of an inch back into one of the existing welds without using any filler rod, gets the metal molten, backs up a little, then moves toward the open section. He begins using the filler rod as he welds the open section, then pulls away the filler rod and keeps going into a short section of the other existing weld to get it molten. Then he backs up a little to tie everything together. When you stop, it looks like a single, long weld. Next Kevin actually fills in the section. Afterward, he explains that you’d use pretty much the same technique for MIG and stick (arc) welding. With MIG, though, because you can’t stop and start the wirefeed, you use speed to tie into the old welds. With MIG, you start welding in the new area just off the old weld, back up a little, then move forward again. Unlike TIG welding, which is what he used in this demonstration, with MIG you use a quick little move, not slow and steady. When you get to the other end, you speed up a little into the other existing weld. Kevin explains this approach works for him, and you might need to adjust a little for your own style of welding.
