Blogs about Pipe Welding techniques and best practices.
The long-time standard for welding pipes is shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), commonly called “stick” because of the rod-shaped consumable electrodes used. SMAW has been one of the most widely used forms of arc welding for decades. Qualified welders and SMAW equipment are widely available and this process is simple…
Every weld receives a visual inspection. It could be as simple as the welder looking at the weld and deciding that it’s fine. However, the term “welding visual inspection” generally refers to a formal qualification process designed to certify the weld and catch unsatisfactory welding. In pipe work, the finalized…
The repetitive task of surface hardening is usually thought of as a punishment by most welders, but this welding process fulfills an important role. It is most often used to build up the contact surfaces of heavy equipment after use has worn them down. Surface hardening is also used to…
Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), also known as stick, is generally the default welding process for pipe. A simple internet search for pipe welding yields countless images of welders using this process along with many tutorials on how to weld pipe correctly using stick welding. However, in spite of its…
Welding in the overhead position—with the workpiece directly above the welder—is widely thought to be the most difficult welding position. Pipe welding is also well known to be particularly challenging welding work. The perception that both are especially difficult types of welding is born out by the fact that each…
Welding a large bore pipe is a big job. Big bore piping is generally defined as having an interior diameter of two inches—approximately five centimeters—or more, but pipes are most often referred to as “large bore” when they are 30 inches in interior diameter or larger. This is about the…
Pipe and pipeline welding is divided into many worlds. At one end is the roughneck world of owner/operator welding subcontractors. These welders wear pancake-style welding helmets, drive trucks featuring prominently mounted pipe welding power supplies on the back, and have a seemingly endless supply of welding rods tucked about their…
Ask a pipe welder what the best welding machine for a pipeline is, and they are likely to mention a particular shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) machine first produced in 1945, when welders still cross-trained as blacksmiths. This machine is a classic that stayed in production until the 1990s, and…
What ultimately defines the quality of a pipe weld is how well it meets standards. There are a bewildering variety of international, national, and industry-specific standards for pipe welding. In spite of the sheer number of these guidelines, it is entirely possible for a project to call for a weld…
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