To assist in practicing control for producing butt welds in this position, a horizontal pad on the vertical plate can be tried. The electrode should be pointed some 5° upwards and back on to the crater at some 20°. Make a horizontal bead at moderate amperage. A slight back and forward weaving motion can assist with some electrodes. Make your next pass along the top edge of the first run and so on, producing a pad as shown in Fig. 19.
 

Vertical Welding

Two basic techniques are available for welding vertically; ‑ up and down. The up technique is favoured in heavy sections and large fillets or where root penetration is of prime importance. The down technique is usually restricted to lighter sections and joints where penetration is not a problem (light sheet) or where excellent finish and minimum distortion is essential. Certain types of electrodes such as Austarc 12P‑are suitable for many applications using this technique.

In welding vertically down, the current is raised somewhat higher than may be used on the flat (set at maximum for the gauge) and the electrode is contact welded or with a very short arc down the joint, tip pointing upwards approx. 30°.

The operator must proceed at a speed which keeps him ahead of the slag freezing above the arc. Only stringer (no weaving) beads are usually satisfactory with GP electrodes but a slight arc length and weave is sometimes used on multi run welds with cellulose electrodes (such as Austarc 11).

In welding vertically up, somewhat less current than normal is employed, the electrode tip being directed upwards into the joint at an angle of 5° ‑ 10°. The first pass of a large weld is usually made with little or no weave, subsequent layers being multi-pass layers using the same technique with stringer beads each side or more commonly with a full weave across the face. A triangular weave for reasonable sized single pass welds is sometimes employed. These are all illustrated in Figs. 21 and 22. Electrodes with a fluid slag such as Austarc 13TC are best suited to this class of welding but it may be carried out with any general purpose electrode.

It is important in the full weave technique to develop a proper controlled weave. The fact that the electrode travels twice across the centre of the weld for every visit to the toe necessitates a fast across the centre pause on the sides approach. Over a convex first pass this aspect is even more critical if the side grooves are to be filled and a flat weld face achieved.

With the triangular weave technique the first and second passes are virtually combined with an upwards into the toe (pause) slightly down to the left (pause) across the centre to the right (pause) back up into the root cycle.