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Submitted via IRC for Bytram
Grind Your Welds With Pride, If That's The Way You Do It
To grind or not to grind? What a question! It all depends on what you’re really trying to show, and in the case of welded joints, I often want to prove the integrity of the weld.
Recently, I wrote a piece in which I talked about my cheap inverter welder and others like it. As part of it I did a lower-current weld on a piece of thin tube and before snapping a picture of the weld I ground it back flat. It turns out that some people prefer to see a picture of the weld bead instead — the neatness of the external appearance of the weld — to allow judgment on its quality. Oddly I believe the exact opposite, that the quality of my weld can only be judged by a closer look inside it, and it’s this point I’d like to explore.
So dear soylentils, do you even weld and if you do, do you grind your welds?
(Score: 3, Informative) by slinches on Wednesday October 23 2019, @06:29PM
That depends on what is being welded and how it is loaded. Finishing a weld flush on thin structures can reduce the effects of geometric stress concentrations at the toe of the weld bead, thereby increasing the fatigue capability of the joint. Although, even when done properly, that can reduce the static strength of the joint. So it's a trade-off that needs to be evaluated on a case by case basis.