How to Weld Vertical? ( Step by Step Guide)

Last Updated on August 29, 2021 by weldinghubs

Welding vertical is a process of welding two pieces of metal together. It has its own set of challenges and how to weld vertically will be different depending on the type of material being welded, how thick it is, how long it is etc.

This article will help you understand how to weld vertically in general so that you can figure out how to do it for your specific project.

Vertical-up welding is one of the most common types, where you build a strong base and then gradually move upwards. Start by building from the bottom with this technique and slowly work your way up to create an even more secure joint.

It’s important to know how to properly weld vertically.

If you’re not careful, the strength of your joint will be compromised and you’ll end up with a weak or broken weld.

Luckily, welding doesn’t have to be difficult if you follow these simple steps.

Before diving into the details of vertical welding, it’s important to know What is the vertical position in welding? Let’s dig into that first.

Read our new post: How to Remove Welding?

What is the vertical position in welding?

The Vertical or V-, Position in Welding is when you hold your torch at an angle of 90 degrees or below 90 degrees from the horizontal and weld in a forward, downward motion with the wire coming out the front of the flame.

Vertical welding involves working with molten metal on a surface that is approximately vertical in orientation. When welding in this position, gravity could hinder the process more than when using horizontal welds, due to gravity pulling down on the liquid metal. To counteract potential risks, some welders use special equipment like suction cups or anti-gravity devices to keep the hot metal from moving out of place. Normally, the equipment includes a cooling agent to keep your metal from getting too hot too fast.

Construction sites commonly employ the process known as welding in order to attach various types of steel structures together, such as beams and columns, without needing additional hardware like bolts or screws which can add both cost and construction delays when using traditional methods.

They have heavy pieces and it would be hard for you to do it so they hire someone who can weld well and in that position.

Overall, the vertical position in welding depends on the type of joint and weld direction. Let’s dig into each.

Weld Directions

There are two ways to weld in a vertical direction. Welding vertically up means that the flame is traveling up, and welding vertically down means that the flame is going down. The two words sound pretty easy, but here’s what they mean.

1. Vertical-up Weld
2. Vertical-down Weld

It’s important to know which way to move your torch so you can make a good weld!

Vertical-up weld

This means your torch will be going straight up. When you want to weld something together, but you can’t find a way to join them, try the vertical-up movement. You take small steps one at a time and make sure that the pieces are strong enough.

At first, people might say it’s hard. They might even say it’s as hard as building a brick wall from the bottom up. But actually, they are both easy if you know how!

When welding using this movement, think of it as making “walls” for your joint where each shelf will be their supports to build on top of. And when welding with this technique, remember not to weld too fast, or else there will be no support left!

You can also choose to weave the electrode as you move up. The weaving method is similar to making a ladder, where every “rung” of the ladder supports another rung above it.

However, In this technique, the joint’s edge will leave burns or cold welds. Make sure that all shelves are wider than your electrode diameter to avoid these types of cuts and marks.

To get the best results, you should hold your electrode slightly downhill with a longer arc length. This allows you to better direct your electric arc towards the joint that you’re making. Doing so will also improve the material penetration of your standard armor.

The vertical-up weld is pretty much like building a brick wall from the bottom up: start small, tie it down at every level, and build atop it until completion!

For completing the vertical up weld you have to follow below steps:

Step 1 – Keep the welding rod vertical and weld in a circular motion.

Step 2 – Do not raise your arm or bring it down during welding.

Step 3- Be sure that the arc is centered on the weld puddle while welding.

Follow these steps either you are a right-handed or left-handed welder because the process of making this kind of weld is the same for both hand welders.

Vertical-down weld

This means your torch will be going straight down. Vertical down weld is one of the two possible positions for welding from top to bottom, in a vertical position.

It’s important to keep an eye on the slag, as it will be coming into your workspace in this form of welding. The other major difference is that you can’t pause for too long, or else the molten metal will overflow and ruin your work. Remember that vertical-up and down are very similar, but not identical.

A quick freezing rod makes this process much easier by providing a solid base that helps prevent burn-through and overlapped weld metals. This way you can focus on staying ahead of the slag instead of worrying about how to avoid it in order to complete your work safely.

Take care not to pause when reaching up as pausing will cause the slag from the top shelf to seep into your workspace.

Welders typically use the vertical-up technique for joints, but if you are working with a thin sheet of metal and fear it may fall off during the process, opt for an alternate joint.

The steps for completing the Vertical Down weld includes:

Step-01: When you are welding, it is important that the arc of your welder remains in a consistent direction to melt metal.

Step-02: Hold the rod in your hand with an angle of 15 degrees and continue to drag it upwards towards the molten metal.

Step-03: You need to use a Z-type weaving motion. Use the movement of your arm and hands-on an imaginary zipper, back-forth across her head as if you were opening or closing it.

Vertical Up and down Current Settings and Welding Techniques

The common type of welding on a vertical up and down machine is a Tee Joint, Lap Joint, or Butt Joint.

For these joints, it is important to be careful in keeping your welding rod at a right angle (90 degrees) to the material. If you are off by more than 15 degrees, you will only have rough control over the arc and may not get a clean-looking weld.

Also, if you have control of your metal and the arc is short enough for penetration then it will be a really good weld.

Vertical Tee Joint Welding Techniques:

Vertical welding a tee joint is tricky, but not impossible. Patience and accuracy are key. If you want your weld to work, make sure that you take your time and weave the rod when it’s in a triangle shape. Make sure that every few triangles, you pause.

Sometimes there will be too much metal or too little metal on the welding rod: if this happens then don’t break the arc but take it out of the crater; just keep going with your arc!

Vertical welding a tee joint is tricky, but not impossible. Patience and accuracy are key. If you want your weld to work, make sure that you take your time and weave the rod when it’s in a triangle shape. Make sure that every few triangles, you pause just like I said before.

Vertical Lap Joint Welding Techniques:

Vertical welding is when you have a piece of metal and you need to weld it together. One of the best ways to get a symmetrical joint is through a triangle weave. This will again use techniques from before, but by tilting the rod in one direction.

Again, take a break from welding to allow your filler material some time to cool, and be careful not to let any hot materials touch the edges of the weaves you have already made.

When welding on thicker materials, it is advised to do two or more passes while lifting and lowering the torch. This ensures a clean weld that doesn’t leave any slag from incomplete coverage. In this case, you will need to clean your first weld bead and lay your stick welding beads.

When you’re cutting your lap joints, it’s important to use the same techniques I described in the section on Tee joints. This will save you from any future problems with your joint and let you create the best project ever.

Vertical Butt Joint Welding Techniques:

The butt weld is one of the most basic and common welding techniques, but it can be difficult to master. To make sure your joint has good penetration, you’ll need to use a few tricks that may seem counterintuitive: First off, don’t stand directly next to each other when you are working on opposite ends of the pipe- this will create an arcing effect which might not get enough heat in there for proper fusion with filler material; instead, try standing at angles or across from each other so that every part gets covered by torch flame.

In order to avoid undercutting metal edges, you should use shorter arcs and weave them into the welds.

Your weld beads should be short and you should control the heat in your welds(not letting it build up too much) by ‘whipping’ your rod at the edges of the bead. Don’t forget to weave! This will make sure that your filler metal goes into all areas of the joint. A wider than normal bead is normal for vertical welding.

Also, try to keep your last weave about a half-inch away from the joint, as it will leave a crack there when you are finished– but be careful not to overdo this…a little whip is all you need..you don’t want to go too far and weaken your bead.

With these techniques in mind, welding butt joints vertically on up to 1/2″ material can be done in one pass.

But if your welding butt joints are thicker than that, you’ll need to weld more than once, weaving and whipping as above and using a stop, start technique.

How do you stick weld vertical joint?

There are many different ways to weld things. One way is the stick welding process. It can be used for many metals and thicknesses, but it is best for really thick metals like steel and cast iron.

The stick welding process is a type of arc welding where the melted metal flows around the outside of an electrode. The reason this happens is because the electrode gets hot and vaporizes the metal, which flows onto the workpiece.

Some people use different names for this process, like TIG weld or MIG weld. These are different types of arc welding processes that all have some similar characteristics to stick welding.

In each one, you have a piece of wire that heats up so much that it melts through metals and creates an electric arc between two pieces of metal you are attaching together.

The way to do something vertical with this kind of joint is by taking advantage of gravity and clamping it in place either with clamps or hands so that both sides even out. A trick to make it hold better is that you can take the end of the stick and twist it in one direction, which pulls the end together.

A lot of people use this type of welding for many different purposes because it has a high production rate, along with being able to withstand most normal stresses you will put on metal.

The only times they aren’t good are when something requires either an explosion or more than one flow. For example, if you need to weld pieces of metal together where there is not any room for molten metal to spill out because pressure holds everything tight enough so it won’t fly away from its original path.

How do you MIG weld in an upright Joint?

MIG welding is one of the easiest ways to weld. It is easy to learn with practice, and most beginners are able to do a good job. But what if you want to weld something that is upright or vertical?

MIG welding (or metal inert gas) is a process in which two pieces of metal are joined using an electric arc and wire.

It is more comfortable than other welding processes. If you’re using MIG for vertical things, it’s best not to use it on thick metal because the slag will be concentrated in the middle of your weld instead of on both sides where it should be.

You have better penetration when you move against gravity instead of with gravity, but it can be hard for people who don’t know how to use this method.

The upside-down V is the best way to weld something that is vertical. If you go against gravity, it’s hard to melt your wire and puddle your metal together. This makes it better penetration and it will be easier for you to weld the metal together with less stress.

How do you TIG weld in an upright Joint?

TIG welding is a good technique for welding in an upright position. You can use it on more metals than any other process.

It is better when you have a clean surface to weld on. Some metals, like aluminum and magnesium, have a tendency to create sparks when you are welding in an upright position.

If you are working with these materials, try using a TIG torch because it uses non-consumable tungsten electrodes and doesn’t generate any additional slag.

You can use many different ways to join pieces of metal. One way is keyhole welding. This starts when there is a gap in the middle of the two pieces and you put filler wire inside it. This process gives good welds that are also durable.

Another way is up down welding, but it does not create any slag or sparks. You can move your torch side to side and up to make sure that the heat gets all over the two plates evenly.

Another process is called stitch welding. Up down and up processes are both used to make sure that the heat gets evenly distributed throughout the metal pieces?

These two techniques also create no sparks or slag and give a cleaner bead. You can use several movements to weld in an upright position, but you should always keep your workpiece level to each other because if one side is not even then it will be harder for you to control.

To prevent this from happening you should clamp the metal together tight so it does not move when you are welding.

TIG welding is a good process for welding in an upright position. It does not need to use a consumable electrode.

A tungsten electrode can be used instead, and it gives you more control over the weld bead, which will give you cleaner welds- no spatter!

Stick welding is also good for this position but MIG and TIG are not as good because they both use a shielding gas. The main reason TIG welding is a good process for an upright position is that it does not use any consumables and has no shielding gas.

What is the best welding process to weld vertical?

The most commonly used welding procedure for vertical is the stick or SMAW (shielded metal arc welding). This is one of the easiest methods to use because it does not require a wire feeder, which can be difficult when you have limited room on the up and over.

The hand shield provides you with full coverage while you’re tacking welds and allows more freedom of movement. It also uses a standard ¼” coating electrode, so no special equipment is necessary. Knowing your options will help you find solutions.

There are many options for welding vertically and it’s important to know them. One of the easiest ways is using a fast-track electrode that offers a coating layer, like E6010 & E6011 or F7018 (or any other type of coated electrode). This type of wire allows you to start in any position without worrying about gas coverage or arc starting.

All you have to do is place the wire on top of your desired area and strike an arc while moving slowly along the length of the seam until you reach the bottom. This method works well with short seams because it doesn’t require much heat input.

As I have said, stick welders are best for welding upwards, but when you use stick welding units on a vertical joint there are some rules that will help to make your output even and without the splash of metal.

09 Tips to Improving Your Stick Welding Technique

For your comfort, I will provide you 09 instructions for becoming a better welder which have been listed below.

1. Select and Use the Correct Consumable Electrode

Welding vertically up is hard because gravity is fighting you. You should make sure you have the best tools for welding. The correct electrode will prevent a weld from dripping or producing slag.

If you are doing welding work and want to make sure it doesn’t drip or produce slag, use an electrode with low iron content (less than 12%). Iron powder is a big contributor to slag. With less iron, you will have less time for the slag to build up and it will be easier to get rid of during cleanup.

Electrodes are used to mix electricity and metal together. There are two kinds of electrodes: AWS 6010 and AWS 7018. The 6010 electrode is for thin metals, while the 7018 is for thicker materials.

The 6010 electrodes should be whipped or stacked in order to work properly; but when you use the 7018, you should weave it into the weld puddle. When welding vertically down, use an AWS 7024 because it moves slower than other electrodes– this makes it easier to move the weld pool down the surface of the metal you’re welding.

2. Invest in a welding helmet with auto-darkening capabilities

There are two types of welding helmets: traditional ones and auto-darkening helmets. If you want an easy helmet to use, get the auto-darkening one.

The front face is super sensitive so it will know when the welding arc starts and darken the lens in milliseconds. It can also change to a darker shade for certain metal thicknesses because sometimes it needs really high amperage.

Buy a quality Miller or Lincoln Electric welders helmet with auto-darkening technology, and your welds will be much better looking!

For more information about welding helmets, contact a knowledgeable staff member at your local Lincoln Electric branch.

The main choice for welders who regularly use the SMAW process is between a traditional welding helmet or an auto-darkening one.

Some welders prefer the traditional ones because they are simpler to use, while others go for auto-darkening technology because of its convenience and ease of use. Still, many welders continue to use both types depending on how much money they want to spend and their personal preferences.

There are some distinct advantages to using auto-darkening technology, particularly in a shop setting.

The auto-darkening welding helmet is not the same as traditional helmets; it uses ultra-sensitive sensors that are able to detect when the welding arc starts and then darken the lens within milliseconds. This allows for incredible vision in all types of lighting situations.

In addition to convenience, many auto-darkening welding helmets have variable shades built into them, depending on how high or low the welder wants their shade set. For SMAW this can mean the difference between having a great-looking weld with pronounced fusion lines or an ugly one with poor color contrast and dented beads.

For most welders who regularly use stick methods, they will want to use their auto-darkening helmet in the darkest setting possible, thus opening up the possibility of using higher amperage and achieving better control over the arc.

Many welders use a combination of both traditional welding helmets and auto-darkening ones depending on their specific situation or needs.

If you are a weekend warrior who does some light stick welding for fun in your garage, it may be more cost-effective to purchase a traditional welding helmet with decent quality lenses. But if you are working as an entry-level welder in a shop environment where wall time is limited and spotty lighting is common, then it would be wise to invest in an auto-darkening helmet that has variable shades programmed into it.

3. Carry a few replacement welding lenses in your tool bag with you

It is important to have a few replacement welding lenses with you. You might need them for when the ones you are using get dirty or foggy. They cost around $1 and will not break the bank.

Maintenance is important to get good quality welds. It is more important in the vertical welding position because you are likely to get splatter and build-up on your lenses. But as I mentioned before, replacing the darkening lens in an auto-darkening helmet is not so easy with a hooded type of helmet that you wear over your head. And if it’s cold outside, they freeze up even quicker when using them at the top of a multi-story job.

This is where carrying extra clear plastic replacement lenses come in handy. They can just be placed over your pre-existing ones and will work until you replace it with a new one at the bottom of the job or replace it altogether once it gets too blemished by splatter and spatters.

They are fairly inexpensive too, costing around $1 each. You can get them from your local welding supply store or online. They are made of clear plastic so they will not affect the view of the weld puddle one way or another since you never look through them, to begin with. A good place to buy replacement lenses is on Amazon.

Remember that vertical down welding requires a lot more maintenance than horizontal welding does because you will have more spatter and slag hitting your helmet’s lens directly in front of you every time you finish a bead, which makes it more dirty and foggy than if it was on-edge (horizontal) or overhead (vertical up).

4. Have a pair of high-quality work boots for protection

You wear steel-toed work boots to protect yourself from falling objects when you’re welding. It is important to spend more money on the best boots you can afford so your feet are protected.

The good boots will normally come with features like linings that keep your feet from getting too wet, and they are made of high-quality leather that will be comfortable for your feet. You should also get insoles that have extra padding if the regular boot doesn’t have enough cushioning for your foot.

If you have to stand for a long period of time, it is important to have good quality insoles in your boots so that you don’t get tired.

5. Protect your head

You might notice a burning smell during a weld. When you see it, you should stop your welding. It could be your own hair that has caught on fire! This is very unpleasant for your ‘do and can be harmful to your scalp!

You should wear headwear when you are welding. It does not have to be expensive. A simple fabric cover or even just an old hat will work! But if you are welding in the “up high” position, like overhead or something, then use leather because it covers more of your head and will protect you from things that come down from up high like sparks or stuff coming off of the metal.

If you are just starting to weld and want something that will work for a very long time, get a leather welding cap. If your budget is not as big, then just use an old hat or fabric headwear.

6. Take Breaks and Hydrate the Proper Way

When you weld, it can get very hot. You will want to take a break and drink water when it is hot outside. Drink water before you are thirsty or when your hands shake.

It is also important for your welding instructor to allow you to cool off and re-hydrate with water before returning to work when the weather is really hot.

Let the instructor know that you need to cool off and re-hydrate with water. If it is too hot, they may have to reduce the temperature or allow you additional breaks.

Take your time and drink plenty of water throughout the day. Do not eat a full meal before starting work and while working in extreme heat conditions.

Eating a large meal can make you feel sluggish or sleepy which can lead to accidents on the job site. You won’t want to slow down…but if you are tired or fatigued your reaction time will be slower.

And you’ll be more likely to make mistakes (like letting your guard down). Remember this: Slow down, stay alert, take smaller bites, never rush when eating, chew food well and rest or take a break after eating.

Be sure you are hydrated and stay that way….all day long!

7. Document your Welding Machine Settings

There are many different settings for your welding machine. Adjusting these settings is helpful for each situation. The best setting is not always the same, but if you have different jobs, it can be hard to remember which one you wanted to use last time.

Write everything down on a sheet of paper so that you know what setting to use next time.

This may seem like a simple task, but it is very helpful in the long run to have all of your custom settings on one page. It can also help technicians that are fixing your machine.

You will need the following information:

1. Wire-feed Speed: How fast you want the wire to travel when you are welding (usually between 4 and 6 inches per minute)
2. Voltage: How much voltage do you want there to be going into your workpiece when you are welding (generally anywhere from 115-120 volts)
3. Duty Cycle: How long you want the wire to be on for every inch of material being welded (for instance, if 5 seconds were required for 1/8 of an inch of material, then you would have a 5: 1 duty cycle).
4. Amperage: The amount of amps needed to weld (this will vary depending on the material, the thickness of the material, and even your heat settings)
5. Heat Settings: These are dependent upon what kind of metal you are welding (a stainless steel setting is going to be different than a copper setting).
6. Shielding Gas Setting: This refers to the percentage of argon or helium in the gas mixture here. A higher percentage means that there will be more Argon or Helium mixed into your shielding gas, which gives you better protection from oxygen and nitrogen impurities in the air around you while still allowing for sufficient penetration into the metal with your arc.
7. Travel Speed: How fast you want the arc to travel when it is not in contact with your workpiece (this should be between 5 and 10 feet per minute)
8. Contact Tip: The type of tip or toe that you want on the end of your welding torch. Do you want a cone shape, flat tip, or chamfered? If so, keep track of the contact tips you like and use them over again!

Remember that your process will likely change from job to job. Keep trying new things until you find what works for each application! You might have a completely different setup depending on whether you are cutting metal or just doing a standard pass!

8. Creat Weld Shelves during welding

Welding metal is hard. You have to use one hand to do it. It’s better if you use an upward motion because that way you get better results, but it’s also harder and takes more time than the side-to-side motion. Now, when welding metal together, what should you do?

When you weld one section of the workpiece and then move on to another, the pooled area from your previous weld is your welding shelf for the new workpiece. If possible, try to restrict all welding pools to 1.5 times the size of your electrode so that there’s enough penetration into the material with a 7018 electrode (it looks like a checkerboard) or a 6010 electrode (it looks like poker chips laid next to each other).

Remember: the less you weld, the better you’ll do. When welding metal together, make as few passes as possible from side-to-side—ideally 1 or 2—and then start your upward motion. It’s a lot of work but it gives great results and eliminates the need for filler metal in most cases.

9. Some settings for low voltage and current

A common mistake that some people might make is using stronger power settings. This can lead to problems like undercutting the metal. If you are experiencing this problem, you may be able to fix it by slowing down the entire process or lowering your current.

Doing so will reduce the size of your puddle and give you better control over how it looks when it is done.

Then, to allow your molten metal to freeze off, you should use a lower voltage setting. That will also help you maintain better control over what happens with your metal as it cools down too!

Conclusion

After reading this blog post, you should have a better understanding of how to weld in a vertical position. The key is knowing when and where to use it for maximum effect. To help ensure your welding jobs are successful, read through our 9 tips on improving your stick welding technique. If you still need more information about any of these topics or would like some expert advice from an experienced welder contact us today! We’re always happy to chat with people who want to improve their skill set as well as offer professional insight into what works best for them.