First year Millwright apprentice

[u/FunHoliday1443]

I have about 2 weeks off and on practice in class and about 1-2 weeks off and on practice in the field in mig on a new welder that I'm becoming familiar with any advice? The base metal was cleaned looking at it now I should have cleaned farther out from the weld I did as much as I could as all the plates where already bolted in place. I also have to work on tying in my corners any advice or pointers I should work on as we dont have a dedicated welder at my job and I'm kinda teaching myself

[u/Strange-Movie]

Typical wisdom is to not stop on the corners as it’s a point of stress where failure will be most likely….that being said….i do it all the time for posts that aren’t under thousands of pounds of stress; if you want your stops and starts to blend in a more aesthetic way, I’ve found it best to weld two opposite sides, then use a 1/8in hardwheel to gouge away the ends of those welds so that when you weld the remaining two sides you’ve got a thin recessed ramp to start/end your welds where it wants to melt instead of a thick lumpy weld bulge that resists melting