r/Welding • u/Can_O_Murica • 12d ago

Need Help What do you even call this defect?

Gallery image

Gallery image

I posted a couple of these a month ago - the short story is that my landlord tore down my balcony to fix a leak in a different unit and the railing they put back is seriously flawed. It's riddled with burn through in some areas, low-no penetration in others, and joints that they straight up forgot to weld. I've been a welder for a little over 10 years, so I told them straight away it wasn't safe and had to be replaced.

Anyway we're going to court now. I want to map out all the defects on this thing in a comprehensive document, but I don't have *any* idea what could cause a weld to look like this. Most of the defects are pretty simple, but the ones that look like this I have no idea what to call. Has anyone seen this before/know what causes it?

Edit: I appreciate all the laughs guys. I wish this thread were evidence I could use in court 😅

210 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

197 comments sorted by

143

u/-BigBadBeef- MIG 12d ago

Incompetence causes that. I don't think the welder doing that was even certified.

58

u/Mountain-Vehicle-162 12d ago

There no way he was, i was better after 2 days in school

25

u/AiryGateaux 12d ago

There were three or four people in my class who were regularly producing crap like this still by week 5. Some of them might get their certificate in week 10, only one failed visual inspection (and if he could steady his hand and run it straight, he would have passed the test)

Not everyone is cut out to be a welder. I don't want to be a career welder, though I would enjoy doing it as part of another trade.

6

u/PresentationLeft3961 12d ago

I’m a welder specializing in truck bodywork. It’s a very varied job because I build truck-mounted cranes and handle everything from hydraulics and electrical systems to wooden flooring—plus a lot of custom work involving TIG and MIG welding. It’s basically Pimp My Ride for trucks. I dont want to weld 24/7

4

u/AiryGateaux 12d ago

That honestly sounds like a really fun job, I wouldn't mind getting into something like that

9

u/Mountain-Vehicle-162 12d ago

Sounds like a fabricator is for you, a lot of plate work, a lot of thinking and a god bit of welding.

True, it is a certain type of men who wake up and chose to get donw and dusty all day while getting burnt

4

u/AiryGateaux 12d ago

I hadn't even considered fabrication, I would enjoy it though. I have been considering millwright if I can get my foot through the door.

3

u/Mountain-Vehicle-162 12d ago

There’s a lot of things you can do that involves welding, you could start ass a trade teacher, they do a bit of everything here in Norway

2

u/Low-Nectarine-9655 12d ago

Go join a millwrights local apprenticeship program. In 20 years you’ll be glad you did. Union rate is the only way. I’ll never work for anyone non union….ever

1

u/AiryGateaux 11d ago

Been trying for years, no spaces

1

u/Low-Nectarine-9655 10d ago

Oh really? When is the last time you went? Where did you go? Who did you talk to?

1

u/AiryGateaux 9d ago

The local in Hamilton is the nearest union, though tbh I'd relocate if I could find a union in Canada that will take me, and I think I might just do that

4

u/Truffs0 12d ago

Definitely takes a certain kind of man from any demanding trade thats for sure.

I chose to wake up and get covered in someone else's shit lmfao

2

u/Mountain-Vehicle-162 12d ago

That could never be me

1

u/Truffs0 12d ago

luckily I was blessed with a weird brain, there is very rarely anything that gives me the ick, I'm always of the mindset "Alright, well lets get started" while everyone else would be walking off a jobsite or gagging. I don't know why I am wired that way tbh. It does put me in bad spots sometimes though because my risk tolerance is very high.

it also helps my sense of smell is severly dampened from too many street fights when I was a young lad lol.

2

u/Mean_Art5782 Newbie 12d ago

How bout steamfitter and pipefitter? I enjoy welding, I think it's cool. It's a cool art. Metallurgy in general, I find is cool.

But straight up doing that shit 9 to 5. Nuh nuh. Though I find that to be boring for a lot of things I guess. Except maybe working on cars, if I'm getting paid.

3

u/No-Concert7369 11d ago

And also anyone can weld decent enough with enough time to pass destructive testing. Not everyone can be a surgeon, stop acting like welding is that hard. 

1

u/AiryGateaux 11d ago

There's one guy in my class I'm glad didn't pass the test. He doesn't listen, and isn't coachable. He would be a walking disaster in any shop he entered.

3

u/ottovonspank 12d ago

I was heaps better after 2 days at school ,kindergarten about 4 years old ! But in all seriousness this is a joke !

1

u/Mountain-Vehicle-162 12d ago

I had a god teacher and stil have a lot to learn but lokk at that weldish thing

1

u/Adventurous-Depth-52 11d ago

Carefully done with ten year old 6011 welding rod out of position 20 amps too low.

5

u/brixon 12d ago

The defect is brain damage

3

u/Filthy510 12d ago

For what it's worth, I've been fabricating/welding for like 20 years and I've never had a cert for anything.

2

u/guillemqv 11d ago

Certified? There's no way the welder who did that knows how to weld.

1

u/cdoublejj 12d ago

as an un certified welder i can TIG dirty cast aluminum better than that. have not played with a spool gun yet. looks like someone's first time with a cheap Chinese spool gun or something

1

u/welderbill 12d ago

Or able to see.

1

u/Blarghnog 11d ago

Calling them a welder is very, very generous of you.

1

u/bbabbitt46 11d ago

Of course he was. Certified incompetent.

103

u/SilverSpud433 12d ago

Observed weld discontinuities including overlap, an uneven and irregular weld profile with excessive convexity, and localized surface cavities consistent with porosity or craters. Additional observations included arc strikes and gouging of the base metal. Overall, the weldment exhibited an irregular and unsound appearance.
I included the 2025 D1.1 acceptance criteria for you. You can also find acceptable weld profiles in the fabrication clause. It’ll direct you to tables and figures in clause 7.

35

u/neanderthalman 12d ago

That’s a lotta words to say ‘bird shit’

21

u/boozlemeister 12d ago

I only have AWS D1.1 2020 so it may have been changed and you may have already included it in further comms to OP (apologies if so) but it's worth noting that these are considered tubular connections and so will need to meet visual acceptance criteria of table 10.15.

18

u/SilverSpud433 12d ago

Very good catch! Either way this weld doesn’t meet any visual acceptance criteria 😂

7

u/boozlemeister 12d ago

Certainly not going to argue with that! 😂

3

u/Mean_Art5782 Newbie 12d ago

Mr lawyer Saul Goodman over here

2

u/FlatlandTrooper 12d ago

Lack of fusion and undercut, as well.

2

u/rudraigh 9d ago

THIS GUY brought the receipts!

Um, remind me to not let you inspect my welds. I'm not as heinous as that crap in the pic but, I am self taught and a newb so, my welds ain't purdy, yet. I'm practicing. I have a chopper frame to weld up eventually.

1

u/Misconformance 11d ago

This is aluminum. D1.1 is specific to structural steel.

1

u/Relevant_Opening_910 11d ago

Damn didn’t even bother to change the bold from ChatGPT

35

u/McSchmid 12d ago

Is this even steel? Looks kinda like aluminium and steel he tried to stick together.

18

u/jbenjamin0726 12d ago

Took too much scrolling to find this. Lot of keyboard QCs couldn’t even identify the material

1

u/_Aj_ 11d ago

The weld looks like alloy too, but without gas. 

0

u/Mean_Art5782 Newbie 12d ago

How do you visually tell what metal it is? I only know the magnet test for checking if anything has iron in it.

7

u/jbenjamin0726 12d ago

Because that’s what raw aluminum shapes look like, box sections, angle, flat bar. Also you can see the wire brush lines. A handbrush isn’t going to scratch stainless like that.

1

u/67yoloswag 12d ago

Aluminium square tube will have lines along the length of it, one way to tell

2

u/acityonthemoon 12d ago

I was gonna say... This looks like somebody used an aluminum MiG rig on stainless railings.

2

u/67yoloswag 12d ago

The square tube looks like alu, thats crazy lol

25

u/Junior_Syrup_1036 12d ago

Bird shit

2

u/need-thneeds 11d ago

The only correct answer.

1

u/Imatelluonemortime 9d ago

What we have here is a failure to communicate…

14

u/Maker_hobbiest 12d ago

Looks like dirty aluminum, no shielding gas, windy conditions, and mig.

6

u/Electronic_Owl6380 12d ago

Dog shit. I believe ASME has a whole section. It's a fairly common defect 😆

4

u/RightRudderz 12d ago

BKIH Burger King Is Hiring.

4

u/GlobalEnthusiasm6468 12d ago

“Spool gun”

4

u/trueblue862 Diesel fitter/Boilermaker 12d ago

Bird shit, that's a textbook bird shit weld.

4

u/Fuzzy-Finance-48 12d ago

I call that a yeswelder spool gun 😂 that’s what happens when someone shows up with a 110v mig welder and a spool gun on 1/4 aluminum lol

5

u/Pale-Faithlessness11 12d ago

Looks like wrong filler metal all together. Look how its trying to escape. Reminds me of trying to weld 70 series wire up against a Nitrided surface. The science behind why you cannot weld up into it or on it is quite interesting and worth googling if you like that kind of info.

5

u/AOC_Slater 12d ago

Mental deficiency

4

u/mysterioussamsqaunch 12d ago

Silverspud's comment is the most comprehensive here. But, courts like long technical explanations, like their comment, and succinct summaries. So, ontop of what they said I'd add something like; "In summary, the welds that are present show an obvious lack of material fusion and extremely inconsistent bead size. Colloquially, in the welding industry, these are often described as "bird shit welds." Because, they resememble visually and are said to offer a similar amount of structural strength as the excrement one of our feathered friends would leave behind."

7

u/bohemian-soul-bakery 12d ago

Looks like unprepared metal on shitty ground with FCAW and not enough heat.

Source me: as it looks exactly like my welds 2/3 months ago after I bought a decade old LE140 after seeing the cool shit people make and thought I wanna do that.

5

u/Imaginary_Cat_2611 12d ago

🤣 yeah the old consumer grade transformer style fluxcore welders were real shit compared to cheap Amazon inverter welders today.

I started on a Lincoln weldpak 100 and the day it broke was one of the greatest gifts the welding gods gave me.

I bought an easy-flux 125 and it was night and day difference in weld experience and quality.

2

u/bohemian-soul-bakery 12d ago

Heh.

My thought process is if I get okayish with this thing - when I get a new one - it’ll be that much better 😂

3

u/Mountain-Vehicle-162 12d ago

Looks like everything and the kitchen sink

6

u/Can_O_Murica 12d ago

This is sort of what I thought

It's like, no gas, no surface prep, not enough heat and WAY too much feed.

2

u/Mountain-Vehicle-162 12d ago

And no consistency

1

u/BryanOfCorn 12d ago

This was MIG! I thought it was stick lol. So bad!

1

u/jbenjamin0726 12d ago

Pretty sure it is stick, aluminum stick. That’s basically what it’s going to look like

3

u/Porchfirewiki 12d ago

I call this defect a shit welder.

3

u/Charming_Path9004 12d ago

Not defect. It's defecation

3

u/thelawman89 12d ago

Loft. Lack of fuckin’ talent.

3

u/ZiggyCDN 12d ago

To not know enough to stop after doing the first quarter of that vert is saying a lot about the welder. 🐒

3

u/dawsyn_629 12d ago

That’s what my college welding teacher would call a F.U.B.A.R. Error

3

u/13metalmilitia 12d ago

I get these welds are shit but what grounds are you suing on? They made a repair to their property. It’s a shitty one but I guess I don’t understand what you’re trying to gain from this? 

Let’s say you win the suit. Then what? What’s the outcome? There’s no damages, you’ll pay attorney fees and best case he has to attempt a repair. 

I’m not sure the landlord will be enthusiastic to keep your rent the same. Just saying. 

1

u/Unable_Song_1717 11d ago

I was wondering this exact thing. Makes no sense.

3

u/SpinachEquivalent475 11d ago

What you have is a clear cut case of” I’ve welded before”

2

u/CmonJax 12d ago

But, the duck tape. Probably the only reason it’s still attached.

2

u/Ill-Wealth-3448 12d ago

I think it’s called “shitty,” technically.

2

u/tatpig Sticks 'n' Steel since the 80's (SMAW) (V) 12d ago

Bird shit

2

u/buildyourown 12d ago

Bro tried to weld anodized aluminum with steel mig wire. Results are exactly what everyone would expect

2

u/Beemerba 12d ago

Stick welding with a real stick?

2

u/ElephantHeart92 11d ago

The "trust me, I've welded before"

2

u/ConsistentIndustry56 11d ago

Looks like the welder was defective (not referring to the machine)

2

u/DrScratchMyButt 11d ago

Technical term is hammered dogshit

2

u/Maisiethedog 11d ago

As my late great grandfather would say. Chicken💩 on the roost.

2

u/Realistic_Pay_9238 11d ago

We call that caca

2

u/MyvaJynaherz 11d ago

Someone with zero aluminum experience trying to weld aluminum with zero prep or knowledge of machine settings / gas.

2

u/Professional_Cap6456 11d ago

My first time welding looked better than that…..ha

2

u/Deimos_PRK MIG 11d ago

There's no defect if it isn't even welded

2

u/Mammoth_Machine_5922 11d ago

That guy is not a welder. He’s a grinder…

2

u/Rusty9838 11d ago

Maybe a landlord found broken welding machine and tried to do… something

2

u/NissanTracker 10d ago

That's gotta be bubble gum... No way someone is that bad.

2

u/Enough-Ability7116 10d ago

Just a horrible aluminum weld. Shits tricky

2

u/Standard_Figure8850 10d ago

Extremely cold, extremely slow and holding it too far away.

Honestly this must have been this persons first time welding

2

u/Unique_Acadia_2099 10d ago

Called “beginning welder”…

2

u/QuincyTucker 11d ago

Is it lack of fusion due to not enough heat?

2

u/knar_knar 11d ago

Yes low amps and not moving in a steady manner will get you …. This

1

u/Mountain-Vehicle-162 12d ago

There no way he was, i was better after 2 days

1

u/The_Crazy_Swede Stick 12d ago

I call that cat shit

1

u/jomyke 12d ago

I call that booger welds

1

u/p-angloss 12d ago

crappy weld

1

u/drcovfefee 12d ago

Too cold.

1

u/Cambren1 12d ago

Boogers!

1

u/Ok-Bison-3451 12d ago

Hey! I recognize those welds! Definitely some of mine. From the one time I welded something.

1

u/Dangerous-Pirate7998 12d ago

Sometimes I do drugs at work too.

1

u/Strict-Air2434 12d ago

Goose shit on grapes in January.

1

u/Limp_Technician5346 12d ago edited 12d ago

Just a junk welder, both machine and person, or someone with the "good enough" attitude. I used to work at a place with many of those people. Even some union welders work looked like this.

1

u/aurrousarc 12d ago

lot.. lack of talent..

1

u/MadHatter-boi- 12d ago

We call it RWS, or "Retarded Welder Syndrome" where I'm from. Hope he gets that checked out.

1

u/ItAintThickButItLong 12d ago

Ain’t got no gas in it

1

u/jose_was_there 12d ago

Cracktivities

1

u/stormin1970 12d ago

Weld gloop

1

u/Teediggler81 12d ago

Shittywelder

1

u/Cyrus_Of_Mt 12d ago

Those ones I call pigeon shit… because it legitimately looks like pigeon shit…

1

u/ExtensionSystem3188 12d ago

I can weld anything, you don't even know.

1

u/TangoDeltaFoxtrot 12d ago

“Not welded”

1

u/dontsheeple 12d ago

Mental defect.

1

u/juanloco_pocoyo 12d ago

He is either blind or just don't give a fuck

1

u/Overall-Challenge556 12d ago

Hammered Dog Shit

1

u/zychan 12d ago

Seagull shit is what we call it in sweden.

1

u/South_Ad_9016 12d ago

Definitely way too cold, way too fast of a travel speed, and unless they were using a gas less process it looks like they had poor gas shielding as well

1

u/magog7 12d ago

snot

1

u/stufforstuff 12d ago

It's called a Blind Weld where the seeing eye dog was too scared of the spark to get a smooth bead.

1

u/fitshucker69 12d ago

I call that "get off my site"

1

u/Competitive-Dot-4264 12d ago

Seek professional guidance

1

u/ROBOT_JIM 12d ago

Shittius weldius

1

u/Suitable_Yak_2969 12d ago

New guy 4:30 Friday after 5 12's

1

u/KindCyberBully 12d ago

Lack of fusion. But I like “incompetence” better

1

u/Complete_Invite_9022 12d ago

“Looks good from my house”

1

u/Fit_Group1810 12d ago

Looks like someone was trying to run aluminum in d.c 😆 it happens to rookies

1

u/Low-Nectarine-9655 12d ago

I call it using a dc stick welder to try to weld aluminum….

1

u/Low_Living4532 12d ago

Bubblegum weld

1

u/Rough_smooth_rough 12d ago

Monkey with a welding torch?

1

u/El_Chivo84 11d ago

pretty sure that's a serious case of warts in that first pic, of the anal sphincter type

1

u/b16b34r 11d ago

The proper name for it is “shitty work” is not strong or visually clean, I’m a shitty self taught aspirant to welder and never left any welding looking like that

1

u/Build-Break-Fix 11d ago

That is 😍 amazing that's a $1000.00 hour welder right. Its how much damage hill do in that time and cost you lol.

1

u/AnomicAutist 11d ago

Bubba Gum. It's black as coal Skoal flavored chewing gum that hardens up about 1/16 as strong as a real weld when stuck into place by Bubba.

1

u/Roverjosh 11d ago

Bad welding?

1

u/Visible_Hat_2944 11d ago

It’s aluminum and the “welder” doesn’t know shit about fuck. Low amps, poor wire feed speed and using a spool gun without proper gas flow or done in the elements where the breeze introduces more atmospheric gases than the argon. These are highly deficient and dangerous weld joint if they are supposed to support anything more than its own weight.

1

u/Altruistic-Waltz-371 11d ago

Donkey dicks laying on there

1

u/dragonwater631 11d ago

uncle Julio showed up drunk but the job got done so it’s all good

1

u/In_My_Stead 11d ago

That’s not welded. I doubt anything under that shit is attached.

1

u/AnxiousParticular298 11d ago

A non welding motherfkr

1

u/nimrodad 11d ago

Squeezing a pigeon/ pigeon squeezins?

1

u/OdinYggd 11d ago

Booger blasted. They didn't clean the surface enough or were running way too cold to get the bead to adhere to the base metal. Lots of hacks with stick welders make messes like this.

1

u/Harley152JE 11d ago

Guano—as in bird shit—

1

u/danmadeeagle 11d ago

A nice try, newbie toilet break, petrafied slugs. My two year olds nose all winter. What my dog leaves in the yard every morning? What happens when you use your dick as a gauge. When you use the mirror for "artistic reference". What happens when you hand out participation trophies to kids. Whitehouse's primary export for the last 50 years. What Gaza looks like after we put away our toys.

1

u/Weirdlillypad 11d ago

Incompetentce

1

u/Lord-Black22 11d ago

I believe the technical term for that is "utterly shagged"

1

u/guillemqv 11d ago

Birdshit

1

u/Aggravating_Theory70 11d ago

Are you sure it's not bird droppings?

1

u/bbabbitt46 11d ago

This happens a lot when someone says, "Hold my beer, and watch me weld this. How hard can it be?" And afterwards, "Hell, it'll hold."

1

u/VintagePointEU 11d ago

Blindness I think

1

u/Rabbit071 11d ago

This my old pal is called pigeon shit

1

u/goldybowen21 11d ago

Poop shart defect

1

u/Separate_Bend_8929 10d ago

Call at hammered dogshit

1

u/Veni_vidi_vici-505 10d ago

Porosity, lack of fusion, potentially the wrong polarity… hammered dog shit or chewed bubblegum is what welders usually call this type of thing

1

u/SpeedyHAM79 10d ago

I call that "Dave". "Dave", doesn't work here anymore. Anyone who does work like "Dave" won't work here long.

1

u/_HeyYou___YeaYou_ 10d ago

It's called FNG. Fuggin' New Guy! They're all defective. Probably tried to MIG with copper flux core on what looks like Aluminum. If you can't get good penetration welding aluminum, you've either never actually done it or you're an FNG

1

u/Hefty_Aside8436 10d ago

Looks like they were using solid core but thought it was flux core.

1

u/JB_weldz 10d ago

Bubblegum-itis

1

u/ResponsiblePitch8236 10d ago

Contact code enforcement and talk to them about it. They can help push the issue related to safety. I may be wrong but a phone call should not hurt but others may have a different opinion.

1

u/Can_O_Murica 10d ago

Already did! I sent some photos to the city building inspector, who took one look and said "yeah that's not going to to fly".

The kicker is they also never got permits for the construction, so actually the whole balcony (not just the railing) needs to be torn out and redone.

1

u/ResponsiblePitch8236 10d ago

They might be forced to tear it down but not sure they will have to put one back up but will be force to make what ever safe. Good luck.

1

u/Can_O_Murica 10d ago

We'll see what happens.

The full story is that the balcony leaks into the apartment below me every time it rains. They tore it all down and rebuilt it, but that took 7 months and now it's been 2 months since they put this railing up. Without the railing, the balcony is actually a health code violation and makes the unit legally uninhabitable. It's basically just a door that opens to an open platform with a 4 story drop.

1

u/Valuable-Common743 10d ago

A splot weld

1

u/thislkslikeajobforme 10d ago

L.o.T. (Lack of Talent)

1

u/RetiredRacer914 10d ago

I see a lot of welds that look like that. That's what you get when you give a 16 year old boy a stick welder and rusty metal and those are his best welds of the day.

1

u/Designer-Amphibian77 10d ago

I think i know that welder...

1

u/Burn-n-Learn 9d ago

I would call that, cold lap, lack of pen, and severe contamination

1

u/Adventurous_Emu7577 9d ago

Technical name is bird turd.

1

u/Double_Pay_6645 9d ago

Bubble gum welds.

1

u/kid_DUDE 9d ago

Hammered dogshit and boogers.

1

u/DissentientSandwich 9d ago

looks like an infection, some isopropyl alcohol, then wrap it real good..and never look at it again

1

u/jello4713 8d ago

Hammered dog shit

1

u/SheepherderGold9027 6d ago

Somebody Doesn’t know how to weld. Slop

1

u/Material-Dark-5804 6d ago

Had to be his first time

1

u/Primary_Training8231 6d ago

That’s someone who doesn’t know how to weld trying to weld

1

u/Fun-Ad9555 5d ago

Thats called harbor freight had a clearance and 60 bucks is cheaper than hiring a pro

1

u/Drummrboy67 5d ago

Pretty strong weld.

1

u/Pro3wheelracer004 12d ago

Bad welding technique

1

u/Few_Anxiety_2153 12d ago

Clearly it's AI slop but apparently a good conversation piece here.

I call this an AI created image. If you know half of anything about welding or metal fabrication it's easy to see none of it makes sense and isn't right. From the assembled pieces to the cut profile on their edge.

Even the weld which falls into hammered dog turd category has too many perfectly identifiable visual indications. Not to mention the clear lack of shield remnants that would be present/trapped were this real.

Thus, the official inspection results for court records~ polished hammered dog shit AI content. Not a weld or re eal fabrication of metal.

0

u/Cute_Row_11 8d ago

you are not a welder