Patent ID: 7307238

Claim:
A method of measuring the quality of a type of stick electrode used in forming the root bead of a pipe joint, said electrode having a wire diameter, a length substantially greater than 12 inches and an upper exposed rod at the holder end, said method comprising: (a) preparing a standardized workpiece including two spaced plates with a groove between the plates having a set profile including a lower gap duplicating the root gap of said pipe joint; (b) mounting said standardized workpiece on an incline with said groove facing upwardly, said incline being at a fixed known angle; (c) selecting a stick electrode of the type to be measured; (d) connecting said rod head of said selected electrode to the power lead of a DC power source; (e) setting said power source to a given output current correlated with said type of electrode; (f) downward progressing welding along said groove to lay a root bead in said gap of said groove from an upper start position on said workpiece by progressively filing said gap; (g) discontinuing said root bead welding at a lower end position when a given length of said electrode has been consumed; and, (h) measuring the distance between said upper start position and said lower end position, said run out distance being indicative of a quality characteristic of a stick electrode.