Hombre,

I love your welding comment! That reminds me of the saying, "Wisdom always comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone."

Generally, the filler rod used in welding is stronger than the base metal. That means that after a full penetration weld is ground down to the exact thickness of the base metal, the connection should not break at the weld. However, there are many factors that can weaken the joint. Any flaws in the weld weaken it such as holes, cracks, or impurities. And the heat and cooling of welding changes the chemistry of the base metal around the weld which often makes it more brittle than it was originally. For these reasons, it is a good idea to add a gusset plate across the weld to reinforce the original weld and to add weld length to the connection. Obviously, if you divide the force acting on the joint by the weld area you calculate the stress on the weld. By adding weld length, the stress goes down.

Mark