Pullup bar welds failing

[mlub]

Hello all, Michael from Austin, TX here. First post on the forum, looking forward to exploring the site. I have a question about some pullup bars. Some welds have cracked where the pullup bars attach to the square vertical supports. It doesn't look like the welder got very good penetration on these welds and they're not holding up to the stress of people swinging around on them. The pullups bars extend into the vertical supports, so even if the welds fail completely, the bar won't come tumbling down.
I will be grinding away existing welds and redoing them.

Now my question: Do you see any benefit from adding gussets or will this just move the stress point somewhere else with no real strength gain?
I was thinking 6x6" 3/16" thick. Pics below. Note the sections are about 6' wide

Thanks
Michael

[digr]

Are the welds pulling away from the round stock? If so you should preheat the round before welding.

[Sberry]

This thing looks like it probably wiggles a lot,,, its a simple weld crack. How long did it take to get that way?

[FernTJ]

Now my question: Do you see any benefit from adding gussets or will this just move the stress point somewhere else with no real strength gain?
I was thinking 6x6" 3/16" thick. Pics below. Note the sections are about 6' wide

I don't see round stock going through the square on the visible end where one bar is higher than the next. That would be the easiest way to have the round going into the square, and makes me think that these are only but welds.

The gussets will take some of the stress off the but weld and help control flex at the joint. Both good things, so if you don't mind the way gussets look I say go for it.

[MMW]

Just grind the weld & reweld it. If it lasts another 5 or 10 years before another crack appears so what. Add gussets if you want but make sure they won't injure anyone.

[mlub]

Thanks everyone. I ended up adding 4" gussets the the pullup bars pictured above. There's another identical set which doesn't yet show any cracking. Plan to see how the gusseted side holds up and repeat on the other side if it needs it.
I'm suspecting that the bars will need to be maintained from time to time. There are at times up to 10 people(2 per section) on the bars at once, all swinging around. With the 6' span, there's some significant deflection in the round bar(on the order of a couple of inches). Not sure what wall thickness was used on the round bar. I'm guessing something around 1/4". The owner says he accepts the possibility that maintenance will be required and actually likes that there is some movement in the bar. He prefers the bar absorb some of the energy as opposed to that force being transferred to the athlete's joints.

Are the welds pulling away from the round stock? If so you should preheat the round before welding.

The welds were cracking on the square tubing side, not the round side.

This thing looks like it probably wiggles a lot,,, its a simple weld crack. How long did it take to get that way?

Yes there definitely is some movement when several people are on the bars. Bars were originally installed about 9 months ago.

I don't see round stock going through the square on the visible end where one bar is higher than the next. That would be the easiest way to have the round going into the square, and makes me think that these are only but welds.

The gussets will take some of the stress off the but weld and help control flex at the joint. Both good things, so if you don't mind the way gussets look I say go for it.

The end of round stock that you describe extends into the square tubing, but you're correct it doesn't pass all the way through. In that top picture, the first two sections on the left are made with a single bar. It passes through that leftmost vertical support. Same thing with the following two sections. Thanks for you feedback!