How did you learn to weld?

[tunedportk5]

just make sure to wear a mask, a guy that use to work at my wife's work apparently spent a good part of a day welding something on his car with no mask and when he woke up the next morning he couldn't see. I would think it's common sence to wear eye protection but I guess not.

 

[Russell]

tunedportk5 brings up a very good point!

Esspecially when welding on galvanized materails, you get get a very nasty case of zinc posioning from a small amount of the white smoke let off.

Wear respirators, and eye protection is also a very good idea!

 

[ronnny]

I learned to weld on the job getting into maintenance as a helper. Learned on a stick cause there it was all we had. Angle iron carts round stock and then to thin tubing and just progressed to welding hyd pipe. Alot of pointers from everyone and practice on goverment work. Next job got into mig and soon as have some qft will get some to let me practice at work with there tig setups and go over what all to use with the different metals. Don't want to spend time in a class even though work will pay me back for any job related classes i take. Just at this job it is hard to do big goverment jobs. Hard to get bumpers past security.

 

[ntaj*ep]

There was a guy in my Diesal class that could stick weld like no one I have ever met, his family had been farmers. lol I would go across the hall to the welding shop and visit with friends taking that class and would be awestruck with some of the work they did (instructers) I think every time I tried to stick weld I F'ed something up, for some reason the MIG came easy to me. I do have some monkey jenes after all. I would really like to get into the TIG stuff but I think I'm getting ahead of myself......

 

[Drey]

I learned to Wire, Stick and Oxy-Accetalyne in a highschool class. also to weld thin sheetmetal IE my pickup fenders. Then last year in college I had another welding class, Stick-that part was cake, me and one other kid flew through every weld that had to be graded. Oxy-accetalyne was tougher, then we had acrash corse in plasma cutting and torching. damn near every farm boy in iowa can run a torch lol. This spring a deflector on a terragator boom busted off so i got to teach myself to weld stainless steel with a stick welder, we got the right rods it still wasnt that great with the crap welder we have in mallard.

 

[jjlaughner]

bought a mig to work on the blazer and started tacking things, then got some thick steel and started "melting" it together practicing pushing and pulling and circles then worked toward smaller stuff.

I'm using .030 wire in an 85amp mig with argon mix and seem to have good luck most of the time. Push the weld, auto tinting mask helps me, keeps from getting whiplash, good gloves that fit and a bib or sleeves makes for a better day welding...

 

[Thunder]

Yeserday I didn't even know how to spel welder. Today, I are one.
Thats how I learned to weld. BS my way into a fabricating shop and went from there. Ended up getting certified on boilers/seam fitting. Dont weld much any more tho. Just a little at work and home

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

A little in high school, this year I bought a MIG, and taught myself whatever else I needed to know.

 

[big jimmy 91]

Anyone can weld with a little practice...

It takes real skill and knowledge to weld properly , I have been welding for about 15 years and still learn a lot from the more experienced welders I work with

A small tack can be really strong but a really good looking weld can be poor and fail

My advice is get some real schooling for welding and practice alot
If in doubt about your skills let someone do your critical welds for you

BTW this is just a general statement about the welding post

Now lets build something

 

[HarryH3]

My wire feed Lincoln welder came with a video tape that shows how to get started, as well as some do's and don'ts. I also bought a book at Home Depot called Welders Handbook. It's an HP book that walks you through all types of welding, Oxy/Acetylene, MIG, TIG. It also has plans for a welding table, welding cart, etc. so you can practice on those before you start welding on truck parts.

 

[K5MONSTERCHEV]

In High School, I never took a welding class, we just welded! I took a beginning welding class, but it was a joke for hte most part. Learned GTAW and gas welding good. The equiptment makes the biggest difference! I would have to say my boss tought me how to weld, espically TIG!

 

[Greg72]

I'm now tired of asking favors and paying for my welding work. I learned to weld in high school and was pretty good at it but have not done more than a tack weld for sometime now. I will be buying a welder here soon and most likely be taking a basic refresher course as well. But I recall my high school teacher and that class and how much fun we had figured I'd ask the rest of you how you learned?

TRusty taught me!!!

Seriously..... I posted up a few pics and Rene must have spent two hours typing a response and suggestions about how to weld better. If you're committed to learning, I'd say buy the equipment...lay down a few beads and then post pics of them up here. You'll be amazed how much an experienced welder can tell you simply by looking at a couple of photographs...

 

[ntaj*ep]

TRusty taught me!!!

Seriously..... I posted up a few pics and Rene must have spent two hours typing a response and suggestions about how to weld better. If you're committed to learning, I'd say buy the equipment...lay down a few beads and then post pics of them up here. You'll be amazed how much an experienced welder can tell you simply by looking at a couple of photographs...

I might just do that.

 

[ntaj*ep]

Well I have everything (OK almost everything) I will hopefully have the correct plug in the garage tomorrow and the fun will begin.

 

[FMJ]

I just started a year ago, im decent at arc welding and pretty good at mig welding. I have been pratcing arc welding all weekend so I can start getting ready to build new body mounts.

 

[jjlaughner]

TRusty taught me!!!

Seriously..... I posted up a few pics and Rene must have spent two hours typing a response and suggestions about how to weld better. If you're committed to learning, I'd say buy the equipment...lay down a few beads and then post pics of them up here. You'll be amazed how much an experienced welder can tell you simply by looking at a couple of photographs...

yep, Rene and others on here helped me clean my welds up alot, now I'm limited to my machine (actually my garage wiring and $1200 for a new welder)

(thats suppost to be a thumbs up on the top )

 

[4xrick]

hey aaron you know I have a mig and a arc welder if you want to practice and i have a bunch of scrap laying around and i knowyou have some stuff sitting around your place to so you know how to use the phone if you want to use them just let me know and if you have been paying to get stuff welded why have you not called me?

 

[ntaj*ep]

hey aaron you know I have a mig and a arc welder if you want to practice and i have a bunch of scrap laying around and i knowyou have some stuff sitting around your place to so you know how to use the phone if you want to use them just let me know and if you have been paying to get stuff welded why have you not called me?

I would trade to get it done, luckily I haven't had anything to have welded for a while now. But now that I have a machine that will handle cages and what not I'm not worried about it.

 

[camiswelding]

went to lincoln school in simi vally california....

I did it because i was selling abstract metal sculpture,,, I was stupid and didnt get the certs,,, now I want to go get them 20 years later... I turn down too many welding jobs because I dont have the certs and they are required to bid on the job...
We have a local community college that has a vocational course for weldors... Ill get them there

cam

 

[ntaj*ep]

went to lincoln school in simi vally california....

I did it because i was selling abstract metal sculpture,,, I was stupid and didnt get the certs,,, now I want to go get them 20 years later... I turn down too many welding jobs because I dont have the certs and they are required to bid on the job...
We have a local community college that has a vocational course for weldors... Ill get them there

cam

Most likely where I will end up going to. I haven't decided how far I want to go though, I don't think I will need certs. but if its not too much more work I might go for it...