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what are the need to knows about welding?
#welding #welder #weld #job
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4 answers
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Jake’s Answer
I learned to weld by jumping right into it. I purchased a $250 wire-fed mig welder from harbor freight and went to town on a few scraps.
I know these type of books are a thing of the past, but many years ago I purchased the "welding for dummies" book. It gave me a great starting point.
Gas coverage, penetration, and amperage are all good places to start learning about.
Here are a few tips that I learned along the way:
- Cover up. Dirty metal will splatter and burn your clothes, legs, shoes, everything.
- Make your area clean- the sparks could ignite things that are all around you.
- Spend the extra money and get a nice mask. It will make learning so much easier.
- Progas, airgas or any other local gas supply store can get you hooked up with a small bottle of tri-mix for mig welding.
- Stick to Steel to start. Softer metals like aluminum must be tig welded and are harder to get a firm grasp on (at least for me.)
- I bought cheap tig welding gloves to start with my mig welder. They are a bit easier to move a round in so it helped me get acclimated with the torch.
- Clean Clean clean every piece of metal before you weld. The cleaner the metal, the easier it will be to weld it.
- Get a grinder and a wirebrush to clean the metal.
- Start with a cheap piece of angle iron from Home Depot/Lowes and just practice.
- Don't be afraid to mess up. It's fun to learn.
Hope that helps.
I know these type of books are a thing of the past, but many years ago I purchased the "welding for dummies" book. It gave me a great starting point.
Gas coverage, penetration, and amperage are all good places to start learning about.
Here are a few tips that I learned along the way:
- Cover up. Dirty metal will splatter and burn your clothes, legs, shoes, everything.
- Make your area clean- the sparks could ignite things that are all around you.
- Spend the extra money and get a nice mask. It will make learning so much easier.
- Progas, airgas or any other local gas supply store can get you hooked up with a small bottle of tri-mix for mig welding.
- Stick to Steel to start. Softer metals like aluminum must be tig welded and are harder to get a firm grasp on (at least for me.)
- I bought cheap tig welding gloves to start with my mig welder. They are a bit easier to move a round in so it helped me get acclimated with the torch.
- Clean Clean clean every piece of metal before you weld. The cleaner the metal, the easier it will be to weld it.
- Get a grinder and a wirebrush to clean the metal.
- Start with a cheap piece of angle iron from Home Depot/Lowes and just practice.
- Don't be afraid to mess up. It's fun to learn.
Hope that helps.
Updated
Curt’s Answer
The need to knows:
It is not an art form, anyone can be taught to weld!
There are some real dangers
-wear safety rated glasses at all times
-wear the proper shade lens in your welding hood
- wear the proper clothing, (no tennis shoes) leather welding gloves and leather coat.
-the sparks and the metal you weld on (because it gets red hot while welding on it) can and will start fires. Have a means to extinguish a fire within your immediate area.
-
- there is a learning curve, so don’t get discouraged when you have trouble, do some homework (you tube, google etc) and seek advice from instructors or persons with experience on the welding process you are trying to learn ie, stick, flux core, mig, tig.
-then practice, practice, practice and practice some more. Welding is physical you need to train your body to develop muscle memory and you can only do that through a lot of practice. Once you have muscle memory for the fundamentals (ie, stricking an arc, maintaining proper arc length and a few others) then you will be able to progress because you’re not thinking of the fundamentals anymore, they just happen (like when you learned to ride a bike, at first all you did was concentrate on balancing and you couldn’t keep the bike going straight but as your body developed muscle memory you forgot about balancing and started steering the bike ....progress!)
-seek out programs like union apprenticeships that won’t cost you money, ie, Ironworkers, Pipefitters, sheet metal workers. Once accepted into their apprenticeship you earn money by working a day job ( in their field) and then attend classes (usually 80 hours a semester) like welding and none of the schooling costs you money.
Ironworkers. Org
It is not an art form, anyone can be taught to weld!
There are some real dangers
-wear safety rated glasses at all times
-wear the proper shade lens in your welding hood
- wear the proper clothing, (no tennis shoes) leather welding gloves and leather coat.
-the sparks and the metal you weld on (because it gets red hot while welding on it) can and will start fires. Have a means to extinguish a fire within your immediate area.
-
- there is a learning curve, so don’t get discouraged when you have trouble, do some homework (you tube, google etc) and seek advice from instructors or persons with experience on the welding process you are trying to learn ie, stick, flux core, mig, tig.
-then practice, practice, practice and practice some more. Welding is physical you need to train your body to develop muscle memory and you can only do that through a lot of practice. Once you have muscle memory for the fundamentals (ie, stricking an arc, maintaining proper arc length and a few others) then you will be able to progress because you’re not thinking of the fundamentals anymore, they just happen (like when you learned to ride a bike, at first all you did was concentrate on balancing and you couldn’t keep the bike going straight but as your body developed muscle memory you forgot about balancing and started steering the bike ....progress!)
-seek out programs like union apprenticeships that won’t cost you money, ie, Ironworkers, Pipefitters, sheet metal workers. Once accepted into their apprenticeship you earn money by working a day job ( in their field) and then attend classes (usually 80 hours a semester) like welding and none of the schooling costs you money.
Curt recommends the following next steps:
Updated
Sidhesh’s Answer
Welding is the process of joining two plastic or metal parts by melting them, with or without using a further molten material. The heat produced by an arc is used in welding to melt metal rods, which solidify to provide a strong joint between two metal surfaces.
However, only four welding types are used commonly, and they are MIG, TIG, Stick and Flux- Cored arc welding
However, only four welding types are used commonly, and they are MIG, TIG, Stick and Flux- Cored arc welding
Updated
Celia’s Answer
We live in a time when fewer employers are hiring people who are untrained or for on-the-job training for a job like welding. Employers are rightfully concerned about risks of injury to the employee as well as losses from major errors. Therefore, they want to see that an individual has completed an accredited training program. It looks like El Paso Community College has a program and you could probably get student financial aid to help pay for the costs. These programs prepare you for the professional certification you will need and that will tell employers you have the skills they are seeking. Community Colleges also offer help for students who have had difficulty learning academics or for whom English is a second language.