Welding class

[Butch 194]

I just finished up my 2nd night class for welding. It's a 10 week course, 1 night a week for 3 hours a night. It is stick welding and not mig. Teacher said he'd set me up with the mig welding later in the class. He said he teaches very little mig to his daytime students who go for 3 years. He says the other welding he teaches is harder and learning the other welding helps you easily change to mig. He said learning how to arc weld will help my mig welding.

Striking the arc and keeping it takes practice I can tell you that. It may be so easy that a welder doesn't even think about it but for someone like me it's a *****. Then to look for the "puddling" and moving slightly ahead of it takes a lot of practice. All we did was practice beads/welds on a piece of steel. I got better as the night went on but was hoping to do better than I did. Much tougher than it looks if you never have tried it. Had the steel glowing red a lot! We were practicing on 1/4" steel using large commercial Miller machines set at about 60 amps. I think we were using 6011 rods. I don't think we are gonna get into the part about which amp setting to use or which rod to use. I don't know. I just wanna learn how to make a strong weld with the proper penetration. Making a nice line/bead is gonna take lots of practice. I tried the zig zag and back and forth methods. But being able to see the puddling behind the rod and moving forward correctly isn't easy at all. And forget about having those nice little even ridges in the bead.

Glad I took the course and hope it can make a difference. I meant to bring home some steel to practice on with my mig but forgot. :)

[bustedglass 1]

Hang in there Butch. You will be an old pro in no time. Your instructor is right with regards to stick welding versus mig welding. Once you learn how to stick weld, mig will come easy .

I hired in at Caterpiller back in 1969 into their welding "school". All they had back then was stick welding, and duo shield wire welding for BIG welds. That duo shield wire was 1/8" diam. flux covered wire. And it burned HOT HOT HOT ...What a pain . Ask your teacher about it. Anyway, their weld school was 4 weeks long, then they turned you out on the production line. You either welded or you packed your sh** and went home.

Mig welding came along in the mid 1970's, and replaced the stick. I liked it simply because I didnt have to stop to change sticks. Well Im rambling here. My point is, you will find how gratifying it is to take some steel pieces and make them into something useful. I welded for about 16 years, and loved every minute of it, and Im sure you will too .

[Suburban 550 28]

Butch, Mike is right, once you pick up stick welding, mig will come easy to you. I never went to school for mig welding and picked it up pretty easy. The only problem is when you get older, the eyesight is not as good and the hands aren't as steady as they used to be. Good Luck with your schooling and I know you'll end up in the top of your class. :)

[fireman 1,022]

When I bought my welder last week, I spent an hour and a half with the manufacturing rep from Hobart who is a certified welder. He had a complete set up where we could practice. He coached me along the whole time. By the end even I was impressed with what I was doing. I hadn't done a ton of welding before but had a small gas-less mig and had been playing around with it for about 5 years. There are no classes around me so now I have to find someone who will continue helping me as I progress. My friend who works at a machine shop brought me a big box of scrap steel so I can practice all I want.

[stevasaurus 23,107]

Thanks for the update Butch...so are you older then the teacher? And remember... :wh:

[racinfool40 202]

:wh: Hang in there Butch It will come to you been a welder for 20 yrs now and I'm still learning. I have been to the Hobart school in Troy,Ohio for certification in structural steal and pipe welding. And been a structural stal welder for 10 yrs, then went into a factory which uses Mig welding to manufacture's forklifts and pallet trucks. Whick I'm currently layed-off from. But once you learn all tha little tricks and techniques you'll look back and appreciate all you have learned. and all the sudden you have friends you didn't know you had with little weld jobs...... I still find myself welding on scrap just to stay sharp!!

[VinsRJ 723]

I was a welder for a number of years..... its the one art form that requires nothing but practice. Good luck.

[Butch 194]

I remember looking at the stainless steel welds on Brian Buckranchers RJ and thinking how nice and neat they were. The ridges that are made in the weld were evenly spaced and sized. That's what I'd like to be able to accomplish this fall but I doubt I ever will. It does take lots of practice.

So now when I see something steel I look at the welds on it!

I also thought the sound of the stick arc sounded different than the bacon sound of the mig arc.