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Went To a Welding Class Yesterday
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67ctbug
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:29 pm    Post subject: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

I went to a welding class yesterday at a really cool place called Stoneybrook Fine Arts. 4 hours of learning and welding. At the end they let us make some stuff from scrap. I really suggest this place if your around Boston and want to learn welding. They do other stuff too if you want to learn other things. Here's what I made...
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 6:23 am    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

Excellent, not for Everyone but Lincoln (the company that makes welders) runs a one week school. Friend of mine went,now he can weld anything. It's a good skill to have.
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 7:51 am    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

Nice, just know that you'll want to take some more advanced classes too, just because you can fuse two pieces of heavy scrap together doesn't mean that those skills will translate well when you try to do rust repair on your cars.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 6:42 am    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

I wish I could find a class like that around here. Everything is an actual school program, like Ivy Tech. I don't want to do a career in welding, I just want to fix my bus.
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67ctbug
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 7:05 am    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

I plan on taking a few more classes and practicing at home on the thin metal.
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KentPS wrote:
...or the PO envied the terrorists' bus in "Back to the Future". Laughing

mukluk wrote:
He's fine, just waiting for the dragon in winklepickers to move out of his lane.
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nsracing
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 7:07 am    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

Did your instructor say your welding is good to go?

If you don't mind I will critique your work... Your prep-work sucks. You have to remove all the rusty crud and make sure all the parts being joined are clean. Any inclusions will weaken the weld puddle.

You weld puddy also sucks. You don't have enough heat/current. If this is a MIG process your speed is too slow.

The root-weld in the pic is hardly adequate. Pay attention to the weld puddle. It has to be good quality. You have to learn how to weld similar thickness and different thickness materials.

When I was taught to weld, our challenge was to weld a blade to a large chunk of steel.

Mig welding is fun and easy. But understanding the fundamentals and committing them to memory will serve you very well.

I don't mean to bust your chops, but it is like a hanging curb ball. Very Happy

You don't mind, right?
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67ctbug
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 7:16 am    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

I don't mind at all. We had no control over the welder settings so that's not really my fault. The prep work is though. They did say I was really good. I was using a bench grinder to prep then a wire wheel on a grinder.
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KentPS wrote:
...or the PO envied the terrorists' bus in "Back to the Future". Laughing

mukluk wrote:
He's fine, just waiting for the dragon in winklepickers to move out of his lane.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 11:46 am    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

How much longer before you finish the class?

If you don't already have one, get you a welding book theory. Welding is not just laying puddle on metals. T?here is actually a science behind it.

You will learn setup, prep work, root weld, types of joints used in welding...buttweld, overlap...so on.

Brazing vs. welding -- many things contained in that particular welding book.
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67ctbug
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 4:38 pm    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

It was a one day thing, but they have more. I'm gonna go to a few more and the guy that used to have the Ghia said that if I called them, I could drop by and he'd let me do some practicing and stuff and I'd just have to help him out a bit around the place.
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KentPS wrote:
...or the PO envied the terrorists' bus in "Back to the Future". Laughing

mukluk wrote:
He's fine, just waiting for the dragon in winklepickers to move out of his lane.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 6:49 pm    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

They told you that puddle was good?

Go look up how to make puddles. It should look like little ripples tightly coupled together at least with stick arc welding.

Next class try to weld two ends of metal together. Then take it and try to bend it. If it breaks instead of bending at the weld you will know.
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67ctbug
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 6:57 pm    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

Yeah they did. So when I bend it I want it to bend right?
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KentPS wrote:
...or the PO envied the terrorists' bus in "Back to the Future". Laughing

mukluk wrote:
He's fine, just waiting for the dragon in winklepickers to move out of his lane.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 7:21 pm    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

67ctbug wrote:
Yeah they did. So when I bend it I want it to bend right?


That's correct. You can also wack it with a hammer to see if it cracks. A perfect weld will be as strong, if not stronger, than the surrounding material.

The best way to check results is with xray/etc equipment. They used to do this out in the field a long time ago. There might be better methods.

Just ask your instructor to be honest and true with you. You won't learn anything if he sugar coats it.

Just because a weld isn't coming out correctly doesn't imply your fault. Sticks can be bad as well.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 7:44 pm    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

I think it looks great for a first stab at the art/science that is welding, even the most proficient welder started somewhere and thier first bead was likely nothing to be proud of, some of mine sure weren't. The best way to learn is by doing (and sometimes F'ing it up), keep at it, skill doesn't happen overnight, it's earned with experience, mistakes and education.

But as previously mentioned there is science involved and years of previuos experimentation and testing that is passed down in books already, study up so you know why your weld is doing what it isn't expected to do and how to correct it.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 1:09 am    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

Running the bead is the easy part of welding. Learning how to set up and adjust the machine and selecting the correct filler rod or mig wire is the hard part. 30 years ago I took an evening Vo-Tech class twice a week for 12 weeks. We were 4 weeks into the class before we got to even turn on a welder. Taking the class was the best money I ever spent on my VW hobby.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 5:55 pm    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

Good for you for giving this a try and for sharing your experience. As I read it, this was your first lesson and with a 4 hour class of which maybe half would be theory and then half was practical hands on, I think that it's great that you have found something that gives you joy and an avenue to explore it further.

There are some on this site that would criticize a donation to charity so don't let those guys piss on your parade. Roll this post as you improve and you can look back at that first effort.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 6:05 pm    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

blue72beetle wrote:
I wish I could find a class like that around here. Everything is an actual school program, like Ivy Tech. I don't want to do a career in welding, I just want to fix my bus.


Fix your Bus, and build stuff too?

There's nothing stopping you: you'll want a decent machine, i.e., not something from Harbor Freight, etc. I recommend a MIG machine to start, with shielding gas delivery (no flux core!). And just so you know, MIG (metal inert gas) is formally known as GMAW (gas metal arc welding).

First, march over to www.weldingweb.com and create an account, just like you've done here...really sharp guys over there. Probe that site and read up on equipment. Then also visit www.weldingtipsandtricks.com invest some time, make it a goal to watch all of Jody's videos (you might even end up buying a TIG finger someday Very Happy I've got two and love 'em).

Take a look at this thread https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=673125 ...theDrew is self-taught, and he's come a long way. His welds aren't all beautiful, but if they're proper and function, that's most important. Bear in mind, not all beautiful welds are good welds. I've seen gorgeous beads (i.e., a "row of dimes") that had poor penetration or heat control, and ultimately failed. So go easy on yourself and work the fundamentals.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 6:41 pm    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

vwracerdave wrote:
Running the bead is the easy part of welding. Learning how to set up and adjust the machine and selecting the correct filler rod or mig wire is the hard part. 30 years ago I took an evening Vo-Tech class twice a week for 12 weeks. We were 4 weeks into the class before we got to even turn on a welder. Taking the class was the best money I ever spent on my VW hobby.


That's a good point. As I recall you can actually run a nice bead but not penetrate far enough into the metal. Is there a name for this?
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 7:05 pm    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

kawfee wrote:
That's a good point. As I recall you can actually run a nice bead but not penetrate far enough into the metal. Is there a name for this?

It's called Pretty good (more pretty than good in that case), there are better terms to descibe lack of penetration but this is a family oriented site Wink
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 7:08 pm    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

busdaddy wrote:
kawfee wrote:
That's a good point. As I recall you can actually run a nice bead but not penetrate far enough into the metal. Is there a name for this?

It's called Pretty good (more pretty than good in that case), there are better terms to descibe lack of penetration but this is a family oriented site Wink


Cusser, are you there?
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 2:48 am    Post subject: Re: Went To a Welding Class Yesterday Reply with quote

How about if the old school welders here post a pic or 2 of good welds w/ info on WHY they are good welds ??
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