Does this welding class look good?

[Bigblue&Goldie]

As a hobbyist the main problem with community college courses is they are geared towards a career as a welder. I would love to find a good Tig course, but I'm not retaking a year of Arc welding to do it. I've paid my bills arc welding, and I have no desire to pick it back up now that I am a hobbyist. I bet someone could make a killing running welding classes geared towards automotives and motorsports. Being around offroad racing, most racers need to learn how to weld, but very few learn how to weld good because they lack specific training. I actually met my co-driver in a welding course.

 

[justanengineer]

By that logic he should learn brazing,its a dying art after all.

Replacing sheet metal is tacking, your not actually running a bead, well because you'll warp the metal.

Brazing is a dying art? Not running a bead? WTF?

Btw, neither is true, especially around auto restoration.

 

[trentonmakes]

Brazing is a dying art? Not running a bead? WTF?

Btw, neither is true, especially around auto restoration.

Brazing with oxy-acetylene is what I intended by that,and yes you don't see that anymore but was once standard practice.

Show me how you run a bead on a patch panel without warping the hell out of it?


Hell, a grinder can warp a panel if your not careful.

You said,
"a good program is targeted at creating professionals, not teaching hobbyists "just enough" for their auto/garage hobbies."

The OP, doesn't want to get in the trade, showed no real interest in learning anything then what he needs to patch up a car, hes not looking to make a career out of it!, he wants a hobby lol

Maybe you should re read the OP,

If he wanted to learn to be welder or start a career in welding, then your spot on!






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[trackwelder]

Brazing with oxy-acetylene is what I intended by that,and yes you don't see that anymore but was once standard practice.

Show me how you run a bead on a patch panel without warping the hell out of it?


Hell, a grinder can warp a panel if your not careful.

You said,
"a good program is targeted at creating professionals, not teaching hobbyists "just enough" for their auto/garage hobbies."

The OP, doesn't want to get in the trade, showed no real interest in learning anything then what he needs to patch up a car, hes not looking to make a career out of it!, he wants a hobby lol

Maybe you should re read the OP,

If he wanted to learn to be welder or start a career in welding, then your spot on!

The OP did show desire in possible learning from attending this class. There is very good advice here, along with bad advice. He now has everything needed to make an informed decision on becoming someone who knows how to weld or becoming a person who thinks he can weld.

Hell if all he plans on doing is a little panel work he can just glue it together.

 

[ZRX61]

My god.
The guy wants to weld a few panels for his car as a hobby and you're telling him to take hundreds of dollars worth of 10 hour a day welding classes? In the meantime telling him to ignore all other advice 'from wannabes'???

I could start a pompous and long-winded rant about why your advice ***** balls, but this thread already has one. I think the OP's smart enough to make up his own mind and decide which wannabe makes the most sense here.

Ignore him, he's just an engineer.

 

[ZRX61]

As a hobbyist the main problem with community college courses is they are geared towards a career as a welder. I would love to find a good Tig course, but I'm not retaking a year of Arc welding to do it.

Local college here doesn't have any firm prerequisites for any of the welding classes. I'd guess there's probably a few more that have the same idea.

They used to offer an Industrial Arts welding class years ago which was ideal for guys who just want to mess about at home. Covered all the basics etc.

OP still hasn't mentioned his location?

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Local college here doesn't have any firm prerequisites for any of the welding classes. I'd guess there's probably a few more that have the same idea.

They used to offer an Industrial Arts welding class years ago which was ideal for guys who just want to mess about at home. Covered all the basics etc.

OP still hasn't mentioned his location?

Not here. If I lived in Socal I'd head down to Long Beach and find a guy to show me the ropes; there are some amazing welders (and machinist) in that region! The guys that weld on our race cars are so damn precise that I wonder if they have gears in their wrists!

 

[Jacobson]

Thanks for all the advice.

Having idiots in the class is a non-issue for me. More seat time for me. I go to learn, not to make friends. I agree that night school will have fewer aimless slackers, on their own time and dime.

It seems the cost is not a screaming bargain, but it's not some obscene scam either. This is at a legitimate public state funded community college, not some for-profit mill.

I can totally understand both points of view. I am a big believer in learning the underlying ground up theory if you want to go all the way. But, I also see the efficiency of just learning what I want for the short run. As someone said, it will come down to my time availability and interest. I certainly don't mind learning some Arc theory, even if I may never use it. But, it might make me look at things a little differently, when I see a weld. I also like learning the right way, from day one.

 

[sberry]

Get a ticket, bring a grand and in a week I will have you claiming to be Jim Lincolns nephew

 

[Ign]

If you can stick weld well you can be the hero for a lot if things, eg if you ever need to put together mat'l thickness greater than what common MIGs can handle, a stick welder can do it CHEAP (good buzz boxes pop up in the used market all the time for $250-500). Plus if you're ever stuck in a rural area the most common machine is gonna be a stick welder. And they're far more versatile than wire feed for the common man. Sure, exotic wires are available but at your fingertips you'll have at least 4 rods available cheaply and readily.

MIG is convenient but stick is the McGuyver if YOU only have the skills. Kinda like how no one wants to drive stick anymore and have forgotten the benefits - they're just too lazy to learn.

OP, you seem willing to take the time and spend the $; education is never a bad thing. Do it!!

 

[Kracin]

Did you teach welding any welding classes during your time teaching? Do you know how to weld? I have seen first hand how difficult it is to retrain people who think they know how to weld without any training. Does this guy need to attend a welding training program to weld a few rockers on, absolutely not? Would he benefit greatly from completing a course, absolutely!!

You as a teacher should know education is just as valuable as tools and equipment.

welding is a skill not book read knowledge...

the best welders i've ever met were there because they started doing it, pushed through their problems, and got better as they progressed. not a single guy making 100k+ a year doing pipeline or structural welding ever mentioned learning anything from a class (or even going to a class for that matter). the best way to learn welding is to grab the basics from wherever you can, youtube is a good way to learn the basics before you strike an arc, before youtube you walked down the street to the local gearhead building his hotrod and asked him to show you how to start, simpler now that you can type it in and get the same advice to start.

you don't need to know the ins and outs of why welding works, how it happens, to weld decent/good you just need to know the materials, settings, and technique, all of which don't require electrical theory or serious metallurgy insight



(p.s. i was once in the same position, i thought a class would be beneficial because i didn't have a machine to use at one point, and figured that just being able to fiddle around and test different things as well as get some seat time on different machines was going to make me better.... all wrong, buying a midrange machine to start would be most beneficial because you'll get more than 20 minutes a day of time to test and weld things. as time goes on you'll see how much you really don't need a class to get started... the class is a good way to get a job doing minor maintenance stuff somewhere because you can hold up a piece of paper saying you took classes on it, but aside from that. i don't see why you should listen to a guy talk about a skill you should be working on to get better at. you can listen to a guy talk about how to hit a baseball, or you can step into a batting cage, learn the basics in a few minutes and go from there).

 

[Jacobson]

I want to maybe buy a cheap disposable MIG welder.
Is this possible? I don't even know if I will ever use it for real.
For now, I want something to try doing some tack welds on scrap metal.

Would a HF welder be adequate?
http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=welder

Craigslist also has many used welders, but most look VERY old,
and I don't even know what I need yet.

 

[Jacobson]

I will get some scrap metal and watch some videos.

I think I will look for a used MIG welder on CL.
Miller, Hobart, Lincoln 140 for 110V

It seems like gas is better than flux (no gas)
.023 or .024 or .025 wire sounds like it's for car sheet metal.

High quality wire sounds like it makes a big difference.
Can you suggest wire from Amazon ?

 

[trackwelder]

welding is a skill not book read knowledge...

the best welders i've ever met were there because they started doing it, pushed through their problems, and got better as they progressed. not a single guy making 100k+ a year doing pipeline or structural welding ever mentioned learning anything from a class (or even going to a class for that matter). the best way to learn welding is to grab the basics from wherever you can, youtube is a good way to learn the basics before you strike an arc, before youtube you walked down the street to the local gearhead building his hotrod and asked him to show you how to start, simpler now that you can type it in and get the same advice to start.

you don't need to know the ins and outs of why welding works, how it happens, to weld decent/good you just need to know the materials, settings, and technique, all of which don't require electrical theory or serious metallurgy insight



(p.s. i was once in the same position, i thought a class would be beneficial because i didn't have a machine to use at one point, and figured that just being able to fiddle around and test different things as well as get some seat time on different machines was going to make me better.... all wrong, buying a midrange machine to start would be most beneficial because you'll get more than 20 minutes a day of time to test and weld things. as time goes on you'll see how much you really don't need a class to get started... the class is a good way to get a job doing minor maintenance stuff somewhere because you can hold up a piece of paper saying you took classes on it, but aside from that. i don't see why you should listen to a guy talk about a skill you should be working on to get better at. you can listen to a guy talk about how to hit a baseball, or you can step into a batting cage, learn the basics in a few minutes and go from there).

You have your right to express your opinion even if it's wrong.

Do you think a welding class is all about theory and book work? There is hands on welding with an instructor who has the skills and patience to give you the basic skills needed to learn.

 

[nickleone]

Motorsport oriented welding:
http://tinyurl.com/pz8rs93
I went to Lincoln in 1974 and learned stick welding.
Hands on little class time.
They now offer many different classes.
Nick
Now a retired welder

 

[Ign]

You have your right to express your opinion even if it's wrong.

Do you think a welding class is all about theory and book work? There is hands on welding with an instructor who has the skills and patience to give you the basic skills needed to learn.

This x1000. In a real welding class you spend 5+ hours a day in a booth, doing nothing but laying bead after bead, mowing through coupons and rods. The benefit is professional guidance and critique, and if you're being graded it motivates you to do well.

Most days are less than an hour in the classroom, and many days you never sit at a desk at all.

Trust me, good vo-techs know that you get good by doing. Machine Shop Technology was the same, they give you a few hours of theory and terminology Day 1, then you're belly'd up to a lathe all day every day.

OP, I use import wire from HTP. Perfectly fine for your needs. Stay .023 on 110V machines, they're taxed at .030 but most people don't understand that.

 

[stihlntime]

I learned by the "hands on" method. Stick and brazing on the farm for years. Transition to mig was easy. If I were you I would check with local vo-tech or community college many offer adult continuing education classes . A local one around here offers stick classes for 100.00. Mig and Tig runs 450.00. Lincoln,Hobart and Forney all make great entry level machines.

 

[snail81]

weldingtipsandtricks.com taught me a lot. I never had any formal training but i won't hesitate trusting any of my welds for MY projects. That being said I don't dp pressure vessel stuff or anything like that. But I did build motor mounts for a v8 swapped jeep project and it did just fine. thats just my opinion.
And another thing you need to practice a lot

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com

 

[jimgood]

Stay .023 on 110V machines, they're taxed at .030 but most people don't understand that.

Where do you experts come up with stuff like this? Every weld I've done with my 110v machine has been with .030 wire, both flux core and shielded. Not a single issue. Ever.

 

[sberry]

That may be so and 030 cored is made for them but you can well trip a 20A breaker with 023 turned all the way up. You can use 030 but it doesn't help the machine any, in a larger machine it will carry more current, this helps.
Secondly the OP likely wants results, I havnt watched welding vids but it could be good as a hit and miss class, they are not always good either. I have seen some decent self learned types, most of them are not expert level, there is a certain amount of talent but some training is usually needed and I will also agree you don't really need to know mush about it to do it.
Results usually mean the intent is to build or repair something, the 200 compact mig was made just for this guy. Its got enough poop in it with 030 to build a little, with a little practice can weld anything on a car/pickup and yard tools, perfect for the landscaper type.

 

[sberry]

If a guy is 60 and retiring to build some yard art for grandkids then a 200 mig is for him. If he is 20 and daddy owns a construction or excavating outfit or plans on going in to construction or mechanical then some real effort in welding may be well worth the investment. Almost no other skill shows up as an investment in learning as fast, a young guy truly a good stick welder can go where he wants.
Work was decent or I boomed out and got stuck about 6 months at apprentice scale with a couple local outfits that in hindsight didn't realize might have been a gift but in 83 worked sucked and I had a pocketful on a gravy stick job.

 

[ncfh]

I just find it funny the over the top education camp recommends "The Modern Welding School."

lol.

In bigboy land, they are the joke of jokes.

They were an "okay" little school when Senior ran the show, but I hear son Dana has a serious habit he needs to feed, and treats the school like his personal piggybank.

We were discussing this the other day, curious to see how the new Federal educational standards play out with them, maybe they will finally give up.

 

[justanengineer]

If you want to buy a welder and go it alone I'd suggest not buying 110V or cheap new, buy something decent used that someone else already lost the depreciation on. Personally for MIG I prefer the old Millermatic (not Multimatic) 200, by many in industry theyre still considered the best or one of the best 250 amp MIGs ever made, theyre built like tanks, and are pretty cheap used. I bought two for $700 each on separate occasions (kept one and my father has the other) and guarantee they'll never be worth less than that unless I do something royally stupid.

 

[trackwelder]

I just find it funny the over the top education camp recommends "The Modern Welding School."

lol.

In bigboy land, they are the joke of jokes.

They were an "okay" little school when Senior ran the show, but I hear son Dana has a serious habit he needs to feed, and treats the school like his personal piggybank.

We were discussing this the other day, curious to see how the new Federal educational standards play out with them, maybe they will finally give up.

What you "hear" and what you know for fact Means all the difference. If your so knowledgeable please enlighten us meer peasants.

What is this Bigboy land you speak of?

 

[90zcar]

If you ever put in for a job that requires some welding it will look good on your resume as well.


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[LumpyMusic]

...High quality wire sounds like it makes a big difference.
Can you suggest wire from Amazon ?

My local welding store (Vern Lewis in Phoenix) sells excellent American made wire for less than the Lincoln stuff at HDepot, even less than the Yang Sung stuff at Freight by the Bay.

Actually, everything they sell (gloves, pliers, clamps, measuring stuff, magnets etc) is less expensive than other places. Plus the guys that work there are welders and can answer from experience questions you might have about a project. "Welder" - that's a person who welds. Just like "Plumber" is a person who plumbs and "Roofer" is a person who roofs.


Sgt Lumpy

 

[EdT]

I didn't read every post above, so if this is redundant, my apologies. My interest in welding lies mostly in light fabrication work Very little over 1/8" thick, but a variety of materials. I took a welding class years ago at the local vocational school and it was mostly burning ten pounds of 3/16 stick rod onto 3/8" plate. Not totally useless, but kinda off target. Over the years I have learned a lot on my own and I am now in the middle if the learning curve with TIG. You can learn something in a class, but for $500 you can do a lot of learning on your own and, IMHO, welding is 5% instruction, 20% innate capability and 75% (or more) practice. Like any art or craft, some folks are really good at it and others will never be more than adequate no matter how hard they try. For light fab work the Experimental Aircraft Association used to have some good courses. If I had money to spend on classes, I'd spend it in that direction rather than on a course that prepares you to stick weld bridges.

 

[trackwelder]

You can learn something in a class, but for $500 you can do a lot of learning on your own and, IMHO, welding is 5% instruction, 20% innate capability and 75% (or more) practice.

How would a person start welding with your training method? Would they watch a few YouTube videos and burn $500 worth of wire and gas and hope their technique is adequate ?

 

[trentonmakes]

Experience is just a name for someone else's mistakes[emoji106]

Get a welder and practice?

Look at your welds, too hot?
Wrong setting, high-low?
Wire feed?

You can learn a lot between youtube and Google, not to mention this site as well[emoji106]

Granted, it's much less trial and error when you have someone holding your hand, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. JMO

Nothing wrong with taking a class, especially if your planning a career.
Also, nothing wrong with learning on your own, if it's a hobby or for general use.

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

 

[ncfh]

Actually I DO know, I was just trying to be somewhat polite out of respect for Senior and the one or two instructors there who did/do try in spite of the "everybody graduates" mentality.

I know that I and other employers regularly laugh their graduates out the door when they come looking for a job.

I know that a certain Walmart had to be redone due to the weld defects I saw with my very own eyes and BCI wont touch another Modern grad with a ten foot pole.

I know my friends in DOT and Thruway are so familiar with their graduates that the term "modern dummies" has been in use for over a decade.

I know that there are exceptions and my observations don't speak for everyone who has passed through there, but believe me, the school does not have a good reputation

Bigboy land is just that, where the iron is stacked under adverse conditions and inspected by a third party.

 

[justanengineer]

Experience is just a name for someone else's mistakes[emoji106]

Get a welder and practice?

Look at your welds, too hot?
Wrong setting, high-low?
Wire feed?

So how does a home hobbyist determine weld porosity by sight? How do they quantify strength reasonably accurately so they know bad from good from best? These are both significant issues (among others and aside from book knowledge) when someone hasn't been taught properly or is learning. I have no doubts about signing off on the weldors I know's work by sight alone bc we've cut, dyed, stretched, and xrayed past samples of their work 1Mx over, but the home hobbyist who's never really tested their work other than "good nuff" doesn't really know dink, only how it looks. Their pretty welds could be (and IME usually are) porous as Swiss cheese and weak as snot. Any remotely decent welding program teaches students to evaluate welds using the proper methods, not just the hairy eyeball and big hammer.

I agree that if someone is only patching a few small spots of rust its no big deal if a weld fails, however many hobbyists in the minimalist hot rod and motorcycle worlds have been killed in relatively minor accidents bc they did something they shouldn't have and as the clubs sometimes call it, their car "broke." Its easy to say its only a hobby/project car but the ultimate test of a major floor pan, roof, or subframe repair is when the car starts to wrinkle and fold, and realistically these are the cars we tend to keep long term, hand down to kids, and often beat on the most. If you participate in any motorsports you see the reality of hobbyist quality welding, they inspect the **** out of cookie-cutter overdesigned tanks.

 

[trentonmakes]

Well unless they're blind it's clearly visible lol
Unless your talking about subsurface weld porosity?, then I'd say make sure your surface is clean, clean, clean, and your using proper gas flow.... Oh I know how does the average Joe know that?... Well, I'd reference miller's chart which is pretty good.
This will likely take care of 95% of issues with weld porosity. Google and youtube document this issue very well, as I've said a number of times.

I do agree, any structural welding shouldn't be left to an amateur and at a minimum have someone with experience oversee or possibly do the welding.
But what do I know, I'm not a professional welder and I never took the class.

IE:
http://www.weldguru.com/weld-quality-testing.html



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[sberry]

I have seen a couple Nascars I am surprised passed tech.

 

[Kracin]

You have your right to express your opinion even if it's wrong. [emoji38]_hitti

Do you think a welding class is all about theory and book work? There is hands on welding with an instructor who has the skills and patience to give you the basic skills needed to learn.

I'm talking about community college welding classes that are a 1 or 2 hour a week thing, yes there are some classes that will get you welding for a ton of hours a week but they won't be the cheap classes like op mentioned. In that same sense though welding for only 3 to 6 months in a class will only make you marginally better than just doing it on your own and asking advice from others who can throw some knowledge out.

Whether it's a class or your own time you'll only be as good as you want to be, I work with some people who get plenty of time with a mig gun and stick, and they haven't gotten any better at all, because they don't care to improve.

I still stand by my experience that the best welders I have met never stepped foot into a welding class.

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[Kracin]

So how does a home hobbyist determine weld porosity by sight? How do they quantify strength reasonably accurately so they know bad from good from best? These are both significant issues (among others and aside from book knowledge) when someone hasn't been taught properly or is learning. I have no doubts about signing off on the weldors I know's work by sight alone bc we've cut, dyed, stretched, and xrayed past samples of their work 1Mx over, but the home hobbyist who's never really tested their work other than "good nuff" doesn't really know dink, only how it looks. Their pretty welds could be (and IME usually are) porous as Swiss cheese and weak as snot. Any remotely decent welding program teaches students to evaluate welds using the proper methods, not just the hairy eyeball and big hammer.

I agree that if someone is only patching a few small spots of rust its no big deal if a weld fails, however many hobbyists in the minimalist hot rod and motorcycle worlds have been killed in relatively minor accidents bc they did something they shouldn't have and as the clubs sometimes call it, their car "broke." Its easy to say its only a hobby/project car but the ultimate test of a major floor pan, roof, or subframe repair is when the car starts to wrinkle and fold, and realistically these are the cars we tend to keep long term, hand down to kids, and often beat on the most. If you participate in any motorsports you see the reality of hobbyist quality welding, they inspect the **** out of cookie-cutter overdesigned tanks.

You can't sit in a classroom and get your welds tested for 10 years. Even an experienced welder who isnt having anything xrayd is going to say"good nuff"when not on a job site doing structural work. In that same sense they won't need to xray something if it looks like dog poo to start and never was prepped right

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[trackwelder]

I'm talking about community college welding classes that are a 1 or 2 hour a week thing, yes there are some classes that will get you welding for a ton of hours a week but they won't be the cheap classes like op mentioned. In that same sense though welding for only 3 to 6 months in a class will only make you marginally better than just doing it on your own and asking advice from others who can throw some knowledge out.

Whether it's a class or your own time you'll only be as good as you want to be, I work with some people who get plenty of time with a mig gun and stick, and they haven't gotten any better at all, because they don't care to improve.

I still stand by my experience that the best welders I have met never stepped foot into a welding class.

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These welders that you speak of from experience why are they the best? Do all their welds pass X-ray inspections while the welders who had formal training have welds that fail? Let's hear about your vast experience. What are they welding and where?

I have close to 25 years experience welding and the majority of the best welders I have encountered have some welding class time in their resume.

 

[Kracin]

These welders that you speak of from experience why are they the best? Do all their welds pass X-ray inspections while the welders who had formal training have welds that fail? Let's hear about your vast experience. What are they welding and where?

I have close to 25 years experience welding and the majority of the best welders I have encountered have some welding class time in their resume.

just the best i've had experience with, not the best period. and i have no idea about their xrays but seeing the flawless prep work, welder setup, metal identification, rod selection and ability to lay down in any position without gaps, holes, or otherwise. not to mention the experience they brought to my shop from their previous work, one being a piping superintendent for kiewit who was far more knowledgeable and skilled than any other person i know when it came to stick welding. his own accounts of whether or not a class is needed is proof enough for me to know that a class can only get you so far, and having an experience person to show you a few things to get you started is just enough too before you get experience under your belt.

obviously a lot of people can have different experiences so this is not a thing where i'm saying its 100% the way it is. not to mention welding in the real world is different than running coupon after coupon after coupon in controlled conditions with the same machine over and over. class vs real world is pretty different.

 

[LumpyMusic]

Anyone here taken a class in soldering? I guess I could say I did when I took electronics in HS. But I sure didn't attend trade school or VoTech or Community College to become good at soldering. I just plain soldered a lot of stuff together. I don't know how to operate a CAD CAM flow oven and I probably wouldn't feel comfortable sending my dog up in a space shuttle that I'd built. But I'll sure solder my car, my lamp, my ham radios, my kitchen oven together. With a regular pencil iron and a low power magnifier I can solder and desolder surface mount components. On the other end of the scale, I can solder together sheet metal duct work with a gas stove heated iron and solder ingots. Maybe I should take ballet dancing lessons (again?) because "Knowledge is a good thing".


FWIW - My father, the WWII SeaBee, and his unit built landing strips and bridges on tiny islands in the Pacific out of welded steel grid using stick. I'm not sure if it was AC or DC, not even sure if it was with a dedicated welding machine. Could have been some kind of aviation APU, portable generator, bulldozer or tank electrical system, banked batteries. I'm pretty sure not one of those SeaBees took a class at the VoTech. They were tradesmen who hired on with existing skills. Not green grunts who were taught by the military.

Similar scenario with my grandfather and two uncles who worked on building Hoover Dam.

And I'm pretty sure it was a similar scenario with all the guys who welded together ships and submarines and airplanes in WWII.


Not really sure if any of that applies to the topic. Except that in the case of the OP, I'm really confident he can learn how to MIG some sheet metal together very well by watching some guys do it on Tube of You and just plain practicing for a couple hours. Nobody X-Ray's body panel spot welds. They're not structural. The only finesse at all needed is for the warp factor. Other than that, the worst weld in the world, an angle grinder and some glazing putty would look and function exactly like the best weld in the world.

And all of that whether or not the guy learned to stick or TIG first.


Sgt Lumpy

 

[trackwelder]

Anyone here taken a class in soldering? I guess I could say I did when I took electronics in HS. But I sure didn't attend trade school or VoTech or Community College to become good at soldering. I just plain soldered a lot of stuff together. I don't know how to operate a CAD CAM flow oven and I probably wouldn't feel comfortable sending my dog up in a space shuttle that I'd built. But I'll sure solder my car, my lamp, my ham radios, my kitchen oven together. With a regular pencil iron and a low power magnifier I can solder and desolder surface mount components. On the other end of the scale, I can solder together sheet metal duct work with a gas stove heated iron and solder ingots. Maybe I should take ballet dancing lessons (again?) because "Knowledge is a good thing".


FWIW - My father, the WWII SeaBee, and his unit built landing strips and bridges on tiny islands in the Pacific out of welded steel grid using stick. I'm not sure if it was AC or DC, not even sure if it was with a dedicated welding machine. Could have been some kind of aviation APU, portable generator, bulldozer or tank electrical system, banked batteries. I'm pretty sure not one of those SeaBees took a class at the VoTech. They were tradesmen who hired on with existing skills. Not green grunts who were taught by the military.

Similar scenario with my grandfather and two uncles who worked on building Hoover Dam.

And I'm pretty sure it was a similar scenario with all the guys who welded together ships and submarines and airplanes in WWII.


Not really sure if any of that applies to the topic. Except that in the case of the OP, I'm really confident he can learn how to MIG some sheet metal together very well by watching some guys do it on Tube of You and just plain practicing for a couple hours. Nobody X-Ray's body panel spot welds. They're not structural. The only finesse at all needed is for the warp factor. Other than that, the worst weld in the world, an angle grinder and some glazing putty would look and function exactly like the best weld in the world.

And all of that whether or not the guy learned to stick or TIG first.


Sgt Lumpy

Anyone here take a class in making toast? I usually make toast in a toaster.
I can also make toast using a Bic lighter and even use my finger instead of a knife to spread the jelly. ��

Who gives a **** if you can solder or desolder a component? It's not even in the same realm.

 

[trentonmakes]

The wife could use that class lol

I mean, how do you burn pasta? [emoji33]

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