Starting welding class on Monday

[FigureItOut]

I finally found a welding course suitable for my needs at our local technical school. It's not really advertised for whatever reason but unlike every other course I've found it is NOT intended for someone who's pursuing welding as a career. It'll be three hours on Monday nights for 10 weeks.

Anyway I thought I'd try to get some suggestions on how to make the most of it from my fellow GJ members. I recently got the Lincoln 210 MVP, and I'll mostly be doing hobby type stuff, modifying my trailers and such, light repairs, brackets for whatever etc.

It's a small class, just 6 students, and they'll teach the the major processes as well as an intro to plasma cutting and oxy-fuel. I saw the shop and it's pretty nice. It's the same shop they use for the full time welding program so it's well equipped, they have the 3 biggest grinders I've ever seen and several Wilton bullets, which I take as a good sign.

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[RotaryTech]

Good luck in that class.

Ive been through a welding program at a Tech college near me, going for a degree, almost done, just need a few CAD classes.

MIG process is fairly easy to learn.
Ive taught my brother just a few things, he's been welding things for his car.
Ive done hard wire, flux core, and aluminum.
Aluminum was the most annoying for me and the most memorable, the machine I was on always bird nested, or I burn back the contact tip. I was testing once and had a piece of molten metal rest on top of my arm, I just let it burn, lol. One day the air conditioning system went out, +80 degrees in the shop, good field experience though.

They had us making beads on T-joints and **** joints mostly on 3/8 plate.
It gets repetitive, but its what it is.
Sometimes you have to find ways to keep yourself entertained. Challenge yourself, weld with your other hand, or in a different position, or make small side project using scrap.
One time I welded pipe, it wasn't required at the time, just did it.

Arc (aka stick) was my least favorite process, ok i hated it.
You will get burned with this process, even hot slag will burn you in the weirdest places, it can get frustrating, you will hate the number 6010 and love the number 7018.
I was literally amazed I passed this process. It was the 1st process I learned in the program too.

TIG. I love TIG, I loved it before I got into it.
One thing I still haven't learned perfectly is to feed the filler through my fingers.
I welded mild steel , stainless steel, and aluminum.
With stainless, the shielding is key for color, I made plates that blocked air flow on what I was welding, ex: **** joints I'd put plates on top and on either side of the joint as to create a channel.
It was said that you'll make some of your best welds in TIG.

On to cutting class.
Oxy Fuel:
Preheat what your cutting.
For line cuts, try pushing or pulling the torch for a better cut.
When cutting a hole don't let the molten puddle that forms get to that state or get too big, other wise you'll splash molten metal all over. You want just before/right as it turns to a puddle to pull the trigger to make the hole.

The welding department is really good at the college I went to, great instructors that are passionate in what they do.
Hope you get the same. Some places though that's not the case.

I think that's it.
Long post but I felt like sharing.

 

[MarkWilliams60]

Feeding tIG through your fingers ? I do it watching movies. Both handed. Been Tiggin' for 35 plus years but seldom get a chance to actually do it. Feeding that rod is like guitar practice and if you cant do it you can't be a real good Tigger. It's the so-caalled trick to "stacking dimes"When I do get to TIG it's mostly for fine stainless.

Aluminim TIG ? That's the ballet of welding. If your teacher is an ace butg the hell outa him ! I seriously doubt he is.
I farm that out to guys who do it every day. You've seen those toolboxes and fancy auto parts. You don't do it all the time , it aint happenin'.
Hello puddle ! G' bye puddle
You welders know what that is

 

[stsmytherie]

I just finished a second semester of a class like this.

My advice is to take advantage of the opportunity to get as much hands on time with the tools and get feedback from the instructors.

We ended up having plenty of time to focus on personal projects and I found being prepared ahead of time for making progress during each class was great. My interest was high, I was making things, and I could get advice on how to approach the project, how I was doing, how to fix errors.

You meet some nice folks at welding class, too.

 

[rockinacummins]

You will enjoy it. Make as many contacts as you can while you're there. And MAKE the instructors help you. Show them you are there to learn as much as you can in the short time you will be there. Don't be the guy that just wants to get good enough to make a few gifts for your wife/gf/mom whatever. Be the guy that wants to get really good at everything they throw at you.

They will tell you, prep is everything. I was taught that you should do 10 minutes of prep for every minute of welding (not always true, of course) but something to keep in mind.

Like I said, you will enjoy it. Dont be afraid to take notes cuz you won't be able to remember everything.

 

[ZRX61]

They'll have a metalworker someplace for cutting practice coupons. Ask if you can bring some steel in & cut it to size for practicing at home.
Get a piece of 6x6in 1/2in plate & turn it into a piece of 1 1/2in plate by running beads across it.

 

[TauntDevil]

Very lucky. Wish I had the same chance. The closest class to me that is both affordable and near by is at a local welding shop. However, it goes just like most other classes. "If it penetrates and holds, its good." which is all dandy and good but I already got the penetration down (Gigaddy) but just not the looks :/

Best of luck. I saw try not to over think it. When I first started, I found myself over thinking every detail. Confused the heck out of me until I actually said F' it and bought the stuff, started doing it. Then it clicked.

 

[FigureItOut]

Thanks for the tips gentleman. I'm very excited to start. I wonder if anyone ever brings their own machine to a class like this. It would seem there'd benefit to learning on the same equipment you're going to be using.

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[Zeke]

Never heard of bringing your own welder to the class but I do think that's good idea. What happened to me though, was that they had my machine and we got it out. What I learned is I own a ************* compared to what they have. Since I really can't afford a Miller XMT 304 I'll just have to appreciate what some people have.

 

[tractordude]

Thanks for the tips gentleman. I'm very excited to start. I wonder if anyone ever brings their own machine to a class like this. It would seem there'd benefit to learning on the same equipment you're going to be using.

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Don't bother bringing the machine with you, tech schools have pretty nice equipment. Once you learn on a good machine, you can throw out nice welds on a homeowner unit.
That said, if you think your a good welder on your homeowner unit, you will be amazed at what you can do on a professional unit.
The challenge is to feel comfortable holding a holding a larger stinger/gun, compared to what you have at home. IMO

 

[My Old Tools]

I did a similar class last year in Mesquite at Dallas County CC. We did the survey of all processes, then it was open to do whatever you wanted to practice and build a project. I did some AL tig on some repair parts. I wish I had known about Steevo benches back then. I would have built my first one in class. I just finished my second one this morning. Our instructor was good on bringing your own equipment and getting one on one help with it. He was a really good welder and instructor.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I took a similar class some years ago. All we had to bring was a mask, gloves, welding coat and safety glasses. The school had a deal with a local welding supply store to pick up those items for a very reasonable cost.

 

[G-ManBart]

I wish I had a class like this locally, but nobody seems to offer one. So, recently I said the heck with it, and started teaching myself using YouTube, and a welding section on another forum with some very experienced welders.

I started with brazing and gas torch welding, then moved on to stick. When I get reasonably competent with stick I'll probably try MIG and then TIG. I've been trying to do 30-60 minutes a night 4-5 times a week, and after a couple of weeks I'm to the point I feel like I can generally get two pieces of metal to stick together reliably. I just finished up my first welding project...made a rear brush screen for my dozer. It was pretty cool to be able to actually fabricate something myself!

The funny thing is I've already ordered another welder (should get here tomorrow)....good thing my wife will be out of town

Definitely take notes, and maybe even pictures with your phone. With someone there to make instant corrections when you have a problem you should progress a lot faster than those of us who have to make mistakes, do research, get feedback, then try again the next day....have fun and post some pics of your progress.

Bead pictures are cool!

 

[Thumper68]

My biggest advice is to pay attention to the instructor and ignore the other guys as much as possible, some of them will be treating it more as a social outing than a learning chance and will talk your ear off if given the chance.

Since it is only 3 hours a week I would get the most out of the machines they have there and continue to practice at home with your own machine.

 

[64merc]

My biggest advice is to pay attention to the instructor and ignore the other guys as much as possible, some of them will be treating it more as a social outing than a learning chance and will talk your ear off if given the chance.

Since it is only 3 hours a week I would get the most out of the machines they have there and continue to practice at home with your own machine.

Yes, this is good advice. I am pretty much a loner, so I didn't have much trouble ignoring everyone.

I took a similar class last year, and my experience was that pretty much everyone else was a lazy *** with money to burn. Every time the instructor would even hint at letting out early, everyone would vote to leave. Pretty soon, it got to be a 3 hour class instead of 4 and I was the only one left. The instructor even started packing up early, so I felt pressured to leave. I didn't leave until the time was up though.

I can't understand why someone would pay good money to learn to do something fun, and leave early? I worked all day and was tired too. Who knows...

 

[FigureItOut]

I can't imagine someone paying that kind of money and not getting the most they could out of it.

Anyway, there ended up being just five of us and everyone seems pretty serious about learning. At the suggestion of the instructor we voted to do 2 nights a week for 5 weeks, which I think will be more effective.

I got there a half hour early and chatted with the instructor. He's hinted that he kinda wants to try my machine, so I'll probably bring it at some point.

The have: Several Tweco Fabricator 211i's, 6 Miller Syncrowave 200's, several Miller mig machines I can't recall the model of, and several Esab plasma cutters. There's an iron worker, a throatless shear, a small brake, a big shear, both oxy-acetylene and oxy-propylene setups, several Wilton bullets, the giant grinders, and torch jig type machine I can't recall the name of, and I'm probably missing a few things.

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[64merc]

I can't imagine someone paying that kind of money and not getting the most they could out of it.

Anyway, there ended up being just five of us and everyone seems pretty serious about learning. At the suggestion of the instructor we voted to do 2 nights a week for 5 weeks, which I think will be more effective.

I got there a half hour early and chatted with the instructor. He's hinted that he kinda wants to try my machine, so I'll probably bring it at some point.

The have: Several Tweco Fabricator 211i's, 6 Miller Syncrowave 200's, several Miller mig machines I can't recall the model of, and several Esab plasma cutters. There's an iron worker, a throatless shear, a small brake, a big shear, both oxy-acetylene and oxy-propylene setups, several Wilton bullets, the giant grinders, and torch jig type machine I can't recall the name of, and I'm probably missing a few things.

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Hey, 2 nights a week sounds awesome! Less time to forget stuff. It sounds like you have a good class. Hope you have fun and learn a lot.

Using the iron worker was fun for me!

 

[stsmytherie]

My only complaint about welding class is that I've become accustomed to the luxury of working with a watercooled Dynasty 210. Any problems with my TIG welding are certainly not the tool's fault.

Not really a complaint. It was great learning with good tools.

Let the instructors watch you work and give feedback. Get them to demonstrate and get in _close_ to watch what they're doing. The basics are pretty easy, but I encountered a few "Aha!" moments along the way that really improved my welding.

I bought a bunch of flat, square and round tube and spent a few weekends cutting and fitting up different kinds of joint setups to work on in class, including plug welds, fishmouthed tubes. Use your free time to get stuff ready so you can spend class time welding and learning instead of fabbing.

 

[BikerDad]

I can't imagine someone paying that kind of money and not getting the most they could out of it.

What leads you to think that they're paying with their own money??? There's a good chance they're in there on student loads/grants or workforce training.

 

[FigureItOut]

What leads you to think that they're paying with their own money??? There's a good chance they're in there on student loads/grants or workforce training.

I suppose you have a point. In any case, a class like this would be adults, they don't HAVE to be there. I can't imagine what that would do to the morale of the instructor.

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[FigureItOut]

Ran torches Monday, and plasma cutters today. Absolutely awesome. I got pretty transfixed watching the plasma arc blow metal away, it's just fascinating to watch. I forgot to take pictures, but I cut out a pretty tight spiral from some 12 gauge, did some miter cuts on expanded metal that fit up pretty nicely, and etched a portion of my business logo into some 3/8". Absolutely thrilling, somehow I enjoyed torch cutting more, but maybe that was because my plasma torch had a messed up trigger that made it difficult to work with.

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[Furious Filipino]

Following the thread to see your progress.

I'm signed up for 2, semester long, welding classes for a total of about 6 hours of lab time each week. Seems like the missing fabrication skill in my repertoire, so I finally pulled the trigger.

The community college is 5 minutes away and the class schedule at night works out. I already MIG weld and routinely see all the different processes get used by the pros (I'm in the high pressure gas industry for my day job).

 

[FigureItOut]

I'm signed up for 2, semester long, welding classes for a total of about 6 hours of lab time each week. Seems like the missing fabrication skill in my repertoire, so I finally pulled the trigger.

I wish my class was that long. I'm gonna get just 2 nights on each process, and the last night for coaching on whatever we think we need the most help on. I can already tell we're not going to get nearly the feedback and correction I was hoping for.

Not starting mig until week after next, but I had a couple "aha!" moments out in the shop practicing tonight. First, I don't freaking breathe while I'm welding. Once I realized that, it got a lot more comfortable to just sit and lay beads one after the other.

On the other, maybe someone can tell me if I'm on the right track here. It seemed like I'd been focusing too heavily on my gun, and where I was pointing the wire. I seemed to get better results when I started focusing on the puddle. I noticed that as I move along, the puddle elongated a bit, and had kind of a tail. It seemed like if I could keep the tail a certain length by adjusting my speed, I had a more consistent bead.

The other thing that sort of seemed to work was to think of the weld happening in the puddle, rather than the tip of the gun. I started trying to move my puddle with the gun, instead of moving the gun where I wanted the puddle, and maintain its shape. Sound like a more effective mindset?

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[NewShockerGuy]

I am doing the same! Always wanted to weld and think of so many things that I could make if I knew how to.

My local community college which is about 8 minutes away has the following, which I've already signed up for the entire curriculum:

1st Semester:
WEL 120 Introduction to Welding 2
WEL 121 Arc Welding 2

2nd Semester:
WEL 122 Welding II (Electric Arc) 3
WEL 150 Welding Drawing and Interpretation 2

3rd Semester:
WEL 160 Semi Automatic Welding Processes 3
WEL 130 Inert Gas Welding

Most of the classes are anywhere from 1hr lecture and then 2-3 hours of lab time.

Should be fun and actually pretty excited about it.

Report back once you start taking the class to let us know how it is.

The above actually counts towards some welding certificate. Even though this is strictly for personal growth who knows.

-Nigel

 

[mason_tay]

Don't let your instructors just be there. Keep going to them and asking for tips, pointers, ect. I usually make an e motion when I'm mig welding. I'm no pro and learn something new every day, but I think I just enjoy it more than anything. Also when practicing I think I learned more running longer beads than short ones. Here's some from last night at work.

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[vintagespeed1956]

...I seemed to get better results when I started focusing on the puddle....The other thing that sort of seemed to work was to think of the weld happening in the puddle, rather than the tip of the gun....

yep, you've got it. you control the width and depth of the puddle with your distance from the puddle (arc length), speed and movement of the filler wire. concentrate on the puddle and how you're penetrating the metal around the puddle and your hand will automatically position the gun where you need it.

concentrate on good penetration, speed and consistency in the puddle and those "pretty weld" beads will follow.

 

[Furious Filipino]

I am doing the same! Always wanted to weld and think of so many things that I could make if I knew how to.

My local community college which is about 8 minutes away has the following, which I've already signed up for the entire curriculum:

1st Semester:
WEL 120 Introduction to Welding 2
WEL 121 Arc Welding 2

2nd Semester:
WEL 122 Welding II (Electric Arc) 3
WEL 150 Welding Drawing and Interpretation 2

3rd Semester:
WEL 160 Semi Automatic Welding Processes 3
WEL 130 Inert Gas Welding

Most of the classes are anywhere from 1hr lecture and then 2-3 hours of lab time.

Should be fun and actually pretty excited about it.

Report back once you start taking the class to let us know how it is.

The above actually counts towards some welding certificate. Even though this is strictly for personal growth who knows.

-Nigel

Are these classes through NOVA? I moved from the DC metro area, Capitol Hill, to San Francisco.

 

[3 Gun Shooter]

Following the thread to see your progress.

I'm signed up for 2, semester long, welding classes for a total of about 6 hours of lab time each week. Seems like the missing fabrication skill in my repertoire, so I finally pulled the trigger.

The community college is 5 minutes away and the class schedule at night works out. I already MIG weld and routinely see all the different processes get used by the pros (I'm in the high pressure gas industry for my day job).

Are you going to Chabot in Hayward or Los Pasidos in Livermore?

 

[Furious Filipino]

Are you going to Chabot in Hayward or Los Pasidos in Livermore?

Las Positas. Chabot has machining but no welding, as far as I know, and Las Positas has welding and auto.

 

[EdT]

If the class lends itself to becoming really good at one thing, that's what I would do. Spending an evening being "exposed" to some kind of welding isn't bad, but it's not as good as six or eight evenings getting reasonably competent at one particular thing. Pick what you would be most likely to do or have had the hardest time with and focus on that. I took a welding course years ago and learned a lot about padding plates on heavy iron work. What I was really after was sheet metal and tubing. Burning through ten pounds of heavy rod is not going to do much for your tube work other than seeing what your looking at. On that topic, get a decent helmet. It makes a world of difference.

 

[FigureItOut]

If the class lends itself to becoming really good at one thing, that's what I would do. Spending an evening being "exposed" to some kind of welding isn't bad, but it's not as good as six or eight evenings getting reasonably competent at one particular thing. Pick what you would be most likely to do or have had the hardest time with and focus on that. I took a welding course years ago and learned a lot about padding plates on heavy iron work. What I was really after was sheet metal and tubing. Burning through ten pounds of heavy rod is not going to do much for your tube work other than seeing what your looking at. On that topic, get a decent helmet. It makes a world of difference.

That's what I'm going to shoot for. I think I can become reasonably competent at mig, and I won't have the time to learn much about tig, plus I don't have tig equipment. So I'm going to try to focus on stick. I'll use it a lot, and I definitely need work on it.

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[My Old Tools]

I focused on TIG because I couldn't do it at home. My advice is to pick a project pretty quickly that will force you to weld some. I waited awhile to start my Steevo benches and it showed on the first few beads. It got better.

 

[FigureItOut]

My first few beads with 7018, such a difference from the 6011 I've been working with. The top bead is my very first, second down is my instructor's bead showing me I was going too fast, then they got a bit better. I didn't get in a good position until I staeted on the other side of this plate, so there's some globs where I repositioned myself.

There's some guys in there struggling quite a bit, so I don't get much time with the instructor. So far, he hasn't actually watched me weld and give immediate correction, which I want. He kinda gets us going, and then smokes a lot, swinging through intermittently. I'll be remedying that. I'm a smoker, but this just isn't working for me. I have very limited class time and I'm going to need to insist he's there in the shop more.

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[vintagespeed1956]

doesn't look too bad to me man, still running maybe a little fast (cold) in some spots on that bottom bead, but hard to tell from the angle of the pic.

 

[FigureItOut]

doesn't look too bad to me man, still running maybe a little fast (cold) in some spots on that bottom bead, but hard to tell from the angle of the pic.

Thanks. I'm definitely seeing that I'm going too fast with just about every rod I use. I have a tendency to match my travel speed to the speed at which the rod burns down.

Anyhow, I did pull off a couple decent joints with 7018 tonight. A T-joint:

A little flat I guess, but I was fairly happy. My first couple t-joints were almost concave, so this was an improvement.

And a decent lap joint:

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[vintagespeed1956]

that's looking really good man. in the class do you cut up your coupons and check the depth?

 

[FigureItOut]

that's looking really good man. in the class do you cut up your coupons and check the depth?

We haven't been yet, but we've done some **** joints to check out the back. We'll be doing that later, as we'll have a chance to take a cert test at the end of the class. I've no reason to get certified, but I'm gonna go for it just because. I'll decide what cert to go for when the time comes, but probably 1F or 1G.

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[steel 35]

Nice; Now get to cracking on the vertical.

 

[BD1]

You are doing fine ! Remember mig welding can provide beautiful welds BUT some have NO PENETRATION ! Looks great put holds for shlt ! No a bend test to see what you are doing.
You may want yo go to WELDINGWEB for info too, GREAT SITE !
http://weldingweb.com/

 

[FigureItOut]

Picked up ten feet of 3/16" X 4" and cut it up into 2" strips to practice for 2F, which is what I decided to go with. Still having trouble getting the penetration, but instructor says my joints would pass the visual.

Anyhow, we started tig tonight. After the chalkboard, video, Q&A and setting up the machine, I got about 5 minutes with the torch. Five seconds in, I gotta say, I knew I loved it. I'm hooked.

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