Where did you learn to weld?

[rvr6000]

I have an old Lincoln AC welder I monkey around with once in a while but have been thinking it would be nice to tell someone with some degree of confidence "I can weld that up for you" when they come to me with something that has broken.

A few years ago a buddy of mine took a class at a local tech school to improve his welding skills. The instructor knew he wasn't looking for a grade so he pretty much left him alone and offered assistance or advice whenever necessary. Have been thinking that would be a good option for me as well....I think it was only a few hundred bucks.

My neighbor does a fair amount of brazing as well which I think would be kinda fun to learn. I have a small torch kit which usually only gets used when I have to tear into a seized up receiver hitch.

What are your thoughts?

 

[brslk]

Take the class at a local tech school. It is worth it in materials alone.

Learning on your own can be done but you will also pick up some bad habits that you will have to unlearn later.

Another thing you might wanna do is have your buddy teach you a little.

 

[Dataguy]

Second that notion. I learned at a local tech college, both O/A and stick. Exposed to MIG and TIG as well, but not taught. Spent every Saturday morning for several months burning steel, lots of fun and very educational for no more than the price of tuition. A great deal, IMHO.

 

[blstickley]

i spent 2 years at a tech college learning all the major processes of welding and brazing best thing i could have done well worth the money and time spent there like said above well worth the money in material and consumables now with that said one SMAW class and you'll be able to lay some nice beads maybe not in overhead but nice none the less

 

[dmw56]

I grew up on a farm.

 

[bdkruger1]

2 year AWS program in high school. Graduated, then that fall started the Welding Tech. Associate program at a community college a few hours away. Finished that in 4 semesters, worked as a welder/ millwright for the next 13 years. Got my CWI cert in '07 and have done the QA/QC thing since.

 

[rburke65]

Any class I have ever checked into he at the local Technical school, the cost are $2000.... I must be looking in the wrong place!

 

[knucklebusted]

Any class I have ever checked into he at the local Technical school, the cost are $2000.... I must be looking in the wrong place!

Not that bad here but they want me to "enroll" in a program. I just want to learn to weld enough to be able to fix my own stuff without having to farm it out.

 

[buzz4041]

Go out in the garage and start burnin rod practice practice practice. You can get enough info on technique to get you going from the web. You can read all you want but you are not going to hone the skill until you start burnin rod or wire.

 

[blstickley]

check with the state extension office or your states FFA they offer programs of some kind in my state a couple times a year at a very low cost for just the basics

 

[Brentocool]

Shop class in High School

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Grew up in a welding shop in the Air Force. Dad was a lifer....

I also learned anatomy from the calenders way back then

 

[holdover]

learned welding as a teenager working in a body shop in the early 60s, back then stick arc and gas were all that was avail. took some adult ed classes in the evening, then practiced what I learned. At Grumman, learned tig from real professionals. Bought my first mig about 15 yrs ago.

 

[justanengineer]

I learned as a few elective classes while pursuing my engineering degree. As part of my degree, which was completely paid for with state/federal aid, welding was also free.

Previously I had 7 years in the Army working with weldors and doing quite a bit of it myself. I also grew up on the farm and in the family sawmill, so big equipment and welding were nothing new to me. I could lay some really pretty beads, then I took the classes and learned the difference between pretty and strong. Now my welds will actually pass more than a visual inspection.

Dont learn via the internet, books, or friends (unless theyre certified). I was almost killed a few years back when a trailer had a very pretty weld break on the interstate in front of me.

 

[catfish185]

Learned at FFA in school,then an old welder/mechanic at trucking company i worked for took me under wing and taught me about mig and torch as well
as aluminum.I also grew up on the farm and around racing so something was always broke.practce makes perfect,its like painting you have to do it.
have had several co workers go to the local college and take adult tech course on welding principals,couple hundred dollars for few weeks of night class couple times week.they learned a lot and recieved basic principals and what to do and not to do plus got to burn up some materials.ck your local colleges,you don't want the degree just the basics.good luck
catfish185

 

[BWS]

I was about 10 or 12 and a good friend's dad was a welding supervisor bigdick pipe fitter.Anyway he'd give my friend and me all the supplies.......set the stick machine up and we'd weld on old car wheels for hours,kept us out of trouble mostly..Then he'd come around and show us a few things,but basically just kept runnin beads.Then I hit the const biz and was usually the only one who had a clue about general safety WRT OA, and welding procedure's so had to take the lead and get it done.

It wasn't till years later that I went to CC,took four classes(O/A,stick,Mig,Tig) and it really filled in alot of blanks.BW

 

[dude67]

In A&P school (Airframe & Powerplant). Aircraft mechanics school. I had to know what a good gas weld look like inspecting airplanes so the school sends you to a 3 month gas welding course. This technical school in Waco, Texas had it's own welding section to teach welding as a profession. After 3 days a week of gas welding 2 pieces of plain steel together you get pretty good. Of course they tested you. If you can gas weld all the other welds come easy I think. I have never done TIG, but hear it close to gas welding.

 

[colt zantop]

I had never welded anything until I attended wyotech. Im not going into great detail about the school itself but I did learn to weld and ended up certified. one thing that school does is push push push welding, both tig and mig. the negative is the school is expensive and the rest of the courses are OVERRATED.

 

[bob ny]

I grew up on a farm.

i learned how to stick two pieces of metal together on the farm . i was taught how to weld at night courses at a local college . when i worked for the power company you had to be certified by the state to weld on live gas lines bob w.

 

[pecospaco]

For what is worth, (depending on your own circumstances), United Association, otherwise known as the Pipefitters Union has an excellent course for learning the skill of welding.

 

[djjsr]

I learned how to make nice looking welds on my own.

I learned how to make nice looking welds that didn't break at a tech school.

 

[A**holes Garage]

Basic stick in high school

Mig, plasma, oxy/acet in the work field

Love to learn Tig

 

[crewchief888]

my dad was a welder, and taught me O/A when i was 9 or 10 years old. graduated to stick welding soon after.

had some formal training in a HS metal shot, covered O/A, stick, and spot welding.

self taught MIG on the job (with some help)

 

[rsanter]

learned from my dad and then shop class in 9th grade
after that it has been a bunch of practice doing stuff

bob

 

[NUTTSGT]

I was shown a few things when I stayed on a farm after school, then we had some classes in Industrial Arts while in HS, all stick of course. MIG, basically taught myself along with some pointers from a friend, along with practice, practice.

I haven't done any stick welding for years and liked to give it a try again. I think I could do better now,especially using an auto-darkening helmet. I think that was half the problem of trying to learn how to weld, holding the electrode and trying to flip the helmet down.

 

[ptschram]

High school shop in the late 70s.

Got better building drag cars. Got a job in a tubing factory where I really learned to weld. Spent some time as an A&P apprentice and learned to weld things using processes everyone else said couldn't be done, yet I never had one fail a destructive, or non-destructive exam.

Since then, it's been practice, practice, practice.

My fab skills get better every day due to the practice I put into it.

 

[MikeGyver]

I was given a few pointers from a friend that is certified. He watched a few passes and told me what to watch for. Other than that I just practiced. I have built All kinds of things using MIG and TIG. I have found I like TIG a lot more and it seems much easier to me.

 

[tdkkart]

http://smartflix.com/

Search welding, by the time you get done watching all the videos you'll either know how to weld or you'll be dead.

However, the only way to really learn is to just do it. Learn what makes a good weld and then practice doing it.

TIG is my favorite, and if you know principles of welding it's actually really easy because more-so than any other welding you have total control and visibility of what is going on. Heat, form the puddle, add filler as needed, repeat.

 

[NRChopshop]

I was raised in race car shops. I learned from a lot of watching, listening to what i was told, and a lot of practice. It also helps to have friends who are world class welders and machinists when youve got an issue

 

[camarotoolman]

welding school at Chicago bridge and Iron Company

 

[Zeke]

I went to the local community college. They used to have Saturday classes. No more. Everyone has cut back and the classes fill up fast.

If you want to weld with your buzz box, get some 6011 rod and some 1/4" plate steel and light up on it. Use all the tapped settings and try some angles when you get close to the zone.

Then watch some YouTube videos on stick welding. One of the best is www.weldingtipsandtricks.com.

You'll be layin' down some beads in no time. And don't forget to come back here. Lots of welders here.

 

[AZ_Catskinner]

I started with oxy and stick in high school, went to work as a steamfitters' helper and learned everything I could from those guys, and took a few community college classes for some fine tuning.

Once you start getting comfortable with your rig, get some 6013 and some angle iron and fab you up a simple table. The 6013 doesn't get as much penetration, but produces a better looking weld so your frustration factor is lower.

 

[Zeke]

6011 and 6013 are best for AC welding. The OP states he has a Lincoln AC only welder.
6013 is for less penetration and smoother welds. Good stuff in the smaller diameters on light weight material.

I like 6011 for learning. In fact, at school, 6010 on DCEP was the most difficult. Hence, the best training. Anyone can drag a 7018 rod on DCEP. I don't know what the equivalent of 7018 would be for AC welding, but it sure would be fun.

 

[Will67]

Learned from dad in my 20s to do stick and OA. Several friends have mig. After doing stick for years MIG is freaking easy and a whole lot less messy.

 

[welder4956]

My uncle taught me ... Uncle Sam. I enlisted for 6 years in the U.S. Navy in exchange for 32 weeks of nuclear power plant welding school.

 

[dladcock]

I purchased the welding course book from the local community tech school. Read that thing cover to cover and back. Positioned myself with a good friend at work who was certified as an instructor, but made more money as as Engineering Technician, to help me along. Then practiced and practiced until I had the "craft" under my belt. Been 20 years now and it has been good to me, both for fun and pay.

Lynn

 

[BigSteve63]

Grandad and an uncle taught me stick, class at local community college taught me Mig. Thinking of going back to learn Tig. Bought a Precision Tig and man, do I ****!

 

[VegasBruce]

Running a sheet metal shop, I got pissed at the welder and sent him home. Then I had to figure out how to weld to get the job out. I learned how to weld 16 gauge galvanized that day, and been welding 20 years.

 

[John in OH]

6011 and 6013 are best for AC welding. The OP states he has a Lincoln AC only welder.
6013 is for less penetration and smoother welds. Good stuff in the smaller diameters on light weight material.

I like 6011 for learning. In fact, at school, 6010 on DCEP was the most difficult. Hence, the best training. Anyone can drag a 7018 rod on DCEP. I don't know what the equivalent of 7018 would be for AC welding, but it sure would be fun.

+1 on what Zeke says regarding the use of 6011 and 6013 rod on a Lincoln AC welder, but you will develop better skills using 6013.

I learned SMAW and O/A in 4-H when I was just a kid (about 14?). We had a Forney AC welder on the farm, but Dad didn't really know how to weld. I really wanted to learn but my 4-H club advisor didn't know how to weld either so a couple of us kids talked another kid's Dad (who was a welder/mechanic for a local mining company) to be our 4-H course advisor. He taught us basic welding using his big engine driven Lincoln DC welder mounted on the back of his company's maintenance truck. We had a blast!! Our 4-H project was to each make a welding table (materials "compliments" of the mining company!). Yeah, got a blue ribbon at the county fair!! I still have the table use it often.

There's lots more to the story of growing up welding, but it's not relevant to the OP's question. Regardless, I've loved to weld ever since!

 

[machine_punk]

Learned TIG at this course...

http://www.contourautocraft.co.uk/course-foundation.htm