welding processes

[weldaround]

not hard, just dirrernt !!!!!!!!!

I find that doing the different welding process are not really hard just, different. You need to have some one that's going to show you. If all you do is stick welding then that will be easy in all poistions. The others will be harder, etc... I think the hardest poistion is flat because you can trap slag if your not careful but, that's only for proccess that use flux.


Weldaround........

[martymar333]

i have been reading this post for a while now and finally decided to jump in...lol....... i first started welding back in Ag. class(FFA) the first time i struck an arc i could lay a bead stick welding, for me mig was harder to learn because you don't have as much time to notice and react to things in the puddle....tig was very easy to learn because you are in control of everything.........but in my honest opinion the important things in welding are not taught or not taught enough...ie.. effects of the weld pulling on a joint....the proper sequence to weld a particular item to keep it square...setting the machine properly...out of position welding. we have a Dana plant close to where i work......sometimes when we are really busy we get some temp guys in and we get alot of guys from there........Dana has about 700 or 800 (EXPERT WELDERS).. some have alot of knowledge...but most can't even turn on the machine...... then you have the shows like american chopper and monster garage , just watch them and you will learn all you need to know....yeah right......my favorite episode of american chopper was the( i think blackhawk bike) Jr. tacked all the pieces of the tank together with a TIG, and then welded it with a mig ( go figure) and then sent it out to be REWeLDED and tested (makes sense to me...not)i've learned most of what i know about welding from reading books, experience, and befriending other welders......my advice is to learn all you can, ask questions, watch, and frequent this board...there is a wealth of knowledge here.....i am very pleased with this board and salute all the members......happy welding

marty

[bigjibz]

i know tig is the hardest of all arc welding processes, but which is easier mig or stick welding in all positions, and which process mig or stick is most used in industrial situations, and for what reasons.two reasons i ask, one is because i have nearly tought myself everything i need to know on mig but stick is still an inconsistent process for me, and the other is that at boces the test is given out by DOT and they make you use stick welding units...

thanx

i find that living and working near the ocean that stick welding is the best process to use because you can go straight to work . all you have to do is turn the machine on, set amps and weld, whereas the mig wire tends to develop small amounts of rust scale inside the spool. plus you have the luxury of bending the electrode to any angle.

MO_Copperhead


Ok Y'all:
I've been doing virtually every type of welding for the last 35 years. I don't claim to know it all but I've seen more than my share of idiots.
SAFETY! SAFETY! SAFETY!
AND
PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!
These are what makes a good and long living welder!
I had to learn TIG up in a 40 foot hight pipe rack on the coast of Texas in a 25-30 MPH wind without a foot pedal. We had to literally build a little house around every weld location. You had to set the machine and go with what ever it was set at. I had to learn the same way with stick as when you have 200 ft. of lead strung out up the side of some chemical unit you can't be running up and down 20 flights of stairs to reset your machine.
Like I said, I don't know it all and am always willing to listen to people who have ANY kind of metallurgical knowledge.
In my humble opinion all welding applications have their advantages and drawbacks. The cleanest (obviously) is TIG. Quickest and easiest to screw up is MIG. I've always preferred Stick with 6010-11 root pass and overlays of 7018. Of course that's the standard for High Pressure Pipe 100% X-RAY, which is what I do and have done for well over 30 some years.
MY BEST TO YOU ALL!
MO_Copperhead

[kringold]

College

i plan on taking a vocational school program and continuing on to college for welding technology

I'm currently in my second year in the welding technology program at my local college, and working towards an ATA. Until you can get into a good welding program, I would like to recommend a book that we used as our alternate text. It is an excellent book and will probably help you a lot and it is well worth the price. I know it's from Lincoln, but I like red.
https://ssl.lincolnelectric.com/linc...asp?prodnum=PH
In my opinion, it is better than the text we did use from Miller, which was
20+ years old. Geez maybe someone from here could get them to update them.

[halbritt]

Everyone learns differently. Some folks need to be shown, and other folks need to figure it out for themselves. I'm one of the latter, so I suppose that makes me one of those self-taught MIG weldors. Personally, I very much prefer the GMAW (short and spray arc) process to any other and I'm not sure why. It just seems cleaner and more efficient to me. Verts are my favorite, overhead isn't a problem and I know where to keep my arc and how to watch my puddle to get good fusion and penetration. It just seems obvious to me.

I've avoided stick welding since I took welding back up recently and bought a rig, but did some several years ago and never did like it. TIG welding also frustrates me, but I can do it passably. I've got a friend whom I taught to weld. He can't MIG weld for crap, gets poor fusion, can't keep his stickout consistent, etc. However, if you put a TIG torch in his hand, he's in heaven.

Hank wrote, "guys whose livelihood...certainly more informed than I." That's a statement that I haven't found to be true. It seems to me that a lot of professional weldors, while they may be very skilled, aren't necessarilly very knowledgable. For example, a lot of professional weldors spend their entire careers stick welding structural steel and probably have a world of knowledge in that regard, but they may not be the best person to ask what type of tungsten you should use when TIG welding aluminum.

I should probably learn how to stick weld properly.

[ephotrod]

My two cents

How i learned was with a friends donated oxy-actlyen torch. (I'm no expert, more of a novice) With this torch iwas able to learn the difference between fusion and melted filler rod just laying on top. Learning to control the flame (and adjust the flame) led me to look at puddle size and depth. I had a god friend who welds for a living give me some good advise. He said, fuse the material together w/o filler rod and then turn it over and see how far you've penetrade. Repeat this until you've penetrated through the thickness and the bead looks decent. My advise is find a person who makes a lving welding and ask them to give pointers and show them your work.

If you go to university or highschool walk into the machine shop and start up the equipemtn and ask the prop to show you all he knows.

Josh

[BHeadinOut]

are u using flux core or gas?

I'm still new to this too, but maybe you're not using the right gas? Argon 75%-Co2-25%? If over 1/4 inch - argon only, but you're doing 1/8 inch. hmmm....... Sometimes a "fluxcore" set-up with a "gas" set-up, sometimes gets crossed? Please keep me posted so I may understand too. Thank U!

[thehat]

We all started somewhere. My first machine was an old sears buzz box probably built by century. Let me tell you I stuck more rods on that machine while learning than most porcupines have quills!!!
__________________
Good Luck

HAWK

BTDT A LOOONG time ago

[HAWK]

Sberry,

Your SOOW cord would be worth more than the buzz box! You always do it right!!!

[HAWK]

Farmboy and Sberry,

There is nothing wrong with the 225 amp buzz boz and an extension in the shop or back yard. It just struck me funny driving down the highway at 40 mph. This guy probably had 300 feet of extension cord. I doubt he had much output at the sticks. I have welded up forklift carriages with the very same machine and 10 lbs of 7014 1/8" rod. Like Sberry said a living can be made with this set up if it is a had to.

Farmboy,

We all started somewhere. My first machine was an old sears buzz box probably built by century. Let me tell you I stuck more rods on that machine while learning than most porcupines have quills!!!

[Scott V]

I could make a living with a buzz box if I had to,, ha

Yea, but for some reason the romex and a pine pallet does not really fit your style. Sberry you seem more like a guy with S O cable and a pine pallet.

[Sberry]

I could make a living with a buzz box if I had to,, ha

[farmboy weldor]

i didnt mean the definite hardest of all processes but the hardest of the commom processes like mig stick and so on , i know some might disagree but tig is the hardest i can get my hands on,

now i know this might sound dumb but i am close to being one of those back yard weldors, with an ac 225 buzz box with a hundred foot cord but ive got to start somewhere and im only in highschool, buildin stuff on my dads farm, heck i built a truck bed for my brother and the guys at the auto shop think its great, and that was with a lincoln weld pak 100(flux cored) before i purchased a mm251.


thanx for any comments ,and opinions

[arcdawg]

when i first got into welding i tought that i would NEVER be ale to tig weld... so i devoted a ton of time to get good at it.....and i can now call myself a good tig welder...but far from great

as far as the hardest type of welding i would have to say anything underwater

all joking aside i have a hard time with STICK welding out of postion.... where mig and tig its no problem !... go figure ?

thehat, good point ( i enjoyed reading your post )

dawg