How you learned to weld.....

[Norm713]

Just curious how many people here taught themselves how to weld from a book, YouTube, or just trial and error.

[Blowout]

Just curious how many people here taught themselves how to weld from a book, YouTube, or just trial and error.

my dad taught me when I was young. I'm 35 now and I'm still learning all the time and most of the time the hard way. I work with some very good pipeline welders that I pick up tips every so often. When I bought my first plasma cutter I watched every YouTube video I could find

[Metjunkie]

I bought a oxy-gas setup 25 years ago and taught myself to gas weld, then got a 110V mig. I then went to work as a mechanic in a manufacturing facility where welding was part of the job.. Most big jobs, they would bring in a welding contractor, who took me under his wing. I was their helper of choice when they did big jobs at the plant, so I picked up a lot from him. I picked up a stick machine, then a mig machine, then a plasma cutter, and then a tig machine for home use. All Millers and a Hypertherm. Like Blowout said, you never stop learning and picking up things along the way. That's why I like this forum. A lot of guys here have the same level of skill as I do, but a bunch more blow me out of the water with what they know. And I WISH there was youtube way back when.

[Ltbadd]

On the job training, a few vocational schools, Hobart for MIG, no such thing as YouTube or internet when I entered the work force

[Olivero]

Mainly trial and error, never really had someone show me other than "that looks like crap" or "It's getting better" Lots of studying about metals, procedures, inert gasses, filler rods, welding procedures etc.

Still learn every time though, every time it doesen't work right, you gotta figure out why and bam, you learned something new.

[aametalmaster]

My parents were welders and had a portable welding business. I was born into it...Bob

[ryanjones2150]

I learned on the farm with an old as dirt marathon stick machine. I didn't even realize the numbers on the rod meant anything back then. First time I saw a wire welder I thought it was the craziest thing ever invented. It was already old technology by then though.

Years later I got a thunderbolt, then a mig welder, then another machine and its spun out of control since then.

[xryan]

I was always interested in welding, so i got a book and read it. Then I took a class at the local vo-tech to stick weld. Then a friend who was working as a machinist apprentice said his shop was looking for a welder and they hired me. The rest is history. Look at me now, I'm still not famous or rich, but I'm a **** good welder and can fix crap others F up. And my kids think I'm cool.

[MMW]

My brother had a brand new Thunderbolt ac225 in 1972. I was 10 years old and would mess around with it. Took every shop class I could through high school and then wound up in a fab shop after a few years of other jobs. Learned the basics in school but the real learning came at the fab shop. As was said earlier, trial and error, asking questions when you can't figure it out yourself, common sense. Still learning stuff all the time.

[Oldgrandad]

Jr. high metal shop 7th grade and I was hooked. Took every shop class after that thru high school. Buddy's Dad had a buzz box, him and I burned a ton of rod building all sorts of stuff. Then took metallurgy, TIG , and machine shop courses at a local community collage among other courses. Then worked at different shops doing all sorts of things from brazing to TIG, from production welding to one off custom builds. Learned a little something everywhere I worked, with a whole lot of trial and error (mostly error). Now there's less error but still learning, that will never stop.

[camshaw]

learned on an old 1960s stingray scwhinn bike with dads closet coat hanger and oxy torches, then when I went to tig and stick and mig it was a no brainer, if you understand heat and feed and the keyhole puddle you can run with it...

[H80N]

Started in 1968... am still learning

Favourite Process..??... TIG... never fails to make me smile.....

[Olivero]

Started in 1968... am still learning

Favourite Process..??... TIG... never fails to make me smile.....

TIG is a wonderful thing, fix almost anything with it.

[H80N]

TIG is a wonderful thing, fix almost anything with it.

I was also lucky enough to be mentored by and work with some amazing talents like... Don Borth...... Frank Scurria...... Dave Kent.. & several others

[D Auger]

Metal shop class in high school started by brazing broken shop chairs together got pretty good at it even fixed my buddies broken steering column on his 68 vw beetle there.Went to Voc school for machine shop
,worked in a machine shop after school picked up a lot there , then did a lot of mig in a speed shop fixing car bodies ,building jigs etc...didn't pick up a 7018 rod till I worked on my buddies farm and got in the operating engineers fixing the screener at work and excavator buckets and what not .
Now I mostly weld body panels and do light fab at my shop at home hoping to get my Dial Arc hf "dialed in"on tig soon so I can start practicing .Love this site and melting metal D