seeking knowledge

[youngbloodniks]

hey everybody.im from california and have been taking a welding class at north valley occupational center for the last 5 months,though im coming along good i still have a long way to go before id consider myself mediocre.this post is to ask all the old skools that come here if they can offer some advice to a youngblood like me that wants to be good at this kind of work.any advice is welcome about tools,products,methods,metals,anything you can offer cause im sure im not aware of it.all advice or information is apreciated

[aametalmaster]

Practice, and practice more. Switch hands, use your weak hand. Not every position can be used all the time in the real world. Sometimes you have to reach around corners, weld low to the floor, use a mirror where everything is backwards. Try your hand at building simple projects and go on from there...Bob

[stinkinlincoln]

I've come to realize that the process of becoming a master is really the process of finding every possible way to screw things up and learning from your mistakes.

[tigman250]

I've come to realize that the process of becoming a master is really the process of finding every possible way to screw things up and learning from your mistakes.

so true, when i was a apprentice toolmaker a journeyman told me "the only diffrence between a apprentice and a journeyman is when the apprentice messes up he has to ask, what do i do to fix this? and when the journeyman messes up he's got it fixed before anyone notices he's messed up."

the road to being "good" at what you do is a long one and you will see the diffrent paths you need to take as you go along. it's hard for us to say you need this and need to know that without knowing what you will be getting into, but one thing is for sure and definate in whatever you choose......practice! good luck and if you need help on a certain process or help with certain equiptment, feel free to ask!!

[dyn88]

learn from your mistakes is how i learned. also like aam said practice,practice,practice. Also with tig clean, clean, clean(never to clean). and to finish I made a lot of scrap before the old timer at the shop i was at told me this important secret- You must be relaxed when you are new to this, so no morning cofee, and i quit smoking(cigarettes).

[hankj]

Youngbloodniks,

Welcome to the forum.

Taking formal classes is probably the best step you could take. You will get a good basic knowledge of processes, procedures, and metallurgy. After you get the schooling, it's exposure - practice, practice, practice, and then practice some more! Some guys get it real quick, some never will get it, and most of us fall somewhere in between!

Just never be afraid to ask the question! The only dumb questions are the ones not asked!

Hank

[Sberry]

Get it all fit, test fit if you can BEFORE you weld it all up,,,,, hahahhaa

[BillC]

Youngbloodniks,

I'll try to answer your question from an Engineer's perspective... In my opinion, being a good welder goes beyond possessing the physical dexterity to stick two pieces of metal together. You need to understand why you do things. It is a whole lot easier to remember what to do when you know why you do it.

And to reinforce what Bob said, in the real world your weld joint may not be in the perfect position like in school. You may be reaching your arm and stinger down into an 8 inch slot, your arm fully extended making a one-handed vertical weld up towards your face. I don't recall practicing that weld in school...

Have fun!

[Sberry]

Most off our work is design and build, very little real pre-engineering. There is an old saying but we have a new spin on it. If you want something done right,,,,,,, do it twice. We do so much stuff where interferance is an issue we actually call ourselves interferance adjusters most of the time. Its amazing, it seems like no matter how much you look there is always something in the way. I have done a lot of things over just because I am not happy with it, sometimes its just adjustments, sometimes its more. My men have gotten used to it finally but not being satisfied the first time really seems to make things work well and gives long service life when errors are corrected early on instead of living with them.

[Stick rod]

youngbloodniks,
Very good advice from some very knowledgable folks.Definatly practice,practice,practice.Be paitent and don`t be in a hurry to learn,take your time and be comfortable with the process,position,etc before moving along.

[fun4now]

always think safty

welcome to the our lil meeting place.

best advice i could give would be all the above and a few things to think about.
safty is no joke, and saving time is never werth risking an injory. over time practice and confidence will make you faster, for now just make good solid welds as your speed. i would rather have a new kid be a lil slower but get it right, than be fast and slopy so i have to take more time fixing or cleaning his work, or even werse takeing him to the emergency room. safty first always, forget what you see on the suposed reality shows, thats TV in the real world you need to be safe.
never let a mistake rattle you,sh-t happens, stay calm stay safe and just work it out trying to lern from it, how did it happen what can i do to keep it from hapening again, and what is the best way to fix it so next time it happens you can fix it befor any one notices

best advice i can give about tool's is get the best one's you can and most times you only have to get them once. the best warentee wont help you at midnight on a saterday, so even though that cheepo tool can be exchanged for free at walmart it is better to save up a lil more $$$ and get a good construction grade tool. i built houses for many years and found that every one starting out always went to home depo and bought a $40.00 saw, i have 3 a 15 year old 8 1/2" worm drive and a 12 year old 7 1/2" worm drive bolth by skill and bolth have fallen off the roof more time than i can count and bolth work to this day. thouse are the tool i got for the job i chose, i also have a nice lil dewalt skill saw that i got after i quit building houses because it is light and easy to use for quick fixes around the house. if you intend to make a carere of this then take your tool's just as sereously as you do your pay check, because without 1 you wont get the other. light duty tools are nice for around the house but for work, always , always, always get a good tool you can rely on so people can rely on you to get the job done, not to be out getting a replacement tool all the time. dont be fooled by looks there are defenetly diferent grades of tools out there and for work you need the best you can get, to get the job done. not just started.

there is lots to be lerned here and lots of advice and ansers. feel free to ask and we will do our best to help.

good luck, be safe, weld happy