tricks of the trade

[mattbrissey]

hey guys, i would like to know the cool things yall have learned or heard of. kinda like i heard if u get minor welders flash u can cut a potato and put it on your eyes. stuff like that. and maybe the "weird but true" if u have any. just a cool little thought. thanks

[Wheelchair]

Hello Matt I do have some tricks of the trade and one that I learned the hard way was to wear safety glasses when looking at your weld. I was taking a test when I was very young and thought I knew it all. I would weld a little and then push my glasses up on my forehead and look at my weld while pressing the high freq button as it gave you a better view of it. I did this all day and an old timer told me that it was going to burn my eyes if I did not keep my glasses down. I thought how could I burn my eyes with the high freq as it was not welding. Well that night I thought I was dying and had to go to the emergency room. I dont know why but with the glasses being worn properly you will not burn your eyes while looking at the high freq.

Wheelchair

[gunnut4570]

Wife thought I had lost it

The first time I told my wife to bring a potato to me in the bedroom she thought I had gone over the edge but it works fast. Found out over the years putting potato juice in a eye dropper works just as well and you will not look **** weird.

[WillietheWelder]

when i first started i took a Stainless wire to see how it was to weld when i was done i put my hood up (with no glasses under it) and hot slag popped off and almost went right in my eye!! never again!

[paulrbrown]

Never wear light colored shirts, as the UV will reflect off and shoot right under your hood......Only time I have ever had flashburn was by doing this, I now paint the inside of my helmet flatblack.....Paul

[Iron man]

This probably does sound weird, but under certain circumstances ear protection should be used. I was welding laying under a truck and a hot ball of weld went right down in my ear, that is a new kind of pain. I am just glad I can still hear.

[Engloid]

If you ever have to climb into some stainless pipe and backweld it... put a dark rag over your head and hood to keep light from bouncing into the back of your hood. The worst flashburn I ever had was from that. I started welding inside some 18" pipe...and within 1.5hrs, I started hurting. Usually, it takes till the middle of the night, but when you get it that bad, it is a lot faster to hurt.

I barely made it home that night.

[RoGrrr]

When cutting with OA or my plasma, I dump a bucket of sand or kitty litter on the floor. This keeps the sparks/slag from running all over the place. Done, sweep it up and you know that your shop is just a bit safer.

[nick]

Another one that I use is if you are going to be welding alot of galvanized or zinc coated steel you should drink pure coffee creamer to coat the lining of your stomach. Zinc does not have a liquid state so when you proceed to weld upon it it turns straight to a gas. This gas can cause stomach problems after a few hours of welding.

[SkidSteerSteve]

Another one that I use is if you are going to be welding alot of galvanized or zinc coated steel you should drink pure coffee creamer to coat the lining of your stomach. Zinc does not have a liquid state so when you proceed to weld upon it it turns straight to a gas. This gas can cause stomach problems after a few hours of welding.

I don't want to send this thread too far off of it's original purpose, but anytime you are working around Zinc/galvanized material, be extremely cautious and use lots of ventilation. It's nothing to even think about messing with, I don't care how much of a man's man weldor someone thinks they are, it can do some really nasty things to you if it gets in enough concentration.

Also, I second the use of ear plugs. Not only for the short circuit noise of MIG, but the first time you get slag in the old ear canal, you will never skimp on it again. Hearing your skin pop and sizzle at point blank range is not fun. SSS

[shorerider16]

Hello Matt I do have some tricks of the trade and one that I learned the hard way was to wear safety glasses when looking at your weld. I was taking a test when I was very young and thought I knew it all. I would weld a little and then push my glasses up on my forehead and look at my weld while pressing the high freq button as it gave you a better view of it. I did this all day and an old timer told me that it was going to burn my eyes if I did not keep my glasses down. I thought how could I burn my eyes with the high freq as it was not welding. Well that night I thought I was dying and had to go to the emergency room. I dont know why but with the glasses being worn properly you will not burn your eyes while looking at the high freq.

Wheelchair

Any good quality safety glasses block nearly all of the UV radiation that is emitted while welding, they just don't block the light. This is also why you will end up racoon eyes if you do a lot of tacking without you hood down.

[Izzy's Cages]

Earplugs are cheap insurance, just like safety goggles. I rarely do anything without earplugs in while out in the shop. You'd be surprised at just how loud MIG welding really is.

As far as tricks.... always easier to make/modify cardboard than steel. Make patterns/templates for everything and write down what project they were for, which way they pointed and what modifications you had to make in case another one comes in the door later.

If you've got kids, cereal boxes are great for templates. Plus, you're recycling!

[Darmik]

Trick

Well when you die grind aluminum use WD40 on the metal and on the bit and you will get the best results. But remember use a full face shield and guantlet type gloves.She really cuts up a storm

[terry welds]

re:trick of the trade

keep the gloves on and the jewelry off i was welding overhead and had to put steel incert in a ceramaic brick and weld it with a mig welder thin i check the weld and the cherry fell out and stuck to my watch i could not get it off until it cooled and i did i pleed off the skin thats real smart terry welds

[weldingman251]

try teaching someone to weld is always good it gives u the chance to train someone but also evaluate how u weld in the process. Then u can change ur style around a little bit and possibly either learn a new technique or tweak ur own so tht way ur welds are a lot better.