Learning a new skill – Welding
Perhaps you had a New Year’s resolution to learn a new skill such as welding, there’s a few courses and classes you can take. Once you have completed your welder training, you still have plenty to learn. Much of your training will give you the basic skills and tools necessary for succeeding as a welder; however, starting as a beginner welder will likely present you with new challenges. The following tips will help you on your way.
Use Fire-Resistant Welding Gloves
Avoid the temptation to purchase inexpensive welding gloves. High-quality gloves will stand up to the repeated exposure of welding. Tulsa Welding School recommends using fire-resistant gloves to prevent burns or injuries on the job.
Select a good helmet
Although most welding packages come with a simple face guard, you should use a welding helmet to protect your face and head, suggests the Welding Information Center. An auto darkening helmet makes initiating the weld easier so you can concentrate on your technique and worry less about the personal protective equipment (PPE).
Play with puddles
As a welder, it’s important to know how to create a puddle for melting the filler material. When you are not working on a project, practice leading the puddle of filler material without joining the metals. If your rod stays in one location too long, the rod will stick, or it will burn through your base metal. If the rod is too far away, the arc will fail, and the filler material may splatter. Being too fast or too slow will result in an inconsistent, weak weld.
Keep Filler Rods in a Dry Location
Moisture in the air will damage the integrity and stability of your filler rods. Some filler rods come in airtight containers; yet, many welders make their own resalable containers. Take a piece of three inch PVC pipe, and purchase two three inch PVC caps. Spray-painting the caps with different colors will help identify different types of filler rods. This will give you the airtight seal needed and keep your rods organized.
Consider Your Comfort with Ergonomic Equipment
Not all welding jobs will give you the opportunity to stay comfortable. As a result, you need to practice your ergonomic welding, or welding body mechanics. Body mechanics refer to your movements that lessen the strain and risk for injury to your body. Make sure that your clothing and undergarments fit appropriately and do not leave you miserable. If you are able to use tools, such as tables, chairs, or benches, for your welding, adjust the height to match your project.
Check Your Settings Before You Start Welding
After you have selected the filler rod you plan to use, adjust the amperage to meet the specifications of the filler rod. It is easier to adjust these settings up front than to try and change them mid weld.
Metal sculpture in brass, mounted on an 1800s French Coin
I’d like to add one more point: select equipment which will suit you the best (work conditions).
Thanks Rick
Hello… Sounds great! I am totally agreed with your all guidance. Thanks for sharing this information to protect you while welding.
Thanks for sharing these! I usually shy away from tasks requiring welding since I didn’t have the tools needed for the job. Is it overly expensive to buy one?
Hi Tom, different welders cost different amounts. A simple arc or “stick” welder can be bought for less than £100. These are good for welding medium thickness materials but can be a bit tricky to get started with. The MIG welder is the “goto” for most beginners. Those cost a bit more starting around £200 and are good with a range of material sizes hence they are often bought for car repairs. The MIG is easier to use than the stick for most tasks but does require gas so running costs are a bit higher. Finally, TIG welders are the highest price but used well can produce very high-quality welds with no need for finishing. These start around £500 for a DC model but if you need to weld alloy then you could be looking at nearer to £1000 for an AC model. Most TIG welders can also double as a stick welder.
I don’t often leave comments, but great and excellent advice. Keep up the great work
Thanks for sharing all these tips. How much would a basic welding tools cost?
Hi Brian, welding can be quite expensive. The key thing to invest in is the safety equipment so gauntlets, visor and fireproof overalls or jacket. That would probably set you back around £50-£100. Next up is the welder, a cheap arc welder starts around £40 with a top of the range AC/DC TIG welder costing over £1000. I find the arc welders a difficult challenge for a beginners so perhaps a MIG welder would be a better starting point and that would be a couple of hundred. So if you are just curious it woud be well worth while looking at a short course or evening class to complete a first project and then deciding if it’s somehthing you want to persue.
I just want to say that you have a very enjoyable experience as you have mentioned in this blog, learning to be a welder. Awesome blog and thanks for sharing this wonderful post for us.
Your post really a great post. I inspired from your this post. I want to do something awesome for me. Please write more like this for us.
Learning is fun especially if you are enjoying all the benefits of the one that you are studying. I have been in training with welding for a week now and I think this was an awesome job. I admit that if I finish my training I will be opening my first metal fabrication shop.
Using Great welding caps helps you stay comfortable so that you can keep your mind in the work at hand.