Exactly!

Hi Dan. Welcome to the forum. I was in your shoes last August. Looking to change skills and wanting to do it right. I too, am a very practical person. If it helps, this is how I found the right school and instructor: 1. Find out what kind of certs, if any, you will be earning when you finish the cou...

My instructor wanted me to finish my last 4G tonight, so he could bend test it.

I PASSED! Both sides!

He immediately put me on the qualifying tests: 2, 3 and 4G on .375 plate.

Feeling REALLY good.

Apparently, those cheap 5gal buckets from the local home improvement stores come in handy...for setting your keester on in order to steady your hands while running an overhead bead. :lol: Seriously. I sit on one, which brings me low enough to prop my left arm on the work table and steady my right ha...

Update: I've taken everyone's tips and advice and used them to my advantage and betterment. If I can make one more good weld, my instructor will put it on the bender. Then, he said, I have to make another 3G and 4G for bend tests to be sure I have the technique down. If so, I can move on to Flux cor...

AKweldshop wrote:Hey, Rocket,
Have you watched Jody's video on 4G 7018?

If not, it should help you a ton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdm23KLTEW0

I did. It helped. I found a way to steady my hand: a five gallon bucket.

The first thing I did tonight was make myself comfortable in order to be propped up and steady. I sat on a 5 gallon bucket and lowered the clamp arm to a reachable/workable level. I could see the whole groove and bead. I ran the root and hot pass without any problem. I ran two fillet passes that wer...

Stick for all the plate tests. It is for AWS. The Al most definitely will be TIG. I finally (knock on wood) made a good weld tonight on 4G. I made the work come to me instead of me going to the work. If I can make three more that are good or better in a row, I think I'll be confident to test out on ...

Are you keeping the 7018 pushed right up in there? And rod angle about straight in? Common problem is to forget to continuously lift your hand - when the weld is flat, gravity helps your hand drop naturally - for overhead keep pushing up. 100 amps and keep the flux lightly dragging on the plate sho...

It's been 9-10 weeks into the course. 4G plate is kicking my...... I really can't complain, at all, about the course or the instructor. As it turns out, he used to work for the same company I do now. Doing the same thing, building the same section. Only, I do it with a $5mil robot. We will be going ...

It's been a while since I've posted on the forum. (OT at work, AWS school, new house, etc.) I am on 4G plate at school and it is kicking my..... My root is good as well as the hot pass. It's when I get to the stringers that I (and I know it's me) have issues. Here's the set up: 5/8" plate w/37....

DROOOOOOOLL!!!!!!!!!!

Your videos look great. There were a few things I did not know, but I do now. Thank you for making them.

Delrin is a wonderful material for such applications.

I have daydreamed about this before. And welding in space. Space welding would be so cool. You know, SpaceX is gonna need a welder or three when they go to Mars... Rocketsurgeon, you gonna go? I already have my space suit with a #10 gold shade. Fun Fact: It would not require and arc. It's called Co...

Even better: Dry, pure, He.

Why did I hear Tyrone Biggums voice when I read this? :lol: So true though. I just ordered the stubby gas lense bundle from Jody and picked up two more torches, a weldtech 9v and 17v myself :roll: . After the wife and I finish moving into the new house and she has it the way she wants it, I'll star...

Fortunately, we are all very self-conscious OCD types where welding is concerned. (Aren't all true craftsmen their own worst critics?) Steve S ALWAYS! At least the ones who give a crap about their craft and their work. It's like a signature on a contract: I did this and I guarantee the work done.

We are three weeks into the course and...... WELL. WORTH. THE. MONEY!!! The instructor noted that this class (9 of us) are flying through the exercises. Faster than the last class. What has taken us three weeks to do, took the last class three months. I'm tired as hell due to OT (6-10's), buying/mov...

mercado wrote:Oh, I'm sorry that you didn't manage to buy it

In the end, it seemed like more than necessary effort to buy (heh, even search for) a house closer to work than a house "right around the corner".

Go figure.

So you DID buy it? The one across from the park? Congratulations! Steve S No. We found a more fitting one in Hammond. Two sheds in the back yard (one is shop ready). Turn key made it too good to pass up. Still jumping through hoops for the purchase process. REALLY tired from it all. School is worth...

Unfortunately, we are still working on a OT schedule and I'm in school (AWS certs) until 9pm. I haven't hade the chance to test the lower psi on my plasma. But, it is good to see that others may have tried it and it worked for them. Maybe on my day off (after I move into the house I just bought) I'l...

When I started shopping around for courses, I realized this one was the best overall. 1. Price. Another local "school" (certificate mill) wanted $4000 for a shorter course that had NO certification. Their lab was half assed: HFT flux and MIG machines. A fan on the wall for fume extraction....

This conversation is the exact reason why I got the eBay app. RocketSurgeon, thanks for the review of the Chinese parts, there goes my next overtime check lol Any advice on how to sneak the money away from the my Secretary of War? You can call me "Pusher". :lol: Yeah, don't tell her. :lol:

PS, you all are a bad influence! The same day as I was headed home I somehow ended up with a Harbor Freight folding welding table in my back seat, after a few have mentioned that they are not as bad as HF's reputation would imply. On sale for $70, minus another 20% coupon... I don't know what you a...