MTI Welding Scholarship

Diesel · Wed Apr 15, 2015 6:14 pm

Hey guys, dont know if this kind of thing is allowed here, and if its not I apologize.

Basically I am Senior in high school and am taking the welding and fabrications course. I've really taken the trade in and have been using this forum and youtube channel to get ahead of the others. Thanks for the help guys. I was able to attend the MTI-Moline Welding Competition. It was a great time and gained a lot of knowledge while I was there. This is also the welding school I will be attending this coming fall to further my career in welding and fabricating. Which brings me to my reason for being here.

I've taken my entrance exams(100% by the way) and am basically accepted as long as I graduate, which shouldnt be too much trouble. The school cost ~20K, but they have a scholarship funded by Mike Rowe. I have entered the scholarship and am doing quite well so far but i want to really shut this thing out. The top 7 voted will recieve a full ride from Mike Rowe. The contest ends May 4th, and i need as many votes as possible. Below will be a direct link to vote for me, which would be awesome of you guys. And now that I made an account finally I'll start posting some welds up. Im doing TIG currently and theyre not bad but i can tell my feeding hand is still a little uncoordinated. Thanks guys and I look forward to being here.

http://bit.ly/1OeTlet <--- Direct Link Help me out guys

Diesel · Thu Apr 16, 2015 9:07 pm

As I said above I'm currently in the TIG rotation. Bout 3 days in and these are my corner welds. Bout 16 Ga mild steel running ~50 amps.I'm still a bit uncoordinated but I'll get em'. I do really well with oxy so these should come along. I really need these votes guys. I've even made business cards and have been going around to shops and putting them on bulletin boards. Been offered about 4 jobs from this, 3 welding 1 automotive. I've actually taken automotive courses and can do quite a bit but i dont like it. Thats why i went to welding and machining. Again link is above, please help me out guys.

Thu Apr 16, 2015 9:13 pm

Those welds, as they stand, are difficult to vote for.

Admittedly, if this is "day three" of TIG welding, it's not too bad, but for a $20K scholarship, you will have to do better. This is not facebook, and you will not get "just because" or "sympathy" votes.

When's the deadline?

Keep practicing.

Steve S

Diesel · Fri Apr 17, 2015 12:46 am

Fully understood. I will be back at it tomorrow and when I've got good consistent welds I'll post them up. Maybe some stick as well. Contest ends May 4th and I hope I can prove my skill by then.

Fri Apr 17, 2015 6:38 pm

Diesel,

From what I see so far, you should have it "dialed in" in plenty of time. If you improve at the same pace you've begun, I'll be happy to endorse you!

Part of the reason I was a bit "abrasive" in my reply was to make sure you weren't a "one-post-wonder" as we've seen before on occasion. As long as you're serious, we'll take you seriously.

Steve S

Diesel · Wed Apr 22, 2015 2:14 pm

Well after re-watching some videos and a long weekend here are some fillets on the same .060 steel. They really aren't very good but I just wanna post up some progress. These are ran with 2% thoriated about 55 amps.

Kinda globby and not smooth and has a filled hole on the end.

There are no holes thats just oxidation i think.

This one was good but somehow got blur from the camera.

Burned a hole on the back side.

Guys I'm giving it my best foot forward. Still fairly new to TIG and I'm not exactly proud of them. Let me know if there is any help you can give me at this point or if (probably is) I just need more hood time. Happy to listen from you guys

Wed Apr 22, 2015 6:15 pm

The "oxidation" that you clarified were not "holes" are actually "silicon islands". That s-number in the wire designation, as in "E70s-6" or "E70s-2", is the silicon content. The silicon works as a flux in the weld to carry impurities out of the weld. It tends to accumulate in little clumps like that. As a general rule, if they're tan, your material is clean enough for the s-number you're using. If they're black, you either need to prep more, or you've got a dirty alloy and need a higher s- number wire. The common TIG wires are s-2, s-4, and s-6. I suppose others are available, but I've not needed them, and not checked for them. s-2 is all I've ever used for TIG.

Looks like progress to me. .060 is not an easy place to start.

Steve S

Diesel · Thu Apr 23, 2015 10:28 am

Yea it certainly is frustrating. But the way my instructor feels about it is that if we can learn to control the puddle and get coordinated on thin metal, thick metal should be a breeze. He isn't much of a TIG guy though so I'm mainly going off of what Jody and Lanse have on video and what I read online. And I definitely didn't know about the "silicon islands" you described. Thats good to know.

Fri Apr 24, 2015 6:58 pm

Diesel,

If I did it right, I've put up my endorsement/vote for your scholarship.

You seem genuinely interested, are asking the right questions, and practicing.

Good luck!

Steve S

GreinTime · Fri Apr 24, 2015 7:04 pm

I was vote 447 amigo. Good luck with the scholarship, and keep practicing man, you'll get it. Like Steve said, 060 is a tough way to get started, but your teacher makes a valid point. Thick metal is a bit of a breeze if you can do it on sheet metal. Granted, there are some differences (like burning your hand because it's so much hotter and radiates heater farther and longer, or overheating your torch faster) but controlling the puddle feels like it's in slow motion almost some days.

GreinTime · Fri Apr 24, 2015 7:10 pm

Also, I just checked, your 60 votes ahead of your next closest applicant, and almost 100 ahead of the guy behind him. Keep up the good work on the advertising campaign and you'll have something to fall back on if welding doesn't pan out

Diesel · Mon Apr 27, 2015 1:49 pm

Thanks guys. Yea I'm not exactly sure if this is my lifetime career but it will be for at least the first 10 years out of high school. And there are plenty of jobs that involve welding. Auto body is another option i enjoy and am currently doing for side money. Im determined to be a 3rd generation skilled trade to follow my family's direction of work. Ill post some welds up again tomorrow. Ill be working on a project for mothers day.