[wquiles]

Hi there. Total newbie here in the DFW Texas area. I got a good friend and mentor that insisted I take a welding class instead of learning on my own, so I started an introduction to welding yesterday, at the Eastfield College, Mesquite, TX:
http://www.eastfieldcollege.edu/Ced/Fall/WLDG.html

Here are some photos of the classroom:









Each studend gets his/her own welding area:



Pretty much all of the equipment is Miller:







First day we did all of the safety stuff, and the oxy/ace torch. We even had time to start cutting with it. That is not me, but that was one of my fellow students giving it a try:



Will

[wquiles]

Next day we started welding with oxy/ace. That was fun, since it is relatively slow. First without filler, and then with filler:





I only had time to practice one "T" joint - definitely needs lots more practice for those:



Then we started to dive into stick welding, starting with 6013 on this Miller:



We only had time to practice starting the arc (actually easier than I though), and then starting to do beads, playing with the voltage setting and travel speed to get a feel for things:



Will

[wquiles]

Last Saturday we did a lot of practice with the Miller stick welder, with both 6010 rod:



and with 7018 (which I liked more than 6010):



This was one corner joint I did, which I think it was with 6013:



Practiced butt joints, "T"'s, then horizontal welding:



Next Saturday we start with MIG.

[Otto Nobedder]

Now, That's what I call "immersion" learning.

Keep us updated, as you get into the real nuts-and-bolts of making a good weld every time.

Steve S

[wquiles]

Now, That's what I call "immersion" learning.

Keep us updated, as you get into the real nuts-and-bolts of making a good weld every time.

Steve S

That's right Steve - learning by doing

The idea behind the course is to get folks with little/no experience (or folks who have not done welding in a LONG time and need a refresher) started with welding. The instructor is trying to get us to do a good/deep weld for now, instead of trying for us to make pretty welds - that comes later with more and more practice.

He is basically trying to make us understand how to move/adjust the puddle, and to recognize the proper shape for the weld bead (watch those toes!). We started with the gas welding, then stick, then MIG, and he will have us play a little with TIG. Then the last couple of classes are for us to work on projects of our choosing, using whatever welding method we want, with the assistance/observation from the instructor.

I personally already have a MIG welder (MIG200 from USAWeld), so I hope to concentrate more on MIG for the remainder of the class:
http://www.usaweld.com/ProductDetails.a ... 0&CartID=4

I also have been watching a LOT of youtube welding videos, which is how I ran into Jody and this forum

Will

[Otto Nobedder]

Well, welcome aboard, Will!

Along with Jody's outstanding videos (someone called them "giving the keys to the kingdom"), the forum is full of folk from every imaginable industry, at every skill level.

There's no posing or posturing here. Just good people who will do their best to give you a straight answer for any question you may wish to ask. And we get them all... From "I plugged it in, Now what?" to "What alloy would you recommend for..."

It's all here, and if we don't know, several of us are curious enough to research it.

Steve S

[Mike]

Ditto what Steve said and Welcome to the forum.

[wquiles]

Thank you guys

Looking forward to tomorrow's class on MIG. I will report back with pictures and impressions

Will

[wquiles]

OK, so today we did nothing but MIG


Started laying down some beads to learn the settings of the machine. Here I started at the bottom, and then went up as I made adjustments:





After a few beads, I then tried this weld on the butt joint line - right in the middle of this picture:





After this I started doing horizontal butt joints. Not quite "hot" enough:







Once I adjusted the heat, I was getting a little bit better welds (still needs TONS more practice!):



I then practice doing this outside corner joint, vertical (going down):





And finally tried multi-pass inside corner joint vertical, laying down a root pass and then overlapping passes. The middle is still concave instead of flat, so next time I need to build up the middle a little bit more:



Next week we can try TIG a little and if we want, continue on MIG, stick, etc.. The final two weeks are to work on projects

Will

[Otto Nobedder]

Looking good!

I hope, at some point, they'll discuss joint preparation

I realize, for now, it's about running beads, but you are only doing surface welds, with minimal penetration.

If they don't, Jody has discussion on it in many of his videos, and we'll gladly cover it here.

Steve S

[wquiles]

I hope, at some point, they'll discuss joint preparation

I realize, for now, it's about running beads, but you are only doing surface welds, with minimal penetration.

Excellent point, and yes, he has covered the need and importance in joint preparation in class and in videos he shows us to begin each class, but I have only been showing a few photos here and there. Since we are learning torch welding, stick, MIG (and soon TIG), there is so much to learn in such a short time, that I feel like drinking from a firehouse

I have watched several of Jody's pictures on the various test/certification positions, and those are excellent since he starts with the preparation for the weld. I am just a hobbyist, but with more practice I hope to do good welds in my projects.

Will

[wquiles]

There is one more class session left next weekend, but I got a camping trip with my son so yesterday was the last class for me. We also got to "play" with a Plasma cutter - that was fun! (I need to save money for one of these!):



During the last two classes we got the introduction to TIG, using this water-cooled welder:



TIG was very impressive, and I can now see how much controllable is compared to Stick and MIG, but to be honest, I felt the process was complicated enough for a newbie that I just decided to simply skip it and simply practice more with the MIG, since that is the machine I have at home.

So I practiced more, on both thin material and thicker material:





And then today I started to practice on trying to start, stop, and continue the same bead - still have more work to do on this:







I also practiced doing many passes on thicker (1/4") material:



So I got a "lot" more to learn, specially my own machine (since each machine is different), but I am happy I took this welding class to at least have a foundation

Will

[Braehill]

Will,
Looks like you have a pretty good foundation to work from and now it's just going to take face time behind a helmet. You have to experiment with different positions and different thicknesses. Take advise from everywhere and keep a notebook near your welder. Write down what works and what doesn't don't be afraid to try different things. you can learn something new everyday welding. Good Luck and report back here often.

Len

[Oddjob83]

Yea dont be afraid to try tig, it may look more complicated, and you may be getting a good grasp on mig or stick. but if you have the opportunity never skip or miss out. I played it safe when i went to school and just did flat tests. wish i had done at least horizontal if not vertical.

[wquiles]

Thank you guys. I will start a new thread once I start practicing with my HTP MIG welder so that I ask more questions and get additional feedback/suggestions

Will

[WerkSpace]

Will, are your High Dynamic Range photos done with Photomatix?

[wquiles]

I am taking these pictures with the built-in camera in my Samsung S3, using default settings. Sometimes with flash.

The only processing I am doing with the photos is the resizing to 800x600 and adding my name/date with Irfanview.

I am not doing any HDR, and I actually had to Google it to even learn what that was

[WerkSpace]

It turns out that the Samsung S3 has HDR built-in,
so that might explain the high dynamic range of the photos.

[wquiles]

I just checked, and yes, there is an HDR mode in my SIII, but following this guide, I checked and it is turned-off at the moment:
http://videotron.tmtx.ca/faqs/item/?lc= ... g_hdr_mode

I might have to try taking pics with it and without to try and see I can tell a difference.

[AnvilJack]

Well done. You are certainly past the point of "stopping in frustration", so that is very good.

The first big hurdle for beginners, I think, is learning to watch (and then control) the puddle.

Could I urge you to start making stuff at home. I am glad you have your own welder (a MIG). Try to do about ten hours welding a week for a few months. That's a lot, but it really helps crossing into the realm of being practical, useful, productive, and technically capable. In any case, weld often, and for several hours at a time, if you can. Buy (find) stuff like tube steel (30mm SHS), and make box frames, if you have nothing particular in mind. Wonderful training in measuring, cutting, fit up, joining, welding out of position, etc. Keep your tape, magnets, level, square handy all the time. Try destructive testing. Then cut the frame up when you are finished, if you like, and go again. (Of course, this is just ("good quality") busy work, if you don't have real projects immediately at hand.)

Welding thin sheet also helps to focus the mind.

How does your home workshop compare with "school"?

You are off to a good start. Beaudy.

[artv]

Looks like you are doing good and are having fun. When I learned 35 years ago, we just ran 6010 until we could run it in our sleep. Made 2" Xs and filled them up in all positions. We wanted to try other processes, but the instructor told us that when we could run 6010 anywhere, we could use anything anytime. He was almost right, I had to learn gas separately. Practice is critical, and a lot of it. Learn to watch and control the puddle, practice, practice, practice.

Art

[wquiles]

Well done. You are certainly past the point of "stopping in frustration", so that is very good.

The first big hurdle for beginners, I think, is learning to watch (and then control) the puddle.

Could I urge you to start making stuff at home. I am glad you have your own welder (a MIG). Try to do about ten hours welding a week for a few months. That's a lot, but it really helps crossing into the realm of being practical, useful, productive, and technically capable. In any case, weld often, and for several hours at a time, if you can. Buy (find) stuff like tube steel (30mm SHS), and make box frames, if you have nothing particular in mind. Wonderful training in measuring, cutting, fit up, joining, welding out of position, etc. Keep your tape, magnets, level, square handy all the time. Try destructive testing. Then cut the frame up when you are finished, if you like, and go again. (Of course, this is just ("good quality") busy work, if you don't have real projects immediately at hand.)

Welding thin sheet also helps to focus the mind.

How does your home workshop compare with "school"?

You are off to a good start. Beaudy.

Looks like you are doing good and are having fun. When I learned 35 years ago, we just ran 6010 until we could run it in our sleep. Made 2" Xs and filled them up in all positions. We wanted to try other processes, but the instructor told us that when we could run 6010 anywhere, we could use anything anytime. He was almost right, I had to learn gas separately. Practice is critical, and a lot of it. Learn to watch and control the puddle, practice, practice, practice.

Art

Awesome - thanks both for the good advice. Learning to watch the puddle was the one area that the instructor spent the most time, and what why he started us with torch welding, before stick, MIG, and finally TIG. But yes, I need LOTS of practice now.

My workshop is very small compared to the welding classroom at Eastfield College (Mesquite) where I took the class. My first project is a small welding table on wheels (so that I can move away when not being used). I plan on making the frame out of 2"x2" by 1/4" angle steel. Casters are 6" dia by 2" wide, hard, and the top will be 24"x36", 1/2" thick steel.

Will

[Otto Nobedder]

Will,

Post a pic or two, when its done!

Steve S

[wquiles]

Will,

Post a pic or two, when its done!

Steve S

Will certainly do