Welding Tips and Tricks

Hey everybody.

I just noticed that the site had a forum so I thought I would check it out.

I love the videos and all the tech info. I'm 41 and currently in college going for my all position smaw, flat gtaw, flat gmaw and flat fcaw tickets. I love welding! I have always wanted to learn and decided to do something I enjoy for my career instead of working at a computer for the rest of my life.

I have always been into building bikes and old cars and do all my own work including paint, but I never learned how to weld. So here I am... lol

The question I have has to do with hand pain. I have used my hands for years but have never had this type of pIn before. It is a pain in my knuckles that causes the joints to become stiff and sort or lock when I wake up in the morning. I'm assuming it's from over working my chipping hammer when I first started. Slag is pretty hard to get off when you're not welding properly

Anyone else ever experience his and did it just eventually pass?

Thanks
Jeff

Welcome to the forum. Have you checked your grip on the equipment? When I was in school, the instructor used to check to see if we were clenching down on the stinger/torch etc. You should have a semi relaxed grasp on it. Just enough to control it. You don't want to be tight on it all day. This becomes really noticeable when you have to run beads 10+ hrs/day.

Jeff, I'm 45, and have been working with my hands most of my life, despite a college education.

My hands are briefly stiff in the morning. I have no pathology in my hands, despite beating the hell out of them for years.

My hips are excruciating in the morning; I have history of genuine injury there.

The pain you describe should be discussed with a doctor, and soon. It may be simple, but it could be RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis), and if that's the case, you want to act as soon as you can, because movement lost is lost forever.

Steve S

I just turned 51. My shoulders and knees aren't what they used to be either. I am sure I have arthritis. I did 20 years as a drywall hanger. It's all coming down the pike at me now. But still. . .I have to be careful not to get too torquey with the equipment. I have to make myself relax or it just inflames things. There is a certain amount of tension when you first start as well. He could very well have RA and he really should see a doc.

He also mentioned working with computers. Perhaps an aggravation of a type carpel tunnel is another possibility.

BTW, Jeff, the topic's poster is also Jeff.

It's specifically the "when I wake up" that concerns me. Yes, that is when my joints are stiffest, and I have to work them out, but he describes pain, and in his hands, specifically.

That's what concerns me, and why I think a doctor should be consulted.

At least a Doctor would be better qualified than me to comment...

That could be arthritis or something equally bad. It would be worth getting it checked out. An aspirin or 2 at the start of the day may help.
There have been studies done to show the detrimental effects on the arm joints of hammering all day. Hammering can send shock waves up the arm and it can put alot of stress on the body, so anything you can do hammer wise to help alleviate that will help.....a chipping hammer with the spring like shock absorber on the handle, things like that.

Estwing makes a framing hammer that has a tuning fork built into the handle. It absorbs quite a bit of the shock of the hammer blow before it can travel up the arm. I don't know if it's available in a chipping hammer, though, but it may be posible to grind the head of the framer down to a chipping hammer.

Other Steve

Otto Nobedder wrote:BTW, Jeff, the topic's poster is also Jeff.

It's specifically the "when I wake up" that concerns me. Yes, that is when my joints are stiffest, and I have to work them out, but he describes pain, and in his hands, specifically.

That's what concerns me, and why I think a doctor should be consulted.

At least a Doctor would be better qualified than me to comment...

Sorry about that. I don't see all that well by the evening time. I see nicknames and that sticks for some reason. Carry on.

Thanks for the advice guys. I will go have this checked out to see what the doc has to say.

I am much easier on my hands now then when I started. I have also switched gloves to a sock lined 1 finger mit type which has helped. The first gloves I used had so much padding that seemed to stress my knuckles during the day with all of the material between them.

Lets hope it's just the new activity that is causing the pain, I see the description of RA does have quite a few similarities....

Mr.kill,
I am also in agreement with the others regarding having your hands checked by a Doctor.

When I started welding, One of the things that bothered me a lot was the pain in my right arm. Had it been my left, I probably would have just accepted the fact I was suffering a stroke or heart attack! LOL
The pain was excruciating and I couldn't sleep at night. I was taking Ibuprofen like peppermints just to get any sleep at all and make it through the next day of welding. One day my Instructor came up and tried to take hold of my hand to guide me. He couldn't believe how tight I was "locked on" to the electrode holder.He said he should be able to easily just pluck it out of my hand at any time. Once I learned to relax a bit, the pain went away.

I still have arthritis in my hands and knees, but so far it is bearable. Getting old is no fun at all!

BTW, where are you going to school? I also learned to weld quite a bit in Hamilton!
Brian

I'm going to Mohawk in Stoney Creek. My instructors are Jim Carrey and Al Fair.
I looked at my grip today as a possible issue for my hand issue. I did have a death grip on the electrode holder. I started just holding it lightly with my thumb and fore finger and it feels much better tonight.

I realized that I was waking up in the morning up with my fists clenched. Likely causing what feels like tendonitis.
I have an appointment for next week.

I'll be embarrassed, if it's nothing more than "death-grip syndrome."

Otto Nobedder wrote:I'll be embarrassed, if it's nothing more than "death-grip syndrome."

Ha! The o'l DGS

They did a blood test, but my doc thinks it's DGS. Judging by me telling them that Iwould wake up with my fists clenched they said it's a muscle and tendon thing.

Let's hope, then, that your Dr. is right, and all you need to do is teach yourself to relax your torch hand.

It's not as easy as it sounds.

You'll first sense DGS in your thumb, usually.

Try, for a while, holding the torch by your fingertips, rather than gripping the barrel in your fist.

Fingertip feel and control is all you need, really, so it's a start at relaxing your grip.

Steve S

I actually think it is coming from my chipping. I found my last 2 fingers taking a beating when I was having undercut and trying to get all the slag out of the little corners.

I picked up a centre punch and ground the tip to a sharp clat and it is the best thing ever for getting and slag from tight spaces. No more attempts at percision hammering

Mrkill,
I have not been to Mohawk for welding, but I have spent a fair bit of time at the UA Local 67 hall in Hamilton and their training center in Brantford. They are all really good people that I have met out there. They all shared a great deal of their knowledge with me.
Good luck getting rid of your pain. Sounds like you are on the right track.

Thanks Ultralow

The course has been good. I've gone through stick all positions mig flat, fc flat and I'm working on tig right now. It's coming along great. After 2 days i was bending coupons with no issues. My teacher says I'm a tig natural.
Here is my first t joint on 1/8"


I find it more fun since it seems more challenging.

I may change direction and go for my all position fcaw on the advice of the CWB tester. He says there is way more call for that unless I want to pipe weld.
I'm looking more for a fab shop job, so I figure i'll take his advice.

damn, the locals are coming outta the woodwork (or should i say metalwork??) at this forum...

Smithville here

I get sore hands too, work related..probably a form of temporary carpal in my case,,,stay away from that certain task for a few days and it subsides


good to know of a local bike builder as well i've recently started my first build

Haha good to see someone else in the area!

A side note what are you building? The site I usually go to for bike building is www.thechopperunderground.com
They are a great bunch of guys with lots of encouragment and advice.

i usually hang at http://www.clubchopper.com/forums/

again, good bunch of guys. I'll have a gander at the link you posted as well, thanx

i'll keep it short so as to not throw the thread way off topic
it's a softail w/250 rear tire, 4" stretch on the back bone...no rise
going for more a bobber kind of feel, but it's a learning process every time i buy something i change my mind lol

if you're on facebook, i'm softail.bobber

Cool

Unfotunately I closed my FB account because i was unable to resists it's temptations.
Much like a bowl of ice cream.....

The teacher let me bring in some frame tubing to try tigging some joints

Here is my first joint.

Mrkil wrote:
Here is my first joint.

Not bad at all!!! I'd take a saw to it now and have a look-see on the inside of the joint.

I'm gonna through it in the coupon bender to see how it holds up.

Thre the joint in fhe bender that checks weld intgrity.



Weld held better than the erw did