Welding Tips and Tricks

Hi my name is Thomas Comerford from Toronto, Ontario. I am debating about trying to get a part time welding apprenticeship in the city or try to teach myself how to do it. I am working full time and as a result there are only certain days that I am available ideally I would prefer the apprentice ship but as I said I can only work certain days. If I were to try and teach myself I would be welding for around 30 to 40 hours a month. Trying to get an rough idea of what I would be spending on gas, welding rod/wire, metal plus any other consumables on a monthly. Thanks for your time.

Those costs should be calculated and charged within your fees.

Most of the time spent “welding” is prep work, set up, and finishing. Actual percentage of time under a hood is about 1/4-1/5 of the quoted time in my experience.

TIG welding I charge a rate by the inch of weld that covers material, consumables and shop overhead.

Worked at a place (big fab shop) that actually did a study. They put an amp clamp timer on the welder to check actual arc time. Best guy hit about 70%. But he knew the timer was there and had set up his work station for two days before to maximize his arc time. Spent two days at 10% to hit one high day. Most guys averaged around 40%.

I think the original poster is more interested in the cost of running the welder than what might be charged for the work.

Electricity + gas + filler + consumables + welder depreciation etc.

What do these inputs cost in your part of the world?

Jack

Jack Ryan wrote: ↑Tue Jul 20, 2021 9:26 pm I think the original poster is more interested in the cost of running the welder than what might be charged for the work.

Electricity + gas + filler + consumables + welder depreciation etc.

What do these inputs cost in your part of the world?

Jack

Fair point, but that is exactly why you embed those costs into your rate as prices differ greatly regionally, and with the actual work being done. Aluminum filler costs differ from stainless, from Ti, MIG from TIG or FCAW. Insufficient info to provide any guidance.

When you start up, you’re going to lose some money probably until you have enough data to know your actual costs. But you’re building experience and a customer base. And time to perform the work depends greatly upon the tooling and equipment in the shop you have. Orbital? Large enough fixture table to do square, large format work? Jib crane for heavy stuff? Or are you welding mower decks for the neighbors with a 110v MIG?

Hey guys thanks for the input. But as jack said I’m just trying to get a sense of what the overall cost will be for materials/consumables, obviously there’s no way to know exactly for sure what I’ll be spending till I start. I am 100 percent new to welding and have never welded before, this is a hobby I would like to learn and not something I want to do as a business. Again thanks for responding

FWIW, just a heads up on the gas in the Toronto area.

330 cu ft argon tank - (aka Size 50 or 9.33 cu M) - deposit $250 + yearly lease $70 + $100 each refill/exchange + 13% taxes = $475 CDN for your first bottle. It's heavy as hell. Use a truck if you plan to transport it yourself. lol.

You can cheap out & get a smaller tank (or purchase a 74 cu ft tank) but you'll probably regret the overall cost too once you do the math + the never ending trips back to your gas supplier to exchange bottles.

Initially, Air Liquide talked me into a purchased 74 cu ft (aka Size 11 or 2.29 cu M) tank. Shame on me for listening to them. Their service really sucked IMHO. Plus 74 cu ft doesn't last long. Air Liquide refused to buy them back, they use a CGA-032 connection with "their" regulator (your standard CGA-580 flowmeter won't fit). On several occasions I waited weeks for an exchange/refill bottle. That was a few years back, they might have fixed their exchange service by now. The 74 cu ft was light to carry though. Anyway, finally cut my losses, dumped the 74 cu ft tank & went elsewhere for the 330 cu ft version.

Bottom line..... sort out your gas requirements. Do your research & get a few quotes from your local gas suppliers. Do the math. If you're expecting cheap, you're in for a surprise.

Hi Thomas,
It would be a great thing to get an apprenticeship if you can. Some one else pays for the overheads, you get constantly challenged by new things and get paid. Triple sweet.
Teaching yourself is a great idea too but if you have an option, I wouldn't. Your education in welding would be limited by what you could afford to do, And overheads in welding vary. two indentical jobs can price differently depending on choice of electrodes alone. The trick is finding a good mentor and not getting stuck working for a tool who just wants cheap labour. Just as much as they interview you, you need to interview them.
The wet metal world awaits you bro.