It is a great and useful skill to have.

 

I have a friend that does that does metal fabrication. To fill my time, I'm going to work with him as an assistant. He's going to teach me how to weld and do other metal work.

Once you know how to weld decently, and cleanly, if you have your own portable equipment you'll find that word spreads and you can pick up a lot small jobs on the side. It's one of those trades which was huge in the 60s/70s, but diminished over time. A lot of "kids" don't want to learn the smoky stick. 😁 Best thing you can do, is when you get good, take a lot of pictures of your work. When you meet someone and they are interested in your talents, pictures usually close the deal.

 

As one who actually taught himself how to (gas)weld at 15 (yeah, about a half-century ago), I'll make the suggestion to be sure you're using proper safety equipment. Bad stuff can happen when corners are cut. After I understood the principles of carrying a good welding bead, I got a MIG wire welder, then a TIG. Still, soooo much to learn if you want to get into the certified fields. For that, you want to take some formal classes and get certified. But for now, getting your feet wet in a metal shop is a good move. Figure out if you really enjoy metalworking. If you do, rest assured that the world needs people who know how to weld skillfully.

 

I figure that it should be a lot like carpentry, except that I will be wielding instead of gluing and riveting instead of screwing.

I could be wrong though.

 

There was always wire sticking out when I mig welded. I did a lot of grinding.

 

Many years ago, when I was working as an Engineer at AIS steel works at Port Kembla, I needed to learn how to weld, so went down to the Apprentice Fabrication shop and asked the chief to teach me. "OK, sign out a packet or GP rods and I will see you in the welding bay". 1/2 hour later I could weld. He didn't teach me the intricacies of what rods to use where, but said to ask at CIC for the rods to weld this to this and they will give u the right ones. Look at the recommended current guide on the side. That was over 40 years ago.

I obtained a DC motor driven welder, which was better than an AC type, but now there are MIG TIG etc, so confusing a choice !

It is a very useful skill to have, and when Aldies had a auto darkening welding helmet for under $50 some years ago, I bought one of those.

 

Auto-dark helmets are the cats meow. I stick weld and wire (gas) weld

 

You know you’re figuring it out when you can tell a good MIG weld by the sound made during the welding process. And you can hear how that sound changes when you’ve blown a big hole. Oh, another thing: Ever heard the phrase, “Sure didn’t take him long to look at it.” Hot metal doesn’t necessarily look different from ”not hot” metal. At least relative to the temperature where human skin “melts.” So never assume. Never put newly welded metal on asphalt because it will melt the asphalt. However, concrete is great for drawing the heat out of metal. And leather gloves will hold in the heat while vinyl or nylon gloves will melt into the skin. And NEVER wear open-toe footwear in a metal fabrication area!

 

I took a high tech course back in the seventies that required all of us students to complete related course work. One Quin-Mester, it was Machine Shop for three months, then Electronics, Frame Design, etc, etc. One was for Welding. I did very well at Gas Welding but Electric Welding was...well...uuhhmm... Ok fine,. It was pretty hazardous to anybody within twenty five feet of where I was welding. We had these little metal plates to practice on and the rod would get stuck and I'd jerk it and it would fly away...someplace. Rod and practice plate and all.

Thing was, if you failed one of the related courses, you failed the whole thing. To give you an idea of how tough it was, forty eight of us started. Two of us graduated. So anyway, on the last day of class for that Quin, the Welding Instructor called me into his office and closed the door. Thang he said. You know you have failed this course miserably, right? I nodded. But, he said. I know you're one of those Sons of Biotchs that'll just recycle and I'll have to deal with you again next class.

I said No sir. You'll see me sooner because I'll take a separate welding course here to get better at it. He closed his eyes, moaned and looked like he was starting to have a seizure. Then he got control of himself and said Oh Hell no. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to pass you with a grade good enough to get you thru but if anybody ever calls me for a reference on your welding, I'll tell them the truth about you. You hear me? I was fifty percent of the graduating class. He shook my hand at graduation. I heard him mumble Thank God.

 

Of all the tools and techniques I’ve employed mig welding nothing helped as much as high intensity LED light & cheaters.

 

My father was a welder. I've always wanted to learn how to do that.

 

I was working on a coke unit at a refinery, filthy job. They had a bunch of welding needed over the coke pit, it was speced as wire welding but they used sticks which was not a big deal except they dropped all the stubs into the pit. They had to go find those stubs so the coke wouldn't be contaminated.

 

I learned arc welding in HS shop class, the instructor was great. I had to take a welding course in automotive college, arc and gas welding. The gas welding came in handy pretty often.

My uncle gave me a Smiths oxy-acetylene set of gauges and hoses, some torches and cutting heads.

I built stock cars for a few seasons, my racing partner was the best stick welder I have ever seen. He always said that welding is 2 things, be comfortable while welding and practice.

 

I learned in BOCES 55 years ago. Stick mig
My son welds tig,mig,stick as part of his job so now he does all mine.
Great skill to m learn.

 

I have taught welding since 2013, but that has come to an end, when school starts back in August I will be teaching other subjects as our school system, in their infinite wisdom, has decided to cut out our welding and metal fabrication courses completely out. But hey, we still have dance, and culinary arts...

 

Yeah, no need to learn a trade. The modern thinking is kids should ALL go to college and get a degree in Philosophy or Women's Studies or Basketweaving. Trouble with that is that there are a limited number of jobs available at Starbucks. IF you are one of the few really bright and driven individuals who could succeed at STEM careers, maybe college would be a good choice, if you can avoid being indoctrinated while there. Almost everyone else would be better served by learning a trade and making a contribution to society.

 

I own several welders, I went through a certificate program, I am NOT a welder... It's an art form, you must learn to feel the steel, and it's all about the zen of the puddle, and the art of the weave.

How I think my welds look vs how they actually look...

(Not actually my welds, but not far off...)

 

The left looks like my welds. In body shop class they were teaching us airbrushing. The teacher that taught welding was watching me try to airbrush and said " don't worry. Im more autistic than artistic too" I should have been offended but I fell on the floor laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. My welding wasn't much better than my airbrushing, but it was good enough to pass the class.

 

Many years ago when I was but a little kid, dad got a transformer from a friend that had been modified for welding and that was our first. All dad had ever done is stick welding and I played with it through the years. It was good that i learned on very weak machines because it made me develop patience and technique, which many lack having been handed far better equipment. I learned how to use a oxy acetylene torch, and believe it or not my favorite is a very small one I use exclusively. They don't even make them any more. Bigger is only bigger, not better.
Sence then I've learned MIG and TIG and I love TIG, black smithing, and welding plastics. nothing like it in the world.
If I had the money I'd love to have an induction welding system but at this age it's just a fantasy. I'd love to have a plasma torch as well that's pipe dream as well.
Learning is an investment, even if what your doing is of no particuar value, making mistakes and learning from them is what it's all about.
Almost every sapect of welding is realizing the best temperature the materials just gently melt at, because greater temps tend to change the molecular structure , even actually burning the material altogether. As many different woods that exist, there are as many different other materials that mix or don't mix. Believe it or not the Black Smith is one of the earliest alchemist in the world.

 

I don't care if I get a professional skill set, I just want to know enough to dabble.

 

That was always how I viewed the class I taught- I wanted kids to have the basics for their own hobby dabbing, as well as giving them the first step if they wanted to move on to community college or trade school on the path to industry jobs

 

Dabble safely.

 

My racing partner garbage picked on old Marquette arc welder around 1977. He figured the copper alone inside was worth some bucks. It had no cord, so he wired one up.

He has his son stand by the breaker when he powered it up... no sparks, just that hum. It was by far the smoothest welder any of us had ever used. Even so-so welders could do artistry with it.

 

Learn Oxyacetylene and practice religiously. Much wider range of applications with it. In Hindsight, I would've went to Welding College for JUST OXY and skipped the rest. https://www.ruralking.com/hobart-oxyacetylene-tag-a-long-outfit-770500
Oxyacetylene Welding, Cutting and Brazing

Oxyacetylene Welding, Brazing and Cutting - Hobart Institute of Welding Technology

Complete Course includes: 4 DVDs (3 hr. 6 mins) 1 Instructor Guide; 4 written tests, 50 copies each

www.welding.org

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Yes, learning to braze with brass is a good skill.

 

I have a PhD, I retired as a Colonel from the Marines. I was the chief engineer for the special targets program for the missile defense agency. I say all that to say that I went to Community College to learn to weld and now that I'm retired I use that more than all the physics I learned.

 

The left looks like my welds. In body shop class they were teaching us airbrushing. The teacher that taught welding was watching me try to airbrush and said " don't worry. Im more autistic than artistic too" I should have been offended but I fell on the floor laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. My welding wasn't much better than my airbrushing, but it was good enough to pass the class.

Yeah, I don't get enough time under the hood. I can build a pretty nice wrought iron gate (given enough time and grinder wheels) but you probably don't want me welding your trailer hitch if you value whatever you're towing.

I don't care if I get a professional skill set, I just want to know enough to dabble.

If you are doing it a lot you'll get pretty good. Out of position is tougher, I've never been any good at overhead welding, other than burning myself... You need to ensure good penetration without going too deep.

When I was in school we were a testing location. OMG - we learned what crappy welds look like. I wonder if anyone in the auto body biz has ever taken welding 100. The way you test a weld (x-ray aside) is you beat it with a sledgehammer, back and forth, if the steel breaks before the weld, you pass. Maaaybe one out of 25 passed. Keep this in mind if you have body or frame repairs done - ask to see their certifications.

 

Speaking as someone who taught himself how to weld, get yourself a good grinder. Several of them in fact. They are invaluable in learning the trade. Every welder is an expert grinder too.

 

Every welder is an expert grinder too.

For preparation work, not covering up **** welds.