Welding Lessons....

y2kcrawler

y2kcrawler

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2008
Location
Lake Wylie, SC
I would love to learn how to weld and dont really have time/money to sign up for classes at CPCC to learn. Just curious if anyone needed any extra hands on their projects. I may not know how to weld but Im a good laborer.. I cant really pay any money for lessons but I would love to watch/participate to learn the different types of welding and the best welds. Im trying to educate myself over the internet but without any hands on exp. its futile.

Feel free to hit me up if interested. I can provide some :beer: for the learnin! Thanks
 
Im no pro, but I could teach ya how to booger 2 plates together with MIG and TIG. Plus I need some help putting axles and a T-case in my jeep...
 
I have given a few lessons here at my shop. I've had quite a few buddies interested in a few lessons. I would definitely be interested in teaching you a few things. I'd do it for the cost of consumables/material for say... an hours worth of welding each class. It would have to be after hours during the week and not on a customers build. Maybe just some scrap metal and what not. If you wanna get a few guys together and do it as a group I'd be up for that also. It would save you to split the cost with a few guys. Let me know when and I'll get some material together.
 
I took the class at CPCC. I did learn some on welding, not any theory though (which I would have liked). Main thing it did was force me to sit and weld for 4 hours straight at a time.... Honestly, once you get the basics down it is just practice from there.
 
broncosbybart said:
I took the class at CPCC. I did learn some on welding, not any theory though (which I would have liked). Main thing it did was force me to sit and weld for 4 hours straight at a time.... Honestly, once you get the basics down it is just practice from there.
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exactly what he said, dotn waste your money....cpcc doesnt really have that great of a welding class, i took it a few years ago, and if it wasnt for getting the class paid for since i am in an apprentiship i would have been pretty mad after that class. The only instructor that knew what he was doing is chris johanson, and he retired after this semsester
 
I can't teach you to pass a paper test. But I can promise you that in a few lessons you will feel confident that you can lay a sound bead with a MIG gun. TIG will be a different story but we can work on that lol.
 
MarsFab said:
I can't teach you to pass a paper test. But I can promise you that in a few lessons you will feel confident that you can lay a sound bead with a MIG gun. TIG will be a different story but we can work on that lol.
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No worries, no paper test in the works. My father was an underwater pipe welder in his younger years before he came over to America and its the one thing Ive always been interested in learning but wasnt ever available to be taught, so anything would be a start.. Ive tried breifly at a friends and I had trouble seeing through the mask even after making an arc, is that normal?

Oh, and when I say my father came to America, he's British so dont worry, we're not Canadians :flipoff2:

Thanks everyone and I will hit those up offering to help after the holidays when I have a less hectic schedule...

....Mike Tsoulos - wanna join up?
 
MarsFab said:
I have given a few lessons here at my shop. I've had quite a few buddies interested in a few lessons. I would definitely be interested in teaching you a few things. I'd do it for the cost of consumables/material for say... an hours worth of welding each class. It would have to be after hours during the week and not on a customers build. Maybe just some scrap metal and what not. If you wanna get a few guys together and do it as a group I'd be up for that also. It would save you to split the cost with a few guys. Let me know when and I'll get some material together.
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I'M IN
 
Chris is a good teacher. My welds are much better now. Still dont look like his but i trust them not to break now.
 
I took a the class at cape fear community college.

The best thing about the class is that they provide you with all of the consumables and scrap steel that you can use up during class.

The hardest thing to do is to practice. The time that I should have been practicing I was actually trying to build something. There is quite a bit of theory that goes along with the practice. I would try and take as many notes as I could esp. when it comes to metal thickness/wire speed/heat/position. Those can all change what and how you weld. If you are going to be like me welding once every few months then it is difficult to remember what you did and what worked best.
 
I love all the offers for help guys. I will find out who all would be down one afternoon to meet up and throw down some welds. I just really wanna learn some basics and easy welds and whats the strongest.. Ill get some questions together so I dont just stand there like a jackass too haha..

Merry Christmas everyone!
 
ive never been good at teaching so id say start off with someone else but once you get the idea hit me up. you can have some practice time on the welder and i can always use a helping hand in the garage.
 
Man, Ive been working 7 days a week for the past month! Hopefully this will get me caught up on bills! So with that being said looks like my employer wants to cut back on all the OT so I should have a schedule with some days off coming up. Ill see what looks best with everyone sometime next week. So far here are the ones offering to help:

jeepinmatt - (Charlotte)
MarsFab - (Harrisburg)
CarolinaTruggies - (Charlotte)
rubiwhat - (Gastonia)

And the folks wanting to learn:

y2kcrawler - (Charlotte)
Papa_Jon - (China Grove)
DSM Turbos - (Durham)

Seeing as DSM is too far away, maybe another time?

Papa, is Charlotte too far of a trip?

Mars - I might take ya up on the offer but youre a good 1hr from me.
 
Whats the best welds to start with? MIG/TIG?
 
My 2 cents would be to MIG weld only. Stick welding sucks- sold my old ARC welder and haven't looked back... TIG is hard to learn and not really needed for what we do. Sure, it makes a very pretty weld if you get it down. Unless you are going to weld a lot of alum or do a chromo chassis, I'd say it is a waste of time. You can weld HREW or DOM together with just about anything. You can even get a spool gun to MIG alum if the need ever arises. I hate welding alum.
 
y2kcrawler said:
Whats the best welds to start with? MIG/TIG?
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What type of welding do you plan to do? Do you plan on trying to find a welding job doing structural steel work or are you wanting to learn to weld on you and your buddies rigs?
I think everybody should initially learn to stick weld, it will teach you the fundamentals if you plan to maybe make a career of welding. For just a little hobby welding there is nothing wrong with starting with MIG. IMO
 
rubiwhat said:
ive never been good at teaching so id say start off with someone else but once you get the idea hit me up. you can have some practice time on the welder and i can always use a helping hand in the garage.
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:confused: You gotta welder??? Sheesh man I woulda hung out with you today had I known that:flipoff2:
 
MarsFab said:
What type of welding do you plan to do? Do you plan on trying to find a welding job doing structural steel work or are you wanting to learn to weld on you and your buddies rigs?
I think everybody should initially learn to stick weld, it will teach you the fundamentals if you plan to maybe make a career of welding. For just a little hobby welding there is nothing wrong with starting with MIG. IMO
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Good advice ^^^^^^^^^^^
And Marsfab's welding skills have saved my life a few times.
And the vids are on youtube as proof.:popcorn:
 
I bought a MIG this summer and some steel and read some stuff on the interweb as well as asking a few buddies of mine. Then I started playing in the garage. I don't think it takes long to get the hang of the easier welds. Just like paint it seems like the prep is almost more important than the welding itself.

After seeing one of my buddies futz around with flux-core for a while I decided to do solid wire and gas and it seems easier than what he was doing. I am a noob to welding though so maybe it is just in my head.
 
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