Welding class update

Well I'm 8 sessions into my MIG welding class and want to keep learning. Luckily I'm only 1/2 way done. Class is once a week for a few hours so my practice time has been moderate. Gotten through the basics (lap, butt, vert up/down, no shelf) and tried some flux core tonight. Was suprised at how smooth and quiet it is, and watched the instructor neatly slice through 3/8 plate while running gas with flux. Always thought that flux was crappy, but you can get nice and super hot welds out of it. This is of course on a commercial grade 220v unit.

The Weldcote helmet recommend by Jumper K is really nice!

Tonights flux core, did some better ones later.

Not quite stacking dimes, quarters maybe? It's filling a deep V.

Jealous.

That looks really good. I wish I could find a class like that around here.

I'm taking it at the local commuity college. Check yours, you might be suprised!

This is high on my want to do list, I'm jealous too!

I have always wanted to learn TIG welding too...

For anyone near Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Community College has what they claim is one of the largest welding education facilities in the country. I took a TIG class and a "Welding for artists and engineers' multi-discipline (gas, MIG, arc, TIG) class about 15 years ago. It was $85 for an out-of-county resident, less for in-county. At least at the time, there was no requirement for special protective gear other than gloves (they provided helmets, though I brought my own). Highly recommended.

Nice looking welds. Did they take a slice out of the material to explain porosity, undercutting, penetration and other anomalies?

Just curious.

Dan

I've always wanted to do this. I've got some VERY basic MIG skills and I'm actually just a bit better with TIG, having learned from a friend in college who was a very good TIG welder, but still no where near where I'd like to be. Gonna go check the local community college's website, maybe I could even get work to pay for the class (HA, doubt that).

pkingham wrote: For anyone near Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Community College has what they claim is one of the largest welding education facilities in the country. I took a TIG class and a "Welding for artists and engineers' multi-discipline (gas, MIG, arc, TIG) class about 15 years ago. It was $85 for an out-of-county resident, less for in-county. At least at the time, there was no requirement for special protective gear other than gloves (they provided helmets, though I brought my own). Highly recommended.

I took the introductory welding course at Washtenaw about 4 years ago.They did gas,TIG,MIG and stick. We played with stainless, regular steels and aluminum. It was a lot of fun to learn from instructors that really know what they're doing and use some quality equipment.Well worth the time it took.I bought all my own gear because I've got welders at home anyway.My dreamgarage would have one of the Millers from the college in it.

914Driver wrote: Nice looking welds. Did they take a slice out of the material to explain porosity, undercutting, penetration and other anomalies? Just curious. Dan

What's the best way to get a cut like this? Do you do it with a chop saw? I've been trying to figure out how to get a good cross section without "smearing" it or getting false info due to the way it's cut. To be fair, I haven't tried looking at a steel cross section yet that I cut up on the chop saw. It's only something I remember when I'm sitting at my desk at work :)

When I took a welding class at my local community college the main thing I learned was not to wear frayed jeans in the welding booth. Particularly when they are frayed around the crotch.

In reply to WonkoTheSane:

When I've had to send parts out for weld testing at work, they have cut the part on a band saw, sanded and polished the cross section smooth, then chemically etched it. I've probably got a couple of pieces buried in one of the E36 M3 piles in my office, I'll see if I can find one and take some pics at lunch.

This picture and its message are what distinguish a welder from a hobbyist like me who knows a few tricks to get metal to stick together.

I have a feeling that at the end of the 16 classes you are going to know a lot about what makes welds work or not work. At the end of the day, I go by what empirically has worked for me. Not very scientific.

The picture tells me that a bunch more heat would have been a good idea and/or a touch less wire.

Chop saw if it's water cooled. Polish it down to 400 on a flat belt or round table sander. Once smooth hit it with a 2% acid in water mix. (vinegar will work for us)

Heating it up could mask or confuse what you're looking for. The acid mix will darken the heat effected zone, shows whether you have good involvement with weld and base metal.

In the pic above, there's penetration on about 50% of each leg of the weld, you can just start to see heat effected zone on the left side of the horizontal leg, that curved darker area. A weld could be pretty on the outside, but if it doesn't hold .......

Dan

Thanks gents, that's exactly the information that I've been searching for without success. I could find all kinds of information on how to "read" the slice, but not the best way to actually "get" the slice!

WonkoTheSane wrote: Thanks gents, that's exactly the information that I've been searching for without success. I could find all kinds of information on how to "read" the slice, but not the best way to actually "get" the slice!

I teach MIG welding classes using the local community college and do some training for companies that use welding. I use the following video to teach the polishing and etching of a weld. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DPhc5K_thg

I use many other videos that Welding Tips And Tricks put out in my classes.

In reply to Gearheadotaku: It looks like your angle and stickout are good. Fluxcore can make some beautiful welds.

That's an awesome link, PilotBraden! Thanks for it :) I'm going to be going through all of his videos now.

I think I may just look into this. Time should be more abundant in a month or so. Thank you!

DeadSkunk wrote:

pkingham wrote: For anyone near Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Community College has what they claim is one of the largest welding education facilities in the country. I took a TIG class and a "Welding for artists and engineers' multi-discipline (gas, MIG, arc, TIG) class about 15 years ago. It was $85 for an out-of-county resident, less for in-county. At least at the time, there was no requirement for special protective gear other than gloves (they provided helmets, though I brought my own). Highly recommended.

I took the introductory welding course at Washtenaw about 4 years ago.They did gas,TIG,MIG and stick. We played with stainless, regular steels and aluminum. It was a lot of fun to learn from instructors that really know what they're doing and use some quality equipment.Well worth the time it took.I bought all my own gear because I've got welders at home anyway.My dreamgarage would have one of the Millers from the college in it.

NOHOME wrote: This picture and its message are what distinguish a welder from a hobbyist ...

I worked in a Materials Lab certifying welders to work on 120mm Mortar baseplates and armor plate for Abrahms' tanks. Trying to pass information ....

In reply to paranoid_android74:
If you do get serious about signing up, try to get in Amanda's class.

DeadSkunk wrote: In reply to paranoid_android74: If you do get serious about signing up, try to get in Amanda's class.

Roger that- thank you for the tip!

Slippery wrote: That looks really good. I wish I could find a class like that around here.

Our local Votech has night classes. I've taken a couple.

A friend and I took the welding class through our local CC. Great course! We learned the basics the first time through and then in subsequent classes the teacher would help us with anything we wanted to learn or work on. Some guys were there for stick certifications, a few of us worked on roll cage welding, and some others were doing some crazy art projects.

I think I took "Welding 2" a total of 4 times as it was that much fun, and a great way to get help with what I was working on. The teacher kept it safe, but loose for us recreational students. I ended up building my roll cage; my buddy did a ton of welding on his 914; and another guy left us for a job building cages in Charlotte.