where did you guys learn to weld

[LowchevyII]

Aside from those of you that went to a specific school i.e. wyotech or uti, where did you guys gain all of your experience and knowledge? im looking to trying and learn and would love to hear some input

[deuce_454]

i watched, asked questions, read a book and practiced.. over and over.. now a days im sure you can learn from miller online and youtube.. and possibly on a forum like metalfab..

[Bow Tie 67]

Some reading and practice.

[jy211]

metalshop in highschool :thumbsup:

[elitecustombody]

I never read any books or asked anyone for advice, just practice ,practice and more practice

Make sure to buy a good welder first:thumbsup: Good luck

[marks914]

Never really learned, but read a few books and started making things stick together. I plan to take a class this spring though.
Mark

[Fluid Power]

making a lot of "modern art" in the shop

Darren

[chr2002ca]

Watching some segments on TV, an instructional DVD that came with my welder, reading, and lots and lots of practice. And I still suck.

[HOLOHAN'S HOT ROD SHOP]

Taught myself 37 years ago when I started at my dad's commercial/industrial sheetmetal shop. He just threw a bunch of 16 ga scrap on the table, handed me a bunch of 6011 rod and said "there you go, let me know when your done"! And after awhile taught mig and tig. But the key is experience and to practice over and over on everything,,, thick, thin, steel, stainless, aluminum, etc. Still learning though, that's what's fun. And with the machines that are available today, the learning curve is much quicker.

[Garage Dog 65]

I would recommend taking a short workshop (1 or 2 weeks) at a local tech school or community college. You get the basics, safety info, experience with some good stable equipment and a little supervised practice time. Then go get a decent welder (and they are pretty inexpensive these days) and practice like brother Holohan stated - tons of different stuff and practice, practice, practice.... You will be amazed at how fun it will be.

And build yourself a decent weld table to start with:

http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=24523

:lateral:

Jim


PS, I forgot - read everything you can get your hands on. But that rule applies for everything fabrication - so you should already be reading every day, there's no end to learning.

[James OLC]

I did a series of continuing education night courses at the local 'tech college; started with a basic oxy course then MIG and eventually TIG. It was pretty cheap and a great way to burn up winter evenings.

[J2SpeedandCustom]

I learned the most from a retired steam fitter. He taught me about what metal does when it's welded and how to go about working with them. Practice is the key! It's the little tricks that people pass down, that make the difference.

[Northeast Rod Run]

my first job was in a welding shop, but I didn't really get to learn anything there. I was the shop gopher and the boss always kept me too busy.

I learned how to weld by going to a 3 week night course at the local tech high school. then it's all about practice

[Mick Mc]

I learned to TIG at my local community college.
Four nights a week for a couple of years. It was a good way to burn up a few evenings and practice practice practice.

The real trick is to build things, build a table, build a roll around cart (I built several for my buddies transmission shop) just build stuff.
It's easy to weld coupons together, but the out of position, goofy angle weird material will teach you the most.
I welded on the gas tank for my truck, I made a brake pedal, I built a cool gas pedal, I welded brackets, I rewelded a set of headers, I welded a new crossmember for my truck, I made a cart for my tool box in the garage (a pit cart is next). The point is practice, but if you are practicing on something you care about you will concentrate harder and learn more. You can only weld coupons together so long before it just becomes mindless and then you start to think 'hey I'm a good welder' when in fact a new stick of steel and a weird position will bite you in the ass every time.

Mick

[kennyd]

Taught myself 37 years ago when I started at my dad's commercial/industrial sheetmetal shop. He just threw a bunch of 16 ga scrap on the table, handed me a bunch of 6011 rod and said "there you go, let me know when your done"! And after awhile taught mig and tig. But the key is experience and to practice over and over on everything,,, thick, thin, steel, stainless, aluminum, etc. Still learning though, that's what's fun. And with the machines that are available today, the learning curve is much quicker.


thats the way i was taught also . dad gave me a 12in x 12in sheet of 3/16 and made me weld rows side by side untill it was 2in thick . i still have the old crank top welder in the storage barn my dad used .

[crazyshopmonkey]

try your local community college, I learned at Riverside Community College (RCC) in southern california back in the 80's :( the courses are cheap and instruction is usually very good, I started with basic oxyacetylene welding, and moved to the TIG and MIG :cheers:

[LowchevyII]

wow thanks for the large amount of responses thus far. i always was curious about taking a community college welding class and it seems liek thats the route many have taken and is what works. feel free to keep contributing its great info

[DRJDVM's '69]

I went to a local welding trade school and asked about "lessons". They let me do it by the hour. I paid for about 8 hours and came in and did them as I could....1-2 hours here and there. They had several machines and lots of scrap to work on. It did help me get the basics.

The only real downside is that once you go home and practice etc, you dont have any hands on feedback. I've read books and did online stuff but I'll be honest and admit that half the pix I see, I cant really tell the subtle difference from a good weld from a bad one....too much heat, not enough penetration.... the obvious stuff is easy...its the subtle differences that I'm still having issues with really looking at it and being satisfied its a good weld. I've heard numerous pro -welders state that a "good looking weld" isnt always a good weld....in other words it may look like a row of dimes etc etc, but really lack a truly good weld.

I wish I had someone that could hands on look at my practice stuff and say "looks good or "do this or that"....you just cant get that from a book.
Some of the practice stuff I do may look good to me but if a pro looked he may not feel the same.

There are tons of guys that can weld....but alot of those guys arent good welders.

I think the hands on feedback can be really important.

[TreySmith]

High school shop class. :D The teacher didn't know what she was doing so we all had to teach other and just go for it. :willy: Had some good times in that class.

[1984 camaro]

lol 6011s now your age is showing I started the same way, bought a miller stick welder at the age of 16 and started welding. I built a car trailer at 16 and still use it to this day its about 25 years old now. At 18 I bought a miller 250 and still use that to this day Most of my welding is on heavy trucks and equipment.