By Joe Gresh
You can learn only so much from watching Utube videos. To get proficient at welding you have to actually weld, and weld a lot. This is where New Mexico State University comes in handy. I signed up to be an Aggie for Welding 102 with Mr. Hurt in the hope my shabby attempts at welding could be improved.
Welding 102 is the NMSU starter course, ground zero. For the first few classes we dwelt on safety stuff and spent the time gathering the needed tools of the trade. Steel toe boots were required and I couldn’t find a pair cheaper than $200. I had most of the other stuff: welding helmet, fire resistant shirt, chipping hammer, pliers, safety glasses, welding gloves and a wire brush. It’s a lot of gear and if you’re starting from scratch you’ll be $300 or more into the deal before striking a bead.
Welding 102 is not cheap either. The course runs $500 and is two days a week, 1 1/2 hours each class. I’m not sure how long a semester lasts but I plan on going until they tell me to stop. Most of the cost of welding 102 is materials. NMSU provides all the steel, gas, welding rods and other consumables. It’s fair: I can burn up $20 worth of rod in one sitting.
Arc welding (or MMA, Manual Metal Arc) is the first type of welding we are learning. It requires the least expensive equipment and the fewest bits and pieces. You have a buzz box, the rod, and the material to be welded. The first thing we did was run 6-inch beads on a 3/8-inch plate of mild steel. You started at the top and ran a bead across then started a second bead just below the first bead and overlapping onto the first bead a little. We used 6010 rods, which is a fast freeze metal. The rod makes coarse ripples as you move along, freezing only a fraction of an inch behind the molten puddle.
I had a hard time with 6010. After I finished filling my plate with beads Mr. Hurt said I needed to work on my bead width consistency. So I turned the plate 90 degrees and started again, bead after bead. I still sucked. Turning the plate once again I laid beads over the other two layers of metal. My plate was getting heavy and was warping like a taco.
Mr. Hurt opened the welding shop on a Saturday for us uncoordinated kids who need more practice. I welded on my 6-inch square plate of mild steel from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. and the thing was approaching ¾ of an inch thick when Mr. Hurt said that it was enough. I could never weld that many hours with the Vevor 130 welder I bought on Amazon.
Through all the practice I was getting better at seeing the welding process. I still couldn’t see where I was going but I could see the puddle, puddle width and was getting the tiniest bit more consistent.
7018 is the next rod we are tackling. It’s the same process: cover a 6×6 steel plate with beads overlapping beads. The 7018 was easier to control and the beads have a more uniform appearance. 7018 is more liquid (slower cooling?) than 6010 so the ripples between the puddles are less pronounced and not as coarse. 7018 is a low-hydrogen rod, whatever that means. It is kept in a 250-degree oven so that the flux doesn’t absorb hydrogen from the atmosphere.
Each student has their own welding booth complete with a table, smoke extractor and arc shielding curtains to keep from flashing other kids. A blind welder isn’t much use to anyone.
Our class of 13-ish started out with two women but they both dropped out after the third class. I don’t know why. There is no gender-based physical limitation to be a welder. Eyesight and a steady hand are more important than brute strength. There is one other geezer in our class; the rest is made up of younger guys looking to get into welding as a trade. I just want to know how to use the machines I bought.
The university provides Miller equipment and these things are beasts. They will do arc, wire feed with gas and TIG welding. You can run them 24 hours a day. They don’t overheat or shut down. If you were running a welding shop this is the way to go.
I feel like I’ve made some progress with my welding. That long Saturday session really helped. Welding 4 hours straight will calm your nerves right down. I’m still nowhere close to being Vulcan. There are a many more types of welding to learn. NMSU has three more welding courses, each more advanced than the previous. If you manage to complete them all you will be Vulcan at the end. Live long and prosper, my brothers.
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Looks like a good experience for you. I’ve been welding most of my adult life. There is a lot of variables in it that require some knowledge and experience is a must. Once you know what you’re doing practice makes perfect.
That’s very cool. State Universities/ Community Colleges are rife with these courses and $500 is, in fact, pretty cheap for something that yields such a skill. Looking forward to your progress!
Congratulations Joe on taking the initiative to learn something new. Never too old.
IN THE 70S I WAS OFFERED A JOB IN THE SAN FRANCISCO CA SHIP YARDS, I WAS THAT GOOD, WHILE TAKING A UNION WELDING CLASS THROUGH THE SHEET METAL WORKERS WHICH INCLUDED THE HVAC WORKERS. I COULDNT SEE A 2 HOUR DRIVE THERE AND BACK EVERY DAY AS I LIVED IN SACRATOMATO CA. BEFORE RETIRING, I WORKED AT A UNIVERSITY MAINTENANCE SHOP. I WAS BROUGHT IN AT A LOWER LEVEL POSITION WITH A PROMISE FOR ADVANCEMENT TO HIGHER POSITIONS. BY THIS TIME I HAD DECADES OF HVAC AND WELDING EXPERIENCE. WHEN EVER A WELDING OR CHILLER JOB CAME UP, THE TRADESMAN, (UPPER JOB POSITION) WOULD COME IN AND MAKE A MESS OF WELDING, LIKE 6″ TO 12″ PIPES. AT TEN YEARS ON THIS JOB, IT WAS EVIDENT THERE WAS NO ONE GETTING ADVANCED IN THE JOBS, I DIDNT LET THEM KNOW OF MY EXPERIENCE IN WELDING ( I TOLD THEM IN MY ORIGINAL JOB INTERVIEW) AS IT WOULD MAKE NO DIFFERENCE IN GETTING A HIGHER POSITION, SO I MUDDLED ALONG PLUNGING TOILETS AND CHANGING LIGHT BULBS AND HVAC FILTERS FOR OVER 11 YEARS AND LAUGHING TO MY SELF AS I WATCHED THE TRADESMEN SCREW UP ON THEIR WELDING AND BRAZING PIPING. NOW RETIRED,I OCCASIONALLY WELD A BRACE OR OTHER PART WITH MY CHEAP HARBOR FREIGHT WIRE FEED WELDER… LOL. IT IS AMAZING HOW YOU CAN MAKE METAL FLOW WITH WELDING.
When I was near retirement from the Army, in about 2002, I discovered that our local community college offered welding classes. Cool, something I had always wanted to at least try. We started with stick, just like you did. Although the instructors were talented welders they were horrible teachers. Those night classes were taught by part time instructors. We only had less than a dozen students in my class, to include one woman. It did not take long to figure out that welding was not only interesting but also challenging to learn. After a semester of stick the next semester was MIG. Then came TIG, followed by pipe and oxy/acetylene. Finally we had a semester of TIG aluminum. This took a few years total and I really enjoyed the experience, enough that I now have a metal shop for play. I have MIG, TIG, Stick, Oxy, plasma cutting and even went off the deep end to buy a 50 year old Bridgeport mill. The community college classes were pretty inexpensive then and I can audit any time I want a refresher. I understand that the classes are free to seniors…have not explored that option. Finally, I’m amazed at how useful welding is. There’s one pitfall. When your friends learn that you can weld they suddenly have ‘little jobs’ that they want to get done.
Peter,
Senior classes are $5 in New Mexico. Unfortunately you are low man on the totem pole as paying customers come first (naturally!)
The welding class is very popular and my chances as getting in on the senior discount was slim so I signed up as a full paying student.
I’ll get credits towards a welding certificate!
Hey Joe – Wow – Great stuff. When you are farther along I was wondering if you could maybe weld me an Elvis painting except rather than it being painted you could weld it in 3D relieve. Kinda like a velvet Elvis but in metal. What do you think???
More like a chewing gum Elvis!
Proud of you Joe!
Keep it going!
Young guy I know took a 2 year welding program. Two years after graduating he is making over $65,000. Not bad for a non college boy just over age 25. He works for a company that makes railroad cars.