Welding Tips and Tricks

Hi all: I need someone in the Bend, Oregon area that can teach me to weld. I am an experienced rafter and fisherman, former whitewater guide, and I want to start designing and making my own raft frames. So, I need to know how to cope and weld steel pipe and aluminum tubing. I work full-time and have a family so this would be a couple of hours a week, evenings and weekends. I'm a fast learner and good with my hands. Any help you you can give me in finding a teacher would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome, John,

You'll see I've moved your post to "member introductions", which pretty much everyone who's active here reads.

I applaud you for looking for "hands on" training. You can learn it on your own with the resources available here and Jody's video tutorials, but nothing beats real human feedback as you're doing the work.

If you don't get a helpful reply in the next few days, I'll move it to "general shop talk", which almost every member reads.

Steve S

Thanks Steve!

I still say Jody should offer a class at least once a year. Hint, Hint.

John,
Welcome to the forum! Glad to see your enthusiasm for welding!!! Unfortunately, I cannot help you find help in your location off hand but I do have a few ideas you could try. Along with this forum you could try others as well as put it out on our Forum Facebook page. There is quite a bit of activity there from all over the world. Next would be just what Steve mentioned, Jody's videos. I believe we can be quite useful to you as a team here. Together we have helped many beginners improve their skills and tackle their challenges.

I am interested in what you want to build. Can you share some pics or links to help us better grasp what you are wanting to do?
Of course, you can always come on out to Ohio, I will help you the best I can. Or a all expenses paid trip to Oregon for my family and I.
-Jonathan

John,
I posted a reply, albeit abit late now, in the introduction section.

Shawn

John,
If you PM me I know of a place in Bend that can probably steer you in the right direction if you still need help.

Shawn

JohnL wrote:Hi all: I need someone in the Bend, Oregon area that can teach me to weld. I am an experienced rafter and fisherman, former whitewater guide, and I want to start designing and making my own raft frames. So, I need to know how to cope and weld steel pipe and aluminum tubing. I work full-time and have a family so this would be a couple of hours a week, evenings and weekends. I'm a fast learner and good with my hands. Any help you you can give me in finding a teacher would be greatly appreciated!

Hi John and welcome!
Do you have your own TIG? If not, get yourself a good one! If you aren't sure about what to get as far as a machine goes, assess your needs and post them out here, then see what advice drifts in. My attitude is to get more machine that you need, that way if you ever run into something heavier, you aren't stuck.

Check with you local community college. Ask if they have some night courses. If not, ask if you can sit in on a couple of sessions and in return donate consumables to the program - that would be grinding wheels, face shields, safety glasses, etc. - keep in mind that you are looking to get a few hundred dollars worth of training, so be generous! If there is no room for you in the program, ask about graduates who might want to come over to your place and teach you. Maybe you could post an ad on craigslist offering to trade services. But be careful! The guy you get to train you might not know what he is doing. Look for someone with real world experience. If you find someone and have no confidence in them, drop them and find someone else!

Good luck!