Welding Tips and Tricks

First off, a big “Thank You!” to all the members here for your participation. The advice you guys provide on forums like this (and Jody’s videos) prove to be an invaluable resource.

I am not a welder but my boy is (kinda). He took a number of classes a few years back at the local community college (about 400 hrs of stick, Mig and Tig) but entered a different field or work. He was recently laid off from the oil field tools industry when his company shut down operations. He decided to go back and complete the welding program. He needs a Math for Welders, Blueprint Reading for Welders and a Pipe Welding class to finish up.

The pipe class will focus on 5G/6G. Root, fill and cap are combinations of TIG, Stick, and MIG, so brushing up on these processes was important.

Which is where I come in. My boy is the ”hands-on” guy and I am a CraigsList/eBay/forum hound whose job was to sniff out some good equipment for him to practice on now and hopefully use (or resell) in the future. I started out with very little knowledge, did a lot of reading on the forums and watched lots of Jody’s videos. The education helped us make some (hopefully) good purchase decisions.

We started out with a Miller Thunderbolt and in the past couple of months we have picked up a Lincoln Square Wave 175 TIG, Lincoln Power Mig 300MP with a Python push-pull gun, and a small Northern Industrial 375 Plasma cutter, along with gas bottles, regulators and supplies. It is hard to imagine how far we have come in such a short time.

I have done my part. Now it is up to the boy.

BTW: If anyone down in the Houston area is looking for a helper, my boy is available. He can be kinda stubborn, but he is good help.

Again, thanks for your participation here and for sharing your knowledge.

Dan

Welcome, Dan,

Get that boy involved with Jody's videos, and get him on this forum.

You've found the "keys to the kingdom", so to speak. We've freely discussed everything from how 6013 behaves on a Harbor Freight cheapo box to the metallurgy of Titanium welds.

No question is out of our range of experience, as we have everyone from metal artists to NASA aerospace welders.

Steve S

Dan welcome to the forum.

HI Dan, welcome to the forum! Your boy is lucky that he has a Dad willing to help him out the way you are. To me, and I teach welding, including pipe, the key to the pipe is practice. If nothing else, practice running around a pipe in 6G with a stinger and rod, with someone spotting you, to make sure your angles stay correct and true. Angles are everything!! Find you some junk 4" or bigger pipe. Take your pipe tape and mark a line around the pipe. Take your grinder and grind out a small "u" groove on the line mark. Fill up the "u" groove. Look for consistency, even build up. If you can master this exercise, you are ready for some 'real' pipe welding.

Practice, practice, practice!

Thanks for the welcome.

I am a white collar computer nerd but have always been interested in welding. When my son started welding classes a few years back, I was always intrigued by what he was doing. After the oil field tool company he was working for shut down this spring and he started talking about getting back up to speed with his welding, it was a good excuse for me to dive in and see what I could do to help out (plus – I get to play with the stuff too!)

What surprised me most was how much we learned in such a short period of time by watching videos, reading forum posts and searching on-line. We used that knowledge to find some really good gear to practice on (cheap).

Otto:
I doubt you will see the boy on-line. We have been watching a lot of videos but my son could be the poster boy for multiple learning disabilities. So, I will be his “speech to text” and “text to speech” interface as we go along. Oddly enough, in discussion with several people in the welding industry, this seems to be a very common issue.

Boomer63:
You answered my next question. The boy has to complete a blueprint reading class before taking the pipe class so the pipe welding class is a couple months away. However, the school allows students to use the welding lab on a space-available basis. A new summer term just started up and classes are full. The booths are pretty well filled up right now.

I was trying to determine how to use the time and our gear to maximize his practice at home until lab space opens up. Getting some pipe and cutting grooves for practice sounds like a good plan. Thanks for the recommendations.

Question: If we groove up some pipe, is there a recommended sequence for “best practice” (6010 or 7018)?
Also, the instructor said the class would include TIG root passes. Is the grooved pipe a good starting point for this as well?

Thanks.

Dan

UglyBlobs wrote:
Otto:
I doubt you will see the boy on-line. We have been watching a lot of videos but my son could be the poster boy for multiple learning disabilities. So, I will be his “speech to text” and “text to speech” interface as we go along. Oddly enough, in discussion with several people in the welding industry, this seems to be a very common issue.

That, by itself, does not mean you shouldn't suggest it. He'd be welcome here whatever his challenges, and treated with respect.

You are the definition of what a "dad" should be, for what you're doing to help him through this. I won't bore with the details, but I know what it is to guide a child with difficulties through his education. May God and Karma smile on you.

Steve S

[quote="UglyBlobs"]Thanks for the welcome.


Boomer63:

I was trying to determine how to use the time and our gear to maximize his practice at home until lab space opens up. Getting some pipe and cutting grooves for practice sounds like a good plan. Thanks for the recommendations.

Question: If we groove up some pipe, is there a recommended sequence for “best practice” (6010 or 7018)?
Also, the instructor said the class would include TIG root passes. Is the grooved pipe a good starting point for this as well?

I have an autistic step son, so I am familiar with 'special needs'. His mom and I are divorced, but I am still in contact with the boy. What you need to practice is open root ... and that with your 6010. You can get some pieces of 1/4" to 3/8"; think about pieces that are 2" X 6". Take your grinder and put a 30 degree bevel on each side with a 1/8" land. I have the students to a lot of this, using a gap of about 1/8". Practice vertical up, or horizontal. If he can get the hang of that open root than it will help him with pipe. Also, try what I recommended with cutting groove in pipe. Lots of things to do that help prep for pipe. BUT!!!!! The transition to pipe is still like throwing a hand grenade into your brain. Big difference!

Steve:
Thanks for the compliment, but I am not selflessly trying out for Dad of the Year. I set out to help my son get finished up with his welding classes. What I didn’t count on was catching the welding “bug” so this has actually been a lot of fun for me.

When we talked to the school and found that he was eligible for a scholarship to pay for the training I figured since the training was covered, I could spend some to get him equipment to practice on at home. Getting some equipment at home for him to practice on also means I get to play too!

BTW: I didn’t mean to leave the impression that he really needs my help. He gets by just fine. Reading and writing are just more challenging for him. It reminds me of driving. We all make plans, pick routes and take shortcuts to get where we are going. We avoid things that might slow us down. But, one minute we can be cruising along at highway speed, then suddenly hit the brakes and end up in the middle of a traffic jam. It slows you down – is aggravating – but once past it you are off and running again.

Boomer:
Back in school, the Band Director used a quote attributed to Vince Lombardi, “Practice doesn’t make perfect: Perfect Practice makes perfect”. Burning rods can be fun but I realize focusing on the proper techniques will pay off later. Thanks for your input.

UglyBlobs wrote:Steve:
Thanks for the compliment, but I am not selflessly trying out for Dad of the Year.

I wasn't nominating you.

I've been through it. I've sat in 8th grade shop class three class days a week as a grown-ass man to help my son get through it and actually profit from the experience. The instructor was incredibly understanding, and I'd have nominated him for teacher of the year if that contest had been on.

Steve S

Otto Nobedder wrote:

UglyBlobs wrote:Steve:
Thanks for the compliment, but I am not selflessly trying out for Dad of the Year.

I wasn't nominating you.

I've been through it. I've sat in 8th grade shop class three class days a week as a grown-ass man to help my son get through it and actually profit from the experience. The instructor was incredibly understanding, and I'd have nominated him for teacher of the year if that contest had been on.

Steve S

Dang! And here I was just finishing up my acceptance speech. Oh, well. Back to reality.

Sounds like your son was blessed to have you in his life. When you are surrounded by people who care, obstacles are easier to overcome. My son finished up the "Math for Welders" class tonight. Had a great instructor and passed with flying colors.

But, it wasn't easy. Kinda Déjà vu for us. It took a lot of late nights, working side-by-side and trying to help out as he laboriously worked through each math problem to get there.

Unfortunately, I am afraid there are still too many who fall out along the way because they don't have the support system at school or at home.

Half the problem is that there are not enough resources to go around.

The other half are the parents who don't know or care to seek the resources.