Welding Tips and Tricks

http://imgur.com/ZBIH4CY Just started last week in class, and my instructor is a little hazy with details sometimes. I know some of my restarts arent great(I struggle with starting the arc) I'm using and LE invertec v350-pro, 6010+ electrode on the crispy setting at 85amp and 70volt

Version6 wrote:http://imgur.com/ZBIH4CY Just started last week in class, and my instructor is a little hazy with details sometimes. I know some of my restarts arent great(I struggle with starting the arc) I'm using and LE invertec v350-pro, 6010+ electrode on the crispy setting at 85amp and 70volt

Where's the weaves?
All I see is 6010 padding beads.

Version - I am an instructor at a community college, and I have my students do exactly what you are doing in the pic. I learned to weld stick over 35 years ago. Since then, I have been drunk a lot, have had several concussions and one brain injury. I can't remember what it was like to be a beginner! I also don't spend a lot of time looking over the students shoulder. There are multiple purposes to EVERYTHING I teach. I want my guys to be flexible, adaptable and able to think for themselves. Early on, I encourage them to talk to each other, watch each other. As a noob, just watching someone else welds helps you! I don't know why, but it does! You have a room full of other students, so work together! Help each other, identify problems for each other and watch each other. You are not on your own in a booth, you are part of a team! This is what I teach! Obviously, there are many levels of learning going on there!

As a noob, you are developing eye-hand coordination. This comes easier for some than others. Never compare yourself to another welder, especially at the level you are at. Watch video. Learn to identify what makes a good weld and what mistakes look like. Remember, there is always more than one way to do something. Trust your instructor; if he is worth anything at all, he will take you to where you need to be.

Remember, to get to that 'journeyman' level takes years and years. You can't short cut that process. One thing I used to tell the apprentice class at ironworkers school was that the difference between a last year apprentice and a journey man is that if ask the apprentice if he knows the craft, he will answer something like: "Sure, I believe I got this down!" Ask the same question of the ten year guy, and you will get an answer like: (Big sigh)"Well ... I dunno ... always something new to learn".

You are starting on a very long and exciting journey! Your discovery of the world of welding will never end, because it is simply impossible to know it all!
Gary

LOL! Gary, I find most people who say, "I got this down!" mean to say, "My brain is full..."

Steve S

Otto Nobedder wrote:LOL! Gary, I find most people who say, "I got this down!" mean to say, "My brain is full..."

Steve S

I often work with people who's brains are so empty it's like filling an Olympic swimming pool with a syringe...

...then after squirting in about 30cc of info - their brains are "full" and they are sure they have learned all they'll ever need...