PTEC Welding student from Clearwater, Florida

[ElectricSquid]

Yup, I must be crazy.
I used to be a roofer here in Clearwater, Florida. It was like working in a sauna.
Then I moved on to building saunas and wine cellars. LOL, I went from "like" working in a sauna to actually building them. But the economy went to $#!+ and that cake job ended.

Now I'm in welding school.

I've done all sorts of construction for the past 15+ years. You name it, I've probably done it at least once. Everything except bonding metal to metal with fire. Welding, to me, is like the last frontier. Once I get this mastered, I can build anything I dream up.

So far, I've been in class for 7 months, and loving every second of it. My only complaint is that the day ends too soon. If I had the funding, I would be taking the morning and afternoon class at the same time.

I'm still not sure where I'm going to take this knowledge once I'm done. But I figure as long as I keep up doing as good as I am, the doors will start opening for me.

I'm glad to be here, but must admit, I'd rather be welding :D

[SR20steve]

Sounds like you got what it takes to be a great welder. Every great welder I know first and foremost loves welding.

Like the old addage, do what you love and never work a day in your life.

[specter]

Hi Ya ElectricSquid and Welcome to the Welding Web Family. I can honestly say I would never want to be a roofer in FL especially with that summertime heat and humidity, & oh did I leave out those nasty lightning storms

After classes each day you should practice what you learned. Hopefully you own or have access to some equipment that will allow that. If not see if you can stay around between classes and practice before the class begins.

[aevald]

Hello ElectricSquid, there's another possibility that you could consider here. See if your instructor(s) would consider having you as an unpaid aid in the afternoon class. Help is generally always welcomed by peers, sometimes you can get things across to other students easier than the instructors can. Offer your services on helping out with starting students in the areas that you have been trained in, also offer to help with reminding the new students about safety issues: proper use of tools, wearing proper eye protection and other safety gear, paying attention to proper guarding and adjustment of guards on equipment. Helping others reinforces your training and might allow you to spend more time without needing to pay for it, sometimes they might even be able to pay you for your assistance. Just a few thoughts to consider. Best regards, Allan

[ElectricSquid]

Hi Ya ElectricSquid and Welcome to the Welding Web Family. I can honestly say I would never want to be a roofer in FL especially with that summertime heat and humidity, & oh did I leave out those nasty lightning storms

LOL, I moved from up north because I hated the cold.
I love the storms. It's been raining here for a week straight and I still look forward to more.
I have to agree, roofing is a bit to the extreme down here. I had to drink 2 1/2 gallons of gatorade a day, and I was still dehydrated.



After classes each day you should practice what you learned. Hopefully you own or have access to some equipment that will allow that. If not see if you can stay around between classes and practice before the class begins.

I have a Lincoln AC-225, but no DC capability. I need to look into add-on kits to add DC to this unit. If they make such a kit. I have a torch, but no tanks. Besides that, I have no access to equipment outside of class.

Going in early or staying late isn't an option, due to school rules.

[ElectricSquid]

I could talk all day about welding, but I know from running my own website, everyone loves PICS. So here's a few of my progress...

TIG
Pic 1 - 3/8" mild steel plate V-grove open root - Top side (Cap)
Pic 2 - The same plate, showing the root pass

Note - I started each pass in the middle of the plate, then flipped the plate over, and did the other side. Any ol' dip**** can start at the bottom and end at the top, but starting in the middle simulates a start, stop, and restart, more like what will be encountered in the field.
You can easily see the re-start in the cap, but check out the root. No indication of a restart in the middle of the plate (and there is one there, you just can't see it).

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2287

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2288

[ElectricSquid]

... and here are the bend tests on the cap and root of the 3/8" V-grove open root, same as pictured above.

I had to let these slugs rust a little bit, because before they rusted, you couldn't even see that there was a weld in there.

TIG
Pic 1 - Root
Pic 2 - Root & Cap
Pic 3 - Cap

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2289

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2291

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2293

[ElectricSquid]

After I completed the TIG section, they put me on Oxy-fuel cutting which is worth a quick 40+ hours of course credit. I blew it out in 6 hours, half of which was doing cuts in positions and on pieces not required to pass.

Needed to pass was straight cut pull, push, and sideways, and a bevel cut. Then I had to cope angle, channel, and I-beam. And I had to cut a hole in plate that a tube would fit through tightly.

The only thing that gave me trouble was the part of the I beam where you would normally use a grinder to remove. They wanted it done without the use of a grinder. So I heated the metal and beat the two pieces together with a big f**king hammer

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2298

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2301

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2302

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2297

[ElectricSquid]

MIG (GMAW)

T's on 3/8" mild steel, 3 passes
Here's a pic of my 6th try (ever) on MIG.
This was in the "flat" (1F) position

I can make it look like this in all positions (1F, 2F, 3F, &4F)

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2309

[ElectricSquid]

With some practice, I found that having the correct wire speed, voltage, travel speed, tip distance, and gun angle will reduce the splatter down to almost none at all.

Here's a pic of my vertical (3F) MIG 3-pass weave on 3/8" plate (0.045" wire)

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2343

[ElectricSquid]

Next up, MIG on 3/8" plate V-groove in the flat position (1G) 3-pass weave pattern.

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2344

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2345

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2346

[ElectricSquid]

The dreaded horizontal V-groove 6-pass (stringers) with MIG on 3/8" plate.
I nailed it on the first try :cool2:

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2347

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2348

[ElectricSquid]

How about some Flux Core
:nono: I can do it, but don't ask me to unless it's absolutely necessary.

Horizontal (2G) V-groove on 3/8" plate, 6-pass stringers - Flux Core

http://redneckfabrication.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1173.0;attach=2349

[ElectricSquid]

I'm now working on SMAW (stick)

I've passed all my T's (6010 and 7018), but didn't take any pics. I was too preoccupied with getting past it to plates.

I've also passed the 6010 (1/8" rod) overhead (4G) open root on 3/8" plate, but again, didn't take any pics. My 6010 open root overhead came out so good, I'm going to do one more just to get a pic of it. Tuesday maybe.

I'm now on 7018 V-groove on 3/8" plate. It's like a BBQ picnic compared to 6010. I'll pop some shots of that too, and maybe a video now that I have the auto-dark helmet (as a second helmet).

[DSW]

Looks like you are coming along. I'm a bit surprised at the order they seam to have you doing. Most places I've seen local teach O/A cutting 1st (figuring you'll need it to prep pieces and for safety) and then move on to stick. After that they move you on to mig then tig. That or if it's an accelerated program to get people into industry, they move straight to mig, expecting you to just be an assembly line weld monkey and don't need to learn any other processes.

To me your horizontal mig/FC looks heavy on the caps. I'd expect something more like your mig flat weave in height. I would have expected that horz. mig to be 3 passes or root and weave not 6 pass on 3/8". The tall height may just be the pict on the mig, but the FC one looks way heavy regardless.

From what I can see of the bends, they look good.

[ElectricSquid]

I'm a bit surprised at the order they seam to have you doing. Most places I've seen local teach O/A cutting 1st (figuring you'll need it to prep pieces and for safety) and then move on to stick.....

PTEC - Clearwater is a bit heavy on students for the amount of machines they have. So they'll start some students on one process, other students on something else. It fills out the machines and make the best usage of the equipment and space. I don't blame them, they juggle the usage really well considering what they are working with.

Since I'm ready to get my hands dirty on whatever I can get into, I didn't care much where I started. In fact, I'm glad I started on TIG, then MIG, then Stick. To me it translates to pretty (TIG), not as pretty (MIG), almost ugly (6010).

I have a bit of prior experience in Oxy-fuel cutting.




To me your horizontal mig/FC looks heavy on the caps. I'd expect something more like your mig flat weave in height.

I agree, and if I did it again, I would make it flatter. My overhead MIG/FC came out much flatter, and almost pretty.

But I must say, I don't see subjecting myself to flux core as a career unless I have to, so I moved on.




I would have expected that horz. mig to be 3 passes or root and weave not 6 pass on 3/8". The tall height may just be the pict on the mig, but the FC one looks way heavy regardless.

The FC is heavy, but the MIG 2G is not as heavy as it appears in the pic. It's about the same height as the flat. I tried to show the side view, but unless I cut the plate to show a cross section, it's hard to show it correctly. I should start doing that, cutting the plate to properly show the cross section.

As far as 6 passes, they're stringers. That was for 2G only. It's root (1 pass), filler (2 passes), and cap (3 passes). All other positions were 3 pass weave.

I originally did 2G as a weave pattern, but it wasn't what they wanted to see to pass.




From what I can see of the bends, they look good.

Thanks, that was for TIG, which didn't require bends to pass, it was visual only. I bent it anyway.

MIG required bends on 3G and 4G, which were flawless, which is one of the reasons I didn't bother to photograph them.