Any left handed welders?

[bbecky1234]

I am posting this for my brother. He is taking classes to be a Navy Sea-bee. He is the only left handed person on base apparently and his instructor told him to just do everything opposite everyone else. Then the instructor said there was a trick to welding left handed, but he does not know what it is. Can anyone help?

[zapster]

left.. right... either foot... it dont matter

drummer

...zap!

[ironman7]

I have been welding for 24 yrs.I'm left handed,there is NO tricks! Over the years I have also learned to weld with my right hand. You can't always use your prefered hand! Always have a backup. What happens if you loose both hands?

[TEK]

I too am a southpaw. Been welding over 30 yrs. Doesnt matter that I ever noticed. Can Do!!

[zapster]

What happens if you loose both hands?

torch in mouth..filler in foot?
no thats no good..need a mask..and i'd imagine it would get quite uncomfortable...

well i guess your screwed if you tig..

oh well

...zap!

[bbecky1234]

Thank you very much, I will let him know. He is very nervous about doing a good job and passing his test on Fri. Thanks.

[zapster]

look if he has it in him he has it in him...and he will pass the test

only the best now..

...zap!

[smithboy]

I am a rightie, and all my beer mugs are left handed...I just had to adapt.

[gnm109]

He should be OK. I weld mostly left-handed but sometimes I change hands if necessary. Shouldn't be any difference at all.

[TEK]

If he is left-handed he's already better than 88% of the people he's training with. We are all gifted, ya know---

[littlefuzz]

I once switched the polarity on the mig welder of one of our new guys "welder", whatever. And when he said something was wrong we told him it was setup for welding left-handed. He never did figure it out, but he knew everything there was to know about welders.

[DDA52]

I am a lefty welder, and also weld righty. They made me certify with both hands when they caught me shifting hands once. I find it much easier to be able to use both. Just makes it much easier to find a comfy position. Myself, I don't do anything opposite from left to right. I'll keep the same weave and bead progression.

[weldrwomn]

Left to right, right to left, either right or left-handed....shouldn't matter if you are a welder/fabricator that is worth your salt.

[prop-doctor]

yeppers can I weld both ways does help when in the confines.. have a friend hes a lefty, but plays guitar right handed,, but hammers lefty,, and can weld both ways. now ifya bro can weld right handed life is good.. practice practice

[PoisonPancakes]

Left handed. I kept getting confused when I was first learning cause I do everything with both hands and I would forget which hand I'm welding with.

[kbnit]

Should learn how to weld left hand and right hand. And last I checked, the certification checklist only speficies position (flat & parallel, vertical up progression, etc), there is no recording of what hand did the welding. There'll be times you get into a tight spot and will have to shift hands. Best he learns it now.

[kbnit]

Yup, just checked AWS B2.1, Specification for Welding Procedure and Perfomance Qualification. Which hand is used is not considered a variable. Qualified with one hand, qualified with both.

[gmc1999]

I'm a southpaw also, but we are in our right mind.