What would you think if you saw this welding?

[cwby]

I do a lot of equipment repair & my goal is to make every weld that goes out PERFECT. However since it is not new steel & usually has to be heatn & beatn to get it somewhat back in shape to be repaired, they seldom do go out perfect. As long as they are sound welds that will serve the purpose, a swipe or two with a flap disc, a shot of paint & let 'er go.

Strive for perfection - you will always get better, settle for the best you can do. Most times the only person that will notice the flaws will be yourself.

[farmall]

Positioning where its an easy flat weld will result in a better looking job.

My local trailer manufacturer rotates their frames (flipping 'em with a forklift last I heard) to permit as many easy horizontal welds as practical. It's worth the effort to get good at lifting, clamping and rigging.

[Sberry]

We got rigs for lots of stuff but I rarely consider the position for limited work. The hog it obviously makes easy sense to do it that way but a good share of what we do it vert and OH but nothing on that machine I would have flipped it for unless I could do it by hand. MFG for sure, give it as much help as possible.

[Sberry]

I am feeling apprehensive right now, had a repair tank yesterday, a trailer shackle and I done it above and beyond and the rest of it looked intact, not a concern so much I didnt even take payment till this morning, should have pilled cash over the weekend,,, ha but was a shiat design and I fix the failure up better. First time it has happened to me in so long I cant even remember, I havnt had a welding call back in 40 years. I discussed this a bit with the guyu over the weekend, says they are peddling this, had been repaired before, we didnt think there was an external cause, it all fit right up in place etc.
So,,,, the water burner thread brought this on,, repairs I have done a lot and exceed the original on occasion can still have oh shiats to them. I normally look for the fault, we assumed it was the original design and the repair following which I correct.

[Thepenatrator]

The prep work is 90% of welding. I am very picky when it comes to welds. I work in a shop that has different stages of welding and I will weld over and cover coworkers bs because to me someone is paying the product and deserve the best. After 12 years of working where I don't I have learned not to look at the finished product anymore because I am the only one that cares about quality and I can't do anything about it.. lol we make parts that are supposed to hold oil and the owner tells the grinders that if u can't see daylight through it send it. I

[Thepenatrator]

The prep work is 90% of welding. I am very picky when it comes to welds. I work in a shop that has different stages of welding and I will weld over and cover coworkers bs because to me someone is paying the product and deserve the best. After 12 years of working where I don't I have learned not to look at the finished product anymore because I am the only one that cares about quality and I can't do anything about it.. lol we make parts that are supposed to hold oil and the owner tells the grinders that if u can't see daylight through it send it. I

[Sberry]

It really cost less to do it right.
The welding on the implements that started this thread is quite good as far as utility, gonna never break cause he didnt do good enough. If it was painted would look even better. I dont always do the most perfect job I can, sometimes good enough is ok. There are certain things I dont like, spatter and holes burned thru. I know what is going to look like when I hit it with the sander which rips sharp edges and even slag off. I got a lot of tricks so it doesnt look finished and what it looks like painted.
with the op,,, could scuff along that with a 4 1/2 and brush some primer on and no one would give it any concern if it wasnt under magnification from the internet.

[Sberry]

I do a lot of equipment repair & my goal is to make every weld that goes out PERFECT. However since it is not new steel & usually has to be heatn & beatn to get it somewhat back in shape to be repaired, they seldom do go out perfect. As long as they are sound welds that will serve the purpose, a swipe or two with a flap disc, a shot of paint & let 'er go.

Strive for perfection - you will always get better, settle for the best you can do. Most times the only person that will notice the flaws will be yourself.

Yes, I c u said the same and my goal is to have it turn out just a bit better than they thought it would and I usually try to talk them in to a couple hundred to paint it. Some guys can understand the equity

[mhooker32]

not a professional welder, but my two cents. practice practice, practice. its muscle memory, and also endurance. welding is fatiguing at first. every single muscle in your body is used, muscles that dont normally get any kind of work out at all. also welding is like portrait painting( with a molten hot paintbrush ) under brutal conditions, or learning an instrument. the various patterns are like fine brush strokes on a canvas. its also easy to fall into a comfortable groove, rather then improve, doing jobs . doing a job, you will use a well worn technique just good enough to get thru it, no time then to experiment on improving. on an instrument, you have to sound bad before you get good. if you know a few good riffs, and just repeat them to not sound bad to even yourself, you never improve. you wont try different heat, speed, etc. you will need a lot of scrap metal, and a lot of rods, to get better. when you get the muscle memory, the hand to eye, and the endurance, you'll weld well all the time. its not for everyone, but from what you have done all your life, you are right for it. pencil pushers, never gonna happen.

[jhonesnow]

I Also agree with bakodiver's assessment. Your welding work seems to be of decent quality, and I'm sure your neighbor was satisfied with the repairs you did. It's possible that other farmers in the area would be interested in having you do some work for them as well. However, it's important to consider what people are willing to pay for this type of work, and how much you want to earn from your efforts. This will likely determine how much you need to invest in further training and practice. Regarding your idea of working for a local welding shop, it's important to note that most customers will not pay professional prices for work that is at your current level. As someone who has owned and operated a welding shop for the past 21 years, I can tell you that most of my customers are farmers, and they wouldn't be able to pay the prices I need to keep my business running if I offered repairs at your skill level. However, I wanted to reply and offer some encouragement because I think you have potential for improvement. Best of luck in your welding endeavors!

[Sberry]

There seems to be some general opinion all welding shops turn out great looking work all the time. I see some real crap from long time established outfits. As I said earlier, a little clean and some paint and no one would give this a second look in that world.

[Sberry]

His welding cept for a couple holes looks as good as this which got minimum seal weld as fast as it could, difference being paint. Customer was thrilled with it cept the bill and he got over it. I will agree the welding can use some work/coaching, First thing is toss that 3/32 and get 1/8. I dont really grind as much as semi sand on something like that, scuff the tops and the spatter, it cleans the loose slag and spray some paint or primer on. These kind of pictured dont do it justice, they hyper magnify every bump.
I dont do a sloppy job but I also dont super fuss with stuff they really dont want to pay for. At times I do, lot of factors in that.

[NotaVegetarian]

Our oldest son let his buddy borrow his 6x12’ enclosed trailer, was looking at it after he returned it there was some fresh paint on the tongue. Looked like jacked knifed it backing up and twisted the tongue and broke a welded edge loose. Really doesn’t look like it was done too well to start with. He call his buddy and they fessed up to turning to sharp backing up and bent their bumper as well. One of the fenders was bent too. They hammered it out and painted it crack and all. Really good friend don’t you think. Told if he is comfortable pulling it to the shop we’ll check it out make a list and take his buddy shopping for parts.

[TimmyTIG]

I don't think you're going to find many shops using that rod. 7018 is pretty much the standard, for stick.

[Sberry]

Just clicking. The first one I was trying to find pic of 18 pipe and that was in the vert on some simple frame, its painted but you can get the idea. We went to wire so not much of that stuff around.

[Sberry]

We didnt wear any grinder on this, did it right in the scrap yard as we were doing some demo. Dont panic,,,, was never filled. I put 150 gallons on it once in the yard.

[Sberry]

This is what made it practical at the time. First, it was scrap, second had all the tools and men on the job and due to the simple assembly of ready made free stuff it took about 30 minutes to hook those absolutely useless T that had been in my way forever to a piece of hitch that came in scrap from something. Ratchet strap for bind down and we added a valve for drain.

[2 Dogs]

I believe the brush hog will work fine, The welds do look amateurish, but they will do the job. keep practicing, turn up the amps.