I passed!!!

[BillC]

Some of you may remember that I am a night student at the local technical school. Last week I welded my 3G and 4G plate 7018 samples and submitted them for Radiography.

I passed! SMAW is very humbling, and even to get that far compared to the rest of you is a proud moment for me...

So, I have passed kindergarten and am now starting 1st grade of my welding experience...

[metal tech]

Congrats Bill. The more you weld the easier it gets, but you never stop learning.

Al

[Hobart Expert Rock]

WAY TO GO BILLC.......... IT DOES MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD DOESN'T IT................. .................CONGRATULATIONS AND HAVE A SAFE HOLIDAY WEEKEND..................ROCK..................... ..
[email protected]

[Jerry]

At a boy Bill. Just have fun while your learning buddy. Do you plan on going into the welding field full-time when your done with school?

Good luck as you continue.

[BillC]

Originally posted by Jerry
At a boy Bill. Just have fun while your learning buddy. Do you plan on going into the welding field full-time when your done with school?

Good luck as you continue.

Thanks Jerry. I am kind of in the field right now, but not as a craftsman. I am a mechanical engineer, and the hands-on knowledge should both help me be a better engineer and keep the weldors I work with happier I do plan on doing my own welding at home to fabricate parts for my other hobby, four wheeling.

[MikeR]

As a fabricator who used to work in a big shop w/ about 30 of us and 5 engineers, I applaud you for trying to better your relationship with the weldors! There are some engineers that have no idea what they are doing, and have no respect for what metal can do. (I think we had five of them!) Anyway, just wanted to let you know, from personal experience, that your weldors appreciate what you are trying to do for them!!!!!!

[Arc Burn]

Congrats Bill!When i was in bridge construction we had engineers that would dream up joint configurations that could not even be accesed to weld ,they really didn't understand what we did so i for one applaud your desire to further your career.

[Guest]

Hey, that's real great, Bill...I can echo MikeR and Arc Burns sentiments, also. I have learned a lot from ME's but on the other hand I have taught them a few things, too! Keep it up...I can just see ya building one of those Disney rides in your back yard, now!

[BillC]

What's next?

Thanks to all for the good wishes! Now that I have learned the basics of SMAW I think I am going to try another process. I've been duly awed by all the examples of GMAW you guys have posted, so I think I will do MIG next. There are a lot of MIG machines out there, so I think it will be useful to learn. Hopefully it won't take as long as stick did...

[Arc Burn]

Mig will not take nearly as long,you now understand what a weld puddle should look like as it's being made and know how to manipulate the stick to make the weld do what you want,thats very important because many people take mig for granted thinking if the bead "looks" pretty it must be strong,you now know better and will find mig a breeze!

[Guest]

The one mistake stick weldors make when trying MIG for the first time, is expecting the weld to look like a stick weld...it does not. You must remember the wire is constantly piling up and you must move ahead accordingly. The only place that penetrates is where the arc touches, so you keep the arc out to penetrate and then back to fill. Where I really could see this happening is when i was using a copper backup to burn in a root pass on some test plates. Where the arc has touched, was a groove, proof of penetration. The most fun in MIG welding is changing a 44 # roll of wire and having the wire end get away from you.

[BillC]

I really like Rocky's advice:

"The only place that penetrates is where the arc touches, so you keep the arc out to penetrate and then back to fill."

You probably just saved me a few weeks of trial and error.

And I'll remember to keep hold of the end of the wire when I am changing spools... I'll bet a 44# spool has a lot of wire to roll back onto the spool.

Thanks!

[yjweldor]

oviedo fl huh? man i'm right down the road! i'm here in winter springs, but spend 99.9% of my time in oviedo...lol...what school have you been going to? i just registered for some classes over at SCC in buddy ****'s welding classes for the fall semester....i'm hoping to get my certification after that and then get it on as full time weldor (hopefully, if the job market allows me to....) i work full time nights over at the home depot now....but anyway....oh, and i can wheel with the best of em....haha....i got a 95 yj with a spring over, about to swap in some scout d44's and a dana 300 tcase....gonna run 36's when it's all done!.....i need the knuckles turned on the front 44, so being that you're handy with a stick welder, maybe you can do a little work for me.....anyway man, i'll check back and see what you got to say! as for now, have a good memorial day and i hope to speak with you soon! peace!

[BillC]

Hey YJweldor,

I am going to Mid-Florida Tech. I just started MIG tonight. Did a few stringers flat, got bored and went horizontal, then ran a vertical stringer before class ended.

Your YJ sounds cool. I have been working on my '79 Bronco, but am about ready to give up and buy a YJ. I have a set of Dana 60s that would look real sweet under the leaf springs, and I would not have to worry about breaking anything ever again...

Here's a link to my 4WD club...

http://www.mosquitocounty4x4.com/

See ya!

[morpheus]

good looking truck Bill ! ... is that at the Guardrail in Tellico ?



- jack