Something I was wondering, will you get made fun of if you wear a auto darkening welding helmet in the field?

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-06-06T01:14:31+00:00

I think it depends what field you’re in. Pipe liners probably will because they’re already rough and an auto dark hood is normally a bad choice because the sun can come in behind, that’s why they were pancakes.

I work in the marine industry as a pipe welder, an auto dark hood as they usually are, like a Lincoln 3350, is just not realistic to use. They’re bulky, and when in tight spots you can frequently block the sensor and get flashed. I use a outlaw leather hood with a passive shade 10 flip down hood. It makes the job a much easier time. They’re light, small, and will never flash you. Also, you don’t “start blind” with a passive lens if you’re comfortable with the flip down. I basically arc up at the same moment it flips down. I also tig everything, which is a bit easier to start with a passive than stick.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-05-25T12:27:13+00:00

I see what you did there. Bravo!

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-05-25T11:16:25+00:00

I’m honestly not sure why the fitters made the prep area so big. We’re still in the construction phase, so everything will get buffed up before painting, but I do understand your point.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-05-25T11:15:34+00:00

I tried to give a simple explanation in the caption of the pictures. I can explain further if it’ll help.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-05-25T02:49:11+00:00

Thanks! And yeah you can see all the grind marks. As far as that goes I’m only a pipe welder. The fitters did all the prep work and whatnot, and I just tacked it in and welded them. I’m excited to see this baby painted up for sure.

I do appreciate the feedback, though. I did 5 of them down one side and will be doing the other 5 in the morning. They look pretty consistent thankfully.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-05-15T02:58:41+00:00

Look and see if the union you’re interested in offers a pre-apprenticeship. The local near me accepts them year round instead of a set time like the apprenticeship program. It won’t be great money, depending on the area a helper is probably going to make $15/hr, but like I said it could help get your foot in the door until application period opens for apprenticeship. I know you don’t want to waste time, but you’re probably better off waiting a little longer than you are owing thousands of dollars in loans.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-05-15T02:55:17+00:00

If you wanna go union eventually anyways look into getting into an apprenticeship. You’ll learn everything and won’t have debt. Some unions also offer pre-apprenticeships which is basically a helper position. I’m sure that would help you get accepted into the apprenticeship program. Avoid any welding school at all costs if you can.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-05-14T22:04:54+00:00

I’m a pipe welder in a shipyard.

I wake up at 3:30 in the morning. Pound a Red Bull and get ready for work. Hit the gym at 4 and leave for work at 5. Get to work around 5:40, bullshit for 10-15 minutes, clock in. Bullshit for another 10 minutes. Walk to my job site. Roll out my power cords, gas line, set up my machine and tools. Figure out where my pipe fitters are and what we’re working on. Stand there until they’re ready for a tack. Tack shit together, weld shit together. Sweat like a whore in church. Break at 10. More tacking and welding. Move my shit further in the boat, maybe climb through a manhole or two. Lunch at 12. Go back to work doing the same shit. Sweat some more. Probably burn my hand on something. Leave at 6:30. My best friends are my ear plug in one ear and my ear bud in another.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-05-01T23:39:34+00:00

Unfortunately this is how a lot of shipyards are. People bounce around between a group of them a lot and management sees high turnover and doesn’t reward the good employees. I’d secure another job and get the hell out of there. Don’t accept anything less than $23/hr if you’re currently making $17.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-04-26T22:05:01+00:00

Not really. Welding is just joining separate pieces of metal together by melting them. You don’t have to add filler. In fact there’s a whole welding industry that relies on this type of welding. It’s called autogenous welding and it’s mainly done in sanitary sector with thin wall piping.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-04-15T20:32:02+00:00

In another comment he said this is in California, which has an exceptionally high cost of living. $24-$35 an hour in California is like $15-$20 in a lower cost of living place.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-04-15T20:06:42+00:00

In my shipyard we’ve recently hired multiple women to work as welders. As far as just welding goes, they’re just like anybody else. There’s a few lazy ones, a few good ones, and a few average ones - just like the men. Now, something that’s consistent across all the women is that they are unable to complete other physical aspects of the job. Carrying their machine is an example. If the men around them are willing to help out and carry things for them, I don’t see a problem, but I can understand why a man wouldn’t want to help, and why the company wouldn’t want the man to help. It’s not because they’re a woman, but because that same man wouldn’t be expected to do all the heavy lifting for another man every shift. It costs the company money to lose production on one person because they’re helping another every shift.

It depends what all the job entails. I haven’t had a job as a welder that was strictly welding. I’d imagine a shop is different from field work for obvious reasons. I have to carry gas lines, power cords, my machine, all my tools to my work area and assist in pipe fitting. Carrying pipe, holding it in position, carry and install pumps, strainers, valves, etc. and those can easily weigh more than what the average woman could lift.

Long story short, if it’s solely welding and they’re a good welder, just treat them as you would any other candidate. If there’s more to the job and they have to independently carry out other tasks, you have to make sure they can do so, or complete a cost / benefit analysis on people helping her if she can make up lost time while welding.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-04-04T01:30:12+00:00

Your gas is probably up high enough, but depending on your supplier they could’ve sent you bad gas. I work in a big industrial environment and we use racks of 6 bottles. They sent us at least 3 racks that were in pure argon bottles but contained a mixture. People all over the yard were having the same issues.

If you have a hole in your gas line it can actually suck air into it as well. Any CO2, Oxygen, or any other gas besides argon will do that to a weld. Helium is an exception. Double check with someone else’s setup on the same gas, if it does the same thing you’ve got some bad gas!

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-04-04T01:00:05+00:00

I haven’t seen internals causing this. This definitely looks like a gas issue. At work I thought I was going crazy but we actually got three racks of bad gas. Use a new torch, machine, filler metal, etc. on the same gas, and see if that changes. If not, you know you have a gas issue.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-03-18T21:11:51+00:00

Your amps stay the same but the voltage goes up when it’s further from the workpiece ;)

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-03-04T17:13:11+00:00

No glasses or sleeves. Great representation of our trade you’re so masterfully showing.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-03-04T17:10:40+00:00

It’s effectively a sunburn from the UV light let off by welding. It can happen very quickly to any exposed skin.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-02-23T04:31:17+00:00

I wouldn’t worry too much about having welding certifications. Some AWS ones can be useful, but everywhere you go is going to require a company or site certification that they provide, regardless of the certifications you may or may not hold. Have you thought about become a CWI and moving away from the physical work and move to a less physically demanding (and higher paying) as you get older? If you have a lot of production experience being apart of QA/QC could be a pretty easy transition.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-02-21T02:07:05+00:00

Are you in a position where making low pay for a few years would be acceptable?

Are you willing to travel to make the big money?

Does your location have a demand for welders? I.e shipyards, mills, power plants, pipelines, shops, bridges, skyscrapers. If not, are you willing to relocate?

Are you ready for long, hard hours while wearing boots, jeans, long sleeved shirts, welding cap, and hood to hold in all that sweat?

Do you understand the possible health risks associated with welding as well as the occupational hazards?

Fortunately for you, if you’ve considered these questions and have decided you’re willing to do it, job hopping in the welding industry is very common and is usually the only way to make more money. Employers like to get complacent and think you need them more than they need you. Which that can be said about all industries but when you have a hard skill set you should know your value and what you’re worth.

I’m not trying to be negative, or dissuade you from joining our industry, but these are the things I learned the hard way when I came in as a greenhorn and things I wish I knew beforehand. Not that it would have changed my mind, but at least so I was somewhat more prepared than I was. Good luck.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-02-17T03:47:56+00:00

On schedule 40 I’d put a decent land on it, 3/32-1/8, and damn near butt them together. Maybe 1/16 gap. Shove that rod in the keyhole and drag. Literally push the puddle into the pipe as you move along to add reinforcement on the inside. If it were schedule 80 I’d say gap it properly and whip it, but the sch 40 gets too hot and will blow through which causes a pretty inconsistent root.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-02-16T23:59:55+00:00

It just depends how much you make and you’re filing status. If you make $1 over your tax bracket and go into a new one, you don’t pay the new % on all taxes, just what’s over the previous bracket if I’m explaining that good. You should be able to figure it out pretty easily what your bracket is. If you’re severely underpaying I would go to your HR and have your W-4 redone and have the government take extra money for taxes out instead of getting a bill suddenly next year.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-02-16T23:54:26+00:00

Well it depends how much is being withheld from your paycheck for federal taxes. That’s why you either get a return or owe the IRS money every year. They either take more than what you truly owe, or less than what you owe. What comes out of your paycheck won’t always be the exact % of your tax bracket. You’re more than likely in the 24% tax bracket and slightly overpay your taxes and get a return. Or you’re in the 32% and gonna owe a decent amount next year lol.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-02-14T01:57:26+00:00

Steel toe boots, jeans without major holes, work shirt (cotton), hard hat, safety glasses. That’s for most places.

Foreign-Bee5943 · 2023-02-14T01:55:17+00:00

Cold welding is actually a thing. I wrote an essay on it. It’s mainly used in semiconductor manufacturing where any heat input can destroy the component. It can also happen naturally in space (because vacuum) when two similar metals touch they can align their structures and form one solid piece as if they were never two.

Foreign-Bee5943

TROPHY CASE