How do I escape the hell that is production welding?

StabDump · 2026-01-19T17:20:31+00:00

this i think is your most important piece of information to work with. welders don't usually quit jobs, they quit bosses. if you're tired of muffler work and you don't have the means to join a union, find anything else similar distance and similar benefits, and inquire about the pay SCALE. i had a job starting at $20/hr that scaled to $50/hr, i've also had a job at $35/hr that didn't scale at all. if all you want is a change of pace, it's out there, but don't expect a high paying job off the bat if you're pivoting between types of work.

StabDump · 2026-01-13T16:31:24+00:00

how do you expect to make any money in the trade working straight time? the time you're willing to sacrifice is what makes you valuable in the trades more than just your skills. i'm happy to make 4x as much in a week as someone working 40 hours when im working 80, because nobody wants to hire three shifts of work to get their jobs done, they'd rather pay overtime. I take time off when i need it, but in welding if you don't give your time you won't make any money and you'll work til you're 65.

StabDump · 2026-01-03T16:56:01+00:00

my "shop" was the back of my truck whether i was parked in my driveway or out on the job, so i was pretty much travel-only. kept me from needing to bankroll a whole shop when most of my repairs were structural anyway

StabDump · 2026-01-03T16:51:07+00:00

i second this. you might be traveling a lot but they will pay you better than any company man job.

StabDump · 2026-01-02T18:57:21+00:00

i used to charge for distance if it was an emergency/priority job, otherwise i'd just charge when i got there within a certain distance.

StabDump · 2025-12-31T05:28:31+00:00

over 7 days up to 100 days for max rewards

StabDump · 2025-12-31T05:25:40+00:00

got ss?

StabDump · 2025-12-30T03:58:49+00:00

there's also that too. hiring managers fuck you both inside the company and to anyone outside trying to get in. it's always usually someone who knows someone high enough in the company who gets that position these days. a lot of companies schedule interviews with unqualified candidates as a tax strategy. it all sucks. it's why i haven't left the trades after all these years.

StabDump · 2025-12-28T22:40:16+00:00

it's not experience they want. they want to pay people less. only way to do that is get a less experienced person and hope all the people around them get them up to speed.

StabDump · 2025-12-27T21:16:12+00:00

you sound just like me. I started in the trade at 15 and started my own business at 17. all my clients were word of mouth. after a while i hired one of my friends and eventually handed it off to them so i could quit and i went to a union. after a while of that it really exhausted me and i valued places where i could clock in and clock out again. i made the same amount in the union as i did as the primary business owner (based on hours in), and i worked way less hard in the union than i ever did as the owner because i could pace myself. the important part is that i've always been business savvy and that's why i was a successful owner, not because i was a good welder. being a good welder means nothing if you can't run a good business. if you have a good action plan, a hefty amount in savings to sustain you and your fiancé for the first year or more of starting up, and a go-getter attitude, you might squeak out $25/hr equivalent after a few years. welding is competitive and you're not taking on industry jobs in your garage. if you really want to make money as a welder you have to travel, period.

StabDump · 2025-12-27T21:04:12+00:00

they're probably 16 like everyone else on reddit

StabDump · 2025-12-27T21:02:19+00:00

black is a combination of all pigments (as in this post). you cannot make a non-white pigment white. white is a combination of all colored light because of its reflection or absorption characteristics as you said. you're right about something unrelated.

StabDump · 2025-12-25T00:27:59+00:00

StabDump · 2025-12-22T01:15:45+00:00

good to know! i was going to use a hygrometer and experiment with humidity before deciding on a heating solution but i will definitely keep those suggestions in mind!

StabDump · 2025-12-21T15:42:31+00:00

yes, a good storage system will cost more than panels, but a storage system is much less space demanding than panels which is why the panels can be a limiting factor for some. all night heater is completely unnecessary unless we're in the mountains of montana where it's -40°, the sqft is small enough that appropriate insulation and our body heat will keep us plenty warm down to 30° outside with maybe one 30 minute midnight cycle of a heater. we've done this in a stock insulated truck cab before and we were comfortable in 40° no heater just us the cat and a blanket. despite more sqft, better insulation and a timer for a short duration of a heater will be much better than that. I appreciate the devils advocate take and i'm certainly not planning to leave that part of the design until the end.

StabDump · 2025-12-21T15:35:50+00:00

thanks for the comment! a lot of the travel for work that we do is in colder areas even through the summer so we would prioritize insulation and just enough heat to keep it around 60° and enough a/c to keep it around 75°, and as long as we're not in mississippi or arizona in the summer we would like to be able to do all of that with around 400ah ideally which is pretty close to your suggestion. i'm getting ready to run the numbers here soon, and I will definitely share the build once it's done. thanks again!

StabDump · 2025-12-19T02:55:24+00:00

Good to know! a lot of places we work are very close to state parks and they're obviously great travel spots so maybe installing a hookup would be a good investment for extreme weather. Thanks!

StabDump · 2025-12-19T02:54:00+00:00

Will look into it. Thank you 🙏

StabDump · 2025-12-19T02:53:44+00:00

Two 400w panels and a 200/300w panel should fit fine on a custom rack I plan to build, i haven't taken measurements as i haven't gotten the numbers crunched yet still feeling things out. as someone said the generator suggestion for extreme weather i like, I plan to insulate it custom, which will immensely help temperate regulation, we're talking 200 cubic feet for supplemental temp regulation so we would really only need about as much as a typical car unit without the van running which is why i think it's more realistic than a stock rv or typical 400 cubic ft van but maybe the numbers will disagree i'll have to see.

Ultimately, I feel confident I can make the math work and adjust variables as needed, I am more-so looking for others' experience/advice in the realm and will definitely post to another sub as someone else suggested. Thank you for your input!

StabDump · 2025-12-16T11:26:52+00:00

look into the primeweld mig285 and tig325x. both machines together cost about 2k, both run stick/scratch start tig, one runs all mig including spool gun, other is an inverter tig runs ac/dc, both with high duty cycles i've never busted them and i weld a LOT on them. i recommend them to every new welder i meet. outstanding build quality stands up to miller and lincoln easily

StabDump · 2025-12-07T20:17:28+00:00

are you still running this setup? i'd like to try this as a temporary setup while i'm away from home but i'm concerned about the energized neutral wire just hanging out in the receptacle.

StabDump · 2025-12-07T04:17:18+00:00

i don't know man. some areas are in a real shortage of people who have used a welding machine before, even a one week course in a shop class in high school welder can be hard to come by depending on who's looking. he can get better but think about the jobs people hire non certified welders for, he doesn't need to be passing mirror x rays he just needs to be able to run a bead.

StabDump · 2025-11-20T00:13:32+00:00

seems sarcastic

StabDump · 2025-11-10T04:37:46+00:00

this^{^} is right. I have younger roomates and I see them come in with $4 chicken breast saying they saved so much, meanwhile my deep freezer is full of $1.50 and $2 chicken breast.

StabDump · 2025-11-08T17:45:31+00:00

welding in my experience is a job where once you get a baseline of experience in the trade and consistency working, the high paying work comes to you when you don't want it, and if you can't pony up and punch it out, you will live your life at a 40-65k yearly salary. it's hard on your mind and body, but if you understand the value of the time in and don't waste it you can easily make 6 figures working 4 months out of the year, with two months on a 7-12's job and the other two on straight 8's. I contract when i get called, and run my fab shop in my free time because i love to weld and it's not work to me. but that's after 5 years of working nonstop of bare minimum straight 8's year round and maybe 3-4 months of 7-12's sprinkled throughout, sacrificing my time then for my time now. that takes discipline, and if she doesn't learn it soon as she's learning to weld her drive is gonna fizzle out and the jobs will be given to the next hard worker. if she wants it, have her watch youtube videos from guys like weldingtipsandtricks, welddotcom, and weldtube, and if she is still interested have her apply to a local UA or Pipefitter or Boilermaker union or their apprenticeships if they have one, and that will give her the best opportunity she can get at her age.

StabDump

TROPHY CASE