Any welders here?

I am currently taking a welding class for fun, was wondering if anyone else did any welding here. So far I've used a oxy/acetylene torch to fuse and cut, but we will cover all the processes in the class. Nothing like lighting up that torch and melting steel with that 6,000 degree flame. So far so good! The shop is pretty sweet too, they have shears that will cut steel up to 1'' thick, and a lathe. If only I knew how to use that lathe. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I do that stuff.

Never have figured out how to do a nice torch cut. I always get tons of slag and usually have to use a hammer to seperate the pieces.

I have gotten pretty darn good with a Mig welder!

In my previous life, at one point, I was the maintenance manager for my families concrete business, and I did a lot of welding. Mainly repairs, but also some design/prototype wok as well. Stick, TIG, MIG, Oxygen-Acetylene, Air-Arc. The worst thing that happened was when a red hot berry would go flying past the helmet and land in your ear from stick welding when you were welding overhead, and lying on your side or back inside a hopper or silo. The berry would stick, and you could hear it sizzle. I got leather covers for the side of my welding hood after that! OUCH!!

That does sound like it would hurt. Myself I've taken a couple TIG classes, but not being able to afford a TIG I'm sure my skills are lacking. I have a Lincoln 220 MIG now, but without good 220 in the garage it's loaned to a friend.

I've done a little Oxy welding, but never any cutting, that's something I'd like to learn on.

I have always wanted to get into welding, but was not allowed cause of my vision problem in high school shop class.

I had a relative who use to weld ships together at the newport news ship yard. Sounded like an interested job. Of course he was always dirty, smelly and rather tan for one who worked nigh shift inside the bottom of a boat.

Not a welder myself, but I sell maintenance welding alloys for a living.


Pablo

In a previous life, I made aluminum store front doors. Part of the job was MIG welding the doors together. The worst for me was having a hot glob of metal burn through my sneakers and stick between my toes. Oh, and my frayed shirts would sometimes catch fire and matches in my pocket would ignite. And as Cobb stated about being tan, on big welding jobs, I got sunburned including my eyeballs. They would feel gritty. I miss the machining and fabricating but I don't think the large scale welding was good for my health.
I have a small Oxy setup that I use to cut, braze and do silver soldering.