/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>743759
bump

>>743759
bumpp

>>743759

You just can't go wrong with skilled trades in the USA right now, especially if you're young. You're better off, however, getting a job like a pipefitter or iron worker and then getting certified as a welder as well.

Started welding in 06. Went to school for it. Moved to virginia to work in a ship yard. Came back home to pa to work in a fab shop. Ran a weld rig for a company then went to Florida. Quit down there to come home to start my own business.

Started my own business about a month and a half ago. Have worked about two weeks so far. Ive billed about 14 grand so far. My first job I ran was 100$ / hr. Most jobs are 85$ / hr. If I'm doing work for a friend I charge 50$ / hr. I think I made a good decision.

If you get into welding, learn pipe. That way you can weld everything. It's harder, but worth it.

Haha upside down picture. Oops. Wtf?

>>743778
appreciate the advice

i really really want to learn how to weld, i have no skills but i really admire the craft.. are there any manuals out there on which i can start to develop a better understanding? it is my dream to become a professional welder

I think there is a site called something like welding tips and tricks

>>743759
What about subaquatic welding?

>>743803
thank you so much sir

>>743805
Welcome! I know a little about welding but obviously not about posting pictures here.

>>743804
>What about subaquatic welding?

It has all the danger of regular industry, but with a giant heart attack and drowning bonus.

But, yes, if you can get in and get pipe/structural certified, then welding is a great trade.

Electrician, Plumbing, HVAC, Welding: The tetragrammaton of top-tier trades. Always do one of them.

>>743808
pipe certified?

>>743759
>How is welding as a career?

Easy to learn without prior experience and pays well.
Literally destroys your body, you will be a broken down man at age 40.

>>743759
Possibly a bad time to bbe getting into it. As oil drops, infrastructure programs are dropping. Going to be a lot of experienced welders on the street as North Dakota, eagle ford Texas and perhaps even fort mcmurray cut costs

I did it, friends. I'm a Journeyman .

>>743804
for subaquatic you need to basically be a master diver, which is a lot of time and experience

the image I've posted is the international dive shop flag, so if you recognize this from a nearby location you're better off checking the place out and starting some classes if you're really interested in it.

>>743759

Hey, weldbros. Not so related to OP's concerns but what do they mean in undersea diving when they refer to the 'kill zone'. Something to do with the area around the flame you have to somehow keep well back from or it's isntant death or some such?

>>743885

Undersea welding, rather

>>743817
>pipe certified?

Most/all places in the world have very strict regulation on who/how to weld anything that will be under pressure.

Pipe/pressure certification is what you need to legally weld pressure vessels and/or pressure pipe. Think boilers, pressure tanks and pipelines. The tests for these certifications are very specific and very strict.

>>743828
>Literally destroys your body, you will be a broken down man at age 40.

No it fucking doesn't. What happens is lots of welders get into working 12/7/365 because of the dolla dolla bills, which will wear you the fuck out just like any other job would working those hours. They smoke on the job because of stress and then to relax, they go to the bar and get hammered. It's not the job, it's the shitty lifestyle they built around the job.

Also, wear a fucking respirator. You know how smoking isn't good for you? Yeah, well, neither is huffing 7018 fumes all day.

>>743837
can anyone confirm this?

>>743921
a lot of welding work revolves around the oil industry but welding is still a great, but specialized skill, and most people who want to get into welding would likely rather work in metal shops than dicking around with oil lines.

There is always a need for a welder somewhere, so as long as you can do more than just welding, you can get in.

>>743925
appreciate it

I say it is a pretty good choice, I am an instructor at the local college here.

The goal I have for my students is to come out being able to pass 6G double heavy wall tube/ pipe with TIG, 6010/7018 combo, TIG/7018, and have all specialty metal down. That ranging from SS, titanium, inconel.

I don't bother teaching MIG because there is no money in it, it is to easy a job to pay well. Same with aluminum, I speak only locally for that.

But as a whole, most of the students I pass go out the door making between 23-32$ an hour start up. Depending on how much they want to travel and how far they will go. Most companies offer great benefits and retirement.

It is all preference but I always recommend going union.

>>744276
appreciate the advice

>>743901
Truth, I know what you mean. I work as a welder for a company that makes windmills for GE. We work for 5 days and have four days off than repeat. It is 12 hour shifts, however we can come in on our days off if we want to for overtime. In the summer I took my days off and did things, however, I work all the time now that it is winter and I"m in South Dakota which is a fucking boring state. I also worked as an outdoor weld assistant before this doing plant turn around work in Oklahoma. The conditons there could be shitty, however they payed per diem. I learned how to weld by going to a welding school, although I found out when I started working that a lot of places don't require welding school. Just be trainable and don't be a fucking dumbass and they will love you. I personally don't enjoy it, however I didn't know what I wanted to do when I got out of high school and figured that I can work as a welder and make a bunch of money while discovering "who I am" rather than go to an expensive college and do my exploring.

>>743759
Just join your local steamfitters union. 5 years in apprenticeship getting paid way better than you would in retail, make good money your whole life with great benefits, retire at 65 with a pension.

>>743759
>How is welding as a career?

It was great about 5 years ago.
Job security (if you can even get a job) is shit.

is welding easy?

i'm someone who doesn't have trouble learning things, but I've lived a sheltered life and have literally no experience with anything manual like this.

I've been considering learning a trade but I'm a little apprehensive about it because of my lack of experience. What say you, /diy/?

>>744350
Learning shit is part of life. Whatever you want to learn... learn. Don't ask if you should, because the answer is always "yes".

>>743759
it's better than painting I guess. but not much better.
pray you get to work in a workplace that does more than the bare minimum in extraction and air filtration.

turner/fitter is most desirable in metalworking and less disposable for import labor.

>>743789
CCNA qualified computer technicians make 300$/hour. usually the work is unskilled like replacing card readers in commercial photo printing kiosks or replacing telephones or plugging in printers. no skill required 99% of the time. but HR has decided to filter contractors based on having worthless bottom tier cisco qualifications.

you need to raise your prices.

>>744377
>CCNA qualified computer technicians make 300$/hour.

Where and how often?

>>744329
is this true?

>>744399
I know 3 people with hobart welding degrees who cant get jobs.
I have a community college degree for welding and cant get a job.

When I was in class over 3 years ago, a bunch of 40+ year old guys who had been laid off from other manual labor were learning to weld.

Maybe your market is different, but only 1 of us out of 4 even had a job, and it was just a temp job where they didnt bring him back.

Look at the Opec and oil situation. Jobs are gonna get even worse

>>743808
>Not mentioning controls, the god tier "trade".

Just got a call for some work. Tigging some stainless Sch 10 6". About 30 joints, 3 hours from home.

When I get called I drop what I'm doing and go to work

>>744477
my man. here in Canada it's the instrumentation technician trade.

>>744486
what the fuck are you welding that's only sch 10 pipe? The pipe we use at work is minimum sch 80 despite pressure and service to minimize chances of damage to the pipe wall.

>>744488
Just some water treatment. You know, marcellus shale shit.

>>744472
there is always welding jobs 'somewhere' but if people want to stay in their home towns all their lives they need to either be in with the guys at the local auto-shops or live basically on the oil fields already.

the job markets in general are bad in north america, I know people who drive 3 hours to work and 3 hours home for factory jobs 5 days a week

never made sense to me since those people are also paying out the nose for rent, they'd have an easy 1200 extra dollars if they just moved

>>That's where I'm lucky. I get paid from the minute my truck leaves my driveway until it pulls back in.

>>744510
This. When we trained welding students we hammered that they must hit the road and follow the job. The ones who listened made bank. Expect to hit the road for several years to build a human network while proving yourself.

My pipewelder bro and his wife stay on the road. He taught her to fit for him and he's a damn good instructor. They work about half a year then kick back on his farm and raise horses for fun. You can make money, but if you are not stone eager to bust ass then go do something else. There is a reason good welders can make doctors wages.

Welding is a great addition to any gearhead career skillset.

>>744510
>never made sense to me since those people are also paying out the nose for rent, they'd have an easy 1200 extra dollars if they just moved

I know people even in more typical office jobs who do/have done this. I don't understand it. The savings in gas alone would be in the hundreds every month...

>>744559
There's a possibility of charging milage? Can also claim taxes on it.

>>744472
>jobs are gonna get even worse

Im a cival engineer and now all the trades. Most welders are cocky ass mother so you have to take alot shit. Most union steam fitters you learn on the job

>>744610
I am not very cocky

>>744607
Have you not been watching the news?

>>744633
you are literally a huge fucking retard. enjoy being employed.

Hey you have to be cocky. Confidence is important. Hanging 50 floor and death is a real risk. Like it our not im cocky to. Working on live steam lines and hydro carbon lines. Its like contest that never ends. A fin tuned michine.

I run this. Alfa as fuck

>>744652
You run a welding company? Any tips?

>>744653
?

>>744653

Here's what I want to know welding bros.
>2 years in college for Welding Associates Degree
Or
>Apply for local Boilermakers Union?

I'd rather do the Apprenticeship, but I'd hate to give up a sure thing (College) and end up not getting the Apprenticeship. However, getting paid while you learn sounds like the best shit ever.

>>744383
Anon is full of shit, H1B visas killed majority of IT industry

>>744377
Lol uh huh. I got my CCENT and CCNA because IT shit runs tangentially to what I do. I looked up jobs related to only CCNA and found mostly 30k salaried jobs a few years back.

>>744762
yeah, being salaried is a secure job. this is why it pays so little. seriously, if you looked at how much contractors get paid you would blow your top. like even when I wasn't certified, still studying, it would get paid 400$ by a bank to drive 30km and back just to plug in a desktop and press the netboot key combination. from there the banks servers remotely installed everything and I just went home.

worked at another company replacing card readers in photo kiosks. 450$ callout fee to remove two bolts and replace a card reader in those fuji photo printing kiosks. old people shove cards in the wrong hole even though there are a billion signs and helpful prompts to tell them where to stick the SD card.

>>744747
Canuck 3rd year apprentice here, with the Boilermakers. Dunno how it is in the States, but getting an apprenticeship here is piss-easy, and not only does the union cover your school costs, but the provincial and federal governments give you free grants for completing each year.

On a separate note, has any noticed any downturn in job availability due to the low oil prices? It's still relatively early, but I know some companies have pulled out of, or frozen, projects in the oilsands. How is it in the US?

>>744769
>canadian apprenticeship program
word
auto tech apprentice and just finished papers to be a tool and die apprentice
$4000 easy from the government by the end, work or someone else pays for school, employer gets a wage subsidy, fuck the ontario college of trades

Damn 22 Hour Day. I just got home, took the check to the bank! Woop!

814 may enjoy this forum, others should lurk and learn as it's both informative and entertaining:

http://rigwelder.com/forum/

>>744278
You can move up the chain and become an inspector. The tests are easy enough I've seen people with minimal study beyond what they learned being structural/pipe welders pass though not always the first time.
Since the only way into the system is learning plus experience you'll always have an edge over those who come after you.

>>744935
Hey thanks, I was broswing on there before but never posted. I'll sign up!

>>743759 i am a offshore welder/fitter working in the gas and Oil industry. If you want to make good money you should get your pipe fitting certificates and go work in the oil industry in the middle east or Africa.

>>745054
How did you get into it? Are you doing individual contracts, or are you on steady with a company, or what? Do you get flown out for several months at a time, or do you have to live there for the duration? What kind of money do you make, what exactly is it you do, and what certification did you need?

>tfw can expertly weld two pieces of metal together in any process in any posistion

>But you can't weld a gf :(

>>745078
Just flash some of that welding money around, and you'll get a gf right quick. Maybe not the kind of gf you want, but a gf nonetheless.

>>743759
I only know two people who weld professionally, one does industrial welding on axles while the other works in a shop doing high precision TIG welding for prototype mechanical builds. These two work places seem to vary wildly when it comes to your fellow workers/work to be done.

So I guess your answer is yes, welding is a very viable career, especially in this day in age in America.

Also, >>743778 this guy has the right idea.

>>743759
It's about to suck now that the oil boom is ending. Thousands of unemployed welders coming to a broken economy near you.

>>745109
Definitely not the case

>>745090
Hahahahaha. They say "you own your own comapny? You drive a lifted welding rig? Oooh gas patch work? Let me take my panties off while I get in your truck"

>>745144
As a rig welder, how do you find contracts? Do you just advertise, or do you have a network of contacts who just call you up when they need you? How do you determine your pricing scheme? Have you considered getting another rig and hiring a guy to work for you?

I'm this guy>>744769. I've thought about getting into it, but I've had zero interaction with rig welders so I have no idea how that shit works.

>>745149
I knew a few guys from my previous job, I ran a rig for another company for awhile. Me personally, I go to the companies I want to work for and send up accounts with them to be a vendor. When something breaks, they call me to go out and fix it. Then from there, they find out how you act, how you work, they learn you. From there you can meet people while you're out in the field working.
Some other welders I know have their own trucks, insurance, and all the jazz that I have but they have no contracts like me. They rely on other guys going out and finding them work, he then calls the welders to do the work he finds. But say he takes ~15% of what they make that job.
As far as the pay goes. Sometimes if your welding exotic metals you charge more and what not. Myself I just charge a flat rate to keep out confusion and to try to be fair with my customers. Around here its 85$ an hour for me, my truck, and my consumables.
Right now I'm just a one truck, one man show. If it goes well next year I will buy myself a new diesel set up and possibly put someone in my truck that I have right now.
On my way home from my 22 hour shift I got another phone call of someone looking for a welder, 5 hours from where I was at. Told him if he can't find anyone else I'll go but I was on the opposite side of the state. Luckily he found someone else.

>>745156
And what sort of companies do you work for? How common is it for companies to hire rig welders as opposed to their own dedicated guys?

>>745164
I work for mainly the drilling rigs over here in pa. Little bit of pipe work alot of it is easy repair work. The companies I work for don't have their own welders.

Hey guys

>>745190
I free hand like a boss, I need to start taking pictures of my work

>>745191
I walkes that shit on a roller.

Im used to stainless more than carbon (im only 22 and learned with stainless) but i did this in position the other day

I usually weld 1 or 2 pipes in a 12hr day where i work

>>743878
But dive welders usually do surface-supplied, which you can't get trained for at a normal dive shop.

One or two? Holy! Haha. That's crazy.
oh no, postioners! I despise them! I always pick on people that rely on them. Tell them you can't flip an aircraft carrier over to weld that bottom. Though positioners are awesome for those lazy days!

>>745190
>>745192
Goddammit, this is making me want to go and start practicing. Soon as I get my journeyman ticket, I need to get my B-Pressure ticket, which involves either f3-f4 (or optionally, f6-f4) on 6" sch.80 pipe in the 2G/5G. Are there any tricks to overhead tig on pipe? I've been told that on the root, some guys drop the rod through the gap from the top (for small-ish diameter pipe, obviously), but I can't see shit and have zero control when I do that.

Lol well we only use jackstand to weld pipes that dont fit on rollers because of their length after a re-fit or what have you but theres days where we are sent out of the shop and on to the field to weld already installed pipes in position though thats left for the more experienced guys.

>>745199
The way i learned was to burn my root with the rod inside the gap coming in from the opposite side. Works for me on 4inch pipe and lower otherwise just feed through side.

>>745203
Huh. On the 6", since the weld is out of position, I have a hell of a time craning my head under the pipe to see the root going in, while also trying to feed the rod from the top.

Mind you, I only practiced it that way for about an hour, so I'm probably just not used to it. If people are doing it that way, it's obviously doable. Need to quit being lazy and hit the shop...

Haha yall got it made! Yea, when I did shop work I was one of the "experienced guys"

When I tig root I have my wire fit through my gap, no land or very little. So im feeding my wire from the bottom of the pipe as I weld it but the wire is onside the pipe.

>>745205
You dont have to crane your head under. When i do a 6G test the way I stand for the bottom side of the root is i stand on the side of the pipe so i see both the rod being fed from the top and my tungsten burning through the gap. That way i see where my rod is being fed and make sure i burn both bevels to have a solid penetrated root. Try it that way

Also, any other Albertans here? I wrote my ABSA 3B1 paper a couple weeks ago and one of the questions was to give the two things required for a welding performance qualification and I couldn't find a good answer in the Pressure Welders Regulation.

Here's a free hand root, 4" Sch 40 on a rotator

>>745211
No idea since I'm in Texas. Here all you need to weld high pressure pipe is pass the test at the gate, not blow 2 xrays the first month at work and pass a piss easy osha safety test

>>745213
Is that a hole on the tie in of the left side? Some qc where i work would have made me dig down the pipe to tie that shit in.

>>745215
Nah, It was a good shot. Bastards always had me doing the xray work. It's hard to get a good picture of roots

Rig on the right was the one I used to run

>>745210
Interesting. Will have to give that a try.

>>745211
I am, but I don't remember offhand, and I can't be assed to dig out the textbooks. Sorry.

>>745216
Awesome. I wanna have my own rig one day. Ill post tomorrow. Night night

>>745219
I'll get a picture of mine tomorrow, supposed to be nice out

>>745216
why does it have intermittent beads of weld? wouldnt it be easier to just do a continuous weld?

>>745305
I think what youre referring to are the tie ins, when welding on a roller you need to make sure you either burn the tacks really well or grind them down to ensure your tie ins are good. Otherwise you risk suckback between tack and weld or no penetrating at all and it could show on the xray. its a good idea to stop and look at your root (even more when in position) to make sure your heat input and speed is the correct to burn both bevels and achieve the right penetration. You dont wanna keep going and then when youre done realize you should have been hotter to penetrate right.

>>745305
I think it was just a trash dumpster for on awell pad, I can't remember correctly though.

>>745305
Oh sorry didn't read your whole post. Hah.
No it wouldn't be quicker or cheaper. Less wire used, less weld = less time. Also, if it were thin material a continuous bead could warp it.

>>745305
long runs of weld warp the workpiece. the pulling force of the weld bead is extreme, without even intending to you can banana a girder or shatter a brittle casting.

check out Prevention and Control of Distortion in Arc Welding http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vuGlcbDwKY

also strongly recommended:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzh23SfttnA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI4bGRqG4F4


bonus, hydrogen inclusion: literally worse than hitler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv9ApdzalHM

>>745305
Like those guys said; stitch welds, when allowed by the procedure, are cheaper, faster, and feature less distortion due to less heat input.

http://www.vista-industrial.com/blog/stitch-welding-vs-seam-welding/

>>743759

anymore welders here into the thick stuff

>>745832
Is that insulated strip of metal your portable armrest?

>>745078
>But you can't weld a gf :(

OTOH you can't take an arc gouger to a gf when she pissed you off without consequences.

>>745880

Thats a pad to pre-heat the steel. It uses induction to make heat. This workpiece was pre-heated to 60 degrees celsius.

Interesting. I didn't notice the wires in the first pic. I'd seen heating blankets before and used rosebuds but hadn't encountered flat pads like that.

Depends on what you are able to do, and how good you are at it. Learn all you can. If you take the time to get good you can get away with just welding for a living.

>>745832
Those are some mighty straight beads, anon.

>>743802

my dad's been a welder for the past 3 decades. he works on crews that assemble the giant metal exoskeletons that eventually become walmarts, warehouses, and the like

business was real good in the 90s, as everyone everywhere was building more more more. in the 2000s immigration in our area stepped up and his union started having to compete against ultra low pay labor, so pay and benefits went down in response

in 2008 the recession hit and nobody built anymore. he started having to take traveling jobs, sometimes living out of town for months at a time to get a paycheck that couldnt be gotten staying in our hometown

overall, he's seen his wages go from $75k and living at home to $50k and always on the road

His advice to the younger welders is to go for pipe welding or shipyard welding. Steady work at high pay without travel. It also didn't help that his union is kinda scummy and wont cross-train the welders like it will for the bricklayers and pipe fitters

>>743878
>master diver
No one told me that, there are only a few welder-divers here that they take anyone.
Probably other countries have higher standars.

>>745195
Not always. many of them use regular scubba tanks. The welder is surface supplied.

Just got my Journeyman. If I had to give advice, it would to be to work in a shop where you get to do some fitting. I worked in a lot of production shops and it kind of fucked me over because Im not that good at the fab end of the trade so im kind of pigeon holed now.

>>746199
I'd hate to have to join a union. But seconded on the shipbuilding (hint Halifax Nova Scotia has a shipyard opening shortly)

>>745210
>you're not my father

>>743759
Extremely lucrative after you've done one of the worst apprenticeships known to man. It's so fucking expensive.

>>747027
can you elaborate on this please.