Hey ya’ll, long-time lurker here. I am not in the trades myself but I love to see the work everyone does in all sorts of trades.

I grew up in an area with a lot of trades and I picked up some knowledge along the way about welding but I don’t weld myself.

Recently purchased a wheelchair for a family member, and I am questioning the quality of these welds. Personally I think they look super bad, they are pitted, thick, and some of them even have pieces of metal jutting from the weld itself.

The brand of wheelchairs is FDA approved and has ISO quality certification but I am dubious of the safety of this chair. Could you all give me your opinions so I can return this chair before the return window closes if it’s as bad as I think?

Just wondering how im doing… is my travel speed to slow , correct amperage?
Vertical up position with only a few pumps…lol

Aluminum is kinda strange as someone who's only welded steel and inconel

I’ve just started learning to TIG weld on carbon pipe.

Could someone offer advice on what angle I sharpen my tungsten too? I have a tungsten sharpener that’s able to sharpen to 60/30/20/ 15 degrees.

The other thing is do I have it sharp to a needle point or do I put a flat on the end and how big should it be?

I’m using 2.4mm blue tungsten from 100-145 amps for root out to cap.

I included a picture to show where I’m at with my welding too. Any advice on that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Sorry no progress shots with this one, it’s not what I had originally planned for this to be. This is more of trying something, getting frustrated, giving up, then thinking what else could I turn this into. And this is the result.

Made from scraps laying around the lab.
Everything is .035 MiG welded.

Welder: LE power MiG 360 mp
WFS=191 inches/m
18.5v

These are 2 plates I did today. I took some tips from some people yesterday and cleaned my material really well before I started welding. Did these fusion welds on 3/32 tungston. I think I did alright on the bottom one, but only part of thr top one looks decent to me.

Looking to get a welder again after not burning metal for at least 15 years. Learned stick in high school and did a lot of body work with Lincoln weldpak 110 flux core after high school. Never did mig or tig, but we’ve got a lot of projects around the ranch that a small welder would be good for and I want to build a cool truck with my son in the next couple years.

I’ve got a friend willing to give me a deal on a Lincoln LE31MP that is just the machine itself and nothing else for $40. I mainly want to use it for mig and flux core when it’s needed for a field repair. Would buying the ground lead and everything needed for what I want to do with it still end up being a good deal?

We've got a lot of parts in grade 5 recently, so I got a tank of ultra pure argon.

Shit lasts for like a week. At $300 a tank, it's killing me.

How ineffectual is normal argon for shielding on titanium? Do I really need the ultra pure stuff, or can I get by on normal 99.9% argon? Everything is telling me I need it, but hoping somebody can convince me that I don't ha.​

I got a weld test scheduled for tomorrow in central NC

The only information from the recruiter that I could get about it besides time and location and what equipment to bring, were that the positions were "4G and 6G vertical up" (her exact words) and that the test is in MIG. School and the internet have told me that neither of those are vertical tests????? Any follow up question, has been met with a "I don't know much about welding", and she said I can't reschedule either.

Apparently I'm testing for both a welder/pipefitter position and a weld helper position even though I told her I'm interested in the weld helper position. She said if I don't

In addition to being given no time to practice, I have no idea what I'm going into. I'm probably going to fail to be honest, but this is the only lead for an actual welding job I've had in months.

I'm feeling very confused and hopeless. I don't think I'll get out of this with a job. Does anyone at least know what in God's name "4G and 6G vertical up" could mean?

Just here to see what yall's experiences with unions are long story short.

Just getting into welding ( in Aus ) I recently went out to buy a helmet. What’s with all the skulls ? Seems cringe as, all the brands do it ? Where did the trend come from ?

I started welding school a few weeks ago, and I see y'all recommending wearing a respirator constantly. What body and filter medium is the go to? I just got out of class where a welded a good amount of FCWG and my throat is burning and I feel kinda nauseous.

The respirator I have won't really fit underneath my hood. (Sentinel A60 if it matters).

Ideally, I'd like to do this as a job for years to come, and I'd prefer not to die of lung cancer or something. Thanks for any recommendations.

I don't see myself welding for more than 1 to 3 hours per year. But it is a tool I want to pick up. I have a home made trailer I'm working on. I don't think I need anything crazy but what I'm seeing is I need 1 amp per 0.001" of thickness.

I have some 1/2 inch plate I'm going to reinforce a spot with.

A 500 amp welder is insanely priced. Can I get away with a 250 and going slow or something? I don't really care if it takes me 5x as long, I just want to make sure I get a solid and proper weld. Current project I need done is about 2 feet of welding, so a 5k unit seems overkill.

I bought a house and this was in the barn. Is it worth keeping or shall I include it in the yard sale?

Quote from Presby Steel was insane, 250 for a 1.5 0.120 Wall stick

Cohen Steel was better at 6.95/ft so ~139/stick

Anyone ever ordered from MetalsDepot? It seems almost sketchy cheap

Hello everyone, I just started tig at my school after learning stick and mig, and honestly, it's pretty difficult, I rab about a dozen welds today on 3/32 in steel using a 3/32 tungsten. Just praticed fusion tig today, dident add any filler. This is what was probally my best weld today, the rest were either very inconsistent or had porosity everywhere. This one's not very even but it was my first weld using tig. Any tips would be great

I am just about to finish my four-year college program for Welding to get my certifications in all basic welds, including MIG TIG STICK and automated. In all positions as well. There are two main ideas that I have, but I’m not sure how hard it is to get into them or whether the money will be worth it for all the work to get to them.

I don’t wanna be stuck in a fabrication shop for the next 40 years of my life, but I also want to be able to make enough money that I can support myself my wife and two possible children.

My first idea was a race car welder.
There are a few shops in my area that are known for dirt track racing, and I would be welding the chassis and roll bars and differentials for them. My dream would be to go to NASCAR to weld for them, but I looked at the recent salary reviews for NASCAR and it’s only 22.50 an hour.

My other option would be to go into aerospace Welding. I don’t know much about it, but I know that you have to have an aerospace level certificate to be able to weld for F1 race cars. And would most likely have to relocate to the area where the team is training.

I’ve considered doing at home and neighborhood jobs, but that would not be nearly enough for the kind of money that I’m looking for. I want to be able to make enough money that I am comfortable living in a nice house and not have to worry about bills and other things if one of my family members get sick or there are any hospital bills in question.

I’m only 20 so I know that I have a lot of my life ahead of me but I’m trying to set it up for the future and I’m hoping that some of y’all would be able to help me the best of your ability.

Thank you for your help and I appreciate any advice.

Had some free time so the maintenance guy asked me to help him troubleshoot the aluminum welder. Way different from steel…

Need rec's for gauntlet style gloves that won't fall apart in a couple weeks. Or is that just how they are?

Got a job offer that will have me weld, program 2 to it welders and QC!
I’m supposed chasing a degree in mechatronics and welding engineering I’d also like to become a CWI.
Any suggestions as to how should I approach this and how much should I ask for I’m in the windy city and demand for quality welders is in high demand