Total welding newie here

[Shield Arc]

So Sodo, let me get this straight. When members here PM, or e-mail me looking for help with buying a welder, or heat shrinking something back into shape, or how to weld something. I should refer them to you? Because you are more qualified as a hobbyist, and the hobbyist here don't want to hear from an x pro?
OK I think I got it!:thumbsup:

 

[Sodo]

Arrow, that's a pretty good assessment!

OTOH I'm about to change a wheel bearing on my truck this morning, Shield you might stay off the Seattle highways for a couple weeks, in case this thing lets go! .

So Sodo, let me get this straight. When members here PM, or e-mail me looking for help with buying a welder, or heat shrinking something back into shape, or how to weld something. I should refer them to you? Because you are more qualified as a hobbyist, and the hobbyist here don't want to hear from an x pro?
OK I think I got it!:thumbsup:

Nope you got it all wrong. YOU ARE NOT A VICTIM. I am so sorry !!

This is a forum we can all try to help. But you've never used a 120v welder and will never need to, so you might consider to admit it more readily. Clearly you have a mountain of knowledge but it seems to be void of many hobbyists or newbie needs. Just a suggestion that's all. I know more where you're coming from now but I bet lots of newbies or hobbyists are reluctant to post because they know you're gonna hammer them.

Wait…..are you threatening to withhold from the advanced members (hostage!) unless allowed to flog the hobbyists and the newbies? :laughing:

 

[Fifelaker]

This is a forum we can all try to help. But you've never used a 120v welder so might consider to admit it more readily when you don't know what the hobbyists or newbie needs are. Just a suggestion that's all.

Are you thinking of withholding your help to the advanced members ( or me? ) until you're allowed to flog the hobbyists and the newbies?

He never said he never used one, he said he used one once. Must have left a bad taste in his mouth. I do OWN one and have quite a bit of time on it. It took me longer than him (Read not as much experience) to see its limitations. Now that I know I will not use it on anything heavier than 1/8" due to its limitations, I may stretch that to 3/16" with 100% co2 and preheat. I have welded 3/16" with flux core in a pinch but prefer SMAW over the little mig for that. Just in case you are wondering I do hold certs in GMAW 3G D1.1 and a few others.
I would think that someone with less experience would look at some of his posts would wonder why he says what he does instead of bashing him for his wisdom, I know I do because that is how we learn.

 

[newbury]

First of all, the very first post asking for advice only mentioned a newbie welder.

And no mention of a 70 yr old lady wanting to do small task hobby welding.

<snip>
As far as Sodo's proficiency at welding, It begs the question... What exactly have you been doing for 40 years?:confused3: It certainly wasn't trying to improve your welding skills. You would have been much better off not showing your welds than posting pictures of welds that would fail a high school welding test.

However his pictures looked great, no cracks, nice paint. But I've as much experience as the OP.

Seriously!:ashamed: Unfortunately for you Shield Arc posts pictures that back up his claims and show what true craftsmanship is.

And you high falutin guys expect a newbie without ANY welding experience to be able to discern the subtle differences? They are all pretty pictures.

A little practice and the proper instruction and anyone on this forum could produce similar results to Shield Arc in a few weeks.

You'd better qualify your time frame better. Are you indicating 80 hours of practice and instruction? I have not even seen my 300 yet and it's been 3 weeks since it was delivered. Give me a few months of practice.

Your welds, if you can call them that, that Shield Arc pointed out are the EXACT reason why it's good to have a 220 volt welder.

And we rely on people like you and Shield Arc to keep us on our toes and point out those things.

It's a strange thing looking at welds.

And you seem to have the experience and are willing to share with a bunch of goofy tractor owners.

On this project down town Seattle I was the field superintendent. I fired 12-weldors on this project just by looking at their welds. Every inch of weld on this project was UT'd. We did not have one failure. The crew would weld all day, then I would go out after they left and look over every weld. Mark the sections I didn't like. Have it replaced the next day. If it happened twice to the same weldor I'd get their money. We were subcontracted to PCL out of Canada. The Port of Seattle hired Lease Crutcher Lewis as the construction management group. PSI was the 3rd party inspection company. I would not call for the welding inspector until I was satisfied with all the welds just by looking at them. When the job was almost complete there was a meeting, I wasn't there but my project manager was. The rep for Lease Crutcher Lewis made the statement that it was strange we had all that welding but not one failure. He thought there was something funny about it. The rep for PSI went through the roof. Threatened to sue for slander.

That happens all the time overseas, bribery is cheaper than good work.

So Sodo, let me get this straight. When members here PM, or e-mail me looking for help with buying a welder, or heat shrinking something back into shape, or how to weld something. I should refer them to you? Because you are more qualified as a hobbyist, and the hobbyist here don't want to hear from an x pro?
OK I think I got it!:thumbsup:

Please, I hope that's in jest!

 

[arrow]

Arrow, you would probably make a pretty good hostage negotiator.:thumbsup:

Apparently not. Everybody would be dead.

 

[DXN1EL]

If somebody ask "What is the best welder in the whole world" We all are going to have an OPINION!

 

[Sodo]

Nobody's dead, this is just negotiation and your observations were good. Members want more "exchange" in their forum. I suspect members are stymied by pros just patting each other on the back rather than trying to offer useful knowledge the newbies and hobbyists can USE. With the machines they HAVE or can GET. There are pearls of course - 100% CO2 is good way to extend it just a little but Shield and Arc then gonna hassle you for the spatter and say thats a band-aid, get a bigger machine. If you don't have another use for a 2nd bottle I don't think its good advice to tell the hobbyist to get 100%CO2.

But my advice to the rest of the folks, learn first whether you need to spend more on a bigger welder. Whether it makes sense to have an electrician come out and put a 220 outlet in your garage, (+$500 right there) or keep moving the dryer for every job. "Sorry sir your panel is maxed, you need a bigger service too, that's $2500". It can go on and on.

Everybody's being careful not to admit their 120v welder is useful, why not let loose a bit and learn what where the true limit is? Preheat, for example can be an option, if you have a torch. It can take less time to preheat for a once-a-year bigger weld, than to call an electrician etc.

Fife, I can understand your dilemma, you are going to have to rub elbows with the pros, maybe you could just use your 120v in your closet and keep it to yourself. I think soon enough you can craigslist it and move on.

I have even less experience than Shield Arc with "other-brand" 120v welders, won't say a word about them. But the Hobart/Miller/Lincoln are great.

 

[Furu]

Poor Carol has had her thread totally hijacked. For that I think we all owe her an apology if she is even still on the forum and did not leave in disgust with us all.

I have tried to stay out of it but get real.

I am a welder who uses it to maintain my forestry equipment and such, who has no "professional" welding interest but I do like to do whatever I do to the best of my ability. If I can improve my ability I do; that is what any true professional does.

I have found Shield Arc an immense help. He contacted me privately 2 years ago and offered to help me improve my skill when I started stick welding. (I was an O/A only welder prior to that)
SA is a real gentleman who has tried very hard to "pay it forward" in his retirement. He had no requirement but he wants and feels a need to help others learn how to be better at whatever they are trying to do. He also taught me how to sharpen drill bits by hand.

What have you offered to help folks learn how to do or improve themselves?

Sodo get over it.
You are not and have not been the help that you think you are.

Forget the welding issue, but consider a thread I started on Board and Batten siding over in Rural living.
You chimed in as the 3rd response (4th item) You subsequently had three posts out of 15 total (as of today) that were not mine in the thread (2 of 17 total were mine). So authoring 20% of the posts that were not mine you failed to help me by answering the one question I asked in my first post. You claimed to be so knowledgeable but never gave me the slightest answer to the question that was asked. You pontificated on making everyone aware of your own self importance instead.

Since you live in Seattle according to your profile I presume that is under one of the bridges. That is where one normally finds TROLLS.

Again with apologies to Carol.

 

[jaotguy]

if 120 V is all you can afford ... go for it .... it can weld light metal and do a good job .....

if you decide to upgrade later , sell the old one and use it towards a better machine .....

at 70, let her have some fun .... ( I'm not that far behind ) at least she's still out there trying to learn .....

I've done my fair share of " melting things together "

some welds looked good and others were butt ugly ... but all were strong with good penetration on the important stuff ...

am I any where are good as others on the board ? NOPE ... but I can build whatever I want ....

I've used high end and bottom of the barrel machines .... yes the $$$$ ones make life a lot easier ....

just know that the smaller ones can'[t really weld thick materials easily or RUN a long bead without stopping to let the unit cool down

not everyone needs dump truck to haul with ... sometime a car and small trailer does just fine .....

Or ... not every one needs a full restaurant kitchen to cook a decent meal ...

 

[ThomasH]

Poor Carol has had her thread totally hijacked. For that I think we all owe her an apology if she is even still on the forum and did not leave in disgust with us all.

Amen! Enough of the ridiculous "I can do more with less than you can stuff." There always seem to be people that will argue endlessly, imply that you are lying, etc. All this does is disgust me and I would be willing to bet that there are others that do not try to help out at times because of this kind of stuff...

 

[Sodo]

SA is a real gentleman who has tried very hard to "pay it forward" in his retirement. He had no requirement but he wants and feels a need to help others learn how to be better at whatever they are trying to do. He also taught me how to sharpen drill bits by hand.

What have you offered to help folks learn how to do or improve themselves?

I helped by trying to get this hobby/maintenance welding forum to be a little more aligned to the hobbyist or newbie. I've done how-to threads, helped lots, more than most members, but less than some.

I tried to help a guy on his board and batten and thought I did help. I actually DID a small board and batten project about a year ago, and simply shared what I learned. Glad you got your board widths worked out and maybe by the time you get up on the ladder you will be happy to been forewarned of important B&B nailing details.

Sodo get over it.
You are not and have not been the help that you think you are.

…..I bet you're wrong. I bet lots of members prefer a more helpful forum environment and are relieved somebody actually asked for it.

Understood that Shield Arc could be a nice old guy who maybe doesn't know how he's coming across over the internet, and truly is just trying to help but he's calling perfectly servicable welds crap…..thats really no help at all. Good for you adding a personal note about Shield Arc the person that's an important reminder.

(Shield) You have 3,800 posts of which I'll guess 38 = 1% were useful to the same 2 or 3 pro welders who already knew it (yourself included).

I looked at 10 or 20 other posts of his, they were good, attentive help. I was wrong on my post (above). But his posts advising Carol were almost useless and the little story about the Hobart…..what the heck was that? Maybe I took bait.

I suspect Carol got her answer. Reasonable people told her that a 120v welder is great for a newbie and a LOT can be done well with it. I bet it's also good that this is buried off on the dregs of Carols post - some necessary things were discussed and maybe it doesn't need any further attention.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Sodo, et al...
It's sort of like this, some people drive bigger tractors than others. What you have I call a toy, and don't have much use for them. I helped field test the original prototype B series way back in the 90's. But they were woefully underpowered and took forever to do what needed to be done. Serious farmers won't typically buy one. But there are occasions, where every farmer would give his right remaining top tooth to have a smaller size tractor like that if nothing else to mow his lawn...but generally find a way to get the job done with a tractor too big for the job. It won't happen the other way around...but according to your signature line, you probably shouldn't have a bigger tractor, and the one you have is big enough for your expectations.

 

[Reverser]

But there are occasions, where every farmer would give his right remaining top tooth.............

:laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[Arc weld]

I hope Carol is still around. I think what a lot of people seem to forget is that Shield Arc, Mark, myself and every other person who ever picked up a stinger, weren't born welders. We had to learn and made a lot of really crappy and embarrassing welds along the way. I don't know how this has all of a sudden became a hobbyist form but that makes no difference. Posters are looking for welding advice. I think I speak for all of us and say that what we bring to the table is real world experience. Are we expecting newbie's to make welds that took us years to master, no. Above anything else we are trying to provide sound advice based on years of experience to help people improve their welding, make smart informed decisions and make it more enjoyable.

Anybody can buy a welder and attempt to stick stuff together but whether you're a 70 year old newbie like Carol or a certified nuclear welder, you should always take pride in your work and try to do the best job you can. Dismissing that and making excuses because this is only a "hobbyist" forum and posting pictures of projects that were hastily slapped together isn't helping anyone to improve their skills. What it is more likely to do is reinforce what the the "pro's" have been saying all along. Try to make it look professional. Unfortunately, some people are too stubborn to admit they could have done a better job if they had wanted too. I can guarantee that 80 hours with Shield Arc or another experienced welder could produce welds that look professional.

 

[Furu]

I hope Carol is still around. I think what a lot of people seem to forget is that Shield Arc, Mark, myself and every other person who ever picked up a stinger, weren't born welders. We had to learn and made a lot really crappy and embarrassing welds along the way. I don't know how this has all of a sudden became a hobbyist form but that makes no difference. Posters are looking for welding advice. I think I speak for all of us and say that what we bring to the table is real world experience. Are we expecting newbie's to make welds that took us years to master, no. Above anything else we are trying to provide sound advice based on years of experience to help people improve their welding, make smart informed decisions and make it more enjoyable.

Anybody can buy a welder and attempt to stick stuff together but whether you're a 70 year old newbie like Carol or a certified nuclear welder, you should always take pride in your work and try to do the best job you can. Dismissing that and making excuses because this is only a "hobbyist" forum and posting pictures of projects that were hastily slapped together isn't helping anyone to improve their skills. What it is more likely to do is reinforce what the the "pro's" have been saying all along. Try to make it look professional. Unfortunately, some people are too stubborn to admit they could have done a better job if they had wanted too. I can guarantee that a few weeks with Shield Arc or another experienced welder could produce welds that look professional.

Thank you and very well said.

 

[Sodo]

Arc, I'm still trying to find out what is your perspective, where you're coming from.

If you're sticking metal together, you're making stuff, right? Lets see that track groomer, or a problem you solved. Welding for more than a few years you must have something laying around you could show. It doesn't have to be at your job, it can be a hobby project. You make some fairly presumptive assertions as to how members ought to conduct their creative endeavors, or at least what pictures they ought to post, so lets see your examples.

 

[Arc weld]

My perspective? I'm trying to offer sound advice to help people based on my experience. My welding sucked when I first started but eventually I got my pressure ticket and was doing 100% x-ray welds. Having good teachers and experienced welders helped me immensely along the way. I don't have any pictures of projects I've made but I certainly wouldn't post pictures of shoddy workmanship and try to pass myself off as having 40 years experience welding. Shield Arc could weld circles around me but I'm sure there's a few tricks I've learned that could impress him. If you really wanted I could point out some faults with your workmanship but you'd just make excuses for it. I've been known to grind out welds because I didn't like the look of them. Maybe that's what separates a craftsman from a hobbyist?:confused3:

 

[Carol in CA]

Guys, this has gone way off track. If I could lock this thread I would. How about giving it a rest? You are not helping.

 

[Sodo]

Carol, don't believe the hype about overbuying welders. Start with a 120v welder. Use the gas, not flux-core which costs more but the results are worth it, and you will learn faster when it's easier (with the gas). I highly recommend any of the 120v welders, Hobart, Lincoln, Miller, I've used them all. The Lincoln seemed to weld sheetmetal better (very thin metal). I haven't used Everlast but I bet they are fine.

I do not aspire to be a pro. I am a 70 year old lady who breaks some things and conjurers up others. I am thinking the 120v machine will do just fine. On the rare occasion I would require something beyond the capabilities of my machine or skill level, I'll find a guy with the bigger machine. Budget is very modest as I don't expect to use this all that often.

I suspect Carol got her answer. Reasonable people told her that a 120v welder is great for a newbie and a LOT can be done well with it.

Well there ya go! The answer could have been done in 3 posts! :laughing:

 

[Reverser]

Arc weld, you need to come down from your high place of prominence, and talk nicely to us mere mortals.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of chest pounding and braggadocio here at times and it's not helpful. We have to glean out bits of information that is helpful to us midst a paragraph of self promotion.

And too, there seems to be frequent criticism of peoples personal welding machines. Saying they are door stops or dumpster fodder, boat anchor, or whatever, without regard as to what a person can actually afford or really needs for their particular application.

Also, the last time I looked, this website is a tractor forum, which includes farmers, or anyone that enjoys or works with a tractor, including hobbyists.

No one wants to be looked down upon and criticized for showing a weld or project that isn't professionally done. People appreciate getting advice in a kind, tactful, and respectful way. Not from those who are opinionated and won't listen to reason themselves.
It seems at times there are those who lurk here ready to pounce on someone who says or shows a pic that they can tear apart.

There, I've said my piece. :2cents: