Terrible looking but functional tiedown bracket

[Yooper]

I taught many people over the years how to weld. But there was one guy that I worked with who just couldn’t get it. I told him politely to get his eyes checked because it was the only thing I could think of that was causing him to not see the weld puddle. He stubbornly refused and goes down as the only person I couldn’t teach how to weld.

Kinda funny. You knew when he was trying to weld because the guys around him would start clucking like chickens for his chicken looking welds.

But it brings up a point about eyesight and learning to weld. Its everything! If you need cheaters to read you will need them to weld. I have cheater lenses installed inside my helmet that you can get at the LWS. And don’t forget to clean and change out the outer lens when it gets dirty or excessively scratched.

 

[Crash277]

I taught many people over the years how to weld. But there was one guy that I worked with who just couldn’t get it. I told him politely to get his eyes checked because it was the only thing I could think of that was causing him to not see the weld puddle. He stubbornly refused and goes down as the only person I couldn’t teach how to weld.

Kinda funny. You knew when he was trying to weld because the guys around him would start clucking like chickens for his chicken looking welds.

But it brings up a point about eyesight and learning to weld. Its everything! If you need cheaters to read you will need them to weld. I have cheater lenses installed inside my helmet that you can get at the LWS. And don’t forget to clean and change out the outer lens when it gets dirty or excessively scratched.

a good quality helmet is worth the investment. i spent years using one of those super cheap ones. i swapped up to an adjustable tint battery powered one a couple years back, and wow i couldnt believe i was able to weld using the cheap one lol

 

[D2Cat]

If you think those are bed welds, son you aint never seem any of my try's. Mine have been called a bunch of grapes to other things I dont want to put on here,, I think ya done good, just keep at it

Skeets, my father-in-law had a machine shop. His father had started it, so he learned the business including welding at a very young age. He would put a stinger with a rod in it, lay it on a piece of plate and stand back. He'd lay a perfect weld without touching it.

When he showed me how to weld and when he saw what I did he said looked like bird sh-t. He was a confidence builder!

 

[dan_m]

My biggest issue is not enough light in my garage. i sometimes end up welding while holding a trouble light. kind of like when using a pistol and a flashlight in your support hand at the same time lol. hopefully i can get my garage renovations done before winter. once i run out of fluxcore, i will be getting some argon. when i got my lincoln mig pack, i got the one that came with everthing to run flux core and mig.

I understand. Right now I only own flux core welder. I am in the market (I started another thread here about it) for a better welder that supports gas. Right now I'm limited to 110v but will be adding 240 and creating a weld-safe area in my garage. I still will have need to weld outside and that'll be flux core (or stick).

Dan

 

[Yooper]

To be honest I have never welded with a machine like you have. But I wouldn’t be surprised if I would struggle with it even though I have decades of welding experience. If you know someone that has a Miller, Lincoln etc ask them if you can try running a few beads with it. Like night and day difference I’ll bet

 

[dan_m]

It works, but it's

To be honest I have never welded with a machine like you have. But I wouldn’t be surprised if I would struggle with it even though I have decades of welding experience. If you know someone that has a Miller, Lincoln etc ask them if you can try running a few beads with it. Like night and day difference I’ll bet

It "works", I can say that much about it. I bought it years ago as it was cheap and I was interested in learning and wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it. Lately I've gotten into it more and I have more projects (keep coming up with more every day) where welding will be involved.

I'm learning more as I weld more - body position, angles, lighting, helmet, wire speed, weld speed, etc. and I'm able to make better looking welds than the brackets I posted in this video.

That's my issue, I don't personally know anyone around me that welds.

Dan

 

[PoTreeBoy]

My biggest issue is not enough light in my garage. i sometimes end up welding while holding a trouble light. kind of like when using a pistol and a flashlight in your support hand at the same time lol. hopefully i can get my garage renovations done before winter. once i run out of fluxcore, i will be getting some argon. when i got my lincoln mig pack, i got the one that came with everthing to run flux core and mig.

When I started hacking around, I never dreamed lighting would be so critical. I thought with all that light off the arc, it would be self-illuminating. Boy was I wrong.

 

[mcmxi]

When I started hacking around, I never dreamed lighting would be so critical. I thought with all that light off the arc, it would be self-illuminating. Boy was I wrong.

If your auto-dimming helmet is set up right, or you're using an appropriate lens shade for the welding process, and any protective clear lens is in good shape you should have no difficulty welding in the absence of any additional light, even when it's pitch black. Stick welding requires a darker lens (I like 10) than MIG welding, but either way, if you're having a hard time seeing the puddle and/or seeing the joint then something isn't right with your gear or your eyes.

When I was working as a welder I had different welding hoods for different processes.

 

[Tim Horton]

If it works.... That is what counts....

Over the years there have been a thousand times I have thought I would still like to have my old SA200..
Keep at it.... Practice, practice... Enjoy....

 

[D2Cat]

Ive got a AEAD 200LE Miller in the back of a '95 Chev that is mostly used for fence building. That thing has to be 25 years old, but starts right up and welds beautifully with 6010 on rusted metal. I buy that rod by the 50# cans.

 

[OrangeKrush]

a good quality helmet is worth the investment. i spent years using one of those super cheap ones. i swapped up to an adjustable tint battery powered one a couple years back, and wow i couldnt believe i was able to weld using the cheap one lol

Thanks for that info.. thinking about trying my luck and was wondering how much of a difference it really made. Not to mention needing my cheaters! Still need to purchase a cheaply welder to get started so I'm not wanting to put a lot into it right now because you know... I may be one of those that can't see!

 

[mcmxi]

Thanks for that info.. thinking about trying my luck and was wondering how much of a difference it really made. Not to mention needing my cheaters! Still need to purchase a cheaply welder to get started so I'm not wanting to put a lot into it right now because you know... I may be one of those that can't see!

When I was in welding school there was an "old" diver in the program. He had really poor eyesight, kind of like a rhinoceros both in build and vision! He had been practicing a specific weld for weeks and called a bunch of us into his welding booth to witness his progress. We all giggled like school kids as we watched him weld one plate to the work bench rather than one plate to the other! It was actually a decent weld but we laughed more as we went back to our own booths and heard him cutting and grinding to get the plate off the bench, and the bench back to original.

There was a bank robber in the program too! He was a really nice guy but part of his parole agreement was to be in a training program that didn't include robbing banks. Crazy times.

 

[OrangeKrush]

When I was in welding school there was an "old" diver in the program. He had really poor eyesight, kind of like a rhinoceros both in build and vision! He had been practicing a specific weld for weeks and called a bunch of us into his welding booth to witness his progress. We all giggled like school kids as we watched him weld one plate to the work bench rather than one plate to the other! It was actually a decent weld but we laughed more as we went back to our own booths and heard him cutting and grinding to get the plate off the bench, and the bench back to original.

There was a bank robber in the program too! He was a really nice guy but part of his parole agreement was to be in a training program that didn't include robbing banks. Crazy times.

That's funny.. poor guy was feeling good about himself.

My eyes aren't that bad yet but I've never tried one of those helmets yet so not sure what to expect.