"DanK" wrote in message
...
Classes aren't cheap but the one I have been taking at night, you almost
pay for the course with what consumables you use. We were taught on a
variety of rods, doing mainly fillets on the horizontal.

ABSOLUTELY! Just the price of steel and rods (which most schools have
donated) make it a deal. Then, you get to use machine beveled materials in
some courses, which is expensive stuff. Particularly in pipe classes.

I tend to think that classes ARE cheap. If they charged a person for the
steel and rods at the going rate, the price would jump up quite a bit.
IMHO, that is.

And when you come to aluminum and stainless, the price goes through the
roof.

If you are showing a talent, the instructor will usually let you use other
machines and techniques to try them. Where are you going to get metal, a
$4,000 welding machine, and argon handed to you?

Welding classes are like a buffet. If you walk away and not get your
money's worth, you are the one to blame.

A person can learn to weld without classes, but it will take a lot longer
and a lot more materials. Someone can SHOW you things about welding in ONE
day that you can't learn on your own in months. But isn't that a "class"
too?

STeve