On Fri, 8 Jul 2016 13:06:29 -0700 (PDT), Dan
wrote:
On Monday, June 13, 2016 at 11:27:25 AM UTC-7, Gunner Asch wrote:
I had a young guy come over a week or so ago, he heard that I had
"machining and welding stuff" and he wanted to see if he could get
some tig rod. He has a little DC only TIG rig and had been ****ing
around with it. This area is not known for being big on TIG..mostly
pipe welding for the oil fields. Took the kid out to the shop, showed
him my toys and out to the welding shop. Talked to him about what he
was wanting to do..and gave him some tig filler. He thanked me..and
left. I figured Id never see him again.
Yesterday morning..he showed back up with some of his work to get some
advise. So I took him out to the shop and fired up my big TIG
multiprocess machine and had him duplicate his practice work while I
watched over his shoulder and gave him some advice. His welds
improved 300% in just a couple minutes. We got to talking about
aluminum welding and he expressed interest in learning how to do it.
His welder is DC only, and I warned him about doing aluminum with it
and suggested a couple methods about how he might be able to "get by"
with a DC only machine, then brought out some thin aluminum stock,
filler and switched the machine to AC and let him run a couple
beads..warning him about the melting point versus the welding
point..and to watch his feet when the puddle went right through the
work. He fired up and immediately melted a hole in the work. Totally
expected. Then had him work on finding the sweet spot....which he did
VERY quickly.
To make a long story short..that kid, at the end of the day..was
welding SWEET aluminum fillets and long ones too. I had him doing
1/8" plate and welding it to 1/4" aluminum plate like a freaking pro.
It takes ME a couple attempts to get dialed in..and this kid did it in
just a couple tries..for the very first time!! I put on a .040
electrode and gave him a couple soda cans and he was doing a half way
decent job of welding the bottoms together!! Im tickled ****less that
he took to it so fast. I hate doing aluminum/TIG..and he simply..has
a knack for it. Next trip over...Im going to see what kind of stick
and mig welding he can do. I suspect he is going to be a star!
Oddly enough...he has been in the US for 8 yrs..and is Russian, came
over with his mom and they decided to immigrated and are becoming
citizens. His english is pretty good too, with almost no accent.
Kids..shrug
He has been working as labor here in the oil patch..and since the
patch is nearly shut down...he hasnt had a lot of work. I want to
put together a list of affordable welding schools for him...anyone
that has the Knack this well..really needs to go to a decent school,
get certified and get a good paying job. Anyone have any suggestions
for good schools on the west coast?
Thanks!
Gunner
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
Navel ship yard in Bremerton WA has IIRC( 6 year) apprentice program that results in a welder certified for nuc and submarine. Pays pretty well as an apprentice,
Dan
Thanks Dan...saved for the next time I see him
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus