"B.B." u wrote in message
news
SNIP
| The bit about feel reminds me of another development today, I could
| feel the weld as I was working. When I started last week I had
| absolutely no feel at all--it was 100% visual, which would explain why
| the bad helmet had such an enormous impact. By the end of today's class
| I could definitely feel the arc and I could feel the puddle as I pushed
| it around. The result was a much better weld, and I could start
| focusing on where I was headed instead of drifting around. I could also
| stop thinking about arc length because my arm kept adjusting that for me.
| I like this newsgroup.

Excellent! You'll find that you can close your eyes and focus on how
"the feeling" tells you what to do. "Feel the power of The Force, Luke."
Don't sweat what the welds look like right now, and if the instructor
knows what you're doing he'll actually leave you along because you're then
_way_ ahead of the rest of the class, maybe even him. You might find
eventually that your blind welds look better than the ones you get to look
at. Welding with your eyes closed inside a corner will be something you can
do until the electrode runs out. Truly a cool trick.
Actually, I must admit that now that I remembered this exercise I ought
to go do it myself and get back on it. This is one of those things that's
not in any book. I mentioned the more skilled among us collecting this kind
of stuff for a good welding book some time ago and this is the exact type of
thing I was talking about.