(02-01-2013, 01:17 PM)ieezitin Wrote:

(01-31-2013, 07:11 PM)TomG Wrote:

(01-31-2013, 05:47 PM)ieezitin Wrote:

(01-30-2013, 07:27 PM)TomG Wrote: Welding is a learned skill that is acquired with practice, LOTS of practice. And when you get to the point where you can produce good consistent welds, you need to keep welding to maintain that skill. It's not like riding a bicycle. Once you stop, the skill quickly goes away and the only way to get it back is more practice. I used to torch weld 4130 tubing on the job and I got to where I could produce wonderful looking welds, but to do that now would require quite a bit of practice to get it back, not as much as it took the first time, but quite a bit just the same. The same thing happened when I restored my Chevelle. There was a lot of sheet metal welding and it took quite a while before I could make a warp free weld on sheet metal that didn't require a ton of grinding.

In short Dave (and Ed), don't get frustrated. Get yourself a bunch of scrap steel and weld it all together. Don't practice on projects because that will only get you frustrated, practice on scrap and when you get comfortable THEN weld on a project. Your welding and your confidence will improve with practice, practice, practice.

Tom

I disagree.

Having someone telling you what to do and the reason why, is acquiring a skill, just going into the shed and welding scrap and producing trash is just plain torture.

Welding is not hard. practice just gives you refinement

Anthony,

I guess I'm a little confused about what you are disagreeing with. The definition of a skill is the ability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well. I assumed you were going to provide the knowledge part with your offer to troubleshoot welds if provided pictures, but that is only part of the equation.

As a former vocational education instructor in the area of both machining and welding, I am a firm believer that a little bit of knowledge and a lot of hands on experience is the only way to learn a skill. A beginning welder can sit and watch or listen to someone tell them how to weld until they are blue in the face, but until they get actual hands on experience, they will learn, and more importantly retain very little. You said yourself that welding is "visual, hand eye coordination". In my experience, the only way to develop that hand eye coordination is by practicing, a lot.

Obviously welding can't be learned without a certain amount of knowledge. That would just develop and reinforce bad habits, but neither can welding be learned on theory alone, the two go hand in hand.

Tom

Tom
On your post #22 which I am taking it you are pointing to my statement in #20. All you really mention and accentuate is Practice, and then you explain how you got good at your welding with 4130 steel and practice made you better.
What you said in the beginning was “welding is a learned skill that is acquired with practice” then you end off by emphasizing don’t get frustrated all you need to do is much of what you already stated.
Standing alone in his shop with an hour’s worth of practice under his belt and his welds having severe Under-cut with the plate warped like a pretzel serves him no good as to why or where did he go wrong.

In my opinion you’re not really helping anyone by just telling them to practice. Hopefully I have clarified your confusion.

I still stand by my belief, once someone has been introduced to some simple theory as to the reasons why and what, coupled with a liberal amount of hands on; the skill of welding can be sufficiently mastered to satisfy his hobby needs.

All I offered was a visual on what he does, tell him what happened, why and now try this etc then go practice and then come back. I don’t expect him to be able to take a 6-G weld test at the end of his endeavors, but he will be further up the road than he is already now.

Anthony.