I am a complete newb when it comes to welding, hence why I am in school for it. My welding time prior to this course is shorter than most smoke breaks. I wanted to throw that out there before I proceed.
Safety! So much safety talk, and man is it important. Between electrocution, burning alive, and exploding altogether there are many ways for a welder to screw himself up. I have been paying close attention to this aspect in particular as I am very fond of going home at the end of the day. With good safety practices though all the most harrowing dangers can be avoided. Some of the big ones I took home was to always be grounded, always know where the tanks will go boom are.
So we started off with shielded metal arc welding. Commonly referred to as stick welding. We began with 7024 electrode rods which are supposedly really good for beginners to learn on. We practiced running lines across some steel plate to get practice. I repeat myself saying I am a complete newb before you see the following pictures.
After utilizing 7024 rods we moved on to 6010. This did not go smoothly on the first attempt. And they were far from looking pretty. The roughest part of this electrode was getting it lit and keeping it lit. The distance from the electrode to the workpiece is quite specific. You don't want to rest the electrode, which burns away as you go, onto the metal itself due to it adhering to the workpiece. Because then you have a rod stuck in your workpiece and as you pull it off you will break off some flux from your electrode, and that will alter the burn on your electrode as you continue. We also delved into some 7018 electrodes which I had an easier time with then the 6010.
It was not the easiest week but I went from no experience to some, and that is progress. And that about sums up my first week of introduction to welding. I hope you enjoyed and I will be sharing week two soon.
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