Is it better to take a welding course at my local community college or somewhere like Lincoln Tech for example?

So I’ve been working my rear off gotten a few more certificates yet the company I work for is hiring new kids and giving them hire pay but can’t even tac 2 pieces of aluminum together. Now I’m not saying my welds are looking like a stack of dimes but I’d rate them a 7-10

I have a meeting with HR on Monday and trying to figure out how can I get a raise Thanks in advance.

I’m a new welder in the market for a welding helmet with a budget set around $150. I picked up a small Hobart 160i stick welder from Tractor Supply, so that’s what I’ll be using the helmet with if that makes a difference. I’ve boiled it down to two options. A Hobart Inventor, or Miller Classic Series. The Hobart has a 2 year warranty, a larger viewing port and 4 sensors. The Miller has a 3 year warranty, smaller viewing port and only 2 sensors, although I’ve heard the classic series has excellent visual clarity. For those who have experience with these helmets, or any opinions in general, which would be the best helmet for my money and why would it be best? Any help would be greatly appreciated, and thank you all in advance.

Just looking to tack stuff together and do small projects in the garage. Trying decide between this and harbor freight. Just a little flux core miggin

Hey everyone, just looking for some help if available. I’m trying to get a sponsor for my apprenticeship in boilermaker 92. I have d1.1 SMAW and FCAW, and AWS 6G stick. Im also close to getting my ASME combo cert as well. I’ve done structural work up till now.

I just need a company to sponsor my apprenticeship so I can start working. If anybody needs an apprentice please dm me or leave a comment. Any advice is also appreciated, thank you :)

They are supposed to be kept in an oven once the sealed package is opened. If I were to open the package, use what I need and put the rest in a seal a meal type bag and suck the air out would that work? What about storing a few lbs in a large pickle jar and pulling a vacuum on it for storage? Just kind of curious for a situation where someone wouldn't want to keep a heating element plugged in all the time and drive up energy use. I like 7018 and use the crap out of it at work where I have an oven, but I rarely use it at home because I don't have a way to properly store it and I'm not a fan of the idea of leaving a rod oven running in the shop all the time.

Edit - more than how I should be storing my rod, I'm curious if limiting exposure to open air through a vacuum is just as effective as keeping the rod heated.

Having problems with rat nesting amd sputtering. I tried blowing out the liner, changing my tension and unplugging and plugging everything back in. What should I do next?

Any advice for a beginner? (Also any welding helmet or FR clothing line you’d recommend me?)

Window well cover for her basement.

Flux core mig, .8mm wire on 6mm mild steel. It's hard to make it perfectly straight lol. Even when it looks straight b4 I brush off the flux.

Will keep at it

I found this weld on a piece of black pipe on the job I’m on with the UA, and this weld does not look like all the other welds I’ve seen on this type of pipe. The other issue with this weld is that the pipe is already tied into the rest of the line, so this weld is all done.

My question is, why does it look so shitty? Did they not put enough caps on it or something?

High guys.

So I've started working for a company that mainly work with galvanized tubes, but I have a few problems with it.

First, the speed, my previous jobs, I had no input about the time I had to complete the work, it was little workshop so I was basically doing everything from cutting the pieces to painting them and setting them, even without the boss sometimes, so basically everything except the drawing. The problem with that is that I had no idea if I was efficient in my work, the only info I could get is that I hadn't been fired so it should be ok.

In this work, it's different, there are maximum times given, and I'm in no way able to get them for some jobs.

I see 2 points where I lose time, the first is that we work with 76381.6, and that's a "bumpy" tube, so getting everything flush require at least 3 tacks, one at each ends, and for the one on the middle I have to use a clamp to get it flush with the other tube (especially when the set up is a T-shape junction, it's way less hard when it's a 45° cut).

The other thing and the worst is that it's galvanized steel, and when I weld, there is always little hole popping from time to time, I don't understand why, and it takes time to refill them and grind them to get everything flush.

I grind the zinc layer first before welding, but I think I don't have a good control over my way of welding.

The thing is, I'm not really a welder, I was a fabricator/blacksmith before, and we mostly worked with mild steel so there was way less problem.

Here it's 90% galvanized steel and it's starting to get on my nerves.

• We don't have masks, only a big fan (which can blow away the gas, and I don't understand why everyone is ok with it...)

I don't think I will stay very long in this shop, but I would like to get better at handling this kind of material, do you have any tips ?

Thanks in advance