where did you guys learn to weld
 

Aside from those of you that went to a specific school i.e. wyotech or uti, where did you guys gain all of your experience and knowledge? im looking to trying and learn and would love to hear some input

i watched, asked questions, read a book and practiced.. over and over.. now a days im sure you can learn from miller online and youtube.. and possibly on a forum like metalfab..

Some reading and practice.

metalshop in highschool :thumbsup:

I never read any books or asked anyone for advice, just practice ,practice and more practice

Make sure to buy a good welder first:thumbsup: Good luck

Never really learned, but read a few books and started making things stick together. I plan to take a class this spring though.
Mark

making a lot of "modern art" in the shop

Darren

Watching some segments on TV, an instructional DVD that came with my welder, reading, and lots and lots of practice. And I still suck.

Taught myself 37 years ago when I started at my dad's commercial/industrial sheetmetal shop. He just threw a bunch of 16 ga scrap on the table, handed me a bunch of 6011 rod and said "there you go, let me know when your done"! And after awhile taught mig and tig. But the key is experience and to practice over and over on everything,,, thick, thin, steel, stainless, aluminum, etc. Still learning though, that's what's fun. And with the machines that are available today, the learning curve is much quicker.

I would recommend taking a short workshop (1 or 2 weeks) at a local tech school or community college. You get the basics, safety info, experience with some good stable equipment and a little supervised practice time. Then go get a decent welder (and they are pretty inexpensive these days) and practice like brother Holohan stated - tons of different stuff and practice, practice, practice.... You will be amazed at how fun it will be.

And build yourself a decent weld table to start with:

https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=24523

:lateral:

Jim


PS, I forgot - read everything you can get your hands on. But that rule applies for everything fabrication - so you should already be reading every day, there's no end to learning.