tricks of the trade

[mattbrissey]

hey guys, i would like to know the cool things yall have learned or heard of. kinda like i heard if u get minor welders flash u can cut a potato and put it on your eyes. stuff like that. and maybe the "weird but true" if u have any. just a cool little thought. thanks

[Wheelchair]

Hello Matt I do have some tricks of the trade and one that I learned the hard way was to wear safety glasses when looking at your weld. I was taking a test when I was very young and thought I knew it all. I would weld a little and then push my glasses up on my forehead and look at my weld while pressing the high freq button as it gave you a better view of it. I did this all day and an old timer told me that it was going to burn my eyes if I did not keep my glasses down. I thought how could I burn my eyes with the high freq as it was not welding. Well that night I thought I was dying and had to go to the emergency room. I dont know why but with the glasses being worn properly you will not burn your eyes while looking at the high freq.

Wheelchair

[gunnut4570]

The first time I told my wife to bring a potato to me in the bedroom she thought I had gone over the edge but it works fast. Found out over the years putting potato juice in a eye dropper works just as well and you will not look **** weird.

[WillietheWelder]

when i first started i took a Stainless wire to see how it was to weld when i was done i put my hood up (with no glasses under it) and hot slag popped off and almost went right in my eye!! never again!

[paulrbrown]

Never wear light colored shirts, as the UV will reflect off and shoot right under your hood......Only time I have ever had flashburn was by doing this, I now paint the inside of my helmet flatblack.....Paul

[Iron man]

This probably does sound weird, but under certain circumstances ear protection should be used. I was welding laying under a truck and a hot ball of weld went right down in my ear, that is a new kind of pain. I am just glad I can still hear.

[Engloid]

If you ever have to climb into some stainless pipe and backweld it... put a dark rag over your head and hood to keep light from bouncing into the back of your hood. The worst flashburn I ever had was from that. I started welding inside some 18" pipe...and within 1.5hrs, I started hurting. Usually, it takes till the middle of the night, but when you get it that bad, it is a lot faster to hurt.

I barely made it home that night.

[RoGrrr]

When cutting with OA or my plasma, I dump a bucket of sand or kitty litter on the floor. This keeps the sparks/slag from running all over the place. Done, sweep it up and you know that your shop is just a bit safer.

[nick]

Another one that I use is if you are going to be welding alot of galvanized or zinc coated steel you should drink pure coffee creamer to coat the lining of your stomach. Zinc does not have a liquid state so when you proceed to weld upon it it turns straight to a gas. This gas can cause stomach problems after a few hours of welding.

[SkidSteerSteve]

Another one that I use is if you are going to be welding alot of galvanized or zinc coated steel you should drink pure coffee creamer to coat the lining of your stomach. Zinc does not have a liquid state so when you proceed to weld upon it it turns straight to a gas. This gas can cause stomach problems after a few hours of welding.

I don't want to send this thread too far off of it's original purpose, but anytime you are working around Zinc/galvanized material, be extremely cautious and use lots of ventilation. It's nothing to even think about messing with, I don't care how much of a man's man weldor someone thinks they are, it can do some really nasty things to you if it gets in enough concentration.

Also, I second the use of ear plugs. Not only for the short circuit noise of MIG, but the first time you get slag in the old ear canal, you will never skimp on it again. Hearing your skin pop and sizzle at point blank range is not fun. SSS