Stick welding only employment?

[Arclikeharrypotter]

This guy's videos give a very watchable perspective of life as a mobile welder...

https://www.youtube.com/@MeltinMetalAnthony/videos

Clearly he's self-employed, experienced and has a lot of kit, so it's not your scenario as a employee/trainee, but the videos do show the things he has to be good at, to earn a good living...

Watch his videos by all means, but he hasn’t a scooby what he is actually doing, he just quotes what he’s been told.

MMA is mostly site, if your good at it then you can earn half decent money, but you are there doing it because no one else wants to, or it’s just an absolute pain in the behind.

 

[Cheesie]

I was stick welding most of last summer on a jetty any sort of mig would have been useless, I ended the year welding tig and stick on gas pipework, back to pulling on spanners, re done my codes end of last year but have got to comfy in my latest job so no welding,

 

[Memmeddu]

Watch his videos by all means, but he hasn’t a scooby what he is actually doing, he just quotes what he’s been told.

MMA is mostly site, if your good at it then you can earn half decent money, but you are there doing it because no one else wants to, or it’s just an absolute pain in the behind.

Completely agree, he's commercial nothing more or less than most every YouTubers who shows welding jobs.
IC weld on the other side of the barrier, he's seriously good at it and he doesn't try to teach exactly nothing.
He just shows his jobs for entertainment and it's a good thing IMHO.
Classic work he is little bit good at it but it's just redneck engineering, for most people his jobs would be fine but honestly it would never finish a day in a highly coded industry branch and he doesn't hide that.
We use stick welding at work only when there's no other options.
Thick stainless we stick weld it, cast iron we stick weld it, worn steel parts that needs to be reclaimed and machined, we stick weld them, building up material.
It's a very position welding friendly process and the main advantage is that the deposit is not as hard as mig, so easier to machine.
We also use stick welding to shrink up bearings, steel bushings or valve seats.
You can be extremely precise with it

 

[winchman]

Many of the pipe companies will start you as a Labourer then you may get the chance to progress. The stuff I encounter is usually Tig or Mig.
What job do you do now?

 

[dutch2u2]

I'm time served pipe fitter welder with C&G certs fed up traveling all over london spending 2+hours getting to work
and then the same getting home after a days work. Handed notice in and went to drive a london bus for more money
10 minuets to get to work and home, came home clean every day earned more money + 5 weeks holiday,sick pay
and a good pension, good social side to the job. Never looked back .......& never having to worry about the next weeks
work when the job was finished

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Ex neighbour, "time served" welder, worked for JCB. He said that production line used Mig, Tig or whatever done by "training on the job"workers. Further done the line where quality control inspection was done if any defects in welding it was his job then to rectify with stick !

 

[Dilkris]

As I understand it, TIG and or MIG are the preferred "go to" in a workshop environment - but out in the field its stick.
A shielded gas environment at the point of weld is difficult/impossible to maintain in a breeze.

 

[premmington]

Welding just don't pay that much - PAYE or even self employed.

Don't know why - but it just don't - never has done!


Some engineering does bring high income - making an end product and selling it.


Odd really as "engineering is everything" - everything that is ever made is made by machines that are designed/made/maintained by engineers.

Just everything from food to bricks - including everything else in between!

 

[chrismac]

A shielded gas environment at the point of weld is difficult/impossible to maintain in a breeze.

thats the purpose of a habitat... if your lucky, if your unlucky its a builders bag over you and your fitter mates head.

 

[Brad93]

thats the purpose of a habitat... if your lucky, if your unlucky its a builders bag over you and your fitter mates head.

Used a welding jacket and fibreglass blanket, i've not had a go with a 1 ton bag. I think they burn pretty good don't they? Keeps things exciting.

 

[Dilkris]

I guess you don't sleep well either Brad93...

 

[Brad93]

I guess you don't sleep well either Brad93...

Not anymore

 

[Rrobson]

Powerstation shutdowns and Scunthorpe shutdowns were beyond what you would think the human body can tolerate. Room temperatures above 50 degrees, so much dust you cannot see much beyond 10 ft, mammoth jobs you can't imagine getting to the finish line.

I can vouch the power industry still does pay well, but that comes with being amongst the best out there (although the plenty of chancers still turn up…) Still lots of work for platers, but that’s a hell of a lot more than just welding. Plus stick welding is just one of the skills you’ll need, along with tig in various codings and mig for all the boiler plate work. Plus the working away for 8-10 months a year isn’t for everyone…

 

[Brad93]

I can vouch the power industry still does pay well, but that comes with being amongst the best out there (although the plenty of chancers still turn up…) Still lots of work for platers, but that’s a hell of a lot more than just welding. Plus stick welding is just one of the skills you’ll need, along with tig in various codings and mig for all the boiler plate work. Plus the working away for 8-10 months a year isn’t for everyone…

Oh yeah there's no **Language**ing around, I don't do pipework so don't know that side of the industry but done plenty of plating. Block & tackle 50ft drops down bag house burning out walls and winching up the rotten old plate and lowering down new 3 and 5mm thick sheets

 

[Cheesie]

Welding just don't pay that much - PAYE or even self employed.

Don't know why - but it just don't - never has done!


Some engineering does bring high income - making an end product and selling it.


Odd really as "engineering is everything" - everything that is ever made is made by machines that are designed/made/maintained by engineers.

Just everything from food to bricks - including everything else in between!

It will pay if you travel and take risks, I'm back on paye using spanners for a living on sewage treatment works, I even re done my codes end of last year, If something came up that specializes in aluminium tig I'd move again,

 

[Brad93]

It will pay if you travel and take risks, I'm back on paye using spanners for a living on sewage treatment works, I even re done my codes end of last year, If something came up that specializes in aluminium tig I'd move again,

Used to do a bit of that, wasn't well paid though £15 an hour paye

 

[Cheesie]

Used to do a bit of that, wasn't well paid though £15 an hour paye

I was on less than that when I quit it plus I was running jobs for them, i went to welding, the problem with it for me was with subbing was big money then no money then ok money, where I'm at is good for what I do plus I'm paid from the door, with welding I also find I need to be at it regularly or my skills slip,

 

[Brad93]

I was on less than that when I quit it plus I was running jobs for them, i went to welding, the problem with it for me was with subbing was big money then no money then ok money, where I'm at is good for what I do plus I'm paid from the door, with welding I also find I need to be at it regularly or my skills slip,

I know that feeling mate, always wondering where the next paycheck is coming from

 

[Rrobson]

Oh yeah there's no **Language**ing around, I don't do pipework so don't know that side of the industry but done plenty of plating. Block & tackle 50ft drops down bag house burning out walls and winching up the rotten old plate and lowering down new 3 and 5mm thick sheets

I’ve been on one this year. Starting to use plasma cutters more which is far quicker. I was overseeing repairs to one boiler while the other one was having half the outer skin replaced on one wall. At least 400sq/m 1/4” plate and further smaller repairs in various other areas. All done with mig now though, much quicker. gone are the days of stick.

As you say, pipework is a different animal though, couple of sections of hp pipe were replaced due to cracking caused by quenching on the attemperator system and the procedure was impressive. A 700 degree stress post welding! Although understandable when operating temps are 560 degrees…

 

[Brad93]

I’ve been on one this year. Starting to use plasma cutters more which is far quicker. I was overseeing repairs to one boiler while the other one was having half the outer skin replaced on one wall. At least 400sq/m 1/4” plate and further smaller repairs in various other areas. All done with mig now though, much quicker. gone are the days of stick.

As you say, pipework is a different animal though, couple of sections of hp pipe were replaced due to cracking caused by quenching on the attemperator system and the procedure was impressive. A 700 degree stress post welding! Although understandable when operating temps are 560 degrees…

Blimey that would be a revelation Plasma, the heat in there from the five or six people burning was horrendous.
Yep we migged everything using esab or lincoln feeders on long umbilicals.