I just finished a class at Palomar College called Hi-Tech Welding, which is really welding 100.
I had welded in school when I was younger, and it was fun. I had over the years, always had a little portable welder, that I could use if something went wrong. I like to write books for my fun and hobby, and I own a store, and I also run a landscaping business. When something breaks down, I can weld it up myself.
I wanted to think of something I could do, that would not injure me, or be to physical, since tree cutting and stump grinding are pretty physical jobs, and I like to get outside and work, so I thought I would like to take a welding class.
I signed up for the welding class. It was fun, and I learned a lot from it actually. We have about 15 people in the class, and there are several classes. While one class is in the shop welding, the other class is in the classroom learning about welding. Each night we get 1 hour of classroom work, and 2 hours of welding work.
The first section of the class, we learn and practice ARC welding. ARC welding has a much bigger spark, and throws off more sparks, and it’s pretty fun to melt metal together.
The second section of the class, we learn TIG welding. TIG is a more intense type of welding, and they let us sit in chairs for TIG welding.
The third and final section of the class is MIG welding, which is the easiest type of welding, also known as a wire feed welder. After you become familiar with your machine, and experience, you just only have to point and shoot, and it’s pretty fun also!
In the welding class, you learn about welding symbols on blueprints. You learn all the different types of metals, electrodes, and various amps and volts you would use to weld.