RSS"Half the point of welding is not being afraid of getting dirty or burning a bit of your toe." - Link
Rosie's Girls - Welding Program in Vermont
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My wife and I were taking an oxy-acetylene welding class. One night I look over and say, "Hey baby, your pants are on fire!" She put it out without getting a bad burn, but yeah, when sparks fly it can get a bit dangerous.
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It's also worth it to be a little paranoid about the fumes from welding. Much of the "smoke" around someone who's welding is vaporized metal and vaporized metal oxides, and the particle sizes are small enough that a significant fraction will embed in your lung tissues instead of being caught and filtered out by your nose and bracheal cilia.
You'd only pick up a tiny amount at any one time, but it accumulates over time, and people who've been welding for 15-20 years tend to have significant medical issues that stem from metal inhalation.
The lesson: use a properly designed mask, replace the filters on schedule, and get back to welding!
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It's also worth it to be a little paranoid about the fumes from welding. Much of the "smoke" around someone who's welding is vaporized metal and vaporized metal oxides, and the particle sizes are small enough that a significant fraction will embed in your lung tissues instead of being caught and filtered out by your nose and bracheal cilia.
You'd only pick up a tiny amount at any one time, but it accumulates over time, and people who've been welding for 15-20 years tend to have significant medical issues that stem from metal inhalation.
The lesson: use a properly designed mask, replace the filters on schedule, and get back to welding!
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"not being afraid of getting dirty or burning a bit of your toe."
I'm not suggesting that anybody should be outright afraid of welding, but you do need to be cognizant of where sparks are skittering off to.
Also, after you weld, just be careful about touching *anything* in a one foot radius of the freshly welded metal. Assume everything is hot and approach everything slowly with your hand before you actually grab onto it.
You'll probably get burned at some point (I was a dumbass a few weeks ago and burned all my fingertips when I picked up a rod I had just MiG welded). Learn effective first aid for burns; treating them quickly is important.
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As a weldor and a former vermonter, It was neat seeing the craft go on with the young 'uns.
Remember- hot metal looks the same as cold metal! (OK, to a point...) The heat transfer when welding heavy aluminum will bite you sooooo far away from the weld...
""I'm not suggesting that anybody should be outright afraid of welding, but you do need to be cognizant of where sparks are skittering off to.""
AMEN!!! Before you go inside/home for the night, turn off all the fans/radios/noisemakers in the shop and do a quick sniff/sight/sound patrol. A spark in a rag can smoulder for hours.....hope the smoke detector in your garage works as well as mine did at 3:45 in the am....
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I do believe she says "burning a bit of your clothes," and not "burning a bit of your toe."
These kids, just like the instructors, should know that proper footware is a requirement.
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