Welding is an interesting skill, but a very risky job, you must use proper welding safety gear to weld anything. It’s interesting because people enjoy making different objects by using metals. This skill can also help people in their routine repair works, such as repairing their metal rocking chair to sit in their garden or repairing their metal door. Learning this skill isn’t very easy, you’ve to take proper guidance from an expert of this industry who can correctly teach you and allow you to practice it.
In this article, we’ll talk about some popular types of welding and those welding tips that will help you improve in welding work. So, let’s begin.
Types of Welding
Following are the four major types of welding that are commonly known and used.
– MIG Welding
Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) or MIG is the most common type of welding and is mostly used to repair vehicles and in the construction process. It uses an electrode (wire) and an arc to melt and join the metals.
– TIG Welding
TIG or Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) is a type of arc welding. It also uses an arc, but the electrode that’s used in it is made up of tungsten, which is a very tough type of metal. Various types of industries that require high-quality welding use this type of welding.
– Stick Welding
Stick or Shielded Metal Arc Welding is used by multiple industries for different works, like repair and maintenance, construction works, welding works for underwater pipelines, etc. This type of welding uses a stick and an arc. The stick is melted with the arc to join metals together. The molten stick also protects the metals from reacting with oxygen to prevent rust.
Important Welding Tips
1) PPEs
PPE or personal protective equipment includes all the safety equipment that can help you remain safe while doing work. Commonly they include safety gloves, goggles, safety suits, safety shoes, etc.
2) Ventilation
Take proper care of your ventilation. While welding, many small particles of metal are mixed into the air, and inhaling those substances can be injurious to your lungs and respiratory functioning. To prevent this, check whether your ventilation is safe or not. Wear a high-quality air filter or a self contained breathing apparatus to protect yourself.
3) Spotter
Having a spotter while welding is an important thing to do as this can reduce the risk of fire. Your eyes can’t perfectly see everything for long when doing welding works, so having another person near you can help you to remain protected from danger.
4) Cleaning of Metal
Before you start to weld metals, it’s good to clean them properly for the best results. Probably, there could be something on the metals that can obstruct them to properly stick together, and hence you can waste your efforts. Therefore, we recommend cleaning the metals before welding.
5) Machine
It’s very important to have proper information about which machine should be used for that specific type of work you’re doing. Also, you should know how to use your machine and what features it has. If you have an AC-only machine, you can’t switch your polarity, but if you have an AC/DC machine, you must know the functions of each of them.
6) Arc Length
Arc length refers to the distance between arc and metal. It’s necessary to understand what arc length you should keep. Because, if the arc length is short, the rod can stick poorly to the metal weld.
7) Rod Size
Rod size is the thickness of the rod. The ideal rod size is ⅛”, but it may vary according to the thickness of the metal you’ve to work on. Experts suggest that the thickness of the rod should be equal to the thickness of the metal. If you work on a thin metal with a thick rod, it can damage the metal sheet by putting a hole in it.
8) Rod Angle
If you’re welding something on the top of your head, there’s always a danger that molten metal can drop on you. To avoid this, you should know the correct angle to hold the rod so that you may remain safe while working. The suggested rod angle is 10 degrees leaning towards the metal weld from the backside. This is known as the backhand technique.
9) Rod Feeding and Movement
When welding, it’s very important to check whether the rod is feeding correctly or not. The rod should feed enough that you can easily join the metal pieces as you wish. If the rod isn’t feeding enough, change the rod, so you can continue your work trouble-free. Also, you should know how you should move your hands and in which direction and pace when welding.
10) Speed of Welding
The speed of welding matters a lot. If you’re in a hurry and going very fast that the metals aren’t properly joining with each other, your efforts can get wasted. So be careful and keep your speed appropriate, not so fast, and not too slow. This will help you weld perfectly.
Here was some information about welding that can help you improve in welding work. In this article, we also discussed the types of welding that are the most common. If you’re someone from Karachi, Pakistan, and want to buy welding gloves, you must look into the varieties provided by Elite Leather.
Author Bio:
Sibtain Haider, a content contributor at Mainstream Pakistan, associated with trading and digital marketing. Presently working at Digital Eggheads, a well-reputed digital marketing agency in Pakistan.
