Thats the nail head you just hit,trying to figure out if its a little one or a big one,the pain starts off the same,if you stop every time a little spark gets you,you are going to be doing a lot of starting and stoping in some situations.I've seen more woman welders who do only t.i.g. if they can get by with it.People will tell you they make better t.i.g. welders because of small hands,e.t.c.,I believe its because woman hate those little burns and scares worse than a man does,and maybe they are smarter,nah! RICHARD GAUTHIER
Your instrutor must be tring to get you all used to the pain of being a welder,if he suggested you wear flannel,flannel fuzzy,flannel burn good.Make sure you do every thing else exactly as he says,I bet hes tring to break you in is all. RICHARD GAUTHIER
Actually, the instructor specifically cautioned against wearing new flannel shirts for that very reason. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] He said that 'fuzz' will catch and burn right off. Older flannels, as I'd imagine you know, don't have that fuzz and, hence, don't have the problem, either. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
There are also different grades (weights) of flannels. I have several that are extremely heavy and had almost no fuzz from the very start. The reall heavy ones are hard to find, I've been able to get them only at the local farm store. Can't even find them at TSC.
I bought a "chamois cloth" (very heavy flannel) shirt from Cabelas. It came with some large font warnings about how much this particular shirt likes to catch fire.
I've always had good luck with denim shirts. I've had to pat out fires on flannel. And once had to pat out my hair when it cuaght on fire. (It was longer once, and I had more of it.) And forget synthetics, they melt through fast. If you wear coveralls, cotton is best. For quick welds I don't hesitate to weld in a t-shirt (this goes against good health and good sense, I know). Bad thing is what is light doing to my skin. Good thing is sparks fall right off. I usually opt for the denim shirt and long gloves. Leathers I've never owned and only borrowed a pair a couple of times for overhead welding. Where I live you would quickly die of heat stroke in the summer wearing leathers for any length of time.
I learned what you mean about heat and leathers Monday. As you can imagine, that welding room is plenty warm when it's below zero outside. Monday we had a high around 3 PM in the mid seventies so things were still warm in the very early evening when class takes place. I just had on sleeves and an apron over my shirts and could certainly tell the difference in not only my comfort level but also my endurance.
I think finding some middle ground is going to be the key. At this poing I'm leaning toward leather sleeves (or at least the left sleeve) when it's really hot out. A lot's going to depend on how much I have to do, etc., as I'm still very much on the learning curve. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Gary
I would get the sleeves and bib as a minimum when you are going to do out of position welding, either vertical or overhead. For flat and horizontal, I ususally don't put mine on.
One other thing I might mention is try to "dial" in your welding machine settings and it will reduce the amont of spatter that you will get when welding. Also make sure that the electrodes have not been laying around absorbing moisture.
Good luck, I am sure that pretty soon you will be able to weld anything from the "crack of dawn" to a "broken heart" [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] .
I used the sleeves and the apron last week and was amazed at what a difference they made. [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] I just assumed that there was a certain amount of pain from sparks that was associated with welding. With the sleeves and apron I don't think I felt even a single spark. [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
I agree that they may not be as important on the horizontal but I do know that my left forearm takes a good amount of spark hits (I'm right-handed) even doing that. I imagine I'll still put on at least one sleeve for horizontal work. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Thanks for the advice on the electrodes, too. I hadn't heard that before.
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