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Learn how to weld properly and safely with the step-by-step instructions from sculptor DeWitt Godfrey in these Howcast welding videos.
Transcript Hi. My name’s Dewitt Godfrey. I’m a sculptor and art professor at Colgate University, a small liberal arts college located in central New York. Colgate University has about 2800 students and I’m coming to your from our sculpture studios. Working with welding and metals has been a central part of my artistic practice from …
Transcript Two of the most common mistakes beginners find is either moving your welding rod too quickly across the seam or too slowly. I’ll demonstrate both. Here you can see two good welds flanking a weld that was done too quickly. A good weld and good speed is indicated by an even spacing between these …
Transcript Two of the most common mistakes beginners find is either moving your welding rod too quickly across the seam, or too slowly. I’ll demonstrate both. [pause] Here you can see two good welds flanking a weld that was done too quickly. A good weld, and good speed is indicated by a good spacing between …
Transcript Ninety percent of all welding is really down to fitting. If pieces are fit and cut carefully, the welding process is a snap. If they’re fit poorly, or there are large gaps, it can consume a lot of time, welding rods, and patience to get a good weld. I’m going to go through and …
Transcript I want to talk about welding safety. The first thing you want to make sure is that you have an appropriate space to do your work. You want to have a clean, dry shop. Water and welding don’t mix. You want to make certain that you have a nice cement floor, or dirt. Some …
Transcript Selecting the right welding rod is critical to the success of your welding job. You see here before me four different kinds of welding rods. They vary in three important ways. One is diameter from 5/32 to 1/8 to 3/32 to numerical number 6013 in this case, 6011 here, and 7014 here. This last …
Transcript I’m going to try to demonstrate some of the most common problems or mistakes that beginning arc welders encounter. One is which the arc will not start, or the arc rod sticks. Neither is cause for panic, and is usually the result of one or two things. Either your voltage is set too low …
Transcript So moving onto clothing and personal safety equipment. As I’m sure you can notice, I’m wearing a split leather cowhide welding jacket. As you can see, it protects my arms and buttons up tight at the neck and covers my torso. I also recommend heavy cotton pants or blue jeans. You want to have …
Transcript So what are some of the jobs or careers that you can pursue with welding skills? Those jobs really run the range. You could operate your own small ornamental ironworks making decorative railings, handrails, stairs, et cetera. There’s a big business in ornamental iron, fencing, and fabrication. There are many small shops even just …
Transcript This welding rod fits into an electrode holder which is insulated and allows the operator to safely hold the electrode without danger of receiving an electric shock. The rod can be positioned in the holder in a number of different ways depending on operator preference or the position of the work being welded. When …
Transcript What are the essentials that every welder needs? Setting up a welding shop doesn’t have to be prohibitively expensive, but there are a few things that you have to have. Let’s start with protective clothing. Every welder needs a good jacket, a welding hat, gloves, your most important safety tool, foot protection. For cutting …
Transcript What is arc welding? Today I’m going to be talking about and demonstrating shielded metal arc welding that’s sometimes referred to as stick welding. Arc welding creates heat for the welding process through a process of electrical resistance. The arc welding machine builds up electrical potential in the same way that all of you …
Transcript How do you choose the right welding hood? Well, first, let’s talk about what’s important about a welding hood. The welding hood is generally a plastic, non-flammable material with a protective screen behind which is the lens. The welding hood and its lens protect you from dangerous levels of UV radiation that are produced …
Transcript What is welding? Welding is distinct from other processes that we use to join metal, such as soldering and braising, in which a third material is added as a kind of glue. With welding, we take two distinct materials, two distinct objects. Through the addition of heat we create a molten pool of metal …
