welding classes

[ironsniper1]

hey everyone i hope you're all well, anyone know a place where one can learn welding for hobby and not job or career wise? 

[gregintenn]

Is there a TCAT vocational school near you?

[ironsniper1]

3 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

Is there a TCAT vocational school near you?

does not seem to be

[gregintenn]

A quick google search show one in Murfreesboro, Nashville, and Shelbyville. Your location shows Spring Hill. I guess near is a relative term.

You can learn way more than a fella should know watching youtube videos.

Edited January 9 by gregintenn

[joe4vol]

What type of welding process are you wanting to learn?

[Darrell]

Does TCAT  offer individual classes?  Like the OP, I'd like to take a couple of classes... stick and MIG. I checked the Crossville TCAT website and it looked to me like they offer a whole certification program. I'd certainly be interested in being able to take a couple of basic classes.

I've actually taken a couple of welding classes in the past, and I can stick two pieces of steel together, but a good refresher would help in my case. And save money spent on grinding wheels!

Edited January 9 by Darrell

[gregintenn]

I expect it is just a certification, but you could always call and ask. I'd peruse youtube since you aren't wanting to make a career of it.

[DHF]

I took a MIG class at The Forge in Nashville.  It was just an introduction and it made for a fun evening.   They did a good job and I plan on going back to take the TIG class they offer. I think getting the fundamentals from a little hands-on training, get a hold of a welder and some metal, fire up the YouTube and start burning away, is a good way to go about it.  I have looked for classes that were made for the hobbyist but they all seem to be intro classes like this or full "degree" type programs.  This is my plan.

https://www.theforgenashville.org/

 

[joe4vol]

I would talk to someone at a TCAT. Even if you don’t get a certificate you can learn how to weld at the level that you want. 

I don’t know about the other schools but the one in Athens offers evening classes for welding. 

[Johnny Rotten]

Community college is how I learned to stick weld, Mig is 100x easier, if you plan on buying a mig welder for home use, buy it, practice and watch YT videos for tips, you'll do fine.

tip 1: don't buy a 110v welder from HF or Northern, don't care if it's flux core or gas, there garbage and won't weld for $hit!

 

[Scotty]

TCAT holds a standard set by the state to maintain accreditation and funding. You need to be in attendance for all of the hours the program requires. You can’t pop in and learn at your own leisure, the whole goal of TCAT is to get people “ready for the workforce”. It doesn’t matter if you’re older and have employment, you can miss maybe 6 full days of class before you aren’t eligible to proceed in the program. 
 

That being said, they will work with your schedule. You could potentially do part-time and show up for 3.5 hours a day. As said above some place will do night classes. 
 

Also for the first month or so you’ll be doing book learning which is no doubt invaluable  in making it a career but will be more than you need to just be competent welding things you need to fix (mufflers, fence posts, targets, etc). You’ll learn print reading and all the different type of welds and how to join and bond different ferrous metals. 
 

I’ve known a few people that have gone through the welding program and it was great for them. TCAT is definitely career focused though and not hobby based. In theory if you wanted to blow through all the book work on your own time and you were dedicated you could get it out of the way and then just do tests for a couple days. You could do a tour and talk with the shop teacher and ask if this is possible and then just see if he will teach you and let you practice flat/vertical/overhead stick and do your own thing rather than adhere to the program. 
 

As someone above said do a couple of classes at the forge. MIG certainly can’t be mastered and you won’t be stacking dimes in an evening but if you have decent hand eye and lots of patience you’ll be able to learn the basics and hopefully get what you need to fix your own projects. Mig is far easier, to be proficient in stick it will take a long time. The last time I stick welded it took quite a few warmups before I wasnt completely disgusted with myself. I still wasn’t thrilled with my weld but it stuck. Welding is very much a use it or lose it sort of skill in my opinion and I consider myself decently coordinated. 
 

You can also just get an Amazon welder and just mess around. They’re not designed for commercial use but have used my buddies in his driveway and worked fine for small projects. I’d find one with a warranty and beat the bag out of it after going to the forge a couple times. 
 

https://www.amazon.com/Voltage-Welding-Inverter-Portable-Detachable/dp/B0B2VQSHLS/ref=asc_df_B0B2VQSHLS/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=642123667882&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10847099940282451529&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9013122&hvtargid=pla-2143002847432&psc=1&mcid=95d878e779be35bd9ddf97b8ffd398c4

^JR commented on the 110V welders and seems to know what he’s talking about while I was typing  

 

Edited January 9 by Scotty

[gregintenn]

1 hour ago, DHF said:

I took a MIG class at The Forge in Nashville.  It was just an introduction and it made for a fun evening.   They did a good job and I plan on going back to take the TIG class they offer. I think getting the fundamentals from a little hands-on training, get a hold of a welder and some metal, fire up the YouTube and start burning away, is a good way to go about it.  I have looked for classes that were made for the hobbyist but they all seem to be intro classes like this or full "degree" type programs.  This is my plan.

https://www.theforgenashville.org/

 

That’s pretty cool!

[MacGyver]

You might look for local maker spaces.  I know of a couple here in Nashville that have offered classes in the past that are focused at a hobby level. 
 

Edit to add: The Forge is definitely one of those spaces. 

[ironsniper1]

3 hours ago, MacGyver said:

You might look for local maker spaces.  I know of a couple here in Nashville that have offered classes in the past that are focused at a hobby level. 
 

Edit to add: The Forge is definitely one of those spaces. 

in my area there are no maker spaces and i really wish there was

7 hours ago, joe4vol said:

What type of welding process are you wanting to learn?

i would like to eventually learn tig to start building my cetme c and other parts kits

[peejman]

I took a welding class in college and did a lot of TIG work on our race car chassis. I really enjoyed welding. Manipulating molten metal is fun.  

A decent TIG welder will be pricey. The last ones we got for work (AC) were about $13k.  I'd agree to avoid the cheap ones and get a Miller, Lincoln, etc. with 240V input. 

MIG is faster, easier, and cheaper for making metal pieces stick to each other, but not nearly as pretty. Good TIG welds are like fine art.  

[ironsniper1]

25 minutes ago, peejman said:

I took a welding class in college and did a lot of TIG work on our race car chassis. I really enjoyed welding. Manipulating molten metal is fun.  

A decent TIG welder will be pricey. The last ones we got for work (AC) were about $13k.  I'd agree to avoid the cheap ones and get a Miller, Lincoln, etc. with 240V input. 

MIG is faster, easier, and cheaper for making metal pieces stick to each other, but not nearly as pretty. Good TIG welds are like fine art.  

ive been watching reviews for some of these $250 or less welders, not the 110v but some of them are dual 110v and 220v, i have tried finding a decent used one but they are about the same price as a new one

[Danger Rane]

@ironsniper1 feel free t shoot me a PM. I’m in your area and I have a mobile welding business. Unfortunately TIG is what I do the least of…mainly stick on heavy equipment repairs and mig on most fabrication projects. Some SS TIG, but only a couple times a year. I would brace yourself for spending a minimum of a couple grand on a decent TIG machine. Miller has a couple small units that mig, stick, and TIG but you’ll be a few grand in once you set it up to all three processes. But feel free to reach out and I’ll give you whatever help/advice that I can. 

[Darrell]

11 hours ago, peejman said:

Good TIG welds are like fine art.  

Isn't that the truth! I worked for the Navy in Bremerton, WA, and had the opportunity to see a lot of exceptional welders working on nuclear power plants. Those welds were incredible.... and thoroughly tested!

[Darrell]

On 1/9/2024 at 8:16 PM, ironsniper1 said:

ive been watching reviews for some of these $250 or less welders

I bought a $300 Yeswelder on Amazon. It's MIG or Flux-core, 220V only.  No, it sure isn't a Lincoln, but for a guy like me who occasionally welds a project it seemed like the ticket. But be aware that you're going to pay $300 for a bottle of gas, too. And if you want to weld aluminum then you'll need another bottle of gas.  And you'll need a cart, too. But that's true of any welder you buy.

Edit:  I almost forgot that I had to run a new 50A service as well. $7.80 a foot for the wire. So even the cheap welders aren't cheap.

 

Edited January 12 by Darrell

[Johnny Rotten]

21 hours ago, ironsniper1 said:

ive been watching reviews for some of these $250 or less welders, not the 110v but some of them are dual 110v and 220v, i have tried finding a decent used one but they are about the same price as a new one

FULL Stop!

Fuk anything with duel welding anything with 110v its a joke, I've managed welders (people) all types of over the last 30yrs they're a bunch of WAFLB (winey ass Fuking little bitch$), last year I bought a $1.5k esab welder to weld a piece of formed sheet metal to a round .180 tube, .180 sq tube and .250 tube, it couldn't do it for its life, I cussed out my welding rep for selling it to me.

 

[Johnny Rotten]

20 hours ago, Danger Rane said:

@ironsniper1 feel free t shoot me a PM. I’m in your area and I have a mobile welding business. Unfortunately TIG is what I do the least of…mainly stick on heavy equipment repairs and mig on most fabrication projects. Some SS TIG, but only a couple times a year. I would brace yourself for spending a minimum of a couple grand on a decent TIG machine. Miller has a couple small units that mig, stick, and TIG but you’ll be a few grand in once you set it up to all three processes. But feel free to reach out and I’ll give you whatever help/advice that I can. 

you can change your lead, gas, spool and mig weld alum, but I'm sure you know that.

 

[bigun]

If you can’t find a class to attend. Maybe get a book and watch u tube. Or better yet find someone close and see if they’ll get you started. If you just want to put a couple pieces of metal together just get a Lincoln buzz box. They run on 220 volts and will run about any size rod you want. Down side it’s AC only. Not as nice as a DC machine but will do anything you want with smaw. And for only a couple hundred dollars. I used to say it only takes 30 minutes to learn how to weld but about 50 years to get good at it. Lol   I gave up after 45 years in the industry. Good luck a burn a lot of rods. 

[peejman]

12 hours ago, Darrell said:

Isn't that the truth! I worked for the Navy in Bremerton, WA, and had the opportunity to see a lot of exceptional welders working on nuclear power plants. Those welds were incredible.... and thoroughly tested!

Hand made 2-stroke exhaust.... it's a thing of beauty.  

[ironsniper1]

35 minutes ago, bigun said:

If you can’t find a class to attend. Maybe get a book and watch u tube. Or better yet find someone close and see if they’ll get you started. If you just want to put a couple pieces of metal together just get a Lincoln buzz box. They run on 220 volts and will run about any size rod you want. Down side it’s AC only. Not as nice as a DC machine but will do anything you want with smaw. And for only a couple hundred dollars. I used to say it only takes 30 minutes to learn how to weld but about 50 years to get good at it. Lol   I gave up after 45 years in the industry. Good luck a burn a lot of rods. 

the only thing i am wanting to do with it is put together my uzi, pps43/52 and cetme c parts kits and any other kits i might get in the future

[Johnny Rotten]

26 minutes ago, peejman said:

Hand made 2-stroke exhaust.... it's a thing of beauty.  

Thats gas, I worked in a cycle shop during HS, the shop had a FT welder doing that daily, takes talent... 

Edited January 11 by Johnny Rotten