A machinist should be able to weld.

[oldbikerdude37]

Some jobs I will not let anyone touch like a semi truck drive line .

I machine it, do the welding and nobody but me touches it.

Any of you guys picky like me?

[KINGWELD]

VERY. In a lot of ways.

Want it done right, do it yourself.

[oldbikerdude37]

VERY. In a lot of ways.

Want it done right, do it yourself.

Oh yes. you know just what im talking about.

[jeremy13]

I couldn't agree more. I don't consider my self a pro-welder but I know enough to get by. And if I don't know how to go about the weld I ask for advice. My Navy machinist mentor also happens to have a degree in metallurgy. He runs rings around all the self proclaimed pro-pipe line welders and don't get him started on gravel pit welders.

[wierdscience]

I do it myself unless I know the guy doing it.Besides learning welding,brazing and soldering open up all sorts of possibilities.

[tyrone shewlaces]

My main problem is it seems that noone these days seems to know how to do anything. I would farm things out sometimes if I could, but mostly folks either don't know enough to blip on the radar as capable to accomplish the smallest thing, or the other half who will take your money and offer (dare I say it) utter crap in return.

So for me it's not a matter of "If you want it done right...", it's just that if I don't do it myself, it doesn't happen at all. I have to do it myself.

[Forrest Addy]

Used to do the fussy welding myself but my eyes are going to pot.

These days when I need a high confidence weld I take it to one of a couple of buddies who are excellent welders. We discuss the job and then he goes ahead proceeding with pre-heat, interpass temp, whatever by the numbers as we decided.

Incidentally, I was never a proponent of "cosmetc welding." A pretty bead is no guarantee of good weld prep, penetration, deposit cleanliness, absense of root cracks, or sound metallurgy.

[KiddZimaHater]

A machinist should be able to weld

That's funny...
I thought a WELDER should be able to weld, and a MACHINIST should be able to Machine.
Call me crazy.

[dp]

I'm with the Kidd - no reason I "should" be able to weld. I can, but I make more money integrating Oracle RDBMS with clustered server systems when not machining in my HSM shop. Maybe this declaration of very manly manliness is more apropos over at Practical Machinist where they tend to take themselves too seriously.

Personally, I think all machinists should be able to weave and play bagpipes.

[saltmine]

I think so. I pride myself that I can work in all phases of metalworking, including machining and welding.

Litigation is one thing that keeps me from doing any for others, though. It's a strange, double standard, these days. Nobody seems to have the skills to perform various types of work, but, if they have to pay somebody to do it, they want "top notch" professional work. And....God help you if something you did for somebody fails, even if you did it as a favor or cheap.
But, by the same token, nobody wants to pay for anything, either...double standard.

Whenever somebody whines about having to pay for work, I just tell them, "Well, do it yourself."

[oldbikerdude37]

That's funny...
I thought a WELDER should be able to weld, and a MACHINIST should be able to Machine.
Call me crazy.

Sounds like the stuff I hear from button pushers, turn off the computer and they are worthless.

Iv hired machinist and if they cant weld they walk. button pushers are worth $6.00 an hour.

[oldbikerdude37]

I think so. I pride myself that I can work in all phases of metalworking, including machining and welding.

Litigation is one thing that keeps me from doing any for others, though. It's a strange, double standard, these days. Nobody seems to have the skills to perform various types of work, but, if they have to pay somebody to do it, they want "top notch" professional work. And....God help you if something you did for somebody fails, even if you did it as a favor or cheap.
But, by the same token, nobody wants to pay for anything, either...double standard.

Whenever somebody whines about having to pay for work, I just tell them, "Well, do it yourself."

Yea some people want it right now for almost nothing.

At times a machinist gets a job where he has to machine welds and if that welder is a less then good welder he will make lots of hard machine work to fix it. thats when you weld it yourself and all is well.

Iv known hundreds of welders but may have met 10 I can trust to do my work, they know we do it once and not 3 times,

[dp]

Iv hired machinist and if they cant weld they walk. button pushers are worth $6.00 an hour.

I'm with you, cowboy. Reminds me of a guy who applied for a position as a technical writer I was trying to fill. Couldn't conjugate a verb to save his ass, and when asked to typify a tautological phrase he choked. No sense of spelling, punctuation, or case. When asked why the semicolon exists he spent ten minutes of my breathing time on earth explaining he did not know; I expect he never will. I don't imagine I'll ever get those ten minutes back.

Where do these losers come from? Rhetorical question! Nobody knows.

[ldn]

When asked why the semicolon exists he spent ten minutes of my breathing time on earth explaining he did not know; I expect he never will.

Nice, working a semicolon into that story.

[BWS]

Ayup...see welding as an essential skill.Been extremely fortunate to have some overthetop pro's looking over my shoulder.One,Roy....spent 40 years traveling doing repair on huge azz foundry castings.This guy is as rough as they come......will use an 8# sledge when a small mallet would do.It's all relative however,a small casting to him barely fits on a trailer.Other friends have spent long careers sitting at TIG benches.I've taken every class our CC has offered....and would do it again........but having thses gents looking over my work has kept me on the straight and narrow.Also,because the industry requires it,we're fortunate to have several top notch welding pro-shops.They too have been extremely helpful to over the last 25+ years.They know who I am,where I fit in and still help me,haha.Seriously,they know that their service and rep is important and just bend over to help solve our few little problems.....free service on OA equip. they sold me back in the 70's,handfuls of small parts with N/C,contacts with industry metalurgists,ect.


We also do alot of custom wood wackin....invariably some wood dick will question what his next pc of equip should be."Try a welder" is the std. response.Its bloomin amazing to me,some of these cats build chit thats even out of our scope and yet they have this Fred Flinstone notion WRT shop and equip support(you know who you are).They'll nail up 75$ worth of 2x4's because of typical joinery issues when making a small tool support.Buy a fricken welder....learn how to join steel.BW