Welding Slang and Commonly Used Terms

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I have to fess-up that I've had to look up a number of the things people have posted.  I tried to find a nice "list of slang used in the field" devoted to welding but Google either doesn't have one or I"m asking the question wrong.Would you guys be interested in compiling a list of terms that a real weldor or metal worker would recognize but a noob would not?For instance I just looked up stringer.  I'm guessing here:Stringer Bead: a weld made without using a whipping motion (like just sitting 7024 on the work and letting it burn?)Stinger: a stick electrode holderRig: a truck or other machine devoted to hauling a weldor's equipment (here for completeness)I'm not in the field and you guys are the only people I know who talk about welding so I'm not a good source but there must be some great terms that people have thought up and are used in the industry and just for fun.I am qualified to define:Bird Poop: ropey, cold, supremely ugly, blobs of metal made by a noob failing to create a weldTombstone Welder: a common AC or AC/DC stick welder that looks like a tombstone in that the dials are on the front and it stands upright.Stick Welder: one capable of doing Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW)what do you call poor fit-up, a perfect weld, piece work, having to weld 1000 parts in the same place, a good weldor, the ground clamp ?are there fun ways to say turn up the amps, turn down the apps, switch polarity, gas is out, chip the slag, clean the splatter, missed a weld, passed the test, failed the test, do you have a ticket, you're on fire, I've got a spark in my boot or a hole in my glove ?and finally the classic retorts like did you have a nice trip, watch it that's hotI'm always liked:Clamp it Jed: put a clamp thereHowever, I think that if you can't stand hearing your term in use without banging your head you shouldn't suggest it.Miller Syncrowave 180SDLincoln WeldPak 100 with gasHandheld Milwaukee BandsawO/A Cutting Torch
Reply:I always liked "Shoulder to the Holder"
Reply:Good start, and I know it's obvious to you, but what does that mean?It makes me think of "over shoulder boulder holders" but I suspect I got distracted again ;-)Miller Syncrowave 180SDLincoln WeldPak 100 with gasHandheld Milwaukee BandsawO/A Cutting Torch
Reply:Same as "Neck down" ...as in I'm not getting paid to think, I'm getting paid to burn rod.
Reply:I was a labourer in a local steel shop for a winter when I was a young man - boy do I know what "hired from the neck down feels like."  In many ways I wish they hadn't laid me off and let me work with the machinists or ironworkers instead.  Oh well now I'm hired from the neck up since I program computers while sitting down.  The best compromise I ever found was sawyer at my own sawmill - good life but long gone.BTW - what's a fish plate and how would it help Lanse succeed at his first trailer repair?Miller Syncrowave 180SDLincoln WeldPak 100 with gasHandheld Milwaukee BandsawO/A Cutting Torch
Reply:A fish plate looks like this   ==   and they are commonly used to lap over a butt joint in tube frames to keep the weld from being loaded along its length.  You don't want to weld a vertical weld on a frame because they are easier to crack.  The fish plate distributes the load.
Reply:Originally Posted by welds4dI always liked "Shoulder to the Holder"
Reply:"Welder Weldor"It's yelled when the fit/prep guy is done. Means "get your arse up here and burn rod"....lolSemper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!
Reply:Thanks 85cj7boy - amazing to me that I didn't know what a fish plate was.  It's like a surface gusset. Attached ImagesLast edited by BHere; 09-14-2011 at 01:41 PM.Reason: Don't need to include an IMG if using an attached image.Miller Syncrowave 180SDLincoln WeldPak 100 with gasHandheld Milwaukee BandsawO/A Cutting Torch
Reply:Originally Posted by skelley521Golden Arm = a really good weldor.
Reply:Very true welds4dSemper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!
Reply:$10 on the truck, $20 on the arm, and they furnish.  ((dollar amounts I used were for example reasons only  ))That simple statement would mean its a non-union job (probably pipeline) and a rig-job.  The rig would get $10 an hour and you would get $20.  And they furnish - gas, rods, bottles, water and ice.----------Meat handDerived from the term "bead hand".  A root pass welder on a pipeline job.  Usually a good welder that can run slick root passes (stringer beads) in xray pipelines in production mode.Meat hand - loosely means a **** sucker, but generally means a welder that has his head stuck up the bosses a** so far he can't see the sun shine.  ------------BuggerAn old term that refers to a welder's helper.  A bugger would bug the weld (clean it up) in advance of running additional passes or after the weld was completed in advance of visual inspection.  Buggers now days are referred to as Welder's Helpers.  And modern day welder's helpers don't like being refereed to as being buggers.  -------------Drinking handA drinking hand is a welder (or anyone else I suppose) that drinks alcohol in excess.  A welders is never called a wino, but drinking hands.  And being a drinking hand isn't actually all that bad a thing to be.
Reply:"Skate r in there". Meaning just to mighty put a pass upon another pass. Like when some worm grinds your root pass to thin"Put me on Maxine and 100"  meaning put both knobs on an engine driven machine all the way upW.A.S.P.  Welders Against Stupid Pipefitters"Dogleg" two pieces of long run pipe welded together crooked
Reply:Great stuff you guys!  I knew it existed.so a welder could say "they put 30 on the bead hand's arm to skate r in there on the dogleg and he called for Maxine and 100 for the root but his bugger turned into a drinking hand and the only thing he could do was crawl around in the mud mumble'n 'from the neck down'."Hey I can talk the talk but can I weld in a circle Miller Syncrowave 180SDLincoln WeldPak 100 with gasHandheld Milwaukee BandsawO/A Cutting Torch
Reply:poor fit up - say you have 2 twenty foot pieces of angle, and you need to make it into one 30 foot piece. Cut one of those sticks in half. Prepare to weld. If the cut (usually a torch cut in my trade) is done poorly, the end of that piece will be jagged, not straight, not square and look plain ugly. Butt that into the 20 foot piece and the joint is not tight. There will be gaps in some spots while other spots are tight = poor fit up.takes longer to weld that good fit up. Multiply that a few hundred times over the course of a job, and that's a lot of wasted time.Weldanpower 225 G7Ironworkers Local #24
Reply:Thanks 10pins,Is there a slang phrase that you would use to tell another welder that you had to make do with the poor fit-up?  Like "I was welding air for most of that joint" or "looks like Johnny cutter is using worms for a square again".  But not cr*p I made up but stuff people actually say in a shop or out in the real world.  Although I do kind of like the welding air bit.Miller Syncrowave 180SDLincoln WeldPak 100 with gasHandheld Milwaukee BandsawO/A Cutting Torch
Reply:Where I used to work was piece rate, we used to say "chasing Benny down" meaning trying to make $100 that day. When I ran the bandsaw cutting parts, me and the guy running the ironworker had a running bet that the first one to $100 at lunch the other guy had to buy him a candybar. If you cant fix it with a hammer, it must be an electrical problem."Boy, everyone starts with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before the bag of luck is empty."-Grandad circa 1990ish
Reply:Originally Posted by BHereThanks 10pins,Is there a slang phrase that you would use to tell another welder that you had to make do with the poor fit-up?  Like "I was welding air for most of that joint" or "looks like Johnny cutter is using worms for a square again".  But not cr*p I made up but stuff people actually say in a shop or out in the real world.  Although I do kind of like the welding air bit.
Reply:making popcorn machine not set correctly (mig)
Reply:Originally Posted by BHereThanks 10pins,Is there a slang phrase that you would use to tell another welder that you had to make do with the poor fit-up?  Like "I was welding air for most of that joint" or "looks like Johnny cutter is using worms for a square again".  But not cr*p I made up but stuff people actually say in a shop or out in the real world.  Although I do kind of like the welding air bit.
Reply:Ha!  I love the gator bite - I think I'll use that. Thanks.I was joking with the ironworkers once saying something how to you guys remember NOT to swear when you get home.  Otherwise it'll be "Hi kids how the **** are ya?"What else?  Got to be some funny phases out there.Miller Syncrowave 180SDLincoln WeldPak 100 with gasHandheld Milwaukee BandsawO/A Cutting Torch
Reply:There are also Yo-Yos, gobacks, and re-lick that calf,  otherwise known as job you have to re-do.Smoke wrench, for a oxy torchFUBAR,  F##ked Up Beyond All Repair
Reply:After the exclamation regarding the poor fit up, I assure the guy who cut it with, "dont worry dude. If you can jump it, I can weld it."Weldanpower 225 G7Ironworkers Local #24
Reply:So what do you say when you got a piece iron up in the air only to discover that it's a rock'n 1/2" too big?What do you say to the crane guy to lift up another piece? Say he is working blind and you have radios or whatever is used?The best question an ironworker ever asked me was:  "CAN YOU DO IT?"  Like that, loud and direct.He totally meant it!  Can YOU go UP there NOW?I said yes - he believed me and up I went.  I really liked it working up on steel but I was so offended when they laid me off in the spring.Miller Syncrowave 180SDLincoln WeldPak 100 with gasHandheld Milwaukee BandsawO/A Cutting Torch
Reply:I always liked zapster's description of his amperage settings... Amps... Set to "KILL"I like to steal a quote from "training day" as well. When I cut a perfect bevel using an oxy acetylene torch I general let someone know that "I'm surgical wit this b!tch, Jake!"-Marcgetting laid off is a matter of course for an ironworker. Best part time job in the world, so they say. Hard to make it in this trade if you offend easily, which is ironic, cause everyone is so goddamn delicate! If something is mis-fabbed by a half, then we typically cut it to make it fit (the steel does not work!). Not really a big deal at all, the torch _should_ be the first thing set up in the morning anyway.Weldanpower 225 G7Ironworkers Local #24
Reply:Thanks for all the great slang fellas!  What the best phrase to describe getting a spark down your boot?Miller Syncrowave 180SDLincoln WeldPak 100 with gasHandheld Milwaukee BandsawO/A Cutting Torch
Reply:Originally Posted by BHereThanks for all the great slang fellas!  What the best phrase to describe getting a spark down your boot?
Reply:Smoke ring  Meaning you weld so fast you don't put anything on there except smoke.  Bronk, a green-horn welder.
Reply:Fix anything but a broken heart
Reply:That is freak'n funny jrw - well described. I wore high top boots all laced up when welding open web steel joists in my next winter job but splatter would sometimes fall though the hole in the knee of my overalls (right knee gone in every pair of pants I've ever worn) and yes it would get into my boot.I just had to wait till it stopped hurting.  Later I'd pick the black chunk out of my foot where it left the little divot it burnt.  I suppose there a people on this forum who could have finished the weld but nope, not me.So what is slang for "yo, buddy you're on fire" Miller Syncrowave 180SDLincoln WeldPak 100 with gasHandheld Milwaukee BandsawO/A Cutting Torch
Reply:how you can hope to fabricate and weld without a freguent  "phoque!" is a mystery to me......
Reply:Love the creative spelling weldbead.  Phoque is part of the territory but it looses meaning quickly.Miller Syncrowave 180SDLincoln WeldPak 100 with gasHandheld Milwaukee BandsawO/A Cutting Torch
Reply:Bust- outcome of a welding test that results in a helluva long drive homeNot that I would know
Reply:Some of the ones ive heard in my time, way over used but " welders do it in all positions", when we were younger and just startin out welding pressure pipe some used to yell in the boiler with a face full of tabbaco " burnin inches durin the day, given inches at night", of course its inappropriate but when fitting up pipes we used to say "shes close but give me another Cu*t hair and well nailer there"  hahaha or my favorite an engineer stopped by once to view a stainless pressure job in the plant and we over heard him say well that looks easy as were slingin roots with the tig torch. So from then on out when we were doin window welds in the boiler, or mirror welding wed say " aw ****, shes easy guys" haha or if we were doing wall tubes, or having to remove boiler skin to get at tubes we'd say " **** Gerry thats, that cancer free asbestos right there take a whiff ! "Last edited by Pressure_Welder; 09-16-2011 at 06:50 PM.
Reply:"That's how this game is played"And.."It 'Aint gonna F'N work no matter how much I try" is my go to answers....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:out at my shop, when someone does somethin real stupid, we tell em to go n get their "bucket" a derivitive from the saying "boy, you are 10 gallons of stupid all wrapped up in a 5 gallon bucket"there have been several engineers that have been told that on jobs that we've been on... another is a flower child which means a bloomin fkin idiot... if ya hear, hey flower child, go get yer bucket, usually means someone bout to get firednothing fancy, just a few hot glue guns for metalwww.sicfabrications.com
Reply:Originally Posted by jrw159LOL, that is called doing the "Mutherfuker Dance". This involves jumping around on one foot while jerking the boot off of the other foot yelling "MUTHERFUKER!!!"This also applies to smashed thumbs, fingers, toes and most all painful mishaps. If it is a lower level of pain, a simple "Sunuvabich!!" will suffice. jrw159
Reply:Originally Posted by jones6780...FUBAR,  F##ked Up Beyond All Repair
Reply:som bitch next to the ma ****er near that thing a ma jig g damnit, means bring me the _______ i cant think of the word ______ rite now.I forgot how to change this.
Reply:Drag up---------quit.Get my money----------lay me off.I'll get your money---------foreman threatening to fire a worker.88----------foreman's coming.Pussey-------------anatomical looking part of cyclone tubes in a boiler.Rock------------grinding wheel for angle grinder.Tiger paw-----------abrasive flap wheel for angle grinder.Beater-------------large hammer.BFH-----------big phucken hammer.Grasshopper----------C-clamp cut in half with small plate welded on so it can be welded to part and used to push another plate into position.Dog-----------piece of steel cut with notch on one side and welded in position to allow a wedge to be driven under to move another plate into position.Ringer----------a seven day work week.Boomer----------union worker out of another local.Traveler----------union worker out of another local.Bullet-----------welding rod.Peepers------------eyes, yelled before striking an arc when around others.Bait can-----------lunch bucket.Alligator-----------cam action sheet metal clamp.Red a$$-----------upset worker.Pisser-------------small, short weld pass used to even out fill on muti-pass weld.There's plenty more but I've got to get to bed."The man of great wealth owes a peculiar obligation to the State, because he derives special advantages from the mere existence of government."  Teddy RooseveltAmerican by birth, Union by choice!  Boilermakers # 60America is a Union.
Reply:The guy over there looks like a monkey trying to fuc& a football.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:Originally Posted by TozziWeldingThe guy over there looks like a monkey trying to fuc& a football.
Reply:When I first started out for some reason I couldn't remember that the stinger was called a stinger. lol So I started calling it "the punk". Been using it ever since lol. I sometimes hear other guys saying it aswell. PUNK- Another name for a stingerThe next one is a little bit long. Bunch of guys are working the docks way out there, all alone with no females, long hours and such. The new guy asks one of the veterans,"What do you guys do to get your rocks off out here with no women?" Vet. replies, "We don't need women, you see that barrell over there with the round hole in it? We just stick our things in there whenever we need to and its taken care of." Rookie replys, "Oh thats awesome, by the way, where is dan today?" Vet replies, "its his day in the barrell." We use to say that way back in college when we had to work in the tool crib. It was our day in the barrell, AND EVERYBODY GETS THERE DAY IN THE BARRELL!!!!So, "Everyone gets there day in the barrell."- A job you never wanna do or a place you dont want to be!!!
Reply:I have a little magnetic sign hanging outside the door of the shop and depending how things are going we highlight which word best describes how things are each day, here is what it says:SNAFUTARFUFUBARBOHICASNAFU=Situation Normal, All Fu**ed UpTARFU=Things Are Really Fu**ed UpFUBAR=Fu**ed Up Beyond All RepairBOHICA=Bend Over, Here It Comes Again6 Miller Big Blue 600 Air Paks2 Miller 400D6 Lincoln LN-25's4 Miller Xtreme 12VS2 Miller Dimension 812 4 Climax BW-3000Z bore welders Hypertherm 65 and 85Bug-O Track BugPair of Welpers