Are there "Welding Snobs"?

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I've always wondered about weather or not there is such thing as a "welding snob."  I would define a welding snob as someone who thinks a welding process such as TIG is far superior to other processes.  I seem to encounter this attitude among some people who think a TIG weld is the best and if they can do a good TIG they are kings or something.  I'm not sure where it seems to come from.  Perhaps all those chopper/hot-rod TV shows that always show TIG being performed, and MIG, not as much.  It also seems to come from beginners who don't understand that different applications require different welding processes.  Any thoughts?-Eddie
Reply:There are always people, no matter what you do, that think their way or the way their used to doing things, is the best way - cars, food, guns, welding, electronics, computers, building, etc.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Good point Micro,Just speaking to the process itself, and not the talking about the welder who is making the weld, imo the TIG process has the potential to create higher quality welds than stick, mig, flux core, and many other processes.  The ultimate weld quality is probably achieved by electron beam welding (EBW), since it is done totally clean under high vacuum, and the diameter and power level of the beam is totally precisely controlled.The right process for the job is what is important.  Welding a ulitily trailer may be done with MIG, Flux core, TIG, Stick, Oxyacetylene, etc., but a jet turbine may require TIG or EB, a pipe line may be best done with stick, and for something else MIG may be the best choice.I've worked with a couple of different types of small, high pressure bottles.  One type needed ultimate quality, was stainless steel, and production rates were low, so it was TIG welded.  The other had very high quality standards, but was low alloy steel, and needed very high production rates, so it was pulsed spray MIG welded.Last edited by pulser; 08-02-2007 at 02:20 PM.
Reply:Yeah just set back and say to yourself......ok ok whatever when those situations come up.  An old man once told me     "If you give a man enough rope he will eventually hang himself"I believe that means be patient and later on those kind of folks will eventually make a$$s of themselves.Iv'e been known to find rope all over the house and my  shop  before    Yeah like Micro says they are all over the place....  weld it like you own it
Reply:I agree with MZ & Pulser. My experience is they all have their particular favorite process and specialties. But for the most part I've found them to be great, down to earth people.  The kind that you'd like to sit down and have a beer with (or Iced Tea).Hobart 140 Handler w/ gasHyperTherm Powermax 380 Plasmaoxy/acetylene
Reply:Umm, Beerrrrrrrrr.
Reply:How many threads have you read on this site?    This web forum, (and the other two welding related forums I frequent), is silly with snobs, egomaniacs, self-imposed experts and non-experts in denial just looking to see their user name on screen.       Like MicroZone indicated, post any question on any topic and you will receive a variety of strong opinions.      Just look at the nonsense that follows any question pitting Red, Blue, Gray or Yellow against each other.You are fortunate, there are many very knowledgeable members on this and other sites that can, if they choose, answer just about any questions posed.    I added “if they choose” because on occasion you’ll get replies dripping with contempt for you having asked something so simple.     For these instances rather than a useful answer, you get an annoying dissertation as to why that person thinks of themselves as superior because they have a certificate of some sort or a bit more gray hair.     Their arrogance keeps them from seeing the reality, despite how much they value their own opinion, they are at the moment, completely useless to the person who asked the question.The trick is to filter through the BS and take from the responses the information that actually answers your question.   It doesn’t take long to realize who, in the string of responses, actually knows their stuff.      You (speaking to all spark making novices, myself included) can also help yourself out by asking more direct, concise questions.There are no small projects
Reply:Should I be in hiding now??...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:You're not a snob Zap....you're just damn blunt!   ...nothing wrong with that!John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:I met a lot of welding snobs locally, guys who would criticize constantly and never offer any guidance...  I find people like that to be annoying in all aspects of life though.I really havent noticed anyone to be snobbish here, which is why I prefer this board....  And I hope nobody takes any of what I say as seeming to be arrogant or snobbish.  Part of the problem with people communicating through forums that dont know each other in person is there is no tone of voice nor body language, and things often can be misconstrued.I would not think much of the "miller vs lincoln vs esab vs whatever" discussions beyond them being joking around.  I hear the same crap in the automotive world... I am into fords, i hang out with a chevy guy, a mopar guy, 2 honda guys... We all just poke at each other back and forth.  It is all about what YOU like!
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterShould I be in hiding now??...zap!
Reply:Originally Posted by MicroZoneYou're not a snob Zap....you're just damn blunt!   ...nothing wrong with that!
Reply:Nah zap we got your back, dont worry. Your Threads are the most detailed and informative out of them all. Your posts are entertaining and show the step by step procedure of what ever you do. The posts i read the most are ones where everyones interested and impressed with your good quaility workmanship. Thank you zap for keeping this place an entertaning wealth of information.Nothing Ever Got Done By Quitting, Never Give Up.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterShould I be in hiding now??
Reply:[QUOTE=lewray]     An old man once told me     "If you give a man enough rope he will eventually hang himself/QUOTE] The other half of that is " or he'll wrap it around something really pretty and drag it home" That don't have much to do with the current thread, just thought I'd add it in
Reply:Welders, weld techs, and weld engineers tend toward being primadonnas (spelling?), but we deserve to be treated special.
Reply:Well, I was never intending the original post to be directed to anyone on this board.  But since everyone here welds, I'm sure they ARE lurking around.  All good points and about what I was expecting on the topic.   Most of the posts on this board are VERY helpful and a great resource for all my questions. I've never encountered a snob here.   Thanks!
Reply:i do have a thought on this subject.if nobody else will mention names i will.for the short time i have been posting on this forum zapster has behaved like a spoiled child,pillorying anyone who may have something to say or perhaps show more skill,ask elvis,a thread i was following with interest stopped ,and little wonder.there is no i in forum zap.you are no gentleman.
Reply:Originally Posted by MicroZoneThere are always people, no matter what you do, that think their way or the way their used to doing things, is the best...
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterHe!!..I offer free training classes..Ain't no snob in the world that will do that.....zap!
Reply:Originally Posted by pipe fitteri do have a thought on this subject.if nobody else will mention names i will.for the short time i have been posting on this forum zapster has behaved like a spoiled child,pillorying anyone who may have something to say or perhaps show more skill,ask elvis,a thread i was following with interest stopped ,and little wonder.there is no i in forum zap.you are no gentleman.
Reply:Originally Posted by pipe fitter...zapster has behaved like a spoiled child,pillorying anyone who may have something to say or perhaps show more skill,ask elvis,a thread i was following with interest stopped ,and little wonder.there is no i in forum zap.you are no gentleman.
Reply:Originally Posted by pipe fitteri do have a thought on this subject.if nobody else will mention names i will.for the short time i have been posting on this forum zapster has behaved like a spoiled child,pillorying anyone who may have something to say or perhaps show more skill,ask elvis,a thread i was following with interest stopped ,and little wonder.there is no i in forum zap.you are no gentleman.
Reply:Originally Posted by pipe fitteri do have a thought on this subject.if nobody else will mention names i will.for the short time i have been posting on this forum zapster has behaved like a spoiled child,pillorying anyone who may have something to say or perhaps show more skill,ask elvis,a thread i was following with interest stopped ,and little wonder.there is no i in forum zap.you are no gentleman.
Reply:TIG, MIG, Stick, O-A, all have their place in the scheme of things. TIG does a very nice job but it's way too slow for large production companies. The real welder knows and understands the place of each process and treats others with respect when discussing said issues. Otherwise, they are just     Miller Millermatic 252Miller Syncrowave 200Liincoln AC-DC 225Victor O-A SetZap.... Dammmit I will have to cancel my class with you because of your bad behavior ..... you have been a bad boy..   even though  you were so willing to fit my schedule and leave Mrs. Zap at home on her B-day on that Sat.  BBWWAAHHHAAA!!!!You bad man  BBAAHAAA!!!  Good grief  Can I be the vinegar rib snob?   ....Lew Ray weld it like you own it
Reply:I'd like to have a beer with you Zap...but make mine an Iced Tea.  Shoot the breeze, talk about machine shop stuff and race cars, learn some welding techniques and listen to your band, even meet the mrs..  From what I've gathered being around here a while, you're just the kind of guy I was talking about.  Hobart 140 Handler w/ gasHyperTherm Powermax 380 Plasmaoxy/acetylene
Reply:OK time to be the "pro" that I'm supposed to be...Read up and read well...I don't stutter.. Might get the spelling wrong here and there...but there is no need for this yet again.. Pipefitter..You have my respect weather you like it or not...Thats the way it is..You bring up "Elvis"..Entertaining and rather boring to say the least..5 pages of posts with no real results by one person..And lets leave it at that...Maybe what I need to do is just stop posting..Would that make anyone happy??If you dont care for my "approach" to certian matters then thats your problem..I seem to have done all this before..I dont ridicule anyone..Ask the tough question maybe..But I would think by now that I would be qualified to ask..I have seen your work..I have seen everyones work..Much is impressive to type the least..Some sucks and thats that..But we all "chip in" to make this a better site than most..I'm still "chippin"..Are you??...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:Geesh, I posted a reply here and didn't answer the question that was asked at the start.  The answer is YES. Their just not here.   Miller DVI2Lincoln Precision Tig 225Thermodynamics Cutmaster 38Everything else needed.
Reply:Originally Posted by Rick MoranI'd like to have a beer with you Zap...but make mine an Iced Tea.  Shoot the breeze, talk about machine shop stuff and race cars, learn some welding techniques and listen to your band, even meet the mrs..  From what I've gathered being around here a while, you're just the kind of guy I was talking about.
Reply:Zap, I wasn't being rude.  I was just kidding.  I don't think you are a welding snob at all.  I only said that because you always say "Why not tig it?"    I appreciate everything you offer to this forum.  Hey, we're welders.  We give each other crap at work, why not online?
Reply:I've waited a long time to do this..Bob at the head desk may not agree with me posting his reply to me via p/m..But this is the time so read it before it gets deleted by the powers to be..I had inquired about being a Moderator when smithboy and Bob were basically doing it all themselves before ZTFab and Microzone were brought on board...This was his reply..Zap,Thanks for asking. I somehow knew you were out there wondering. The job of moderator is to quietly be there, weed out spam, peacfully handle troublemakers, keep order and be an all-around positive presence.With TxRedneck not being around very much, we definitely need to find another 1 or 2 moderators. It's not a hard job, but I don't like that Smithboy and I essentially do it alone.In fact, I've thought about you for the job. But I have to be honest that I think asking you to be a moderator would be like asking Clint Eastwood to dance ballet.We've joked about it in the past: You can find yourself in trouble. You speak your mind. You don't take prisoners. I respect it and I believe it's great for WeldingWeb. But you're in the foreground, where moderators are in the background. In my mind, to ask you to be a moderator would be asking you to NOT do what makes you such a great presence here. It would require that you NOT be controversial.Compare this to talk radio. The good hosts (whether you like them or hate them) are blunt and opinionated. The producers and/or sidekicks remain in the background and stay inoffensive.Background and inoffensive is the quality required of a moderator. I don't think, however, that it's you. You're more like the host. And please take this the right way. You help make WeldingWeb a great place. You keep it active and fun and surprising. That's why I haven't proactively come to you to invite you to be a moderator. I think it would ask you to take a role that would be confining to you, and it would reduce your ability to have the role that I believe is so useful here -- kind of the maker of mischief. You know me well enough by now to know that I don't rule anything out. Let me know your thoughts and let's keep talking.I'm just doing my job on a "civilian" level..Nobody should ever take what I may type personally.....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:Nice Zap!!  I like the Talk show host/moderator comparison you brought to light.
Reply:you brought to light.
Reply:There is snobs and assholes in everything!  I am a quail hunting nut and also a bird hunting guide.  Some hunters look down at me because I have Brittanies and I don't do field trials and I don't buy the BIG NAME bloodline dogs.  Truth of the matter is my oldest dog is the best dog I've ever hunted over, very rarely does something ever slip by him and you don't see me having to carry a damn whistle and yelling at a dog all day long and being heard five miles away when my dog is six miles away.  Do I think Brittanies are superior to other dogs?  Some are some aren't, mine are not wide ranging dogs and in the places I hunt I need the dogs in close, in texas you need them to range a long ways out.  In Illinois those wide ranging dogs would get lost and you'd be searching for them all day, while me and my brittanies would be bagging birds.  In Texas mine wouldn't find as many birds against a wide ranging dog because they won't cover as much ground.  Like welding each process has it's pro's and con's and like somebody said earlier, let the big talkers talk because sooner or later they'll have to put up or shut up and they'll show just how good they are or aren't.  Am I an awesome welder, NO, not even close and I don't claim to be!  Now am I good enough to repair or fab what I can with what I know how to do, yes I can, and I will admit that some people are better at it than I am, but I do aspire to do things better and learn different ways of doing things and not swear by one process.So moral of the story... don't be an ******* or only be one when you can back it up.
Reply:It's just like TV if you don't like what you see change the channel or turn it off.
Reply:So Zap, does leave you as: American Chopper-  Paul Sr. or Paul Jr.Hannity or Combs - Sean or AlanSimpsons - Homer or Bart    Just kdding!Hobart 140 Handler w/ gasHyperTherm Powermax 380 Plasmaoxy/acetylene
Reply:Originally Posted by Rick MoranSo Zap, does leave you as: American Chopper-  Paul Sr. or Paul Jr.Hannity or Combs - Sean or AlanSimpsons - Homer or Bart    Just kdding!
Reply:Does ******* stand for a.s.s.h.o.l.e?
Reply:Originally Posted by WelderBoyDoes ******* stand for a.s.s.h.o.l.e?
Reply:Originally Posted by Birdhunter1yes, that is what it stands for
Reply:OK - everyone take a deep breath.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:i do have a thought on this subject....there is no i in forum...
Reply:I didnt really expect all the animosity on this forum, but I learn something every day....I know I always reference the mechanical stuff, sorry but it is what I know more of now than welding.  Though I still know just a lil bit, i know a tiny bit more mechanical.....I couldnt care less to hear someone say people teach others to feed their egos.  I think people who want to feed their ego show their work and tell others they SUCK, and do nothing to help them.  I know lots of people like that in welding, and in racing, and in life in general.A guy that will take the time to share his knowledge and talent, well, I cannot speak for those here, but the guy who walked over in the parking lot at Orlando Speed World one day, looked at what my car was doing, and within say 6 minutes had hooked me up with a quick fix, and taught me why these things happen...  Do I think he did that to ridicule me?  To make me feel stupid?No. If he wanted to ridicule me, belittle me, or to feed his own ego, He could have just sat in the stands and laugh at my stumble off the line as I got driven away from....  Instead, he is teaching me the things someone else had taught him.....  Some people get a lot of personal gratification from that...
Reply:Zap I wasn't saying that about you I was actually replying to the original question.
Reply:Although I’m not the originator of this thread, I’ll take some ownership to where it went in a hurry.First off, my intended inference was not pointed at Zap.    I’m continually impressed with the work in detail he presents.     I’m further very impressed that he offers an open invitation to anyone capable of traveling to the North East to learn from the Jedi Master.      So relax Zap, it’s not about you.    Curious though, how quickly you jumped in to defend yourself?My reply was, in fact, pointed at another posting member on this and two other forums.     An individual who obviously “knows his stuff” when it comes to welding and various fabrication (and would otherwise have my respect for that), but rather than share his (I’ll assume he’s a he) knowledge on the topics he knows, he routinely feels the need to jump on another’s work, life and lifestyle with nothing but constant criticism.     To enhance my distain for this individual, he arrogantly applies his personal moral values against that of other members with the intention of insinuating that his is a loftier position.   It is my opinion, that individuals like this person think they have a bigger “pair” when they’re typing on a keyboard than speaking in person.Don’t ask who this person is, I won’t share.   It’s a scuffle between him and me and will be handled in P.M. land.    Some day he and I might actually meet and have a discussion.   Maybe we will part as friends, maybe not.Side note: Several years ago, while rebuilding an old pickup, I was a member of a truck related web forum.   A member/moderator regularly and unnecessarily jumped all over any question or progress I posted.   It got very annoying.  He eventually made an error by mentioning that he would be at a certain swap meet on a particular day.    I re-arranged my schedule to be there as well.    It only took an hour or so to figure out who he was.   We met and had a discussion.     We parted not as friends, however I think he better understands the importance of that old expression, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.There are no small projects
Reply:Well, I will tell you, there are snobs in every facet of life, welding included. You want to know where the real welding snobs are?? Try building stuff for the offroad crowd. They will tell you how mig is no good, gotta be tig, blablabla.... then, without knowing, the dumbass will show me a picture of ZTFab's work, which I know damn well to be MIG, and say how bling the "tig" welding is, and that's why they want me to tig their stupid bumper. Soooo, I then tell them the cost of turning on the tiggy, and running it all day, and I get told it would be highway robbery. Dummies. The biggest problem is the ''one ounce of information makes you dangerous'' rule. At least here on WW, there are enough commercial, hobby, and specialist welders so that no one here is really going to be King$hit of it all. Even when threads get grumpy, there is always examples of multiple ways to do a project. Which is nice, to know there are options. That alone keeps the snob factor down to a minimum.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:Come on fellas, I gotta work today!
Reply:Curious though, how quickly you jumped in to defend yourself?
Reply:IMO, this site and it's members work together like a well oiled machine compared to every other site I've been on (Like Rojo said, the Offroad world tends to be some of the harshest).Difference of opinion, yes.Occasional scuffle, sure.We're human, it happens. It's what makes us individuals.One of the aspects of this site that I appreciate is the fact that it pushes me to be a better weldor. Not to try and "show everybody/somebody up" but to help gain more knowledge and experience and share it with as many people that want to take it.I too have held free classes at my shop. I felt that I was as much of a student as I was a teacher. Thanks to some of the members here I was able to try processes that I've never tried before.The way I look at it, you are going to find "those people" anywhere you go in life. I choose to filter through their crap and see if I can find anything redeeming about what they have to say. If everybody is thinking alike, then nobody is actually thinking.- Paulhttp://all-a-cart.comWelding Cart Kits and accessories