welding instuctors

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why do some welding instructors adjust welder setting for the students.just my .02. most of the time you can look at the weld and see if its to hot or to cold.it takes years of expericance to be able to do that. but shouldnt the students who are welding be able to tell if its hot or cold then adjust the settings?just curious why some instructors adjust the settingson a side note  i never seen someone devote  so much of their time to some thing like my instructor does. tuesdays wednesdays and saturedays after school hours when there is compettion.
Reply:At the Community College that I attend the instructors ask if they can adjust the machine setting that a student is using, and that's only if the instructor is giving the student a demonstration on a technique. Personally, I like the idea that one of the other members of this forum put out a while ago. Sorry, can't remember who to give the credit to but he said that at their school they would put tape over the amperage range setting so that the student couldn't see where it was set. That way they had to learn how to set the machine by weld characteristics only.Sounds like the right idea to me. One of my instructors who spent a number of years in the UA stresses that a student should learn to weld hot and not rely on being able to adjust the machine when ever they want to. On a job site your machine might be two floors away or a couple hundred feet. Stopping to monkey with the machine every now and then may get you thrown off the job. Just what I've heard anyway.And yes, our college participates in Skills USA and regularly walks away with top placement in the national and international competitions in Welding. Its great to see the extra time and dedication that these instructors and competitors put in to compete at that level. I watched one of the competitors put in 12 hours days, 7 days a week for months leading up to the last Skills National meet. Yeah, he took the gold medal and will be competing in the international comp. in two years. The welds these students make are incredible. Way out of my league but cool to see that it can be done.Glad to see your interest in welding JP. Stick with it and don't let anyone run you off this board. There's a lot of good info and good people here. Plus, keep asking questions. You may not always like the answers but they will usually be honest and it will thicken your hide.Good luck with the learning.Eric
Reply:When i did weld tests for other people machines are zeroed, gas is shut off, leads are unhooked, in the real world the instructor wont be settin around watchin what were doing , best be able to set up your machine as well as adjust all settings u never know when u will run into someone who throws ya a curveball and want you to set everything up then weld. I have since moved on into my own business and i have not a problem setting up my own equipment , i have pre programmed settings on my 60 series feeder still have yet to set a single one, i change the settings when i need to . seems like its alot lolI forgot how to change this.
Reply:Why would you not want the input from the instructor? Part of instruction is showing that this setting or that can do this or that. Not really sure I understand the question, I guess.
Reply:After class each day I go around to each machine and change the settings. I also change the shear, break and all others even the OA setup. The reason being in the "real" world no one else is going to do it for them they, at one point will have to learn to do it themselves.i think it is good pratice to learn this from the start. Who want's to hire a welder/fabricator who dont know the north end from the south end!Thanks.wbolden
Reply:Often when I demo in a booth I will run the student's settings and then change them radically to show how I can try to cope by changing travel speed and rod motions to compensate.  I also mention how other instructors will do the exercise and try to demo that.  Often I am not successful using someone else's style.  The point being that everyone finds their own sweet spot.
Reply:My teaching experience has been in electrical wiring and electronics technology; not welding.I belive that students need to build on their sucesses.  Once they have sucessfully established an arc and run a bead, they can learn more about how and what their welder can do for them.To expect a student to initially set up a welder, before they have been shown how, would be both frustrating and a waste of classroom time. After some initial sucess, stuents can build on their experience and develope confidence.That is my opinion; you are entitled to yours.I offer three choices: Good, Fast, & Cheap. You may pick two.Hobart AC/DC StikMate LXHarbor Freight AD HoodHarbor Freight Industrial Chop SawDeVilbis 20 Gallon, 5 HP Compressor
Reply:Originally Posted by Welding_SwedeAnd yes, our college participates in Skills USA and regularly walks away with top placement in the national and international competitions in Welding. Eric
Reply:It is not expected for a student to know how to set up equiptment after initial startup everyone is shown and given a guide on how th set up their machines and only after a few weeks do we start changing the machines they are given a pre and post test on the subject after intensive study.wbolden
Reply:Originally Posted by sn0border88You guys didn't make top 3 this year though...   I had to get that jab in there though haha.
Reply:Originally Posted by sn0border88You guys didn't make top 3 this year though...   I had to get that jab in there though haha.Kudos to your guy who made worlds though, that was some nice work.  I just am a little disappointed that they get all the project prints way ahead of time.  If it were a true contest of skill, they wouldn't see the prints until maybe a day before hand.  If that.  It seems like its just become a competition of who can spend he most time practicing (at the world level anyways)
Reply:Originally Posted by Welding_Swede Our tech staff is largely made up of guys that went to Skills in years past. A great (and humble) team.
Reply:You would be surprised just how many professional welders, some very long term and supposedly experienced people here I'm talking about, that don't know how to set-up a welding machine.  I'm being serious don't you know.They won't know how many amps and volts they want, or need, or are even expect to have, nor could they recognize (realize) when they don't have that many in the first place.My recommendation for new welders coming up based on my personal experiences.  Learn to know what heat you need in actual amps and volts and also learn what that feels like, and also know when you have it and also when you don't have it.  That way you always know where you're at, how to compare yourself to others around you, and you know when some problem comes up with your equipment.Yes, I've seen very many professional welders that don't even know when a problem with their equipment comes up because they don't know what they were supposed to have to begin with, let alone what they have now.  Is that what "being lost" means - or what?   Good luck manLaterLast edited by slowhand; 07-14-2011 at 09:29 PM.
Reply:i personally like the way my instructor runs things. depending on the student(students who show a want and need to learn and show that they can do things on there own) he lets them work on the machines. ive only had to work on a machine 3 or 4 times. we shut all the gases off for the oa and bleed the lined along with the lines feeding all the mig (seems i was the only one that bleed the lines feeding the mig) and tim machines. he even let me and a buddy tear apart the hyralic shear and switch the blade outmy point is that he shows trust to those he can trust
Reply:Originally Posted by sn0border88Ive met Glenn, I'm sure hes a good guy and a great instructor but humble...