difference between welder and welder-fitter

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i been searching around for a general comparison of these 2 areas, and all i know is welder-fitters use more math, but they both generally seem similarcan someone clear up the true difference between these 2 fields?
Reply:Around here, a welder is primarily a welder.  He can fit, but it isn't his forte, or his preference.  I have know some welders that can't fit a lid on a pickle jar, and others that are tired of dealing with the engineers and are taking it easy just burning wire.the welder/fitter is a guy that puts the project together and tacks it up and sends it to the welder to finish.  In some cases he will weld it out.  The welder/fitter typically has more expertise in blueprint reading, assembly, and welding.
Reply:A welder/fitter is welder that can fit and a fitter/welder is a fitter that can weld. Pretty easy eh. This coming from a fitter/welder that does presure fitting and weldig ;-{
Reply:pretty confusing stuff, cuz from what i seen welders do fitting toobut i guess on more complex projects it takes more to fit everything together and plan it out before the main hot work startsconfusing difference though, but i guess the project planner knows how to divvy up the workers
Reply:Where I work we have guys who do mostly welding and can fit some of the production things we build. And then theres  me and a few other guys who do most of the major fitting on big complex things and then weld them. Or if we have alot of big projects I will fit them and one of the other guys will weld it and I will go on to fit other things. I like it when I get the just weld sometimes so I can just go off into a zone and not have to constantly deal with things that look good on paper but are a night mare in reality So I guess some days I am a welder/fitter and others I am a fitter/welder
Reply:Originally Posted by Mega Arc 5040DDWhere I work we have guys who do mostly welding and can fit some of the production things we build. And then theres  me and a few other guys who do most of the major fitting on big complex things and then weld them. Or if we have alot of big projects I will fit them and one of the other guys will weld it and I will go on to fit other things. I like it when I get the just weld sometimes so I can just go off into a zone and not have to constantly deal with things that look good on paper but are a night mare in reality So I guess some days I am a welder/fitter and others I am a fitter/welder
Reply:Originally Posted by snappy101but ya, i suppose a possible natural evolution for a welder is fitter, pretty sure it pays more too
Reply:The whole word game thing is rather confusing...I do all my own cutting, fit up, AND Welding....I have never used a "Grinder Pilot" either.Later,Jason
Reply:Originally Posted by Mega Arc 5040DDSome one should tell my boss I don't think he got the memo
Reply:Originally Posted by Black WolfThe whole word game thing is rather confusing...I do all my own cutting, fit up, AND Welding....I have never used a "Grinder Pilot" either.
Reply:I am confident that your are fairly close to the truth.Specialization (Assembly Lines for example) Lead to Increased Production.... Manufacturing be it anything from storage vessels, to drilling rigs is no differentWhat I was intending to convey was the confusion with the Word Games... The whole Welder-Fitter vs Fitter-Welder thing... There is no such thing here in Alberta - We have Gasfitters (A&B) and also Gasfitter/Pipefitters... But Welders are welders... We do the whole job ourselves.I would be offended if someone gave me an already tacked up project to weld out... To ME, it would mean that someone thought I was incompetent to do it myself.Last time I checked, I didn't need anyone to hold my hand.Sorry if I am offending anyone, it is NOT my intention, I just find the whole concept akin to sitting in a restaurant, and having your mommy cut up your steak for you...Later,Jason
Reply:as noted it's all semantics and word games. Generally on bigger projects and bigger companies you will have a seperate fitter and welder. The fitters read the blue prints, mark the weld locations, fit up the pieces and tack things in place, the welder comes along and welds the joint togetheron most smaller companies or small projects the welder is supposed to do everything. Some people enjoy one more than the other or excel at one more than the other.  It's usually more productive on big projects to have seperate fitters and welders then you have to have fewer guys who are certed and they can spend 100% of their time welding instead of 50-50.  In the sheet metal business every place I worked at we were expected to fitup our own work. Although sometimes we would fitup multiple units at the same time and let the next shift finish the work. that's basically what it boils down to, every place I've worked at though I've done my own fitting, including aerospace work.Welding EngineerCertified Scrap Producer
Reply:Originally Posted by Black WolfSorry if I am offending anyone, it is NOT my intention, I just find the whole concept akin to sitting in a restaurant, and having your mommy cut up your steak for you...
Reply:Originally Posted by Metarinkaas noted it's all semantics and word games. Generally on bigger projects and bigger companies you will have a seperate fitter and welder. The fitters read the blue prints, mark the weld locations, fit up the pieces and tack things in place, the welder comes along and welds the joint togetheron most smaller companies or small projects the welder is supposed to do everything. Some people enjoy one more than the other or excel at one more than the other.  It's usually more productive on big projects to have seperate fitters and welders then you have to have fewer guys who are certed and they can spend 100% of their time welding instead of 50-50.  In the sheet metal business every place I worked at we were expected to fitup our own work. Although sometimes we would fitup multiple units at the same time and let the next shift finish the work. that's basically what it boils down to, every place I've worked at though I've done my own fitting, including aerospace work.
Reply:At the pulp/paper mill I work at, we have pipe fitters and we have welders. Fitters do not weld and welders do not fit pipe joints. Each tradesman does their own job.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720
Reply:Originally Posted by snappy101aerospace or nuclear plant are my dream jobs, im in the process becoming a welding technician, hopefully i can have the same experiences as youon a side note why did you leave the aerospace job, or was it a contract gig?
Reply:oops it got cut off:Both fields are okay, if you're a go-getter and want to excel quickly you might get frustrated the fields are very slow to change and ultra conservative. even if a spiffy new technology comes out today we wait a few years then do a huge study before we make a change. The cost of certifying a new technology can reach the same quality usually outweighs the cost of a minor productivity increase.  So you wait until a major overhaul or requalification and then lump in all your improvements at once.  Doesn't mean much to the welder besides the fact that inspectors don't play nice to any sort of messing around or deviating from specs. No one wants the nightmare of learning a welder was doing what ever little loophole to make their job easier.Welding EngineerCertified Scrap Producer
Reply:Originally Posted by MetarinkaI was working for a large  Aerospace company, rocket manufacturer actually, we made rocket motors for various DoD and NASA contracts.Then I got an offer with the DOE to work on nuclear reactors for the submarines, I can't say too much more about the job, other than its an amazing opportunity to work in the cutting edge of the nuke field. so with an offer like that it would of been impossible to refuse.I've worked in a bunch of different industries the big thing about aerospace and nuke work is the large amount of paper work, tight tolerances, high volume of  NDT and tight specifications. This isn't mild steel, we aren't using stick electrodes and are fit up isn't measured in fractions of an inch.   For example all of the metal we worked with had fit up tolerances +-.0015  or sometimes +-0.005. our bead height was .030 (about 1/32) max, with 0 underfill. 100% xray and mag particle for every joint.   Surprisngly the reject rate for the welding wasn't all that high, the welds weren't the most difficult I'd ever done, we would spend the money on fixturing and tooling so that everything could be done in the flat position when possible.my experience is different than most, i'm a welding engineer. I'm still a certified welder and I spend about 4-10 hours a month doing production welds or prototypes just to stay on top of my game, but my main focus was designing the welds, taking care of certs and answering technical questions.  I also did a fair amount of research and automation integration. Both fields are okay, if you're a go-getter and want to excel quickly people generally get frustrated they are very slow to change, and ultra conservative. even if a spiffy new technology comes out we used wait a few years then do a huge study before we make a change