New to welding, can't keep my darn welds straight

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Hi. I'm currently enrolled in an intro to welding course at my local college. I'm enjoying myself immensely and want to become a professional welder.So we were running dual shield flux core and were instructed to fill a plate with overlapping welds. I finished my plate and compared it side by side with that of my classmates. I was pleased to see that my overlap was among the best. However, I was horrified to see that my welds were sloppy compared to the straight welds of my classmates. I couldn't keep my welds straight. They zigged and zagged all over the place, to the point where I found myself having to fix them. They were often at off angles and crooked. So I'm discouraged to have a problem others don't have, but I am absolutely determined to fix it. I WILL fix it. The question is how? Does anyone have any suggestions? I hope I was specific enough.
Reply:Adjust your body position. I find a lot of students want to weld exactly left/right when welding. However that is seldom how you body wants to let you weld.Simplest example I can give is stick welding. When using both hands on the stinger, I start out close to my body on the left side, and as my arms swing down naturally, I weld to the right and away from my body at about a 30 deg angle. If I try to force myself to weld straight across, every time my concentration slips, my body will automatically want to slip right back into that natural 30 deg angle. To allow for this I either angle my plate slightly so the weld falls on that 30 deg line, or I shift my feet so my body lines up to the joint on that same 30 deg line. Same goes with mig, but my body position is different because I hold the gun different..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Just find something to prop your hand/arm against. a metal pipe with some legs on each end with magnet feet. You might need to make a few for various lengths or just move the pipe down every so often. Some people are gonna say it's a cruthc, but who cares, just do what works for you. another thing that helps is to use your other hand to hold your forearm and give it support.  I even used some keyboard forearm rests on my welding table to help get me get smoother motion and others here do to, that is how I got the idea!
Reply:Draw a straight line with soapstone that you can see to follow
Reply:FIRST, are you sure you can see where you have been and where you are going? I had the same problem until I had a special pair of prescription reading glasses made with the correct focal length for welding and I ditched the crappy auto darkening hood I had. Once my vision issues were straightened out (pardon the pun) all my weld beads straightened out as well.Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:Thank you for the replies. I will try those things next time I weld. Keeping a straight weld must be my top priority. I feel like I get better every time I do it.
Reply:You will learn, it takes time. I have been welding for 40+ years and can't weld a stright line on flat plate with out a seam to go by.www.georgesplasmacuttershop.comPlasma Cutter and Welder Sales and Repairs--Ebay storeTec.Mo. Dealer Consumables for the PT and IPT torch's
Reply:Make sure your hood isn't dirty and that the shade isn't to dark. But at the same time don't have to light of a shade that could damage your eyes. A friend of mine used a #7 shade for years and thinks it might have something to do with loosing some of his vision. That's something to keep in mind.SA 200s : 1944 1945 1963 1965 1969 1981 SA 250 D3.152 DC only2004 Ranger 10,000Lincoln Pro Mig 135Miller Load BankHobart GPB 258 PipelinerHobart GPB 261 MainlinerHobart Airforce 250Everlast PA 200st
Reply:A drink will help steady those hands.
Reply:Originally Posted by Sm412Hi. I'm currently enrolled in an intro to welding course at my local college. I'm enjoying myself immensely and want to become a professional welder.
Reply:In certain situations where there is no joint to follow it can be very difficult to weld in a straight line. I tried a soapstone line but found that it either burns or blows away when I weld next to it. My solution to making a long straight bead is to lay a piece of steel bar next to the intended weld line. For vertical or horizontal you can clamp it or tack it. With careful attention you can carry your puddle quite close to the bar as you run your bead. I have actually used this method with round bar rolled into an arc to serve as a guide for welding capping passes on circular plates on tug boat decks. I found that I could actually bump the welding rod up against the guide without welding to the guide.  Hope this gives you some ideas.