How long did it take for you to get "good" at welding?

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I'm a newbie and curious how much time it'll take until I consider myself passable or good at welding, in terms of aesthetics and weld quality.How long did it take you for each process Mig Tig and Stick?
Reply:I'm still not that good, lol. But in reality you never stop learning, that's the thing I love about welding.
Reply:MIG here (months measured at 15-20 hours per week actual "hood time" pulling a trigger, not bs time)3 months to lay a nice straight bead flat & horizontal2 months 3F/3G1.5 months 4F/4GD1.1 certs were xrayed, so while I'm obviously a bit of a slow learner, I CAN at least weld "to code" on a good day. But on "thin" material, I still suck.In another year, but at a much reduced pace, I hope to have mastered TIG in flat and horizontal positions. WOOHOO!Last edited by wirehead; 12-25-2011 at 10:19 PM.XMT304 (school)SP125+ (home)HF 4x6 BandsawGood judgement comes from experience and much of that comes from bad judgement.
Reply:Been at it 15 years or so...I'll let ya know. 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 larpheadBeen at it 15 years or so...I'll let ya know.
Reply:Some guy's are naturals just like anything else and then theres the rest of us!  Like larphead. LOLIv'e been messing with stick all my life but am now trying to be the best I can be in every aspect of the game!  Hey I'm 52 and took a Tig class with some kids that had never welded anything in their life!Some of them never got it and some took to it like they born doing it!  Thats the way of the world.I fell in between so I'm probably your average learner.   Always strive to be the best that you can and continue to learn thru out your entire life.AEAD 200LE, Lincoln precision tig 185, Millermatic 251, Spectrum 625 extreme, Victor torch , Smithy 1220LTD. and  Do all C-4 band saw ,  Always adding.
Reply:Really too many variables to give you any useful time frame. Are you learning on your own, Is a friend who "sort of" welds helping you learn, or are you getting professional instruction?I help teach students welding. I've seen guys who run beautiful mig day in day out that an entire semester learning the tiniest bit of DC tig. The guy never even completed the basic joints in flat in the whole term. I've also seen guys who have never tiged before get thru vertical and into overhead by the end of the term. Granted these are both examples at the extremes, but it shows that even if you can weld with one process, it doesn't grantee you can do another, or it might make it super easy. Each person is different. Some pick it up fast, some will never learn. In general expect this to take several hundred hours of hood time for each process. Generally less if you are getting quality instruction, and longer if you are doing this without direct assistance. By "good" I'm using the criteria that you can pass basic weld tests in the flat, horizontal vertical and overhead positions. If you want to add pipe, or say alum tig to the mix, add a few more hundred hours of time to the count.Don't go into this expecting you'll be "good" in a few weekends spending an hour or two at a time on this. That just won't happen for the majority. You will need to burn a lot of rod/wire to get "good" and that takes time.The fastest way to get there is with a decent class. If you add up what the materials, rod/wire/ electric, gas and so on would cost you, not to mention the instruction, a class is usually stupid cheap. It doesn't have to be a full blown welding course full time, it can simply be a night class at the local tech school to get you the basics, and then you can go on from there if need be..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:22 years & counting..Good enough for me to call them perfect?  I'll let you know Buy American, or don't whine when you end up on the bread line.
Reply:well, my dad was a union ironworker/welder, so i picked up a stinger for the first time @ around 10 yrs old,  helping him in the garage,4 years of technical school welding class twice a week,bought my first mig @ 17 while going through the auto body phase of my life & things just progressed from there. in 1990 my dad fell 9 stories of the iron & after a long rehabilitatiion returned to work, he was no longer able to work structural iron so they put him in charge of the ( miscellenious) shop. stairs, railings, sash work, equipment & machinery guards etc..... this is where i really got into it, he would pick up a side job here  & there &i would  help. I really learned alot. well dad retired & moved, & i picked up where he left off, @ 45 i have a pretty well equiped shop,do an occasional job or 2 but mostly my own stuff, its more of a hobby for me. i just picked up my first tig machine & am currently teaching my self how to use it. any way after around 35 yrs give or take i am still learning & am confident in saying " i can weld, but not good enough to call myself a welder"                                                                   Bob
Reply:Been mostly stick and O/A welding for 50 yrs. Done quite a bit of mig for 10 yrs since retirement. I figure I'll still be learning when I can't do it anymore. I've just always tried to make the next weld better than the one I just finished.                                        MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:Dumb azz question, different learning curves for everyone, some pick it up quickly, some never get it !
Reply:10 minutes..and thirty years.
Reply:That depends ive been welding pipe my whole career I think im not bad at it and someone will come by and show me something new . Always something new to learn . Cant weld tig or mig to save my life . Im amazed at stuff built on here daily . But it is kind of a funny question everybody learns at there own speed . Ive seen some people in the trade for years that are terrible and new guys that are naturals go at a good speed to learn as much as you can
Reply:I've been Stick Welding stuff together for 40 years. People on Forums say my welds don't look like they will hold. Well they all do stay together.Can I pass a 3G Vertical test? I'm close but not quite.Oxy-Acet welding/brazing for 30 years.Mig Welding for 7 years and REALLY like it!Tig Welding for about a year and still can't get the TOTAL hang of it!My neighbors and customers think I am an awesome welder! I think I am a good welder but not a professional welder!
Reply:I think I was at the prime of my welding career at about 24 years experience.  I say that because of everything I remember I ever done that year I did my finest. Since then my eyes have gotten worse, my attitude has drifted a little I guess,  and my back hurts more.  Good luck manSlowhand
Reply:Ive been welding for about 2.5 years now, and Im a total beast. Im really good at it. If you practice you can learn it all in no time ... Or so I wish. I still have so much to learn it isnt even funny. And when you learn to do something well on the bench at school, you have to re-learn how much different it is when you're actually using it in the field/shop/real world. I think these guys have it right, you never stop learning...[Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:I've been at it so long, I'm to the point now when I learn something new I forget it by the next day!  Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:I'm 52 my son has not graduated 2 year tech school yet but can tig better than I can every day.  He also has more certs.I will always have screw ups.  My welds are still getting better.  When you spend more time preparing for the weld than doing it, you are getting there.Enjoy learning.David"The older I get, the better I used to be"Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:"When you spend more time preparing for the weld than doing it, you are getting there." i think you are talking about weld prep time David. if i factor in the time it takes to think about it, plan for it then decide to actually do it, then that analogy would make me the best welder lol. in the end i find myself trying to remember what it was i was supposed to do that led to the point of opening the shop door. it takes a pack of coffee and a gallon of cigarettes sitting at the welding table and the fog clears up and the confusion diminishes then i am able to glue some metal together. i figure if i stay at it i may "get there" and be good at it....uh would you repeat the question225NT bobcatAEAD200LEScott 125mm175, mm252 w 30A, PT225mm211, TA 181iHyper Therm 380, cut master 529100X & XX, Digital Elite6 Victor setssmith little torch, meco midget kalamazoo band sawsteel max saw evoulution circular saw
Reply:I have been mig'ing since I was in my early teens but on sheet metal, I am 30 now and really started mig'ing on heavier gauge metal for about 5 years now, probably took about two years of those 5 to get somewhat decent. Also have a decent amount of experience with o/a welding. Now I am taking a full welding course. I started with mig and flux core d/s. I blew rite through mig like it was nothing, flux core has a little bit different technique and once I stopped trying to run it like Mig it was pretty easy, I finished all the requirements for both within the first 5 weeks of a 15 week class( tues/thurs 8-1 but usually stayed till 2). My instructor bumped me up to Tig and within about 3 weeks( 4-6 classes) I was again bumped up to Tiggin pipe, 4'' sch 40. My last position was 5g before the Mig/flux core class ended. Now my welds are not perfect but I am busting my *** to learn both at school and at home. When I return after the holidays I will be going into smaw and then I will take tig then pipe welding with all processes. My instructor only lets students weld on pipe that are 1. taking the full course and 2. show that they are in fact decent enough to weld on pipe and 3. show that they are motivated in learning how to weld pipe.  We will see what happens......I forgot to mention just how much I love welding..... especially Tig'n ****ing LOOOOVE ITLast edited by DemonSpeeder; 12-27-2011 at 12:43 AM.Lincoln pro mig 180Lincoln Square Wave Tig 300/wp 20/home built water cooler Victor, Purox, Harris, O/A welding/cutting setupsVintage Craftsman drill pressVintage Craftsman/Atlas 12"x 36'' lathe7''x 12'' w/c band saw Everlast 140 st
Reply:I don't know when i will ever get good at iti just keep practicing Backed my CATMA over your CARMA oops clusmy me  What would SATAN do ?? Miller Trailblazer 302 AirPakMiller Digital Elite  Optrel Welding HatArcair K4000Suitcase 12RC / 12 VSHypertherm PM-45Rage 3 sawRusty old Truck