I am interested in getting into auto body and chassis welding. I have some projects that I want to work on myself. Does anyone know of anyone who would be interested in teaching me about welding? I have never welding before but I am going to learn. I'll probably take a course through the community college but I would also like to learn from someone who does this kind of work on cars. Thanks for any help.
community colleges or trade schools are your best bet. im in california so i dont know how it is in texas but theyre few and far between out here these days. also certs arent cheap but if you want to do it, then its a good investment. I am certified up to 1/2" plate and my test alone was 350.00, pass or fail, one shot.
Check the website for Austin Community College and look at their schedule for welding courses. Back in the 70s I did the same thing in Houston and took the courses at HCC. They usually start with OXY/ACT and then go to MIG and TIG classes. Hands on training from pros is worth the time and money and after you learn the basics it's practice, practice and more practice. There are car clubs in Austin and there is always someone with a project going on that would welcome help.
Hi. Austin may be a good place to learn & or find someone that could use some help in exchange for training, etc. There is a huge antique car, classic car, street rod, hot rod community there and quite a few car clubs. Also some fine speed & restoration shops. Lots of car activity there. If you are not a member of a club there ask around and find out when some meet & go & mingle. Tell them what you are trying to so & see if you get some nibbles & find a Mentor. Also swap meets & car shows & events are a great place to mingle & talk about your & their projects. Look for those who have similar cars and feed on their experience on what they did & how they did it. Most like to talk about all of this. I am a few hours away so I do not currently go to events there as my car is still tied up in the shop finishing an engine upgrade & overhaul. But I recall seeing something about regular cruise nights at one of the local car hangouts in Austin. You just need to get involved with one or more group or happening and you should make contact with someone who can help. Not sure if any of the speed shops can or will help with what you want as they may not have the time for training someone not already working there as most have very busy schedules and training ties them up but they might point you toward someone who can help. If you cannot make contact with car clubs post what make, model & what you plan to do with it as most of in Texas have a list of most of the clubs in and around Austin. If you cannot find a mentor then the Couminity College would be a good route as it should not be too expensive and most have evening classes. When I finally get my 46 Coupe going to the point it becomes my daily driver (soon) while I finish the loose ends of the many things I need to do on it while still using it as my driver such as replacing all the body & window rubber & channels & a bit of paint touch up then Austin events & happenings will definately go on my schedule. Good luck & keep us posted. It might help those here that are local to Austin if you posted what you would like to do on your projects. Jimmie
The CC has a continuing education program in the welding section. New laptop is being a pain in the ass right now so I can't copy and paste but put Welding Classes Austin Texas in a search and then click on Austin CC welding tech link and then in the classes scroll down to the continuing ed link. The course outline looks to be just what you are looking for. Here this should take you to what you are looking for. http://www.austincc.edu/welding/continuing-education.html
ACC has an autobody welding class. Havent taken it myself but been thinkin bout it. Ive looked into volunteering at some local shops but got no bites there. In the same boat as you. Would love to just find some local builders or club to just help with their projects. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I highly recommend taking ACC courses, I took 2 beginner classes several years ago, and learned things that I probably would not have learned by someone teaching me. The classes covered gas, tig and mig welding. Because of the class, I bought A/O welding setup and actually go back and forth between gas and mig depending on the application. In the end, its worth the price of admission. http://continue.austincc.edu/catalog/courses.php?name=Basic Shielded Metal Arc Weld&topic=Welding
First spend some time reading here http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com . I was lucky as my father in law was a heavy equipment mechanic/ weldor and he taught me in about 30 minutes to weld. Of course we were using an excellent welder. It was a Lincoln 220 pipeliner. Good machines make good weldors. Notice that I said that he was a weldor. A weldor uses a welder to join metals. The weldor is a person and a welder is a machine.
Or a weldor can watch another welder weld with a welding machine, either way it gets the message across.
I graduated from HCC's welding course in May, but had a job 2 weeks before finals. I got a pass on the finals. The courses covered Stick, MIG and TIG, with a little OCY/ACET tossed in. The courses were geared to get a person an oil field type job, as most of the studies concentrated on multiple passes on 3/8" plate. But, we were allowed to experiment, if we were ahead of normal studies. School taught me the basics that made learning at work easy. I also learned how to read and understand Blueprints. By the end of studies, you'll be tested on pipe in 6G. My work environment is a full 180 from school, but the basics I learned at school came in handy. At work, I do MIG. The guys that make the HUGE money do TIG. Once I adapted to the fast paced, high heat, one pass type of welding they do, took about a month to learn the weld points, I was left on my own. I'm still there and they're not afraid to send a sub-par welder home for good! In a day, I may weld 12 and 14 gauge sheet and 1/4" plate. Sometimes, joining the two or three. It's hot, noisy and dirty, and I freaking LOVE it. I had a few friends offer to teach me, but I wanted to learn how to do it RIGHT and SAFE. I LOVE my job because it doesn't feel like work. I go in looking for the days job list and hit it full speed. Other than the NAVY, this is the best and most enjoyable career I have EVER had. Oh...... I made the Dean's List and Honor Society.
Did you have a separate class for oxy-gas welding/brazing? I'd be very interested in taking one if they offer it.
Sadly, no. In order to get the brazing lessons, you have do be in the A/C Heating courses. What we learned to do was set up the machine correctly and how to cut plate without setting each other on fire. Funny, there are some great welders where I work and they can't set up or run OXY/GAS.
I'm going to take my first class at the local community college in January. The first class is oxy/acetylene and touches on mig/tig. The second class is mig/tig. I already can braze being an HVAC guy. I am going to build my own hot rod, period! I wish I weren't so late to the game. I should have been doing this 30 years ago. Fortunately I have a nice '31 sedan to get me going and will be actively looking for '30-40' coupe or pickup after I sell an off topic car I have.
Your post is exactly me 4 years ago maybe more.. I was lucky enough to have a guy from here have me over to his house and teach me a few things.. This sparked my interest more and I haven't looked back .. I took the TIG welding class here in dallas a local cc and bought my own Tig welder.. The class was the best thing I could have done to learn.. If you lived in Dallas you would be more than welcome to come to my house.. Hopefully someone in Austin will have you over.. In my opinion welding is the most important skill you can have in this hobby.... Good luck keep us posted on how it works out. john Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App! Using iPhone 6
Thanks guys. I appreciate it. I am looking into ACC courses but I was hoping to find someone from here in AUstin to teach me some things and maybe give me a crash course. Thanks again for the advice guys.
I'd say it's better to take the welding courses. These will take you step by step through the process, and theory of welding. Knowing the theory behind the doing will increase your understanding and chances of success, and also troubleshooting any problems that arise. Learning from someone doing it a long time (and I'm guilty of this), is that they'll show you the technique, but probably not explain the "why's". And they will show you what to do if there is a problem, but obviously, if you don't run into every problem you might run into, they probably won't tell you how to correct them all. Teachers should be showing you all this because they are supposed to, they follow a training routine. A guy in a garage won't. Some guys do it so long it seems they don't even know why they do things a certain way, they just do it.
What chopolds said X2. I'll add one more thing. Learn/become proficient with oxy-acet welding first. It will shorten the learning curve for the other processes.
Some welding programs offered by some Tech Schools and Vocational Colleges require gas welding first and then you progress into arc, mig, and if the school offers it T.I.G. I went thru the NY State Vocational School system and could take the course I wanted. I would, by all means, if a school near you offers the course you are looking for to enroll and take the course. The course is taught by very knowledgeable instructors and are very patient. My teacher told us welding is like brain surgery, you can read all the books in the world about it but when it comes down to doing your first cut, it's you that has to do it. What he meant was practice, practice, practice and practice some more. Good luck.
Hey Cleetus, I started out with a crash course, just like you're talking about. I combed through online welding forums and found a local guy who was an instructor at an industrial school and gave private instructions. Four-hour crash course in gas, mig, tig, and recommendations on equipment and classes offered in our area. Cost me $100, and the equipment recommendations alone saved me more than that. I learned engouh to start practicing on simple patch panels and brackets. I DID NOT learn engough to even THINK about doing chassis work.
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