build frames, do body work, build off road trucks 4x4, in general work in a car fab shop? thanks guys.
A tech school will give you a certificate, but you'll be weld tested according to the job by the employer. Welding in 6G will get you employed anywhere as a welder. I'm striving for that and have a long way to go.
A tech school may issue a certificate, but if it did not originate from the local city/county building and safely department or the AWS, it is worthless. You only "need" certification for structural work, pipeline, nuclear, airframe and the like. To work in a fab shop, a cert is certainly nice to have, and there may be some that require it, but, generally speaking, no you don't need one. I'm sure this will start a shitstorm, but I doubt that the average auto shop welder is certified. I have three certs, but they are all structural, construction related. Can't TIG fer crap!!
im in a jr. college program currentley, they push for structural and pipe jobs. 6G is good thats all postions and fixed 45 degree angle i think? I heard one needs 3g in mig to do indoor fab work but having a hard time figuring this stuff out.
Certifications are only relevant to the organization's who granted them. I have a fistfull of WABO certs (Washington state Association of Building Officials), but, they are only good for work I do in that state. The AWS certifications are probably the most relevant certs for shop welders doing auto related work. If you get into exotics like aluminum, you may also want to check in to US Coast Guard certs as they have great reciprocity agreements with other cert agencies. I've moved certs from CG to AWS in the past. It's really a mess to figure out what you need. I'd advise doing certs on the job once you know what you need rather than having papers you aren't using in your pocket. The upkeep alone gets pricey if you have many, and the skill is the tougher part than the paperwork.
From who though depends entirely on many factors. There is no one magic cert. If the shop builds hand rails they probably have a completely different set of certs than if they build off road truck tube chassis, and as Carl said, many auto shops don't use any welding cert programs. Some may use AWS standards for insurance liability or one of the body cert outfits like ICar or something, but, I'd say the majority I've seen have no certs of any sort.
Autobody and collision repair has no requirements. The shop may be an ICAR or ASE certified facility, meaning they want their team to have any certs offered by those organizations, but these are voluntary on the part of the shop. There isn't any federal or state requirement (at least not in Texas). Trailer Mfgers need to meet DOT requirements, but there is little beyond the component ratings of the axles, brakes, wiring and hardware that they would be required to demonstrate in order to get a DOT stamp on a particular model. I build, and have worked with builders, of hotrods and tube chassis cars that never touch upon certification of the welder. Only the sanctioning body of any given motorsport sets requirements for materials, weld quality and the inspection and testing of those things. Australia sucks, though! They must hire a structural/mechanical engineer to perform inspections on a hotrod chassis in order to modify it. Some things simply aren't acceptable by the Aussie authorities.
I'm I-Car platinum and although the office where I work displays the certificate it's pretty worthless in a restoration shop. It's great for production work because it's a usual requirement to be a direct repair facility with insurance companies. For restoration from my understanding it's more about welding certificates than I Car. I never got asked for any certificate but it's expected that my welds are good and not a bunch of boogers sitting on top of the metal. I sure would like an AWS certificate and Icar welding cert, but I also know it's more important to have the skill. If you want to get into it just go all out and buy a good welder and practice on different thicknesses of metal. I can weld sheet metal pretty good but I can't honestly say that my technique is the best on thicker stuff where you sit on the trigger for a while. I can't blame anybody for that. I have to go out in that garage and get on it myself. This is why I'm on the market for a bead roller and english wheel. Screw waiting around. Let the hunger show and it will take you as far as your appetite.
For most Restoration/Metal fabrication shop you don't need any certs. It depends on the owner of the shop. If I were you I would look into getting AWS in D17.1 which is aerospace and get x-ray certified. I build and restore vehicles, but I also receive work from some aerospece shop that need inconel and Haynes material welded (mainly 22 to 25 gauge). It all depend at what you want do or who you work for. I know a fabricator/welder that build that builds Top Fuel Chassis for Drag Racing and he's a High School Drop out. He started at the bottom and learned from everybody in the shop.
Look into the welding courses at Orange Coast College. I took one there when I was 14. (dear ol' mom signed the release of liability) They have Oxy/acetylene, MIG, TiG, Arc and I believe they even have orbital welding available. You can get some certs there just by going to night classes a couple times a week.
6G is just the angle they put the test piece at when welding it. Get an ASME sec IX pressure vessel cert, a Los Angeles city cert and you will be at the front of most lines depending on the quality of the welding being required. Tech schools will give you an AWS cert which means you just got out of school. Try welding the 6G position looking through a mirror, then you know you have what it takes to be a top notch welder...
6G requirments looking through a mirror thats crazy. Im years away from that. im going to ask my teacher to show us.lol
I'll throw in my 2 cents. If you want to do body work, as in sheet metal fabrication and restoration, take the time to learn to gas weld really well. It get's argued on here all the time, but I've done both mig and gas for a long time in collision and restoration. MIG is fine and in most cases required in collision. But if your going to butt weld panels gas is so nice to work with. It's not that hard to learn.
Certification is all about the employer requirements for the job i welded at John Deer Harvester (what a joke poor quality control) and i had no certification i just took a weld test and was hired it very's place to place for me anyways but ive never done pipeline or aerospace that i know is way more strickt even the plumbers union test for certification is unbelivable very tough. OH and i quit John Deer the welding engineers they hire have never welded!
Only certifications at the Ford motor plant were for steam and power plant and we sent the guys to hobart in troy ohio for their certifications,They welded test parts and the parts are then X-rayed for defects.And just because you were certified once doesnt mean you still are
Note: Don't take my statements too seriously because I'm new to the game, but I'd like to suggest the following: 1) there is another site, weldingtipsandtricks. He can help you sort through the certification game. 2) Suggest trying to obtain certifications for more practical areas. I.e., pipe. Thinking you are going to make money at a custom shop, in my opinion, is wanking. Money CAN be made building cars, but I think it's going to have to be part time at least starting off. In the meantime, you need REAL income. 3) A word about certification and shops in general, I know of a truck/trailer shop (I think they work on a lot of car carriers) that sent their mig welders to get certification solely for legal/liability/insurance reasons. The welders were already employed at the shop for many years 4) Back to the orig question, my strategy is to weld small portions/samples of what you like---building frames, what have you etc. Then get these samples tested at a good school---some schools offer testing services. So again, I would remind that I don't know shit about welding, much less the difference between shit and piss, but I'm hungry.
I took welding classes at the local Community College... Some of the guys wanted to be certified....The teacher asked for what specific task...? ....He said "You guys may not be Welding Certified, But you'll be Welding Satisfied! here" Certification is very specific (where certification is required.) Tommy
The first time an inspector saw me use a mirror he asked if that was allowed..It was the mirror or brail, make a call. But if any of you try this and wear glasses watch how many points of light from the arc you will see. Seems the clear len on top of the filter len on top of the clear lens on top of the mirror and your glasses makes for many spots to try and consentrate on. Pick one and go with it. It's kinda like looking at it cross eyed times 3.
Not that it matters for fab shop, but for serious weld work, refinery or vessel, nukes, your xray tested every morning, weed out the guys who like to have fun all night Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
I work exclusively in the Nuke field with welders and fitters and have never heard of such nonsense! If you had to test daily there would never be any work done.
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