What have you burnt welding?

Third degree burn INSIDE my belly button. I was welding inside a gang edger when a hot cherry dripped down. I couldn't get away and crawled out to roll over to get it out. After several days of not healing, I went to the Doctor and a dime sized skin graft was put on when the infection settled down.

 

I remember mig welding my 63 Impala floor pieces on my back. There were 2 cases when the splater poped and when down my shoe. The other the splater hit my neck and welded my two gold chains together......LOL

 

sometimes if i just need to tack something ,and in a hurry. i forget open toe beach shoes a'rent the best choice. but thats usually after the (toes burn) fact.

 

Having been an amateur welder off and on most of my life I've burned all the normal things, but sparks in the ears and up the nose tend to be remembered the longest.
One trick I've learned is when welding while kneeling or laying on the floor, put a piece of pink or blue styrofoam down. The sparks hit it and burrow in rather than roll around and get under you. Believe it or not, the styrofoam doesn't catch fire, self extinguishing I guess.

 

I set my lawn on fire once........that was exciting.

 

the title should be........... "what havent you burnt welding"........... i was tryin to get a tungsten out of the tig handpiece after doing a root run on a 10" shedule 80 pipe at around 100 amps and it was stuck so i was to lazy to go get my pliers to remove it , so i was shaking it to try get it out ....... i gave it a good one and it went in burning its way 1/2 inch deep into the center of my palm .... nearly right through, it severed the nerves to my two middle fingers which take years to repair apparently, two years later ive still got pins and needles on the insides of those two fingers. plus to many others to mention. arc goudging is the worst for burns though.

 

Air arcing on a lift at Babcock and Wilcox. Removing a 12 ft by 5 ft gear box from a welding positioner. Those tips get red hot! Threw the handle over the rail of the lift and it came right back and stuck 1 inch into my thigh. Lucky it wasn't (peter) who got gouged.

 

I have a welder. Don't use it very often. After reading this I figure its just sitting there plotting about how its gonna get me some day!

 

Once when I was working on a submarine, a welder was welding overhead. A molten booger got down in his leathers and when he went to shake it out, instead it went down his pants and landed on the head of his pecker. OUCH

 

When I got my new TIG welder I was so excited I grabbed a pile of scrap and with a short sleeve shirt on went to town for a few hours. You know the rest of the story. Double peel, skin color didnt match right on the arms for a few years. I always scratch my head when I see the TV build shows and the dummies are welding with a wife beater on. I think they are just showing off the ink cause that is a self correcting problem. Dave

 

I have set family members on fire. Oddly, they will hang around still.

 

I set my driveway on fire

 

Had hot slag burn through my runners and go between my toes

 

After doing a night class on welding, and having welded in shorts and bare feet or thongs for 25 years, they said you should cover up when welding. So I did, and put on overalls, which were a little to long in the leg, so I rolled them up a bit. Yep, the little hot bastard went into the rolled up bit, set the back of my foot on fire, I'm jumping around trying to get my boot and overalls off, kids are cracking up laughing at the old man cause they never saw him move so fast!
I also love the smell of burning hair when a ball of slag goes into orbit and lands fair and square in the top of your head.

 

Story 1. Welding the MII IFS on my 53 F100 about 16 years ago. I had been TIGing for less than 6 months, and I twisted 3 filler rods together. Laying on my back, I finished a stitch on the bottom of the frame and laid the filler rod across my lap, I rolled to reach something and the hot end slid to my thigh, burned right through my coveralls and I got some nicely charred skin.

Story #2 I was an engineer at a small design firm. When I finished designing stuff, I'd go back and help fabricate all the pieces. We had 10 brackets made of ouf 1/4" plate to make. After drilling and cutting all the pieces in a 105 degree shop (no AC in the shop), I set up camp to weld for a few hours. I was welding with my right hand and flipping my helment up and down with my left, the sleeve on my welding coat slid towards my elbow and I never gave it any thought. .. niiiiiiiice 2nd degree sunburn. I had never welded for such a long period of time before and didn't think of the UV..

Last week, fired up my new-to-me Hobart 251 MIG, and welded some 1/4" pieces together marvelling at how kuch badder-ass it was jver my old MM150. I have leather gloves that come up nearly to my elbow. This thing throws sparks a lot further than my old Millermatic 150... nice red pocks just above the glove..... guess I need longer gloves or a coat.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Lots of "ouch" and "dammit" moments posted - good times!

Worst apparatus for just causing issues to me is the air-arc.

(1) Had to gouge out a bunch of fish plates inside a large frame on a shutdown at work a few years back. Even with all the proper "safety" precautions, gouging is unpredictable to say the least. After 50+ hours inside that frame that week I had little burn trails down my chest and back that looked like a panther got me. I untuck my shirt now so the little red hot bastards can get out if they get in.
(2) Hooked up the air arc to the welder, cranked the amps up to max, and threw the gouger up in the steel we were about repair. ran the air line over from a fitting down below the machine; apparently, the lowest fitting in the plant. climbed back in the machine, hooked the air up, and water poured through the gouger into the hot (electrically) gouger I was holding, straight into the shaker pan I was standing in. suffice iot to say the juice grabbed me and it took me a minute to put it down. Really a nasty shock, and my insulin pump didn't like it at all. That one almost killed me.

Watch out for arc gougers.

Dan

 

Four words: Tip of the dink.



Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

dang, that second one is scary as hell there dan.

after reading these I feel pretty lucky thus far.

my worst so far was helping a family friend (of course), mig welding some exhaust, with the truck on jack stands, so normally for me if I am welding on my back or over head I try and wear a leather jacket. this time though it spat a little on a start, one ember found its way down my collar an rested right on my collar bone, burnt through my shirt and a fair amount of skin. since I was laying on my back on the ground under a car there really wasn't much room for me to move quick and get it off me so after some squirming and odd shakes I finished the weld, the ember cooled off at that point as well lol.

 

My coveralls, with me in them.

 

was watching a friend welding in welding class in high school, and he was wearing a sweat shirt wrong side out, and the little fuzzys caught fire and we jumped in put him out. realized not the proper attire to weld in.

 

A friend let me try his tig one time on my jobsite where he was installing some hand rail. I was croutched down in shorts, my first time w/ tig welding and got some pretty flash burned balls. A little less funny, I just finished some pre-cancer treatment on my arms from mig burns. I absolutely do not weld in short sleeves anymore.

 

It's good that you wear long sleeves now, but do you cover your balls

 

Spark landed on my pants, cheap polyester.
Ignited the groin area and promptly lit up my jewels.
Fortunately had a convenient morning cup of coffee near by to extinguish the smoldering.
Unfortunately the coffee was fresh and hot. Coffee felt better than smoldering pants 'n' skin though.

 

I taught TIG welding for years & always told folks they weren't welders until they burned themselves. Usually didn't take to long.

 

Me -----

 

A cool Clay Smith Cams, long sleeve shirt, yesterday.

 

I was using lacquer thinner to pre clean before welding. I had it in an open container and was using a small paint brush to clean the aluminum before welding. I thoughtlessly left it to close to the tig... I didn't know that I had a fire until I smelt my shirt burning . I won't do that again

 

Dad's year old window unit plasma cutting. That foam burns quickly.


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

My corneas. Do not use the " Close your eyes and tack" method.