So I started school

[Van]

Well if what they are wanting entails rebuilding of the support facilities it might if there are any boilers in use. I haven't the faintest idea as to what is found at any of the locations yet but our class will be taking a few trips to places like BAE systems and Northrup Grumman over the course of the program to name a few.

Thanks LakeBum, I really do like the class and Ive been itchin to get back to class tomorrow.

 

[Van]

End of first module

Today was the final exam for the first module of the course and I missed three but ended overall for the last 5 weeks with an A in the program but now the hard part starts and that's going to be allot of in the lab welding practice with some class room work. Upcoming trips will include Northrup Grumman, BAE Systems, and a trip here LIEBHERR TRUCK . I like the idea of the last place because all of the parts are made locally as opposed to what CAT does which is do it across several states and two countries.

As I've said before if your in dead end work or looking to change career fields or unemployed this is the field to go into now, our class is looking at getting hired at $15 - $23 an hour to start and additional training in nuclear pipe welding and deep sea welding sends the rates higher. I know some of you techs have talked about getting out of installing so consider this as an option because this field is hurting for qualified welders and the pay is considerably better than what you will find even as a contractor with satellite.

 

[lakebum431]

Glad you are making progress Van. We are all very happy for you. Get to the lab work, that is what is going to really pay off in the long run.

 

[Derwin0]

our class will be taking a few trips to places like BAE systems

Which location? Ship Repairs in Norfolk?

If you ever want to apply for a job there, I can put your resume in the employee referral system.

 

[Van]

It'll be the Norfolk facility and thanks for the offer!

 

[Van]

Welding in the horizontal fixed position on 3/16 plate with a 3/32 gap and using 6011 to fill the gap and then 7018 to cover the first is a pain in the recliner cushion to get right. Really its welding in the horizontal position that's the hard trick to get down, I did ok Monday and Tuesday but yesterday and today was like two steps back. Doing the same weld clamped off the side of a table like an extension I did fine filling the gap with complete penetration and complete overlap welds. Running a pad of beads in the horizontal went fine as well despite it being 6011 but then things kind of fell apart yesterday and today and first I attributed it to being overly tired so I got about 12 hours of sleep last night to make up for a lack of nightly sleep this past week but that didn't seem to be the cure. Maybe it was nothing more than an off day following a fatigued day.

 

[Van]

For the last week and a half I have been struggling with getting my horizontal welding down first with the root pass on two plates with a 3/32 gap to make sure I had complete penetration which I finally got it after two days and then with the cover pass using two 7018 3/16 rods. With the cover rods I first fought with temp then it was with gravity then it was with travel speed which is all screwed up now but thats another story. Tuesday at the end of class I made it clear that if I didn't get it by the end of the mod on Oct 29 that I would be dropping the program because it would be foolish of me to continue with a program that I would have to pay for and not pass. Yesterday I tried it again and ended up with a crappy looking plate for the 5th time so the instructor follows me into my booth and I go about doing what I had normally been doing, he stops me after about 10 seconds and points out two mistakes I have been making, the first was starting location for the cover and the second was whipping a drag only rod. I had no idea that 7018 is a drag only rod or I may have forgotten either way I corrected the mistakes and went from something that looked like the rocky mountains ( no offense to our staff member ) to a B quality bead run that overlaps its lower bead properly each time.

Now I have to go back and work on my travel speed and re-cement my root pass because they both took a beating with my getting stressed out about the cover pass's turning out the way they did. I feel so much better about what I'm doing now and plan to complete the horizontal portion tomorrow and the vertical and be on overhead by Friday at the earliest.

The instructor talked with me yesterday and stated that since he is also the administrator for the program he feels that he is not able to provide enough time to the students since he is having to do two jobs so he went to the head of the school to put it to them that they need to change this right away. I'm going to talk with him about this some more to see if I can pitch to him and the head of the school my becoming an administrative assistant to the program since I have some office background thanks to working as a shipping clerk with walmart and handling assets considerably larger than what the school does, at least it would get me out of walmart and it would cut down on my travel time from school to work.

 

[Van]

Pegged it %95 on the passes today enough so that I've made one of the other guys mad because his work still sucks compared to mine Tomorrow I'll be working on the aws horizontal bend test using two 3/16 plates 3" x 5" with a 3/32 square gap or butt joint with a 6011 root and two 7018 covers, after that I go to vertical work and then to overhead and I have to finish these by the end of the month.:up

 

[navychop]

Welding is an art. Some can, some can't. Some get by passably, some excel.

I don't weld.

 

[Van]

You ain't kiddin, I'm having to relearn how to hold my hand steady and how to control movements from when I used to paint and sketch and shoot photography but I did great with art so I should be able to get this down it's just harder to do after having not done art in 17 years and being nearly 40 and it doesnt help that I strained my wrist over the weekend and have to wear a wrap.