John the Baptist

This week we did a practice bend test. We fill in a grove, then its cut in three and the back is milled off. Then its put in this machine that bends each piece. The part that I welded is the middle of the arch. If I messed up by leaving a piece of slag in it, or somehow missed a spot, it will crack or break. You might wonder how you would miss a spot while melting metal, its pretty crazy. Air can get trapped.... a ton of crazy shit can take place if your not careful. Then you FAIL. All three of mine were good, but I did a flat plate, the harder of the two I will be tested on is the horizontal, but my heart wouldn't of been able to handle the break. 
I went into the shop this morning for a bit of extra time. There was an instructor who was quite nice, he spoke with an accent, reminded me of Rod Stewart but looked more like my dad. As he was speaking to me I burst out laughing for no apparent reason. He asked me what was so funny but I didn't really have an answer for him.

Horziontal Poka

I made this. 'This' consists of a square tunnel shaped piece of something that I mig welded onto a piece of test plate. I brought it back to my booth and then tried to arc weld it further, but for some reason the tunnel piece melted away. Do you remember when you were little and you would just get obsessed with a pair of scissors and want to cut everything you saw? That is what mig welding is like. Its so quick you just want to mig everything in sight.

 Today an hour before class was over, I finally obtained the results I had been looking for the last three days. Now I will be able to sleep at night, that is until I learn something else. I got %80 on my multiple choice test today, good thing I'm a nerd and studied a ton on the weekend because I didn't look at my notes today or yesterday.

After about welding two beads, this gets really hot. Because of that, it starts to loosen. I try to fix it before it falls and almost burn my hands, and then sometimes it crashes to the floor anyways, and its way to hot to touch to pick up so I just stand there looking at it.
I think I was given a wrench or something but I don't yet keep it with me. My gloves are thick, so much that my pinky finger on my left hand is becoming a bit deformed sticking outwards and is a bit sore. There are thinner gloves but already when I touch something, the leather slowly heats up like an over and just when you think its going to stop it gets hotter.

Keep your eye on the puddle

This is one of the ones I like the most. Unisex, right amount of humor and coolness. Perfect.

 

I have a test on Tuesday. The kind you write on paper. Multiple choice. There is a whole section about symbols. I actually found an app on my phone where you can pick out what weld you are going to do and it will show you the symbols. This excites me but I will probably keep this to myself... Above is a photo of my notes I made on my friends white boards she has up. She had some medical notes made up, I don't think it was anything too important. I think they were titled 'vital signs.' The power a magic erase marker gives you is quite impressive. There is just something so satisfying about writing on white boards. I'm not sure if I'm learning but I feel very important.

Good morning booth two, hello booth four.

 I am planning the design for when I paint my own helmet. You can find some nice ones on the internet with skulls and monster faces but I might prefer a nice line design. 

Was it hot today during your walk from your air conditioned house to air conditioned car? This is from this morning inside the shop. Add overalls and jacket and you get one sweaty Stacey. Apparently not all people sweat from the head.  I do. I would prefer it from anywhere else really, it makes my face itch and I can watch it drip off and form a puddle inside of my mask. Once I sneezed in it, that was an event of it's own.
This week we are working in the shop during the mornings and then doing theory in the afternoons. Its a daunting task to try to stay awake while learning about how to do what I've been doing for the last two weeks, but there is still a lot to learn, and a lot of diagrams to draw so I don't mind.

Today at lunch I saw something I've never seen before.  NYF free samples. Yes I had one. Just one because I was already carrying something in my other hand. Salt pills, french fries, it gets the job done.

Spatter vs. Splatter

  This is my row, I'm #4.

 

 These are practice test pieces. I made them by mig tacking the ends. Sounds easy but for some reason I find it hard to see the end of the mig torch. Yes, its a glowing mall of melting metal but FOR SOME REASON I struggle at holding the torch at the right angle. When do I get the pay off for being left handed and having to do everything in life backwards?
These ones are flat. I will do horizontal as well as flux core.

 You have to fill the crevice in line by line.  I get a bit of spatter on my first line which is a bit of a problem since it is your most important pass. For the test, you do a piece similar to this and then they bend it with an air compressor machine. If it breaks or cracks you fail and your life is over, but lets not think about this right now.
spatter
All welds done yesterday and today were done to The Doors. Thanks for your slow and repetitive tune Jim.

5 inches of...reading

My lines are getting better and instead of getting stuck almost every start, it only happens a few times the whole day. Trying to pin point the exact moment of when I learn something is like trying to remember what it feels like the second you fall asleep. It exists as some mushy grey limbo. I go home, go to bed, and the next morning I'm better at whatever I was doing the day before. Magic.
When I get frustrated, I just think of Vince Vaughn's speech from The Intern where he references Flash dance...I just saw that last night, how fitting.  Actually when I weld each line a number of things go through my mind. It is like a radio switching from song to song, places I want to travel to, how I should of asked out the cute guy at the gas station, how I need more gas, what I should have for dinner, I remind myself to apply to some more jobs, what shoes I want to buy, who would play me in a movie, what I would say to Johnny Depp if I even ran into him.  ect...
I finally go my book. I am going to start reading tonight, as soon as a post this, as soon as I watch the Lone Ranger, as soon as I make dinner...
Johnny Depp says never take your mask off and he is right. He also has a bird on his head and tomorrow, so will I.

It's starting to sound like bacon

Much better for my third day. These are the results I wanted to end the week with so I'm pretty happy. A+
I'm still going too fast, for once I need to slow down so I won't complain. Monday we get our book and some classroom time. This is my booth, a nice little working space with everything you could ever desire. It even comes with a poll to lean on. Apparently they used to make them out of metal....the cinder blocks are a welcoming improvement.  In the photo its set up for a horizontal weld, they get hot quick because the heat doesn't know where to go so you have to take if and dip it in water after a few lines.  Science...so crazy.
I went out this weekend and found some headbands to help stop the buckets of sweat that pour off my face while I work.  It was either that or botox my forehead.

It's not stopping that is hard, its starting

Classroom time? Nope, straight into your welding booth today, all week.
After taking forever to learn how to turn my grinder on using both hands, I made some lines. The sparks that seem so scary are actually not that noticeable when you are welding. It's when the rod gets stuck to the metal, that is my main problem.
I paint because I like how automatic the results are, although everything melts in seconds, the main objective is reached with baby steps of welding, cleaning, welding and so on. A bit frustrating.

Don't be such a tool !

Today was my first day of school!
I was given something that I have always wanted - a chalk line. I'm not exactly sure what it is for yet, I  mean I know it makes lines but when and where do you make them?
It came with a pile of other tools that seem quite heavy...along with my sexy black overalls and a shirt that snaps up to the neck. Gotta be ready for those nasty sparks.
Once again I find myself in a shop full of girls, most ten years younger then me. I heard the phrase ' we just had our grad,' and realized they were talking about high school. Two girls weren't old enough to sign some of the forms and had to take them home to their parents...What was I doing at 17? Probably drinking beer.
I didn't get a chance to look like a total nerd and take any photos of the shop, I was too busy trying not to puke listening to the safety talks about how it feels to get a chuck of burning metal down your chest or in your ear.  Tomorrow I will be taping my glasses to my face while we scratch and tap.