Hot Rods Tig welds on hotrod frames

Look for a retired boiler maker welder, retired welder that did code pipe welding on steam lines and or welded piping and vessels in the petroleum industry. They may appreciate a 3 month run of work doing something different in a clean shop. They would have TIG tickets up the wahzoo from doing code work to show you on their weld tests done on their jobs. A good experience welder that worked in regulated industrial welding could knock out those welds half blind and they may be half blind. Have them **** weld about 3 or 4 coupons that are the same thickness then cut a piece out of the middle. Then you can see if it is a clean well fused weld, then bend in a press at the weld. It should fold nice without any failure. If the coupon snaps then you have your answer. There is information on the Youtube and the web on weld testing that may help with the concept. There are jigs for bending coupons that could give you an idea for the radius of the bend. Have the welder prospects run the coupons then they can leave so you can test their work. If the prospects jumps into the weld to get them done quickly, they p*** the p*** the torture test you will know that he is a good welder. If they circle the coupon and want to keep grinding it back and doing p*** after p*** then that is not your man. Have the welder come in and do the tests then leave so that lets the welds be proven and if they p*** you can give them a call back. This avoids any awkwardness of dismissing anyone that doesn't make the cut. Then you can have a candidate that is promising come back to see if he can weld the way you want with a minimum of instruction and perhaps a little practice before going to work. Also if it is a person you want to work with. If there is a college nearby that does welding instruction there may be an instructor that could give guidance on test material sizes & maybe bend test the pieces. He could give a good opinion on the results.

( I was 3 finger pecking while Blue One posted his reply. He nailed it. The welders can be very different on both sides of the border but the industrial standards for welders doing pressure vessels and pressure piping are the same high standard. So that is why we are recommending looking for a well experienced welder in those fields. )

 

Remember, these skills cost money.

Where I am, and it will vary by location, when I bring in someone to the shop to do welds that are both structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing they have deep-triple-digit bill rates, and that is using my power, equipment, and consumables.

Then again, I get what I paid for, every time.

 

I have done , the pipe , stick , tig and mig . My favorite is the mig . The best is the tig . You are not a welder until you run beads . Have the new person , come to your shop , run tig beads and see if the meet your standards . Just remember , if you pay peanuts your gettin monkeys .

 

Monkeys will work for peanuts skilled welders won’t.
I always told my students that when someone told them that a monkey could learn to weld that the proper response to that was that it wasn’t true because monkeys are terrified of fire

 

I've been doing this for 40+ years and (knock on wood) I've not had a failed weld to date. My regular welder is really good. Ran a few ads locally as we have several industries in the area that use tig welding offering up to $100 hr but have had no response. I'm just trying to get thru my last 4 customer ch***is in a reasonable time.

 

ask the prospect... 'ARE YOU A WELDER? OR A GRINDER? Then Listen for answer

 

You bring up a good point, production welders can lay down a great p***, because they make that specific weld all day with predetermined settings.

Not all progress to welders that can walk up, set the machine, and pull off ANY p***.

 

I know one who can

 

The welders that do power piping, petroleum piping, boilermaker welders that Blue One and I referring to are not production welders. The work is done to specific weld procedures for the metals, executed under the watchfull eyes of quality control and quality ***urance controls. In states with strict boiler & piping codes and Canada wide the welder shows up and has to do weld tests in the 6g position for the alloys and thickness ranges for the weld processes they will be employed for. The welds are xrayed or bend tests to make sure they p***. In my plant we xrayed the root p*** and the finished welds then the system pressure tested at 1.5x operating pressure. When I retired and went out west to do contract work planning and executing major shutdown work in a large refinery where the procedures were off the chain. The welders worked to the weld procedures and every p*** was LPT inspected for cracks, then the complete weld xrayed and pressure tested. Their procedures in my view were extreme and exceeded all the governing codes. But where just about everything that leaks is under extreme temperatures and pressure is an instant fireball upon a leak and there is a history of losing full areas of a plant destroyed its what you do. On this side of the boiler it is rare for a weld to not p*** and if it needs repair it is minor. I have been in some states and was present at a NC sister mill to give support for a major boiler job. The NC mill had budgeted time for 5 - 10% weld touch us. We thought there was no reason for that so they were going to push the contractor to employ a better level of welders. We had 2 - 50' boiler wall panels with 66 tubes per so that was 264 welds where 2 welds needed repairs. Those welds occurred on the previous weld line which any welder hates as it risky. A weld can only be repaire once or the tube section removed and replace so no one wants to be that welder. So the point is anyone who consistently TIG welds in piping and boilerwork regulated by a boiler authority will do consistently good work day day out. The time lines are tight and they work hard to get it done.The boilermakers often work in the worst sh%# conditions, pinched in between tubes or have to worm their way through loops in the boiler attic and are expected to execute a perfect weld. I have had "partner" welders on a couple jobs where one welder can't get to the backside of a boiler header so two work as one. They get paid good money and are in demand. One runs the TIG torch, the other holds the mirror and feeds the wire. The partner welds p*** every time. That is the industrial standard of welder that I am recommending as one who will consistently do quality work. There is a great welder pool where you live and many of the boilermaker welders like to pick up some work later in life. Every one of our jobs has had some retirees that return to work for a week long shutdown or two to make some money to pay the taxes, make some play money. and work with all the friends that they made over the years. When the layoffs start the retirees are the first to go and happy to go. If you can find a good boilermaker welder retiree he may appreciate working in a quiet, clean light comfortable shop for a stint. Our boilermaker and piping welders are union trades and are like family after my 32 years working them.

 

Gary,
You might see something like this,

 

Absolutely agree. Not directed at you.
Ive work with production welders that can't change stations and p*** quality

 

Well said and a pretty good description of the skill level of these guys who are also my friends and of the type of work I was proud to be doing.

Not too many people really comprehend how difficult working to this skill level is and the talent that it takes.

It’s absolutely true that it’s way beyond the typical production welder working in a shop doing one thing and using one wire feed welding machine day after day.

 

Blueone. You told me what your work was and could immediately relate to what the nature of your work was , the skill level required and the difficult conditions that a lot of the work was performed in. I have been permanently retired for years and can taste a lot of the places from memory. That is the typical life of a welder so I know when they get long in the tooth that they like to work but would appreciate making some bank and working in the comfort of a clean lit shop. Not everyone can go to a call and be lucky enough to be the toolcrib guy. I was an engineering technologist in a pulpmill where the engineering organized and executed the work. I also did LPI, MPI and UT so I was crawling around in many of those spaces as well. Pity the small or the skinny guys as they got stuck literally worming their way in tight spaces and getting banged up and bruised. There was one little lady who had great respect a**** the guys that did a lot of work in the tightest of spaces. There was always heavy pressure to meet the shutdown schedules. Later in life I took over organizing the work and many times had the manager breathing in a paper bag looking at the recovery boiler missing big tube sections or a major tank with huge wall sections missing with the end of the shutdown approaching. The triple nickle always got it done and were always wrapping up with minutes to spare. Welds not p***ing on the first go were extremely rare and years between. I did 3-1/2 yrs in Fort Mac where the processes were different but where the conditions can be very miserable. It takes good strong character to tough it out. I had the experience to get things done, could make a decision, knew who and where to find materials or the mill trades that could help so they put me on nights. I was always out in the midst of the work. The guys had me to join them for lunches and coffee so I got to know them and their lives very well. When the guys came in to set up I would often hear my name shouted and would go catch up with the guys as they came in for another shutdown. Sitting with the guys and enjoying being with them over a coffee was the best part of the whole job. Great, great guys.

 

Gary, at $100 and no takers , that leaves you without many options. I have no idea what welders make but I would have thought that would have generated some interests.

 

No, most guys gas welded, using coat hangers from what I have seen of real survivor cars.

 

They don't make coat hangers like they used to, ever try and weld with those things lately, pure ****.

 

@saltflats need to find some N.O.S. 50s hangers.

 

Except for the thin/small stuff.....MIG is used more on hot rods than TIG. IMO
6sally6
This funny cartoon is very telling!

 

We should all post some pics here.

 

Brent
This is the one time I must disagree with you.