By Martin Rice
Welding Instructor at DJCC and member of Iron Workers Local #263

If you’re new to welding you’ve got a lot to learn.  Heck, I’ve been in the trade almost 30 years and I STILL have a lot to learn.  But that’s what makes life fun…learning new things.  You’ll have a much more eventful and fulfilling life if you set goals and then strive to achieve them by learning everything you can.

Most people don’t realize how complicated welding really is.

You must have perfect eye/hand coordination, manual dexterity, be able to work in all conditions and positions including everything from standing on your tiptoes, to hanging upside down on some jobs!

Along with that, you need to be knowledgeable in metallurgy and welding theory to be a good all-around welder.  I learned that from a crotchety old guy named Ralph, who used to say, “Anyone can be a dobber.  It takes a craftsman to be a REAL welder!” (I think he added a couple of words in there, but I better not put them here.)

I met Ralph at a black iron fabrication plant where I welded beams, columns and anything structural with 6011 and 7018 flux cored electrodes.  When the supervisor introduced me, he looked me over and asked the boss how long he figured I’d last.  Well hello to you too!  I knew from the start this guy was going to be a real pain to work with.  

Out of about a hundred people at that plant, Ralph liked about two of them. He didn’t say a word to me for the first few days until he noticed an army tattoo I had and asked if I was a vet.  It turned out he was a WWII combat vet.  He’d fought in the Pacific Theater and he began to come to my area at break time and tell me stories of some of his military experiences.  

After a while, I became one of the “three” people Ralph liked and I really looked forward to him teaching me techniques and giving me tips. 

I learned a lot from Ralph, but what really stuck with me was his statement about there being “dobbers” (people who stick something together and hope it’ll hold), and REAL welders, (those who know exactly what they are doing.)  He said the only way to become a real welder was to learn everything one could about theory and metallurgy.  And he wasn’t scared to learn more himself, even though he was in his 60’s back then.

I once told him I was going to a community vocational college.  And I’ll be danged if I didn’t look up and see Ralph there one night!  He had signed up to polish up his flux core skills, even though he had been welding pretty much forever!

For those of you new to the trade, I echo Ralph’s advice.  Learn EVERYTHING you can. Ask questions and listen to advice from the old hands out there.  To me it is an honor to pass on a trade I learned from my teachers, Phil Newell & Mike Waldrop, my apprentice instructor Jim Fenwick, and other good men in the field.

So don’t be afraid to ask, maybe you’ll get lucky and meet your own version of Ralph.