One trade skillset you'd like to learn

[Mike Wilkins]

I would like to be able to perform electrical work. I can do simple things like wiring a switch or outlet, but do not feel comfortable with complicated things. Just this past week I kept having a problem with tripping a breaker. All the wiring appeared fine; I had not done any electrical work at all. It was only after unplugging all the items in that circuit that I discovered a bad power strip. Frustrating.

[Ben Hatcher]

I'd like to learn more about electronics so that I could replicate some of the sweet, automatic blast gate contraptions I've seen on here.

[TODD RAYMER]

I would like to learn blacksmithing and welding.

[John Pratt]

Computers; how they can be used in design, planning and even CNC.

I made a point of learning the other different trades enough to get most common tasks accomplished related to HVAC, plumbing, electrical and simple engine repair. I have a pretty good knowledge of most things wood working (however, not on the same skill level as some on this site) and I can use a welder, acetylene torch, and plasma torch profeciently. But, with the move to computers in everyday use in the trades, I feel somewhat left behind in that area.

[Dennis Peacock]

welding aluminum, machine shop, CNC in the machine shop, HVAC, and automotive body work/painting.

Other than that......

[Frank Drew]

Not a building trade, but if I hadn't become a furniture maker I would have liked to have been a silversmith. I love silver.

Building trade? Maybe a stairmaker. But plumber if I wanted to get rich quick and retire early!

[Rich Riddle]

That was a good distinction, the parts changer comment. I am good at that but not a mechanic. My guess is that many of the tradesman today are parts changers. That might be why so many of us ourselves become parts changers; why pay a "tradesman" who in reality only changes parts when we can do it for a small percentage of the price? Paying a real tradesman is another story.

Blacksmithing is quite interesting. I am not sure if one could do that living in the city though. Doesn't it call for quite a large area for a fire pit? It's always interesting to watch those guys work though.

[Peter Kelly]

I'd like to learn both Korean and Spanish. I'm terrible at languages though.

[Jason Roehl]

Welding and HVAC are definitely high on my list. Electrical and plumbing are pretty easy when it's all said and done--so much reference available.

I'm comfortable welding simple steel in non-critical applications--like a minor repair on a mower deck, for instance. I also built a ladder rack about 15 years ago for a pickup (sold it and the second truck in which it resided just over a week ago). I could stand on the part of the rack overhanging the cab, but not all the welds were pretty.

I do have a bit of a burr under my saddle about HVAC, though. It's hard to get parts without a license to even work on your own stuff. But for me, the greater evil is how expensive a furnace is for how simple a device it is. I can buy a computer with millions of times the computing power of the control board in a furnace for the cost of that one control board. Yet furnaces are so far from being "smart" in any sense of the word.

[Kevin W Johnson]

For me it would be machine shop/CNC work. I've used a metal lathe some, for small, but easy projects. I'd like to expand that alot... being able to make just about anything.....

For those who want to weld, MIG is the easiest by far. With a good MIG rig, you can be making nice welds in no time. Stick welding takes much more practice, an although I've done some stick welding, I'm far from great at it. Have done some TIG, but not great amounts.

[Chris S Anderson]

Electricity. It scares me, and I know I should have died a few times when tinkering outside with the meter when it was shorting out. I was just lucky I didnt prod too far.

[Paul Murphy]

A stick welding class at the local voc-tech school and a $300 stick welder will set you up for repairs to steel from ~1/16-1/2". Not too much invested in equipment, and doesn't take up too much space. This is easy to justify for many people.

An oxy/acetelene rig is handy, but that's an additional skillset, and investment. A cutting torch is very handy for carving up sheets of steel. Having tanks on your property is is not to be taken lightly, and they usually are rented. More justification is involved here.

Mig is easier to learn than stick, but the equipment is more expensive. Flux core wire is handy on steel, and no external shielding gas is required with flux core.
Mig is great for aluminum, but requires shielding gas. Steel welding with mig and shielding gas produces less "spatter", and easier in downhill welding.
Mig aluminum is enough different than mig steel that most people doing both have a "dual gun" welder set up for each.
Mig is good for sheet thinner than what stick can handle, and thick section up to the current limit of the machine purchased. Mig is a fairly quick process.

Tig is great for thin sheet, and is a slower process as thickness increases. The equipment is somewhat costly, and requires a supply of shielding gas. Tig is a lot like oxy-acetelene in operator technique, but uses the arc instead of flame. Cost justification probably required for tig equipment.

Plasma cutting equipment is handy, and will cut stainless (oxy-acetelene will not cut stainless). The thicker material you cut, the more the machine costs to purchase. Plasma cutters can use compressed air, but the compressor goes up in size relative to thickness of material cut.

[Rich Engelhardt]

If I had my career path to live over again, I would have become a plumber.
I hate plumbing so much that I figure if I have to do it - I might as well get paid for it...

[Jim Matthews]

Old school machining (no CNC).

I like the idea of running something that (provided the raw materials) is sufficiently flexible to make a copy of itself.

[Lex Boegen]

The timing of this thread is interesting. I've been looking into taking night/weekend courses in welding. Several decades ago, I bought an oxyacetylene torch set from Sears (back when they still made quality tools) and taught myself how to weld. Well, I taught myself how to make the ugliest beads in the free world anyway. I got rid of that rig years ago (the gas bottles aren't something I really want to have around my house), so this time around I want to learn the various forms of electrical welding.