[OP]
Contributor
I'll be taking a 2 day welding class at the Marc Adams school in May. Instructor says long sleeve cotton/denim shirt and jeans are fine, but I'm thinking I may want a smock or apron or jacket. What do you folks wear?
Won't be doing tons of welding, mostly MIG and maybe TIG for repairs and small fabrications around the home and shop.
Also, for something like the miller or lincoln jacket, is a loose or snug fit better?
--I had my patience tested. I'm negative--
Moderator
What kind of welding in the class, stick, mig, tig? Can't do much more than a good introduction in 2 days, learn to prep the steel, how to set the machines, maintain the arc, what a good bead and good penetration looks like. Your real learning will be when you get back home!!Originally Posted by Paul F Franklin
TIG is clean and needs little protection, MIG can spatter some (depending) but the denim might be fine. A friend welds MIG full time in a fab shop and almost always has new burns on her jeans and shirts. I always wear leather protection with stick or when welding overhead.
I mostly use a kind of a very short leather jacket with long sleeves and can wear a leather apron over it. Mine jacket is fairly loose but the collar fastens snugly around my neck. Welding can throw blobs of hot steel everywhere which can occasionally get into small openings. Any clothes you wear can get lots of small burn marks, as can the skin. For gung-ho welding the fire-proof blankets are nice too - they can cover things you don't want burned (such as on vehicles, floors, or your legs.)
BTW, I use different gloves for stick and MIG.
Any good welding supply store should have options and someone with advice.
JKJ
Contributor
Thrift store leather jacket. No plastic zipper. Harbor fright has a good deal on three pack leather welding gloves for around $12 on sale or at 205 off. Great for pruning roses and citrus.
Bill D
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-pair...loves-488.html
Last edited by Bill Dufour; 02-27-2023 at 12:48 AM.
[OP]
Contributor
Thanks for the info gents! John, you're right, it is just an introduction. MIG, TIG, Plasma cutter, and a touch of stick. I'm pretty good at picking stuff up but have found it never hurts to get off on the right foot with a little push from an experienced instructor. There are several decent welding supply places near by so I'll swing by and check out the options.
--I had my patience tested. I'm negative--
Moderator
Something related to this topic happened to a weldor friend this week. Somehow a spark got under her welding jacket and caught her shirt on fire. Smacking on it wouldn’t put it out so she had to rip it off very quickly quickly. Suffered no serious burns. Said she has a fire resistant shirt but didn’t wear it that day. Plans to buy some extras!!
In years of welding I’ve never heard of such a thing, neither has anyone at the weld shop. I’ve gotten plenty of burn marks in shirts and pants but never had flames. Could some type of fabric softener or the type of cloth be a hazard? Maybe something to thing about.
[OP]
Contributor
Well that would wake you up! In the syllabus the instructor sent out, he said NO synthetic fabrics; maybe that's why. He also said to only wear leather upper boots, that synthetic uppers don't do well with welding sparks. Thanks!
--I had my patience tested. I'm negative--
Contributor
I was warned, but didn't experiment, that dryer sheets leave a residue that will burn. Tale I was told says it is a low temp flame that won't bother you until someone notices and uses a fire extinguisher on you!
They were very strict on synthetics in the class I took. They say natural fabrics, wool or cotton, pull away as they burn (if they catch on fire), but synthetics not only catch more easily, they tend to melt into your skin making any burns much worse. (Again, I didn't experiment!)
Have fun in your class!
ETA: be careful with any exposed skin with any arc welding. I had a tiny sliver of flesh exposed below my hood above my shirt and jacket in my first class. I got a wicked "sun" burn there.
Last edited by David Bassett; 03-05-2023 at 2:18 PM. Reason: Another thought
Contributor
When welding to amount to anything, I've started wearing a Kevlar neck cover. I got "sunburned" under my neck once using the little flux core mig welder.
Contributor
Carhart make some fire resistant pants and overalls. I got a good deal on some from the bay. Mine are shop use only with fluorescent yellow stripes like a tow truck driver. The fire proof does not wash off like many garments. I think they may be kevlar. I am almost sure the thread at the seams is kevlar.
Bill D.
https://www.carhartt.com/c/men-ppe-flame-resistant
These are similar or identical to what I got. Not stiff, seems like normal cotton/poly twill.
Im was able to buy one pair to see if they fit and fabric was okay. Then I bought extras from the same seller. Ebay does allow returns for stuff that does not fit, in many cases.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/14468190334...3ABFBM9N6Up9ph
Last edited by Bill Dufour; 03-11-2023 at 4:03 PM.
Contributor
I always used one of the Hobart cotton style welding jackets and it worked fine. They have them at Tractor Supply and they are reasonably priced. https://www.hobartwelders.com/safety/apparel/jackets
Well, I should say that once I found my Columbia fleece full of tiny holes after welding something with the mig, I started wearing the Hobart jacket. LOL
Moderator
Do you weld TIG? Nice clean weld. I read once that TIG was the only type of riding you can do in a white suit. I didn’t try that. I don’t have a white suit.
JKJ
Contributor
No. Only occasional MIG stuff, but I don’t have a welder at home any more. We have a MIG and stick welder at our farm though.Do you weld TIG? Nice clean weld. I read once that TIG was the only type of riding you can do in a white suit. I didn’t try that. I don’t have a white suit.
JKJ
Moderator
I mostly use MIG, occasional TIG and stick for thick. I found TIG welding to be very much like gas welding with oxy-acetylene which I used mostly for thin steel.
Our home is on our farm so the welders are always close!
Contributor
I took a 14 week welding class at the local JC... met once a week for several hours (on a Saturday IIRC)
Instructor said to wear jeans, Denim shirt over cotton t-shirt, and leather shoes/boots... he preferred boots (as in cowboy boots) because you can slip them off pretty fast.
I had the jeans and denim shirt and (I thought) the shoes.... went to the Goodwill and found denim/jean jacket also (the "Classroom" was drafty and cool) .
So I show up in my New Balance Leather walking shoes, and the instructor says "NO, you can't wear those".
Me: Why not? The uppers are leather.
Him: So they are... and the laces are nylon. Change the laces to cotton ones and you can wear them.
Do you know difficult it is to find all cotton laces to fit athletic shoes?
I ended up buying safety boots (look like cowboy boots, composite toe) at Zappos.
And surprisingly (to me at least) they ARE easy to slip off using one the toe of one boot against the heel of the other.
You don't even need to use your hands. (They are more difficult to put on, tho', with or w/o hands....)
Safety boot.jpg
Last edited by Patty Hann; 03-14-2023 at 10:57 PM.
"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.”
Moderator
Unfortunately some of us can’t wear cowboy boots because of instep shape. I’ve tried and could never get a cowboy boot on my foot unless it was way too big. I always wore good work boots and made sure my jeans covered the tops. So far i’ve never had a blob of hot steel in my shoe (crossing fingers, or should it be toes?)
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