Yeah I have the Section IX binder in front of me. I have read a lot of it already. I guess I should be understanding the language. Even me though, this stuff has a bunch of tables and is of course in the engineering language. I'm still looking for ANY kind of book that can take me step by step answering questions about welding certification. I DID find a book like this on www.amazon.com also, on www.sdtb.com (san diego technical books). The title is Welding Certification Questionaire, and it costs $73-92. I think it was published in 1992, so I'm wondering if the book will help me, or is is just some person's compilation of information that WON'T help me.
Here's some more questions of what I have, or the kind of information I'm looking for.
- What should I know for getting certified?
- Am I supposed to use the test facilitiy's welder?
- What materials do I need to bring?
- Do I need to have a school certificate to take the test?
- Are most of the people who are getting welder certified, people that have some sort of certification of completion, or degree from some school or university? If so, are my chances of passing the certification test slim?
- Am I even qualified to take the test, when I have no welding classes under my belt (except for a class I took for 6 months, but didn't get any paper work on the completion).
I plan on purchasing a TIG welder and practicing at home. All materials and probably even the TIG welder will be paid for the engineering company I work for.
Zee, to qualify as a welder you don`t really need to know much about sec.IX,you just simply need to know how to weld. I see in your first message you are a mechanical engineer,why do you want to qualify as a welder? Just curious. It does seem your headed in the right direction ,if your a mechanical engineer in a chemical plant it wouldn`t hirt to be familliar with ASME sec. IX. my suggestion is to attend a local AWS meeting in your area and you should be able to meet inspectors that are experienced with sec. IX, and maybe you can talk one of them into giving you some training on the subject. Sec. IX without training or someone experienced around to explain it to you as you use it is, I would say impossible to use there are simply too many little things here and there that will confuse you especially if you are not allready an experienced welder. To answer you questions one by one.1- you should know how to weld, 2-you can use any welding machine you choose as long as it conformes to the weling proceedure your testing to. 3- you donot need a certificate to take a welding test.4- your chances of passing the test are based on your indivdual skill as a welder. 4-anyone can take a welding test , you donot need any papers or prior welding documentation if the company your testing for is willing to test you. If you just want to qualify as a welder, call the local testing lab and I`m sure they will help you ,they will tell you what WPS`s you will need based on what materials, processes and thickness ranges needed by your company.
Zee,
It sounds like for this kind of informatin, it would be easiest to just talk to welders who have taken tests before. The suggestion about finding a local AWS meeting is a good one.