Hello everybody:
I am a Mechanical Engineer and I have made my career working in Hydroelectrical and Thermoelectrical power plants.
I think that I have got a good knowledge in Fluids Mechanics, Heat Transfer, Metallurgy and a couple of other branches of the Mechanical Engineering.
Over the years, being a supervisor and as a requirement of my job I have been involved in welding works, some normal type and some rather special. In such circumstances and as a personal initiative, I have given theoretical technical support to the technicians performing the welding.
I have always been a self-taught person in welding; and I can say that I have a good THEORETICAL background in welding.
But, here is the problem (believe it or not): I am not a welder. The last bead of welding I put on a plate was several years ago, when I was in high school.
Going to the point, I wonder how can I transmit (to teach the little bit I know) to students (apprentices) of welding if I am not a welder? It would be catastrophic for me, if an apprentice asked me to show him/her how to make a good weld bead or to explain any manual technique.
I hope you, my people on the forum, can give some guidance on this subject that certainly excites me.
By 46.00 
Date 02-05-2014 21:50
Edited 02-05-2014 21:59
Euskera, the simple answer to your question is you cannot.
If you have little or no experience of actual welding, it would be folly to try and teach someone the mechanics of welding.
However, some of the most influential welding subject matter I learnt were from a person who had never struck an arc in their lives. You obviously have a lot of information and experience that any would be welder would cry out for. Welding theory is an exciting and dynamic part of a welders knowledge. I finished actually welding some years ago but am still learning more and more about the subject from people like you and others, the internet and courses I attend. I was a better welder than all the people who have educated me in the theory side. But I know to accept the input and knowledge of those people who wrote my WPS's and WPQ's and told me which electrodes or process to use to weld a certain joint. The actual welding mechanics are such a small but very important part of the science, don't concentrate on your weaknesses, concentrate on your strengths. Your trying to teach Welding Theory not welding!
Apprentices have qualified teachers already... Or they should.
Tutor them in math... Tutor them in geometry.. Tutor them in electrical safety.
Trying to teach something you can't do rarely turns out well for anybody....
There are a million texts and charts that demonstrate weld defects and are linked to causes and corrections... Get some and share them with your apprentices...
Or you could learn how to weld yourself... Self taught welders rarely are good teachers... There are exceptions of course.
Frankly if you see the apprentices on your watch are lacking in some way.... You need to take your conserns to the people responsible for training the apprentices and ask *them* if there is anything you can do to help.... If they say no... get out of the way.
