Rig welding can pay far more than ordinary shop welding, but the headline hourly rate never tells the whole story. A job described as “rig welding” may involve an onshore drilling site, pipeline construction, a refinery turnaround, an offshore platform,…
You can weld stainless steel with a stick welder, but you need the correct stainless electrode, clean joint surfaces, a short arc, and tighter heat control than you normally use on mild steel. The process works best for repairs, outdoor…
One of my early shop days took a sharp turn when I nearly tripped over a poorly stored oxygen cylinder while moving my MIG rig across the floor. I was focused on arc control, filler metal, joint preparation, and everything…
I burned through a thin sheet of stainless because I did not fully understand how gauge thickness worked. My MIG welder was running, the filler wire was loaded, and the joint looked ready, but I had selected settings for material…
Burn-through can ruin a thin stainless steel part before you have time to correct the weld pool. That problem often points you toward Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW), also called TIG welding, because it gives you tighter control over heat,…
Working on an oil rig as a welder is no joke. Thick carbon-steel plate, pipe, corrosion-resistant alloys, awkward positions, weather, and strict inspection requirements can test even experienced hands. The real challenge is not choosing MIG or TIG by habit;…
I once burned right through a thin stainless plate because my amperage was set too high. Nothing teaches you faster than watching a carefully prepared joint turn into a hole. A strong, clean bead requires more than striking an arc.…
When you finish welding school, the certificate in your hand can feel both exciting and confusing. You have practiced joint preparation, arc control, fit-up, and safe shop habits—but you may still wonder which jobs you can apply for and what…
One of my biggest shop wake-up calls came when a soldered stainless joint failed after I used a flux that was not made for the base metal. The joint looked acceptable at first, but the solder had not wetted the…
I tried to run a bead on a thick steel plate using an old stick welder in the shop—the arc sputtered, the electrode kept sticking, and the bead looked nothing like the smooth joint I wanted. The problem was not…