Welding is a construction niche that garners little attention (though it is featured in the hit musical Flashdance…). This is unfortunate as it’s in fact a highly important skill on which many metal structures and mechanical constructions. Not only that, but it’s also actually quite an enjoyable practice and can be fun for hobbyists interested in iron mongering or forging steel – giving you the satisfaction of dealing with incredibly high temperatures behind the safety of your visor and resulting in useful or aesthetic productions that will endure the test of time. There is something poetic and manly about melting down metal with only a thin protection between you and the burning flames. This article will work as a basic introduction to welding to spark your interest (excuse the pun…).

Welding is actually an ancient practice that goes back far further than the industrial revolution. In fact, pictures of welders and welding tools have even been found in ancient Egyptian tombs dating back to prehistoric times. Throughout history it would have been paramount for the production of swords, armour and tombs themselves. In fact, welding is probably largely responsible for our development out of these eras, and for the production of large scale industry, mechanics, machinery and computers that we have today. Without welding we would have none of these things and almost every man-made convenience we take for granted today would not exist. Today billions of dollars (around four billion a year to be precise) are spent on the welding for industry in America alone. This actually works around at about $335 for every household in the country!

Wielding is therefore a highly profitable industry and future forecasts predict there to be a large shortage of welders. Currently the average age of the working welder is 54, meaning that the majority of them will have retired in the next ten years leaving a shortage of around 250,000 by 2010. Not only does welding make a great hobby then, but it also represents a great investment as an industry to get into for those with their finger on the industrial pulse and an eye on the future. After this introduction to welding you may then want to look into the idea further. Just as plumbers and carpenters were until recently in demand, so too will welders soon be.

Now you’ve had a basic introduction to the history and practice of welding, the next step is to learn about how the actual process itself works and what exactly is involved in the art of fusing metal with high temperatures.

In welding the aim is to use a form of blow torch to weld together two or more pieces of metal. This works by melting down these points of the metal to a point where they become soft enough to be pushed together This means that the actual fabric of the metal itself has been joined at these parts, rather than using an intermediary substance to glue them together, and as such the bond is far more powerful and reliable – which is obviously paramount for cars, planes, bridges and anything else required to bear heavy weights and strong forces without breaking.

This usually involves incredibly high temperatures which are required in order for the metal to melt. The exact temperature will depend on the type of metal, but as an example of just how hot things get – Steel will only melt at 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. These temperatures can be generated in a variety of ways through many different power sources, either through a gas flame, an electric arc, laser, electron beam, plasma beam, friction and ultrasound with more developments constantly introducing new methods. One of the latest innovations is robot welding, which is used for mass assembly lines, extra precision and safety and is particularly popular in the production of automobiles. While other forms of welding are often automated, many of these still require a human element for maintenance and preparation of materials.

The image that usually springs to mind when you think of welding however is probably ‘shielded metal arc welding’, so we’ll focus on that in our introduction to welding. Here the shield refers to the protective clothing (including the face mask) worn by the welder and the arc refers to the electric current that connects the material and the electrode rod. This is also known as manual metal arc welding and stick welding (the stick referring to the rod controlled by the welder). The rod itself creates a flux in order to protect the welding area from oxidation or contamination by producing CO2 during welding. While in some welding a filler material is needed, in manual metal arc welding the electrode core fulfils this role itself. From here the welder must simply control the rod and direct the electric arc in order to fuse the correct areas. Generally this is process is limited to ferrous metals, though special electrodes have been fairly recently developed that allow for cast iron, nickel, copper and aluminium to be welded. Protective gear is absolutely crucial and must be worn at all times in order to prevent injury.

Hobbyists perhaps are more likely to work with manual gas welding processes such as oxyfuel welding. It can be particularly useful for crafting metallic artwork by heating metal to be bent, and for work with iron or steel. There are hundreds of different types of welding however and more than we can cover in this basic introduction to welding; it can even be performed underwater (hyperbaric welding) or in space!

Mack LeMouse

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