question for welders

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Haynie

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I am looking for opinions. My oldest son, who is 10, has expressed interest in learning how to weld. I do a little welding so am not unfamiliar with mig and tig welding but I have never worked around small children. I am not against the idea and suspect that he will lose interest but I also want to encourage him in anything that gets him away from a screen. I know several full time welders who would be willing to take up where I leave off but his age has me scratching my head. If this was wood I would say go for it, but welding is a whole other level of concern.

So, I am looking for some thoughts and opinions. Is 10 too young to start? Obviously there will be adult supervision, and I have extra safety gear.
 
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Sounds like you are familiar with the safety aspect, so I say sure. Eyes, lungs, and skin protection will really be important for his young body. It won't be like he is a production welder, but arc flash is nothing to mess with. I think Mig will be easier for him to learn, but not by much. I bet he will use more wire trying to get the arc going than he will in the bead. Might wear out a couple wire cutters before he gets the hang of it. I learned with a stick welder on the farm. I think they are almost the easiest to use, but I am probably biased. Best trick I learned for TIG, is to bend a curl on the end of the filler rod. Easier to tell which end is the hot end when you have your helmet down.
 
If you trust that he'll follow the rules I would go for it! If you think he'll want to play with it then don't let him.

I'd trust some 10 year olds with a chain saw and others that I'd be scared to let them use a pair of safety scisors.
 
I welded for a couple years when i first got out of the military decades ago...stick welding mostly..really enjoyed it to be honest, rather satisfying watching that bead of molten metal run across the floor, up the side, and across the top :)
I do still have a few scars where the concentration was lost for a second and i paid dearly for it...but they were only minor.

My biggest concern, if i was teaching a young person to weld, would be that his visor on his helmet was down when he struck that arc..!!..might even be tempted to glue it down.
 
I think Stick is easier than wire but I learned years ago on stick and I stll cant weld wire!! Burns will leave scars of momentary lapses I think they are the best teachers. To me flash burn will happen although I hope not but often does and is the best lesson on wearing your hood!!! If your not afraid of the things that happen to young or new welders I say let him try stress safety and hope he makes no mistakes he can point to later in life!!
 
I think it ultimately comes down to your comfort level with his ability to understand danger and listen to your instructions.

I took metal shop in middle school when I was 12 and learned how to weld with oxy-acetylene. We had a whole class of varying levels of misfits and it seemed to work out okay.
 
go for it, an interest that can lead into quite a lucrative career. Under the proper supervision and providing health and safety is adhered to it shouldnt be too much of a worry. I,ve worked with children 11-19 for the last 12yr and trying to get them off the games machine is a tough one.
 
I've got an auto darkening for me. A cheaper model but it works well. A permanent dark for him. One with a flip up visor and one with a plain old large viewing area visor. I HATE the reflection coming in from the back of the visor. WHat does she make the hood out of that will not catch fire. I was thinking of making one out of and old welding coat but it gets too stifling.

I had figured it would be alright and I am comfortable with him doing it but thought a few second opinions would be a good idea.
 
I say go for it, and let him try it, again and as said above, as long as all the saftey stuff is there.

I built my own go cart around 10-11, with my Brothers help (Dad wasn't handy, he wanted to be but he would draw blood every time he tried, :rolleyes:)
Welded the frame, did some machining on the parts, etc.

Heck I turned out OK....... Well wait a min maybe I'm not that good of example. :wink:

I't will be a good experiance.
 
Haynie said:
I've got an auto darkening for me. A cheaper model but it works well. A permanent dark for him. One with a flip up visor and one with a plain old large viewing area visor. I HATE the reflection coming in from the back of the visor. WHat does she make the hood out of that will not catch fire. I was thinking of making one out of and old welding coat but it gets too stifling.

I had figured it would be alright and I am comfortable with him doing it but thought a few second opinions would be a good idea.
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She makes hers out of a light weight canvas with several small vent holes. She uses rivets to fasten it to the helmet. In the summer it's pretty warm, but my eyes feel better the next day.
 
My mom taught me to weld when I was a kid, but I forget how old I was. Probably around 10-12. That's the most amazing thing I remember about my childhood, that I was allowed to use welding equipment unsupervised. But it's like Andrew_K99 said, it depends on the kid-

Andrew_K99 said:
I'd trust some 10 year olds with a chain saw and others that I'd be scared to let them use a pair of safety scisors.
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I will add real shoes not kicks,canvas or flip flops, long pants and sleeves. Do get him use to wearing a N95 welding fume rated mask! Type of welding is what machine you have available. and a large pile of scrap metal to make coupons out of.

Also make sure he has safety glasses,shield and uses them when grinding or flap wheeling the metal for welding prep.
:clown:
 
I'd say go for it. I learnt to weld at 12years old, and been doing it for the last 48years. Buy him a GOOD quality auto darkening helmet as it will save him from getting flash burns to the eyes. (if it does happen a small amount of full cream milk in a eyewash dish relieves the sting/sandy feeling).
I have taught a number of unemployed to weld, starting with oxy acetylene to get used to the puddling effect, moving to arc, finally mig.
Kryn
 
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