A little background then my question. Im trying to get into the

Also keep in mind i have all the required ppe. Inb4 dur u fur get welding helmet op! Also i was looking at a few job postings and they had a 4 1/2" grinder and basic air tools listed. Anyone have jobs where this was required? Im not rich i cant afford air tools

If you just graduated, you take what you can get. And don;t have an entitled attitude. Do you honestly think ANYONE wants to do shit production work? And you almost always have to spend money to make money.
Go to HF and get your baby tools for as cheap as you can. Or a pawn shop. You aren't getting married to them. When you are earning more and it suits you throw them away and buy the best ones you can.

Protractor (combo square)
Scribes
Vise clamps (6")
Torch tip cleaners (community ones go to shit pretty quick)

Maybe:
Framing square
Calipers
Vise clamps (11")
Dividers

For sure get an angle grinder. If there was ever a tool for a welder to have it's that. The ones supplied at most jobs are going to be all fucked out and will drive you nuts. Also get a cheap air angle die grinder for $20 and a rotary file. Also a fillet weld gauge is super useful.

>>1108563
A shit load more g-clamps

>>1108640
Angle grinder for sho'.
You can't fathom the amounts of work that tool, used with the proper disks, saved me a year ago when we had 2 months to build a go kart frame from scratch, on top of our regular university courses.

clamps out the ass dawg, and an angle grinder

also you will learn more in your first month at a shop than you did in your entire run at welding school, so don't go in with an attitude that you've learned it all or they will just stop trying to teach you.

>>1108563
Whats the point of those clapped out tools?
It won't fool your employer into thinking you have experience.

>>1110190
They are all tools i didn't have to spend a dime on. Either found laying around the house or passed down from my father or grandfather. However i did just order a pneumatic 3" 90° disk grinder for $22.99. Plus a few measuring devices like a carpenters protractor and dial caliper. I'm going to scrounge around the basement for a few more clamps then call it good. I was told by someone wealthy, "the only reason i have more money than most of the fools you see walking around is, i only bought equipment when i was told i needed it, not when i wanted it"

>>1108563
I suggest you get another degree. The welding field is already full. It is also a major health hazard if you don't have a helmet with filtered air. Welding doesn't pay very well for most people because the high paying welding jobs require people who are savants in the field or are willing to risk death and/or disfigurement to make money. So, make sure you have more than welding under your belt for a livelihood. If this is just for a hobby then have fun.

That being said, you can't have enough clamps and vise jigs. Get a die grinder too for those tight corners that the angle grinder won't reach.

>>1110190
This poster is a retard.

>>1110296
>vise jigs

Meant to say "welding jig" since I think "vise jig" is an actual special tool. We just call it a vise jig though.

>>1110293
Best angle grinder for most welding jobs will be electric. Full torque at zero RPM vs feeble pneumatic grinders (fine at home, I have several) means corded rules. No cordless angle grinder can do serious work.

A SIX (not four and a half) inch angle grinder with a body similar in size to common 4.5" grinders is most versatile because it can run superior 6" cutting discs. I use a Metabo and it's money very well spent.

Go to the Weldingweb and Miller forums. /diy/is not a real welding forum, it's a place to find real welding forums.

http://weldingweb.com/

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/communities/mboard

Welding profitability depends on ability and location. Be willing to move to the work. It's common for welders to drive several hours to test for a job.

Can you pass a 6G pipe test? If you can't get a gig welding you might be able to find one as a fitter.

>>1110299
me bad "helper" instead of "fitter", though if you can fit you could give that a shot.

>>1110296
>The welding field is already full. It is also a major health hazard if you don't have a helmet with filtered air. Welding doesn't pay very well for most people because the high paying welding jobs require people who are savants in the field or are willing to risk death and/or disfigurement to make money.
All of this is is completely false.

>>1110301
>All of this is is completely false.

That's why I point people to real welding forums. This is not and will never be one of those. It is wrong to want it to be.

>>1110301
>All of this is is completely false.

Well its kinda true.
Welding is pretty awful for your health, even with proper PPE
In a lot of the country, welding doesnt pay well and there arent a lot of welding jobs.

You have to move to a part of the country where there is work. And then as time goes on youll have to follow work as the industry climates change.

The guy was exaggerating, but no job field is just an open book for anyone to get in right now. Just be honest and dont mislead the guy, there are a lot of positives too.

I make decent money in my shop building storm shelters, especially during busy season, and I do a little fabbing of my own on the side for some extra cash

>>1110423
>says the guy with chronic metal fume fever who makes $25k a year welding.

File: 1457591579841.png (60KB, 208x304px) Image search: [Google]

60KB, 208x304px

>>1110423
It really bums me out that there will never be a successful welding thread here. This board is just too slow to counter act the shit posting. A brave anon attempted to keep a welding general going but it always succumbs to the same fate; which is someone shit posting about the dangers of welding or >no-jobs, and in turn causes anyone in the know to tell people to not even try to discuss welding here.
I know welders are prima donna's but fuck, even shipping container threads go better than these.
>tfw you will never have a mongolian beef website to casually talk shop and discuss metal.

>>1110876
I swear under pain of penectomy by rusty shit-covered chainsaw wielded by an enraged mongoloid drunk that welding forums are better in all ways and the ones I repeatedly recommend are NOT full of prima-donnas.

>says the guy with chronic metal fume fever who makes $25k a year welding.

That was never me. I'm a mechanic/machinist who welds my own projects since retiring from the USAF and repairs welding equipment. If it's you, learn to weld at higher levels. My instructors were pipewelders who took a couple years off the road to chill because they had kids. They went back on the road, one of them with his new wife he taught to fit for him. They make well over100K/year and take a couple of months off the road when they feel like it to break horses on his (paid for) farm. He could TIG the proverbial cat's ass to a plate glass window and has plenty of powerplant/boiler/nuke experience. He plans to retire at fifty.

Flip side of that is the students with less talent making about 25/30K doing mostly horizontal MIG welds in the trailer factory nearby. (It's easier to make flat welds look nice so the plant flips the tacked trailer frames with a forklift as needed. Works very well.) They don't make much but enjoy welding and it's cheap to live in SC.

We've had quite a few of our good students pass their 6G hiring tests immediately, hit the road, and return with smiling faces and pay stubs. They enjoyed their craft so much they'd come by to help students for fun.

Metal fume fever isn't mandatory. That's why PPE exists. Old rednecks who thought PPE is gay will pay for their mistakes.

Another useful forum for those interested in rig welding:

http://rigwelder.com/forum/

>>1110423
>>1110876
>muh no true scotsman
>there are no downsides to welding as a career ever

Maybe you should be on a welding forum to feed your confirmation bias.
Who wants discussion right?