Welding is Difficult

In welding class we have a project that we have to complete in order to pass, therefore this project is difficult as it is a step-up from what we have been doing previously. Before we would just have to weld two pieces together, make a small box, or just keep two pieces together with whatever means you want. But now, we have to stack beads on top of beads. This means you must move your arm at the perfect speed, and wiggle the wire at perfect intervals in order to produce a good looking bead, which is very difficult to do consecutively. Not only do you have to be able to create a good bead, but you have to be able to put beads perfectly next to one another and then stack more beads on top of the previous beads. At least when you were creating the previous beads, you had a flat material to work on to prevent sputter, but now you have to use your previous bead as your base, which is incredibly difficult to work with and create good beads.

The teacher, Mr. Mac, explained the project multiple times and every time I didn’t fully understand what he was asking. The way he explained it didn’t make any sense to me and everyone seemed to understand. Right after the teacher, Mr. Mac, sent everyone else racing to work, I refused to ask further questions as I thought it would make me look stupid and I was worried Mr. Mac would get annoyed.

So, I went off to work as well, making multiple attempts at my project, and I ended up bringing it back to Mr. Mac to get feedback. He looked at me, let out a big sigh, and yelled, “WHAT IS THAT?”, and then called everyone over to the table and proceeded to say, “I am tired of having to say this”. He then explained the project just as he did before, and it still didn’t make sense to me. But I figured I was already humiliated enough, so I just asked my questions and got the clarification I needed. If I would’ve asked my questions beforehand, I could have avoided the embarrassment and gotten the project done earlier.

“Welding Beads” by smallcamerajournal is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0