John Martin Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Hey, this is a dumb question, but I can't remember. I'm a new welder still However, I think I'm getting the hang of it. I'm picking up a new welder either this week or next week. A cheap but functional one. If i wanted to weld, I'd attach the ground clamp to my welding table and i could then use clamps to hold down the metal and then just weld right? Now what would I get shocked by if i like touched the table or pieces. I can't remember.....and i don't meet my teacher again for like a week. Just can't remember. Sorrry, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dean Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Wear gloves and make sure they are dry and you should have no problems. I worked with a father/son duo back in the 70's & 80's in a pressure vessel shop. They were working in a vessel, one fitting the other tacking, and the son accidentally touched his dad on the forehead with the end of a rod. You can still hear the echo from him hollering! The old man said it nearly welded his fillings in his teeth together. Good luck with the new welder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 IForgeIron > Forum > Welding > Good Ground connections for welding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philip in china Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I finally got my buzz box mains lead hard wired in so it no longer rubs on the edge of the welding bench. Also the locals will find it harder to "borrow" now. Next job is to make up a maybe 10' welder cable with a 30 amp clamp on each end so I can ground stuff too big to fit on the welding bench. My ground is excellent nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooseRidge Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I agree with Thomas.... dry gloves are a must. Most of the welding I do is in the field, so no jigs or big clamps. Usually just hold the piece in position and weld away.... used both 100 and 225 amp welders (the 225 may tingle occasionly):D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rawblacksmith Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 or not....be the ground! i have always done just about everything barefoot; from training horses to welding....everything except rollerskating!!! only this week have i felt current from the clamp...put on shoes? no! solved by sitting on a wooden mechanic's creeper! when i was in school, the welding instructor demonstrated the complete safety of arc welding by touching everybody with the stick...oi, nebraska! sure, everybody is appalled at my barefoot state, but it came in handy to find an electrical fault that the "electrician" had made.... i had made some hay racks for the horses that had shoots going up to the hay loft...so hay could be dropped all the way down thru to the horse...one attachment point was the conduit. when the "electrician" wired up the barn, he somehow made the conduit hot. when the horses wouldn't eat, i found the short too...becauses i was barefoot. the "electrician" wouldn't believe he had made such a mistake because he couldn't feel it...until i told him to take his shoes off! then he decided to check his work instead and found the hot conduit connection!! thanks for the lesson in making sure the grinder doesn't fry!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 It makes one wonder why they make test instruments to detect electrical faults. Safety precautions are to insure you go home under your own power (and in one piece) at the end of the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 It is helpful if your shoes are dry, as well. Especially if they have leather soles. I've only felt the buzz once. I was welding in a packing house cooler and the scaffolding was standing in a puddle of water. Feet were dry, but I was sitting on the metal frame of the scaffolding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Just make sure you are not forming part of the circuit between the rod and the earth clamp, I found this out when welding fairground rides on site when kneeling on the metal flooring and putting the rod in the holder without wearing gloves. I prefer to get a buzz in other ways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Kelley Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 After I retired from the USAF I took some welding courses at Solano County Community College near Suisun City, CA. There was a bench outside the shop that we called the "Crying Bench". You went and sat on the crying bench when your welding wasn't going too good and you needed a break to regroup and try again. I was having a bad day one time so I went out and sat on the bench for a couple of minutes. It had rained so the bench was a little damp. Not enough to really get wet but enough to dampen the seat of my pants. I went back inside and sat down on the metal seat in my metal booth (the table and seat were all steel and the ground was connected to them). I grabbed my stinger barehanded and the shock hit me in the seat of the pants. Tingled something fierce until I let go of the stinger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Tingled something fierce until I let go of the stinger. That must have been the crying part (grin) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aametalmaster Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 I weld outside and since the sun dosen't shine 365 days a year in Ohio some days are in the rain or snow. I get shocked alot, so much i now take heart meds because my heart has an electrical short in it and i kept failing my physical at work so wonder how my heart got screwed up? Anyway i lay the rods on a board now when changing them out because everything on me is always wet. And my mig welder in the hot summertime always bites me also when it is humid out...Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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