# Know any strange welders?



## Crofter (Jul 17, 2004)

This might explain why welders are so strange.

Frank


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## Tom Dunlap (Jul 17, 2004)

A while ago I was reading a forum for people who work with metal. Foundry, blacksmiths, welding, etc.

The person who started a thread brought up the linguistic point that a "welder" is the machine or gases that weld metal. A "weldor"is the person. I don't remember the etymoligical roots but it is correct. 

Or maybe this is just another case of "double fisherman's knot/hitch" stuff 

Tom


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## MasterBlaster (Jul 17, 2004)

Were you a weldor once, Tom?


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## Tom Dunlap (Jul 17, 2004)

I consider myself an arbo. But I'll put my welding skills up against any weldor's arbo skills and confidently bet money that I come out on top.

Welding such a cool thing to do. Grab the heat of the sun and stick metal together. Fix and fabricate stuff. My skills come from looking over the shoulder of some good weldors who had the patience to coach me. There's something about carrying on a conversation while wearing a hood. A high school metals class and practice too. It's been pretty rare to have any of my weld's break. Some have torn out the base metal from over using the piece. That means that I add gussets or fish plate the tears. 

There has been a few of times when I had to have some welding done in shops. You can imagine my frustration when the welds come back looking worse than the "grapes" that I can hang on metal. 

I can relate to what the author said. Snapping down the hood puts me in another world. Striking an arc keeps anyone else out of my world. 

One of the guys who was in a mountaineering class with me had just mustered out of the Navy as a weldor. He told about competitions where they would lay out a bunch of pop cans and see who could weld more together without burning through in a set time. Now that's heat control. 

Tom


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## MasterBlaster (Jul 17, 2004)

When I worked offshore, I was envious of the weldors. Especially the subs. They were paid by the hour, the whole time they were out there. And they were on the clock 'til their foot hit shore.

They even got paid to sleep. Overtime pay.


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## Crofter (Jul 18, 2004)

Perhaps what attracts a person to welding has an attached set of characteristics that identifys them in other ways. You do have to fit into a team, but after you snap the hood down, it is your show. I bet treeclimbers have a bunch of quirks too that are associated with their choice of occupation or vice verse!

Frank,

I wonder what makes it tick!


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## BlackSmith (Jul 23, 2004)

Thanks Frank...that .doc has explained what years of therapy couldn't....lol

Tom...Farmer/Farmor...?


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## Crofter (Jul 23, 2004)

Blacksmith; I have spent a few years in the solitary confinemnt of the welding hood too. 
I thought someone might take up on the possibilty that some of the treeclimbers here might be acting out some primeval instincts. Sure seems to be a few throwbacks! What ya think Masterblaster?

Frank


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## BlackSmith (Jul 23, 2004)

oh yeah...I think I see where ya coming from Frank...excessive tree time=altered state of mind... 

just kid'n MasterB...lol


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## WRW (Jul 23, 2004)

Just FWIW, welder is a person that welds, whose work is welding, or a machine used in welding. Weldor is one whose work is welding.
Touring the Bowman distillery, the manager was quite proud to show the stills had been welded using explosives (dissimilar metals)....fascinating!


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## Tom Dunlap (Jul 24, 2004)

Help me with the grammer here. How are these different?

welder is a person that welds, 

Weldor is one whose work is welding.

I got to weld up some new gear loops for my saddle yesterday. There was a worn out climbing saddle that donated it's 1.5" d-rings. The belt slot got cut off leaving only the D. Then I took some 3" long mending strips, the ones with four 1/4" holes. Used on strap on the inside and sandwiched the waist belt on my Saddle X between the plates. Now I have fixed loops instead of those big webbing loops. 

It sounds like a repeat of the same thing  

Tom


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## WRW (Jul 24, 2004)

LOL. I guess weldor is exclusive of machinery or those who weld for sport or personal use, while welder is all inclusive.

I'd like to be able to say I weld, but I haven't gotten past pop-rivets.


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## Crofter (Jul 24, 2004)

I would have to look back in the thread to see who started the semantic quibbling. Seems we can now add Tom to the group with Glen and Russ. ( apologies to any others of note I overlook) lol! Tom you better stop bastardizing your climbiing equipment or Rocky gonna be all over you with hob nailed boots!

My understanding is that in the US the word welder serves to describe both a machine for the welding process and the person who operates it. In great Britain it was er ending for machine and or for person who uses it.

Frank


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## pallis (Jul 24, 2004)

I love welding and making the things I need around the place, but I don't work at it anymore. Am I a welder, or a weldor? I don't speak British.


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## Tom Dunlap (Jul 24, 2004)

Here's a poem about a weldor:

http://www.pacificnet.net/~sonia/welding.html

Lawnsite couldn't answer the question either:

http://www.************/showthread/t-51416.html

They're struggling with the language in North Africa too:

Welder's Handbook
As a recent newcomer to welding, I have discovered this book has taught me a lot of valuable information about the various techniques of the art of welding. The information supplied is well thought out and, combined with useful charts, facts and figures, this book is good enough for the would-be professional and home welder (or weldor!). Read the book to understand. more...

Written by Richard Finch , Tom Monroe
Price $15.95

and...

Audel Pipefitter's & Welder's Pocket Manual

In the end, e or o, it's just a bit of spatter in the whole course of the day.

Tom


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## pallis (Jul 24, 2004)

Another good book is Welding/ Principles and Applications, by Larry Jeffus and Harold Johnson. I got it years ago while taking a course in TIG welding, and I've seldom needed another source for information.


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## sedanman (Jul 24, 2004)

The man that taught me to weld siad " A welder uses a welding machine". He always referred to the hardware as a welding machine. I call myself and the machine a welder. The guy that taught me was a nuclear certified welder..........AND HE WAS NUTS!


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## rb_in_va (Jul 24, 2004)

When I was a machinist, I worked alongside many welders. Never have I heard them call themselves weldors. Of course, they may not have been the best spellers (spellors?) either. And most of them were strange.


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## cybergeek23851 (Jul 25, 2004)

Pallis, In the 5th ed. of that book, you forgot Jon Cookson as an author, better known as a welding teacher that will start the school year with you and then abandon you. He started out with us in september, and by october, he high-tailed it back to Norfolk to teach. He left us teacher-less for two months. But god now the last teacher we had, he was   . He taught me Mig welding, Brazing, Oxy/Acet welding, and cutting, plasma cutting, Arc Air gouging, SMAW welding: 6010, 7018 and even helped me get Bend Test certified on 1/2 in mild steel horizontal position. 



> Another good book is Welding/ Principles and Applications, by Larry Jeffus and Harold Johnson



However that and the Welders Handbook are two of the best texbook resources on the market in my opinion.


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## pallis (Jul 25, 2004)

Yeap! You can tell how old I am. My book is the 2nd edition. I majored in English, but always tried to slip in at least one welding course per semester. I got hooked on TIG, and spent most of my free time using the university's Argon. Stick is all I do these days. It's getting so that I have to be three feet away from something before I can see it clearly.


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## Paul Downes (Jul 30, 2004)

*welderors*

I think welders or weldors are nuts from breathing all that stuff for all those years. I should know I've been welding and instructing for many years. (mig process)


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## MasterBlaster (Jul 30, 2004)

Them, and chemistry teachers.


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## Al Smith (Aug 1, 2004)

*Welders[weldors]?*

Early on in my working experiance,I had state of Ohio certification on strutural steel and pressure piping{stick,root,hot pass and cover].I still do it ,but for my own needs,electrical work is easier on the bod.,and pays a little better.


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## Tom Dunlap (Aug 2, 2004)

*Underhood welder*

Is this a trivia thread or Off topic?

Take a look at this junkyard welder setup. Looks good!

http://www.turbomustangs.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=8872


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## glens (Aug 2, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Tom Dunlap _
> *Help me with the grammer here. How are these different?
> 
> welder is a person that welds, *


Yes, a welder is a person who welds.&nbsp; If he uses some sort of specialized machine to do so, it would be a welding machine.&nbsp; The welder is always the person doing the welding; not the mechanism(s) employed (unless maybe robotics are under consideration).



> *Weldor is one whose work is welding.*


That is not a word in the English language.

The closest <a href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=89724&dict=CALD" target="_blank">Cambridge (UK) Dictionary entry</a> to that word (try entering <i>weldor</i> once).

This is a bit more cut-and-dried, but I reckon if a guy who welds wants to call himself a weldor, it would be akin to a guy who fells trees calling himself a faller.&nbsp; I don't want to argue with either of them.&nbsp; They can believe the facts or not.

This ain't quibbling; it's basic communication stuff.

Glen


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## WRW (Aug 2, 2004)

Glen,
Common usage dictates the existance of a word. A dictionary will reflect that usage. As words fall from existence in common usage, they fall from existence in the dictionary. New words are added annually.

Try a dogpile search for weldor and see if it is in common use. 

I found it in a Webster's Collegiate dictionary. I'd like to think Websters is reflective of the English Language. Shoot, I'd like to think that I speak the English language, though many would disagree.


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## glens (Aug 2, 2004)

I agree to a certain extent about how words come into being.&nbsp; But by that rationale, "would have" becomes "would of"; "for all intents and purposes" becomes "for all intensive purposes"; the distinctions between "their, there, they're", "your, you're", and "to, two, too" all become lost; and we end up with "ATM machine", "PIN number", and "RPMs".&nbsp; All of which are flat out wrong, stupid, or redundant, in no particular order.

I don't have access to Webster's Collegiate.&nbsp; In fact, I don't have access to <i>any</i> printed dictionaries at this time.&nbsp; I primarily go to http://www.dict.org/ (which has the old standby Webster's and several newer databases) when I have a question.&nbsp; It knew nothing about "weldor".&nbsp; Since it was suggested it was a British thing, I went to the online dictionary referenced above, which also knows nothing about the word.

I'd better get back to the task of being a carpentor now...

Glen


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## WRW (Aug 2, 2004)

Ain't is a good example of common usage. It is in Websters.


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## dave1 (Aug 4, 2004)

*strange welders*

Hi guys, If all the things you say are true then a feller, and a faller are the same . yes. But a female tree cutter could not be a feller could she. I f you were 6'6 and a man could you be a tall tree feller. I think so . Language is designed to aide in comunication. If you understand what the intent is, you will understand the direction that the conversation is going , and that will reach the goal, of comunication. I was told that in the 50s if you were to look up the word computer in the dictionary you would find " someone that computes, I remember movies that refer to a place as " a Gay od time " or we had a gay old time. Couldnt say that any more. could we. or the song by John couger "Back when a smoke was a smoke. Things change , got to stay in the fast lane . See ya ...........Dave1


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## glens (Aug 4, 2004)

Although she could never be a fellow she <i>would</i> be a feller regardless the appellation she chose.

You make an interesting point about computers.&nbsp; So now one who computes would be known as a computor?&nbsp; Hahaha!


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## Tom Dunlap (Aug 5, 2004)

Glen,

The website that I found the home-built TIG machine on was populated by people who melt metal together. MANY of them called themselves weld-O-rs. 

When I grab my leathers and hood I call myself a welderor. That way, both bases are covered 

Tom


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## glens (Aug 5, 2004)

10,000 Frenchmen can't be wrong, right Tom?&nbsp; Hey, you wouldn't happen to be of Swiss heritage, would you?

I hope you all are having as much serious fun with this as I am.

Glen


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## Tom Dunlap (Aug 5, 2004)

No Swiss...Swedish/Polish for the most part. Dunlap is the American way of spelling the Scotch name Dunlop " a fort on a small hill"

Tom


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## glens (Aug 5, 2004)

Tom,

I'd had in mind the "let's not take a side" quality of your last welderator bit; I guess my humor can be a bit subtle at times.&nbsp; My not common family name's in the right-hand column <a href="http://dict.leo.org/?search=sanft&searchLoc=0&relink=on&spellToler=standard&sectHdr=on&tableBorder=1&cmpType=relaxed&lang=en" target="_blank">here</a>...

In a mildly relevant way, I was involved in some <a href="http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?postid=177127&perpage=20&highlight=scotch&pagenumber=2" target="_blank">discussion</a> recently about a scolding (by some of their neighbors) for the use of the adjective "Scotch".

Glen


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## Tom Dunlap (Aug 5, 2004)

Glen,

Printed humor is way too subtle to get without some help 

I read your post about your Coon Cat. If I were to ever pay for a cat that would be my choice. A friend of mine in MN got a pair and they were the coolest.

Tolkien and Scourge will have to do. For free, they're great fun!

Tom


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## spacemule (Aug 7, 2004)

> _Originally posted by glens _
> *I agree to a certain extent about how words come into being.&nbsp; But by that rationale, "would have" becomes "would of"; "for all intents and purposes" becomes "for all intensive purposes"; the distinctions between "their, there, they're", "your, you're", and "to, two, too" all become lost; and we end up with "ATM machine", "PIN number", and "RPMs".&nbsp; All of which are flat out wrong, stupid, or redundant, in no particular order.
> 
> I don't have access to Webster's Collegiate.&nbsp; In fact, I don't have access to <i>any</i> printed dictionaries at this time.&nbsp; I primarily go to http://www.dict.org/ (which has the old standby Webster's and several newer databases) when I have a question.&nbsp; It knew nothing about "weldor".&nbsp; Since it was suggested it was a British thing, I went to the online dictionary referenced above, which also knows nothing about the word.
> ...


http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=weldor&x=0&y=0<p><p>
<font color = green>This is an excellent online reference dictionary. It contains all the words that are in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate dictionary.</font>


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## WRW (Aug 7, 2004)

Even better is the unabridged dictionary. Wish I had a desk copy. You'd think that, with a wife that works in a library,...


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## spacemule (Aug 7, 2004)

Yeah, I've been wanting an Oxford English unabridged dictionary for a couple of years now, and I've been watching them on Ebay. The only problem is, you need a magnifying glass to read them (the condensed version), and they go for at least $50--more than I want to spend right now.


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