I'm asking you to imagine you're a pipe welder, and then think about everything you can do with that skill.Pipe is everywhere and it comes in many sizes and metals. Pipe used for transferring oil like the pipeline which was blocked (temporarily) by the President, are what we normally think of when pipe welding gets mentioned. The processes for welding carbon steel pipelines vary. Traditionally, stick welding or SMAW (Shielded Metal Arc Welding) is used to weld pipe joints. Stick is the original welding process. It wasn't widely used until World War ll, when it was most famously used to build Liberty Ships at record speeds.Stick welding is losing some ground.Stick welding is being replaced by flux core welding, which is a wire with a flux coating. The welder simply pulls the trigger and the wire progresses out the tip of the gun. This process saves time because the welder seldom has to stop. Stick welding requires the welder to stop as each stick becomes a short stub, to put a new stick in the jaws. Some people would have you think stick is dead. It isn't - far from it. It lives on because it can easily and quickly be set up, requires almost no maintenance, it is versatile, and economical.TIG or what used to be called heliarc welding is another very versatile process.TIG is sometimes used for the root pass or first pass on a pipe joint for a pipe that is carbon steel. This is because TIG is extremely strong. TIG is used to weld aluminum and stainless steel pipe. Stainless is commonly used in food manufacturing plants. A welder with his own rig, and who contracts with the factory, will typically charge $100 or more an hour.
