Welding is a four-week course which includes classroom and lab work. The course teaches the common welding processes and skills needed for a variety of maintenance and repair activities aboard maritime vessels. Safety, basic metallurgy, welding theory, and associated classroom activities are presented each morning. The remainder of each morning, and the afternoons, are devoted to the hands-on practice of various welding techniques and for increasing individual proficiency. The course emphasizes all position maintenance welding using the SMAW (stick electrode) process on structural steel. Other processes covered and practiced are GTAW (TIG), GMAW (MIG), FCAW (flux cored wire-feed), OAW (gas welding), OAC (oxy-acetylene cutting), PAC (plasma-arc cutting), soldering, brazing, and exothermic welding. Various welding processes are also practiced with non-ferrous alloys, especially aluminum and copper. Proper repair techniques for dealing with cast iron parts, building up and hard surfacing of wearing parts, and distortion control during welding will also be discussed, demonstrated, and practiced. Basic metallurgy, welding codes & specifications, standards-of-practice, welding terminology, blueprint symbols, process selection criteria, stray current protection, job setup, stress control, care and maintenance of welding equipment, personnel safety standards, and work site precautions will be reviewed and practiced. Course proficiencies are based upon AWS standard D1.1 Structural Welding Code-Steel. Students desiring a structural welding certification will be offered an opportunity based on their assessed performance in the welding lab.

Course Capacity: 12 students

Prerequisites: None

Special Requirements: Students should bring an adequate supply of work clothes appropriate for wear in a welding shop, including safety shoes, long-sleeved cotton shirt, and non-synthetic long pants. Other PPE will be supplied.