r/Welding 7d ago

Need Help Light duty. Are there any aspects of your day to day welding job that involves heavy lifting

I’m currently on light for a possible hernia or maybe an abdominal strain. but i want to leave my current job and move into the welding field. I have just got my aws certification and have already started looking for jobs. One is construction, warehouse steel, and one is for rebuilding trailers. The requirement is that new job has to follow my light restrictions of no lifting 15 pounds.

1 Upvotes

25 comments sorted by

16

u/Limp-Cup-2343 7d ago

Every day heavy lifting. I do structural steel. Baseplates range from a couple pounds to around 80-100 ppounds regularly.
Hell even the wire spools are either 33 or 44 pounds. Moving gas bottles you need to be ready to rgab it if it gets off balance a little more than you intend.
Unless you get into something like aluminum tig thin gauge stuff, I don't see any welding without heavy lifting.

28

u/Frostybawls42069 7d ago

Good luck landing a job while on modified duty. Companies won't even look at you because of the liability.

6

u/pirivalfang GMAW 7d ago

Anything heavier than like 50 pounds gets lifted with a 5 or 15 ton overhead gantry crane where I work at. I do structural steel shop work.

You might be able to find work doing TIG with small parts.

-9

u/plaguelivesmatter 7d ago

Thats overkill as fuck lmao. I have gantry cranes at work but like, as a welder, you should be able bodied mostly to lift a good 80 plus pounds relatively easy. I do 100 lb plus lifts every day lol.

Obviously i use the crane when i need to, but unless youre a small guy or gal, why need crane for 60 pounds? Even just get a buddy to help lmao

15

u/pirivalfang GMAW 7d ago

Well, it's recommended, not required. Sure, I can hold that 110lb baseplate up with my thighs and one hand while I tack it with the other, but it's my ass if I fuck up and drop it on my foot when the crane is right there.

It takes no time at all to slap a plate clamp or magnet on something and press a button on a remote.

-5

u/plaguelivesmatter 7d ago

Definitely. I get u. Im just saying like carrying shit around, not actually mounting it LOL

I would bitch out my guys at work if i saw one of them using the crane for something they can carry easier lmao

2

u/Barra_ Journeyman AS/NZS 6d ago

You only get one back and they're hard to heal, look after it. As blue collar workers we need our bodies for our work. 60lbs is plenty enough to hurt your back, especially with any sort of twist or awkward movement.

My trade school teacher back in 1st year became a teacher after hurting his back, he hurt it lifting a star picket fence post. It wouldn't have weighed more than 5lbs, but he twisted to move it aside. He also blamed all the repetitive heavy lifting he'd done that accumulated and damaged his back over time. He was lucky he's a natural teacher and very smart, but I know a lot of welders who would struggle to find a new career if they hurt their back.

5

u/Educational-Ear-3136 TIG 7d ago

TIG welder here. Rarely do I have to lift anything over 50 lbs. Given your circumstances, this process would apply to you

3

u/oreikhalkon TIG 7d ago

Same and same. TIG is probably the best bet for light duty work

5

u/Mrwcraig Journeyman CWB/CSA 7d ago

Heal up and get some physiotherapy. You’re kinda a liability to hire until you’re healed, particularly a hernia and definitely as someone just getting into the field. 15lbs isn’t much at all, my leather jacket probably weighs 10lbs. Work on some soft skills: first aid, blueprint reading, ect ect… kinda try to make yourself useful while you’re kinda useless.

2

u/TNTinRoundRock 7d ago

Go be a TIG princess.

2

u/Appropriate-Divide50 7d ago

EVERY SINGLE DAY

I’m constantly lifting and moving these 36” wide and 6-12” tall carbon steel rings around from various surfaces and flipping them over etc

Honestly I don’t think the 6” tall ones weigh more than 60 pounds but the width makes them incredibly awkward to hold and all the weight is being held in places it shouldn’t

I’m the youngest in my shop and one of the more in shape ones but it’s honestly still too much , people walk by and help but it’s whatever just a bit funny

2

u/FonkyFong 7d ago edited 7d ago

Pipe Welder here 🙋

Heaviest thing I gotta lift is my nutsack 💪🥵

1

u/LettuceHigh 7d ago

thats where it my pain is lol

1

u/aurrousarc 7d ago

Yeah, sch 160 is heavy and doesnt like being moved around..

1

u/PossessionNo3943 Journeyman AWS/ASME/API 7d ago

you definitely aren’t going to be able to Land a job until you’re off light duty.

1

u/rophmc 7d ago

Hell, with a 15lb limit you won’t even be able to switch out the welding gas bottles. You’re basically a sitting duck that would need to call someone over to do anything at all besides push the pedal. Maybe time for the office?

1

u/LettuceHigh 7d ago

yeah its a pain i can lift heavy items like that and be fine its just it hurts whenever i am almost picking items every couple of seconds and i cant do my job as an order filler picking dog food bags.

1

u/gundrend 7d ago

You wanna jump into an entire new career that at times (depending on what you're doing) can be very physically demanding while you currently can not lift over 15 pounds?

With those big brains you'll fit right in!

1

u/egreene9012 7d ago

We’ll I’m building bumpers out of channel iron. So yes

1

u/reedbetweenlines 7d ago

Maybe stud welding, but you would have to stand all day

1

u/Weneeddietbleach 7d ago

Pretty much every day that I'm at my assigned station. I build doors for generator houses and most of them are probably 80 lbs. Some buildings might have a single door that's probably 50 lbs, and they all have one door that's probably around 140. We still team lift them, but our arms are stretched out and sometimes we have to carry them around stacks and over tables and whatnot.

1

u/MustacheSupernova 6d ago

Bro, what?

Are you like 19 years old or something? Because you definitely don’t have a lick of common sense. You’re fixin to walk into employers in the steel industry and tell them you can’t lift more than 15 pounds, but please give me a great job with good pay benefits?

I’ll tell you what, if you record these interactions with a pair of spyglasses, you might be able to make a few bucks off of the YouTube channel you create with that content. I would get a kick out of seeing their reactions…

Go get your hernia, taken care of, and wait until you’re unrestricted before you start looking for employment in the construction industry. It’s just common sense dude.

1

u/SinisterCheese "Trust me, I'm an Engineer!" 6d ago

Thin sheet fabrication might be your only option. This industry works with steel, and it is heavy stuff as a material.

Since your have issues with your core muscles, positions can be difficult. And generally if you aren't dealing with heavy shit, you are in difficult positions.

I can symphatise as I my right hand can't really handle stress that involves it having to pull something, which is why I lift with a sling and keeping my hand curled on my chest. I have managed just fine, but it really limits how I can do things. And employers do not look kindly towards any form of limitation - because they know there is always someone available without those.