I have a few repairs to make that would necessitate some welding. I could do it differently, for example with pop rivets, but I take this opportunity to learn welding. However I'm a bit concerned about the unhealthy part of the process, in particular breathing carcinogen fumes. Is there a way to mitigate those risks ? I'm talking specifically about: Shielded metal arc welding, a.k.a stick welding.
How unhealthy is arc welding
welding
Best Answer
Breathing the vapors is not a good thing. Especially with galvanized metal. It is important to have proper ventilation. Many times when working indoors I use a small fan pointed above the work to move the fumes away and not disturb my shielding gas (wire welding & TIG). When stick welding the fan really has little affect. Breathing the "smoke" caused by welding can cause serious lung problems as it is full of vaporized metal. I work with guys my age that have been professional welders for 30+ years and other than galvanized work they never use a fan or respirator. They laugh at me for my little fan. Welding is a great skill to have and can save you thousands (or if like me you might get bigger and bigger units. On my farm I have repaired all kinds of stuff that would have been recycled if I did not know how to weld. I usually grind the paint so there are less bad things to breathe and use a small 4" fan that has a magnetic base.