My first welder burn from my first solo day welding (through my shirt no less).
I'm semi-dark so I've probably only sun-burned about 3 times in my life, so you can imagine my shock when I went to scratch my massive (and massively red) biceps and got a nice sting 
(picture does not do this red behemoth justice 
)
Whatever on you tig-burn. I just joined three pieces of stainless steel with white hot electrical fire 
Anyone else being punished for their good times?
yeah i get weld burned every once in a while being stupid welding in a t-shirt and sandals when it's hot out.
Worst weld burn ever, is a piece of red hot slag falling in your ear. You can feel it burn, you can hear it sizzle but you can't get to it to save your life.
Don't worry it'll stop sizzling eventually. 
The burn takes a little longer to go away.
I've had spark bites pretty much everywhere. Most concerning was a chunk of slag that kept working its way down as I moved, eventually landing on my hootus. I let them burn my belly now.
Worst was one that worked its way into my shoe past the tongue and left a pretty good sized burn on the top of my foot. Try to make a burn heal up inside a work boot...took a month or more.
The sunburn is no joke. There is a pretty good reason why welders wear leather protective gear.
I actually set my pants/hootus on fire once when welding.
Don't drink and weld.
Of those listed, I think the ear burn would scar me the most (the sizzle brings it to a whole new level!)
Don't drink and weld
Keep slag away from hootus
And a long sleeve shirt that covers up to your neck. No "V" neck shirts or T shirts. I have some MilSurp BDU's and some NBC cover shirts that work great. I don't weld without one of them on.
Thin white tshirt, sunburnt nipples. Forgot that one.
Buy an apron you heathens.
sunburned nipples!?! That's a thing?
The mental image of what that'd be like has me rolling
Congrats on your welding burn, cold showers and aloe vera help heaps
Also, don't weld in shorts or thongs (call them flip flops if you must)
Have had welding burn on the top of my feet several times, also had slag he stuck between my toes and also between my thongs and the soles of my feet.
Also avoid welding whilst under a car on jack stands while laying on a creeper.... I nearly knocked myself out when a few beads of slag got thru my hat and started burning my scalp.
daeman wrote: Also, don't weld in shorts or thongs (call them flip flops if you must)
Or the other kind. Think of the hootus
I will heartily second the slag in the ear. This is something I wish forever not to be repeated.
There are a lot of things you shouldn't do in a thong.
daeman wrote: Congrats on your welding burn, cold showers and aloe vera help heaps Also, don't weld in shorts or thongs (call them flip flops if you must) Have had welding burn on the top of my feet several times, also had slag he stuck between my toes and also between my thongs and the soles of my feet. Also avoid welding whilst under a car on jack stands while laying on a creeper.... I nearly knocked myself out when a few beads of slag got thru my hat and started burning my scalp.
thongs have a totally different meaning to most of us 
Cutting stuff up with an oxy/act setup. Sunglasses? check, long sleeve shirt? check, heavy gloves? check, proper footwear? ummm what's that smell?
Yeah, I've caught a mesh/cloth top tennis shoes on fire cutting with a torch. You think that piece of slag was hot... knew I had gotten a piece of slag in there, and shook it up towards the toes gave it a moment then went back to not thinking about it. Next thing you know I'm doing the get this thing off of me dance. (I did snuff the torch against the piece of metal I was working on before tossing it, though I'm not sure if it was 100% on purpose)
Oh, so you think boots will save you? Hahahahahahahahah. I've had slag burn through the hem of my jeans and fall right past my ankle and just.... sit there and cook for a bit, held there nice and tight by my "protective" boots. Between that lil bit of fun, and the soundtrack of the slag in the ear, I reckon it's just as well I don't weld for a living. Weld sparks, ya see, are sentient and evil. EEEEEEVVVIIIIILLLllllll. My last ER visit was due to a spark that somehow bounced off the work, searched for an opportunity, and put in the effort required to jump up and backward with the precise aim needed to get under my helmet and with a mighty, final effort, park in my eye. By then it was almost spent and it wasn't til later I figured out there was a problem. No lasting damage but it was unpleasant. Now I wear safety glasses under my welding helmet and care not the least if it looks stupid!
Laying under a car and a bit of hot something I was welding dropped onto the inside of my bicep. I couldn't reach it or wiggle out from under the car fast enough, so I started blowing on it to put it out.
That just pissed it off.
24 years later I still have the mark..... 
Jay_W wrote: Oh, so you think boots will save you? Hahahahahahahahah. I've had slag burn through the hem of my jeans and fall right past my ankle and just.... sit there and cook for a bit, held there nice and tight by my "protective" boots. Between that lil bit of fun, and the soundtrack of the slag in the ear, I reckon it's just as well I don't weld for a living. Weld sparks, ya see, are sentient and evil. EEEEEEVVVIIIIILLLllllll. My last ER visit was due to a spark that somehow bounced off the work, searched for an opportunity, and put in the effort required to jump up and backward with the precise aim needed to get under my helmet and with a mighty, final effort, park in my eye. By then it was almost spent and it wasn't til later I figured out there was a problem. No lasting damage but it was unpleasant. Now I wear safety glasses under my welding helmet and care not the least if it looks stupid!
in my welding class, we were required to wear safety glasses (even under our helmets)
My dad, iirc, had some hit him in the eye. That's the way he told it. I'm thinking a cool chip of metal fell off and got stuck in there. Had to have it removed with a magnet. Still has the scar. Kind of funny looking. No further damage. I've never gotten my self too bad while welding. I just pick up hot metal like a dumb E36 M3 sometimes.
You burn has nothing on my "cooking baccon while naked" burn. Don't worry. It was on my tummy.
glad you're happy?
Hungary Bill wrote: Don't drink and weld - got it
False. You need 1.5 drinks in you to steady your hand. Your welds are better with a little buzz.
If you lie under the car and weld overhead, you will eventually drop a spark on a sensitive part of your body. At this point you will reflexively jerk your head up in an attempt to escape. Of course you will then smack head on underside of car causing you to jerk head back down. And smack head on ground.
Repeat until you pass out and pain stops.
In response to Hungary Bill:
Back in the early seventies I worked in a general machine shop and became proficient on all machine tools and welding equipment, including TIG. One day I was on a TIG production job for 8 hours. At the end of the day it was as if I had laid on the beach all day without sun block. I know how you feel!
Oddly enough, I never really get UV or slag burns. Probably because most welding I do is working outside, wearing sunblock. The little bits of flying slag (mostly flux core) never really bothered me much, it just stings a little and bounces off, maybe the arm and leg hair helps? Most of my welding injuries stem from forgetting that no longer glowing=/=no longer hot.
You'll need to log in to post.
