Lessons I learned while welding today.

Welding above you is always a bad idea, its too bad its necessary so often (which is why lifts and rotisseries are so nice). No matter how good your equipment is that slag falling on you always seems to find the seam, hole, weak spot or whatever.

I've burned so many holes in myself welding I've lost track, some were definitely because of lax safety equipment, some were just bad luck. But by far the worst was when I had a piece of slag bounce into my ear. Don't know how it happened, but there was nothing to be done about it, it burned itself out in my ear canal. Really an awful feeling knowing whats happening and not being able to do anything about it, couldn't shake it out or reach it. Hurt for weeks!