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51-4121.00 · Task explorer

Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers: reported tasks and exploration worksheet

Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand-soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.

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This source lists 30 tasks, including 21 marked Core and 8 marked Supplemental. Labels and dates are retained below. Employers can combine or divide these responsibilities differently; explore the task itself before assuming it belongs in every version of the role.

Task source dates: 08/2022, 11/2020.

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30 tasks shown

Core · Task 23583 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Operate safety equipment and use safe work habits.

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Core · Task 23584 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Examine workpieces for defects and measure workpieces with straightedges or templates to ensure conformance with specifications.

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Core · Task 23582 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Weld components in flat, vertical, or overhead positions.

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Core · Task 23600 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Detect faulty operation of equipment or defective materials and notify supervisors.

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Core · Task 23585 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Recognize, set up, and operate hand and power tools common to the welding trade, such as shielded metal arc and gas metal arc welding equipment.

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Core · Task 23587 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Select and install torches, torch tips, filler rods, and flux, according to welding chart specifications or types and thicknesses of metals.

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Core · Task 23592 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Mark or tag material with proper job number, piece marks, and other identifying marks as required.

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Core · Task 23590 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Determine required equipment and welding methods, applying knowledge of metallurgy, geometry, and welding techniques.

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Core · Task 23594 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Prepare all material surfaces to be welded, ensuring that there is no loose or thick scale, slag, rust, moisture, grease, or other foreign matter.

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Core · Task 23596 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Align and clamp workpieces together, using rules, squares, or hand tools, or position items in fixtures, jigs, or vises.

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Core · Task 23589 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Connect and turn regulator valves to activate and adjust gas flow and pressure so that desired flames are obtained.

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Core · Task 23599 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Position and secure workpieces, using hoists, cranes, wire, and banding machines or hand tools.

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Core · Task 23602 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Melt and apply solder along adjoining edges of workpieces to solder joints, using soldering irons, gas torches, or electric-ultrasonic equipment.

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Core · Task 23591 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Monitor the fitting, burning, and welding processes to avoid overheating of parts or warping, shrinking, distortion, or expansion of material.

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Core · Task 23603 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Grind, cut, buff, or bend edges of workpieces to be joined to ensure snug fit, using power grinders and hand tools.

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Core · Task 23586 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Weld separately or in combination, using aluminum, stainless steel, cast iron, and other alloys.

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Core · Task 23593 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Chip or grind off excess weld, slag, or spatter, using hand scrapers or power chippers, portable grinders, or arc-cutting equipment.

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Core · Task 23597 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Develop templates and models for welding projects, using mathematical calculations based on blueprint information.

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Core · Task 23604 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Repair products by dismantling, straightening, reshaping, and reassembling parts, using cutting torches, straightening presses, and hand tools.

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Core · Task 23601 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Clean or degrease parts, using wire brushes, portable grinders, or chemical baths.

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Core · Task 23608 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Hammer out bulges or bends in metal workpieces.

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Supplemental · Task 23605 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Check grooves, angles, or gap allowances, using micrometers, calipers, and precision measuring instruments.

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Supplemental · Task 23609 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Melt and apply solder to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products, using soldering equipment.

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Supplemental · Task 23588 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Ignite torches or start power supplies and strike arcs by touching electrodes to metals being welded, completing electrical circuits.

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Supplemental · Task 23598 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Guide and direct flames or electrodes on or across workpieces to straighten, bend, melt, or build up metal.

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Supplemental · Task 23610 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Use fire suppression methods in industrial emergencies.

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Supplemental · Task 23595 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Preheat workpieces prior to welding or bending, using torches or heating furnaces.

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Supplemental · Task 23607 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Set up and use ladders and scaffolding as necessary to complete work.

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Supplemental · Task 23606 · 08/2022 · Incumbent

Operate metal shaping, straightening, and bending machines, such as brakes and shears.

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Unspecified · Task 23611 · 11/2020 · Analyst

Analyze engineering drawings, blueprints, specifications, sketches, work orders, and material safety data sheets to plan layout, assembly, and operations.

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Make the shortlist useful

Choose one to three activities that tell you something different about the work. Avoid selecting several ways of describing the same interest.
For each, write an example you can discuss or a question that would change your understanding of the role.
Keep source task IDs with your notes so you can return to the same description. Do not include private employer or customer information.

The exported worksheet distinguishes the reported task from your own notes. It supports exploration, not a hiring decision or a validated assessment.

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Download before leaving this page. Unsaved writing remains only in the page and is cleared on refresh. Notes and learning actions are not sent to a server. This guide describes an occupation and supports study planning; it does not provide clinical, legal or equipment-operating procedures.

Source and practice material

Occupational context uses the O*NET® 31.0 Database from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0. View the occupation.

Skill Workbench selected and adapted the occupational information and added its own fictional cases, calculations, guidance and worksheets. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.