Post by graywolf on Mar 30, 2015 14:43:23 GMT
Hi gang
I grew up on a farm and learned to stick weld from Dad pretty early on. Dad and I didn't weld all that pretty but the stuff we made and farm equipment we repaired managed to hold together.
Fast forward quite a years and I was married, living in town, and had time on my hands while my wife took some night classes towards her teaching degree. I took a look at a JC catalog and found welding classes. And so it began.....
I took 6 months of OA welding, 3 months of MIG, and a couple of photography class to round out my college education. And then I bought welders and grinders and BIG hammers. I had a sweet day job but, at night, I made practical things, big things, like a lift to put snowmobiles into the back of a pickup, ladder racks and lots of repairs.
And then Kathe started on another degree. With this free time I started just fooling around with 'art' metalworking....and that was the path that ended up filling a lot more free time than I imagined.
Houseguests would comment on my work when they came to visit and finally a friend offered to buy a piece. Hmmm... interesting.
So once we retired, I started ordering steel. And managed to sell a few dozen pieces in a little gallery. And win some minor prizes in our small town. And more than pay for all my gear.
The punch line is that melting and bending steel is fun and practical. Fix things. Make things. Play with fire. Go do it! But take a class or find a mentor to learn the basics. And saftey. Especially with OA.
But now I have my eye on a nice TIG machine and just happen to have a few hundred pounds of steel just laying around over in the shop.....
I grew up on a farm and learned to stick weld from Dad pretty early on. Dad and I didn't weld all that pretty but the stuff we made and farm equipment we repaired managed to hold together.
Fast forward quite a years and I was married, living in town, and had time on my hands while my wife took some night classes towards her teaching degree. I took a look at a JC catalog and found welding classes. And so it began.....
I took 6 months of OA welding, 3 months of MIG, and a couple of photography class to round out my college education. And then I bought welders and grinders and BIG hammers. I had a sweet day job but, at night, I made practical things, big things, like a lift to put snowmobiles into the back of a pickup, ladder racks and lots of repairs.
And then Kathe started on another degree. With this free time I started just fooling around with 'art' metalworking....and that was the path that ended up filling a lot more free time than I imagined.
Houseguests would comment on my work when they came to visit and finally a friend offered to buy a piece. Hmmm... interesting.
So once we retired, I started ordering steel. And managed to sell a few dozen pieces in a little gallery. And win some minor prizes in our small town. And more than pay for all my gear.
The punch line is that melting and bending steel is fun and practical. Fix things. Make things. Play with fire. Go do it! But take a class or find a mentor to learn the basics. And saftey. Especially with OA.
But now I have my eye on a nice TIG machine and just happen to have a few hundred pounds of steel just laying around over in the shop.....
