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A couple of things I made at school...

L

Lanse

Well-known Member
Hey guys!!

Well, we're now into the last quarter of our first year of welding school... I go to a high school vocational school. I love it, and I've learned a lot this year... In the beginning of the year, we learned how to use a torch, how to o/a weld in all positions, how to braze, and then we went on to stick welding. I think its my favorite process to run, and we learned how to run 6010, 6011, 6013, 7018, and 7024 in all positions (except for 7024 obviously). And now, we're learning how to read blueprints. We all made a hose holder as kind of a guided activity, but these two things were the first time the teacher essentially gave us a paper and said "build this". I like it, its kind of like putting a puzzle together. I got a 100% on the jig holder, and a 95% on the can crusher.

The first thing I made was a "Tool jig holder". Apparently, our teacher made something like this when he worked at a manufacturing plant "back in the day", and modified it a little for his lesson plan years later. Its rather useless for me, but I'm pretty proud of it none the less.

IMG_2011.jpg


IMG_2015.jpg


And the next thing I built is this can crusher. It works great, and I plan on spending lots of quality time with it next summer, when I start scrapping again.

IMG_2018.jpg


IMG_2019.jpg


IMG_2021.jpg


We got to weld these using any rod we wanted to, so I used 7018 for the most part. I used 1/8" Hobart for most things, and 3/32 Excaliber for the thinner stuff. For the thin-walled-pipe, I used 3/32 6013. When I was done welding all this stuff, I bead-blasted all of it, and sprayed the tool jig with clear coat, and did the can crusher with both clear and red spray paint, several coats of each. I knew the paint wouldn't last for long on there, but I wanted it to look good when it got graded.

Just wanted to share :drinkup:
 
Those are some SWEET-looking welds, Lanse! I know, I know, "pretty" welds aren't always strong welds...but these look like you've been paying attention in class!
 
Good to see you have found a passion Lanse. Looks like you are getting pretty fair at it.
Do not neglect your other classes with the thought you will be a welder and not need them. Welding is a good and noble profession in itself BUT you WILL find out in a few years that you will want to know business skills, mathematics, english, etc . May not seem like it now but all these complement each other in the business world by expanding your abilities to manage and engineer projects, customers and work enviroments. You do not want to be the bottom man forever do you?
Keep learning!!I wish I had learned at your age what I am having to go back and learn now. Business management and accounting skills. Much easier at your age both learning and time wise!!
 
Thanks man!!

You get out of it, what you put into it. There are some kids in there who don't do much of anything, and several will flunk out (if you fail two quarters of a program your first year, you can't take it again for your second), and there are some who are really good... And a lot of them cheat on things (doing vertical and overhead open root welds flat, etc), but it'll catch up with them.

I do my best in there, and really try hard. Right now I'm a couple weeks ahead of everyone else, some people haven't even started on their jig holders yet. I ask a lot of questions, learn everything that I can, and take it seriously, this is what I want to make a living at someday.

And I learn from everything that I can. From this, I learned that I need to do more postweld cleanup (flap disc off the splatter and grinder marks) and work at plasma cutting freehand circles.

Thanks again, man!!
 
Looks like you are off to a good start. Be more concious of your wrap arounds. Finish the weld and don't leave a crater like that, as well as being careful of undercut. Do yourself a favour and get used to cleaning up all the spatter now, as old habits are hard to break. And just like the other poster said, keep up with your other classes. I work with the local high school, and they sent me a kid for the semester who doesn't know fractions. My 2 1/2 year old son has a better work ethic as well! Currently I'm sifting through resumes, trying to find a couple of fitter/welders and I'm havin alot of trouble.
 
Yeah, I do/will... I don't mind any of my classes, except for physics (yawn)...

And I'll defiantly clean stuff up a little, I wouldn't want to buy something thats full of grinder marks and spatter..

I can do fractions and read a tape measure second nature... There are two guys in my class that I know of, that have tape measure problems, one can't read one at all really, and the other can, it just takes him a while.
 
Your welds have improved a lot.Like the others say,do a better job of finishing your puddles.You did a good job with the 6013. For something like you welded with 6013, MIG is probably best,if they let you use that.
You have come a long ways welding so far.There is still a lot to learn,but you are doing a good job.You might even be able to get a job welding somewhere doing that good.
Just out of curiosity,in months past,there was a lot of arguing about trying to teach you how to weld.Now that you can weld,what do you think?Do you feel like you should have went to some kind of apprentice program and had to pass a bunch of tests,which there is nothing wrong with,or do you think you did alright by taking the course at school?
I know that I had a lot of arguments with one guy here about welding,but its not anywhere near as complicated,to an extent, as to what was being told to you,do you think?
Anyway you are doing good,keep it up.You can learn something about welding every time you do it.There is a lot to know about it,but for a farm, you are better than some people who have done it all of their life,and of course there are a lot that are better than you. Good as you are,you might want to go to a welding school someplace and learn more if you want to try and make a living at it.There is a lot of difference in welding something thats broke,up under something,in a hard to get to place,where you might have to weld a couple of different positions,than welding nice,clean,new metal,flat,out in the open and easy to get to.Lots of times welding is used to fix things rather than make stuff,so that gets into a lot more learning.You can handle it if you want to do it,I'm sure.The basic stuff stays the same.
 
All the work to bead blast it and spray it with clear coat and you couldn't spend a minute with a chisel, file or grinder to clean up the spatter? The only time you can't use a grinder for final clean up is on a weld test. These look more like basic projects than a test. The welding looks excellent but the spatter sticks out like a sore thumb! It's like having a custom paint job and leaving a run in the primer. You always want to make your projects look like a real craftsman made them. Good for you for using 7018! 7024 could look like a robot did it but it is much easier to use than 7018. The only other critique is that your welds should wrap right around the end of the plate when the end is exposed. In your second picture, the ends of the plates welded to the base plate aren't welded on the ends. It would have taken about 2 seconds more to do this. Maybe your teacher gave you 100% because it was the best in the class? My teacher would have deducted some for not cleaning up the spatter and then chewed me out about it. LoL

When you finish school, you should have no problem getting a welding apprenticeship. Too many people think welding is easy and you don't have to be too smart to do it. Lucky for you, you're going to a good school with a good instructor. If you're doing blueprints, you'll probably get into welding symbols. Always remember that the arrow side is the bottom side if you get a test on them. Lots of people get confused on this. Get it stuck in your head like DCRP=electrode positive and you'll be set. In a few years I expect to see your name as winning the welding skills competition and a chunk of money. The way you're going, especially with generous teachers(LoL), it might come even earlier. I'm just razzing you a little. I got lucky on my pressure test because the inspector let me fix part of the root pass that was questionable. I fixed it and all my coupons bent no problem. Boy, was I relieved. Some guys had to try 4 or 5 times to pass and at over $100 a test, it adds up. Keep up the excellent work!!!
 
Great job Lanse! 8)

And you got some really good advice in this thread.
I like a 4 inch grinder with #36-grit sanding pad, I always put a slight bevel on all edges, paint will hold on better. Majority of the time I radius all corners, a radius corner will hide a not so straight edge.
A lot of little things make you look professional! :wink:
 
I think that once you do a joint a few times with any rod, its not very hard... Consistency is king with you need a good looking weld, just move along as smoothly as possible. The welds that I do at home aren't as consistent as the ones I do at school, because I know the miller dialarc that I use by heart (same welder, every single day), and I can adjust it, know exactly where to set it for whatever size and type of rod that we use. Plus, we have nice steel and concrete welding stations there.

At home, I use a hobart stickmate ac/dc which I just got and haven't put many hours on, so I'm not as familiar with it as the one I use at school, and I weld standing up hovering over a rusty, shotty, table that I cobbled together with various kinds of scrap. I can get a good quality weld, but I sway some standing up, so it doesn't look quite as nice.

Overhead is fun!! As long as you don't have to do more than a few inches of it, then it would start to get old.

I don't trust my mig skills. We learn that next year, and for now, I only use it on thin, non-critical stuff. I've only used the miller 252s at school once, and they were sweet... At home, I generally produce cold beads with my Hobart 187. I want to learn a lot more about mig...

I think that learning in school is the way to go... Because if you get a weld wrong, you toss it in the scrap bin and get two more pre-cut pieces and try it again. In an apprentice ship, you'd have to grind said weld out, do it again, and again, until you got it right. And now that I've started building some stuff outside of school, what I learned in school carries right over. A vertical "T" here, a horizontal lap joint there, its all the same. I'm glad I took classes at school...

And just like yall said, taking an O/A welding class was an awesome idea... I learned almost everything I know about puddle control from doing o/a. And, I'm sure that it will help when I learn tig next fall...

All in all, I'm happy with my smaw skills. I'd have no problem climbing under something that I welded together, or following directly behind something that I made at 70mph on the highway.

I love to learn this kind of thing, and spend whatever money I can come up with on tools. Im saving for a nice drill press, and a band saw right now.

And, I want to learn more. I spend a lot of time on a welding forum, and pick up whatever I can. I'm always open to constructive criticism, and I'm looking forward to next year.
 
In order to become a licensed welder, you have to go through an apprenticeship, with an employer, that includes a certain amount of hours on the job(usually 1800 for each year of the apprenticeship)and about 4 weeks every year in school doing theory(math, blueprints, welding symbols, etc.) and weld tests. Some places you can't work as a welder unless you are a registered apprentice or already a journeyman. Often times if you go to a vocational school like Lanse is, it can be credited to your apprenticeship hours once a company hires you and signs you up as an apprentice. Apprentice's have to work with a journeyman. Joe blow that makes welded candle holders can't sign you up as an apprentice.

In Lanse's case he may be able to challenge the first year apprentice tests. Everytime you pass after going to school, your employer has to give you a raise to at least a minimun percentage of the established journeyman wage. Usually 60% for a first year apprentice, 75% for a second year and 90% for a third year. This is so that some cheapskate employer can't hire you at minimum wage and leave you there for the next 5 years after getting your welding ticket.
 
I could have spent time doing it, but I didn't, but I will next time... Thats what learnings all about, right?? :)

And, yeah, I know they should wrap around... A friend of a friend here introduced me to a journeyman pipe-fitter around here, and he explained it as "If you were going to rip a sheet of paper in two, you'de start at the corners, and not in the middle, because the corners are the weakest". Alright, so I'm paraphrasing there, and it made a lot more sense when he said it, but the point is the same... According to him, when a weld fails, it almost ALWAYS fails from the corners, so its very important to tie those in.

I really like 7024 (although the hobart rods smell like popcorn when you run them, and usually make me hungry, although not for popcorn), but I generally use 7018, because it seems to be more common and is low hi...

And about the polarities...

There are two polarities.

There are two branches of the US govt. (alright, three, but lets ignore one for now).

the REPresentative and the SENate.

REP= Reverse, electrode positive
SEN= Straight, electrode negative

Thats another thing that I picked up from him...

And thanks man, that means a lot... Being 17, I only want to win things to impress girls, and since there aren't many cute girls in welding, I'm not too focused on that... I'd rather be running my own fab/welding shop in a few more years, thats kind of my dream...
 
Thats interesting... Where are you located?? That sounds rather Canadian to me...

Our school gives us a long list of things that we can do (they have some cheesy sounding name for it, but I can't remember it at the moment), and then sets us free.

If you pay attention and try in class, you're almost gaurenteed a job right out of high school. One of my friends already has one, at a local fab shop. The second half of your second year, almost all the students go out to work. You come to school in the morning, do all your academic classes, and then sign out halfway through the day, drive somewhere, work there for a few hours, and go home. Its awesome, and a lot of them make really good money at it ($11-$15 while still in H.S)

Our teacher said that hes had more requests for students this year, then in the last 4-5. Things are really picking back up around here.
 

Lanse I too went to a two year welding school in high school. It was a trade center for about 10 different high schools. Later in life I returned to welding school to learn how to Tig weld stainless steel pipe, just to learn how to pass a 6-G open root test.

I graduated high school on a Friday, the next Tuesday I was on my first job in my apprenticeship. What a rude awaking, I had to climb 60 feet in the air and cut a angle iron tower apart and shorten it in the air, and re-weld everything. I had never seen a safety belt before, and now I was leaning back in one 60 feet in the air, watching sparks land on my rope lanyard! I suggest you stop setting down to weld right now! You won't have that luxury many times in life.

I had to look around to find a project I did that was ready for paint, I built this hitch for a friend a few years ago. Don't know if you can see how much work I did to get it ready for paint, but it is time consuming.





 
Thanks man!! I will, I really wish that I had...

We have some Chinese air grinders fitted with flap
discs, and they work really well...

And i'll remember, that... I'm pretty sure it'll
come in handy some day :)
 
Go to school and pass and get a 15% raise. If that's not incentive, I don't what is. Sadly most trade schools like Lanse is attending are disappearing because students don't want to go into the trades. What's even sadder is someone can stare at a computer all day and make a whole lot more than a skilled tradesman. That's one of the big problems in N. America.
 
Dang, that looks awesome!! I bet it'll last through
several trucks...

Just out of curiosity, how did you weld that?? Did
you mig it, or stick it, or what??

And how did you make the plates on the ends?? That
looks like a lot of measuring, and some quality time
spent with a drill press...
 

Clean up, around here Boeing and Microsoft are the big killers of getting young guys in the building trades.
Why would anybody stand in the rain welding when they can work for Boeing in a nice warm building, or for Microsoft, and watch pretty girls all day? :lol:
 
The big problem from where I sit as a potential employer is our educational sysytem. Everyone passes, so thier feelings don't get hurt. Then when they arrive in the real world and are expected to put thier wii controllers down and get thier hands dirty.....well OMG....that's unheard of!! I'm having issues with this sense of entitlement attitude that you can burn 10lbs of rod in grade 12, and walk into a $35/hr job just pulling a trigger on a mig gun. These guys get alot of broom time in my shop.
 
That'd get me in class in a hurry!! :)

I know... The future of our program is in jeopardy right now. There used to be two teachers who taught it, but one retired. Because of the small class sizes (only 15 in my class, we started with 13), they didn't replace him, since the remaining teacher said he had it under control. And that teacher is retiring this year, after a few decades with the school.

And, they're wondering if they will replace him. Our welding program is one of the most expensive and dangerous in the whole school (We've been lucky, only one eye injury [dumb@$$ thought he could grind for a minute without the faceshield he's supposed to wear grinding, or the glasses he's supposed to be wearing all the time], and a few burns [all caused by stupid people who wear fraid jeans with holes in them], and theres not much interest in it. There are just 15 of us, some programs have over 300 kids in them.

I really hope they keep it.

If not, you guys should be expecting some "how do I tig this" and "what am I doing wrong" and "how does this look" threads from me next fall.
 

Lanse I'm sure it was all welded with 7018. Measuring / fitting is a big part of our trade.
I'm sure you seen that thread on basic tools for a weldor, here are some basic tools for layout.

Lanse please put this in your memory bank! Learn all you can about blue print reading and layout! Sure right now welding is fun to you, but in not too many years you'll get tired of it, guys who can read blue prints and do layout, end up being the boss, and all the worker bees work for them! :wink:

 
Hey guys... So, someone emailed me, and was
interested in a blueprint. So, here it is, for him,
and for anyone else interested. Sorry I don't have a
scanner, so this is the best that I can come up
with.
IMG_2023.jpg

IMG_2026.jpg
 
You're well on your way. Once you open your shop, you can always hire a cute girl to be a welder. She might show you up though. Girls apparently have steadier hands and make excellent TIG welders. Now I know why lots of welders are overweight. They've been burning too much jet rod(7024)! LoL In a few years we'll be coming to you for welding advice since you'll be up on all the latest technology and have your picture on the cover of Welding Journal.
 
I've heard that!! I really think a girl could weld as well as a guy, if they both had the same education and determination, and willingness to learn. Theres a girl in the 12th grade welding class, but she weights more than most of the guys in my welding class...


Haha, that'd be nice... I'm going to start making youtube videos about this stuff sooner or later...

And that'd be great!! I'd frame that magazine :)
 
That's a good blueprint. It's missing the welding symbols though. Maybe the next print will have welding symbols? Sometimes a blue print can make something simple look overly complicated. It is always a good idea to have a picture of what you want to build though. I've seen some bad blueprints that don't have a material list and leave a lot of details out or up to the builder. It's so much nicer(and easier) having a good print to build something. It saves a lot of time and waste too. Some companies fail to realize the importance of good blue prints.
 
Hmm, kind of like painting something... The
painting is only a small part of the job, most of
its sanding, cleaning, etc...

I'll learn all I can... Our teacher said that
where he used to work, he just welded. Someone
else dictated the blueprints to him and told him
what to weld and how to weld it, and he just did
the work. Apperently there are still
weldors/blueprint readers??

Idk...

Anyway, thats quite a collection... I don't even
know what half of that stuff is :-/
 
Yeah, I know it doesn't... We haven't learned the welding symbols yet, right now we're stuck on dimensions, and the different types of lines out there...

But we're making progress!! Haha... He says we'll learn more...
 
A problem with some guy's is that they are thinking too much about girls when they're welding and can't keep their hands steady.;wink:

Just make sure your picture's on the cover for your expertise rather than because you didn't clean the spatter off your fancy picture frame. LoL LoL
 
Welding used to be one of the highest paying and respected occupations. It still is for things like pipeliners but there are so many easier jobs that pay more. At apprenticeship training, not everybody passes. You're late or miss more than 2 days and they kick you out. Passing grade is 65%. If you get less than that in the theory portion(math), they may pass you but only if you go to the tutoring center on campus after classes. If your welding tests fail, sometimes they will pass you if it's real close. The deciding factors are usually your attendance record, your commitment and how your previous welds up to the test were. I knew a guy that got kicked out first year 3 times for not showing up. I think in any job, there are people that think they're worth the big bucks from the get go. Needs to be more guys like Lanse. I can see him getting the big bucks in the future because he is putting the effort in.
 
The school I was referring to was the technical training school not high school. There are so many apprentice's waiting to get in for their training that the school doesn't waste time with students who could care less. Going out on work experience at an actual shop is great. They usually aren't supposed to pay you but a lot of them do. If they really like you, you could be offered a job when schools out. The best thing about work experience is the shops that participate are usually great places to work and sign you up as an apprentice. You can bet that your teacher talked to these shops before they signed up as a work experience participant. The shops have to fill out a report on how you did and what they thought you could improve on. This is valuable information that your teacher can use to help you in the future. It sounds like your teacher and your school is very respected in the industry and shops want to hire their graduates.
 
All the crusher needs is a bicycle handlebar grip on the handle.
I'm glad to see you are getting some positive adult supervision. It's obvious you are getting a new perspective on life in general from your teacher and classmates.
Well Done!
 
Is welding aluminum scheduled in your curriculum? There aren't many people who can do a good job at it. Word gets around if you're set up for welding Aluminum, and you can charge a pretty good price for work that not too many people can do. Costly to get deep into it though.
 
Being able to look at a print and fit the pieces is a huge advantage. If you get into welding pressure vessels and piping, being able to fit your own welds will almost guarantee you keep your job. You could even go for your pipe fitting ticket and have dual tickets. It makes you more valuable and you'll also get paid more. Whenever it's possible, spend as much time with fitters as you can. They make it look easy but it isn't. Being able to see mistakes on blue prints is another advantage over just being a welder.
 
Lanse, I hate to point out the obvious, but my can smasher has 12EEE wrote on the tongue of it! I'd've made me a bottle opener, for a class project!
 
Lance
Do you ever feel like you just can't be good enough for some of these guys on here. Who the "H" cares weather the blue prints have symbols on them but the high and mighty professional. Good looking prints and work. Keep it up and don't let these guys discourage you. I know they have beat you up pretty bad on here at times. God will bless your efforts.

Gary
 
Good! I think you can catch right on to the MIG welding.You will probably like it when you do.A lot of it has to do with setting the machine.Once you get that down good then that's half of the battle.Its also shows that you have a good teacher from how good your welds are.
I think there are easily places where you could get a job now.Of course there are real technical jobs that you would need to go to a welding school for,but you don't find those jobs everywhere.They give you a welding test before they hire you at a lot of places,so you want to finish out your ends and your puddles if you take a welding test somewhere.If you get a job while you are in school you will have to grind out your bad welds.Do it as quick as you can and make your next weld good because time is money!No body likes to see somebody spend half a day or gripe about fixing a screw up.You did it,you fix it,cheerfully and fast.Then those pretty girls will like you better because you have money in your pocket all the time when you keep your job!It makes a work day go a lot better to have a worker who is pleasant to get along with and works hard.If you do that,you are one guy the boss doesn't have to worry about as much.Plus,in a bad economy,a good worker will stand a better chance of keeping his job.
I am impressed with the progress you have made! Good job! Keep it up.
 
Where I worked at they handed you a print,and then told you where you might look for the parts.They had a Expeditor who brought you as much stuff as he could with a crane and you would have to go and either have what parts you were short made,or find them and carry them back and build your piece.Of course at first when you work at a place they will show you how to read prints if its required,it would be helpful to already know,and they pay you more money.There were some guys who were just welders,but they didn't want to be fitter welders.Id say that almost every place is different with what they teach you and whether or not welders fir or not.Being a fitter and not a welder would likely pay better than just being a welder anywhere.I worked with a fitter for about 6 weeks and he showed me how to make jigs for the stuff we made,then we would smoke the day shift!Then after a while I did the job by myself.Then when they switched me to some other stuff they put me with another old man who was a fitter,he would show me how to fit what he made,and I would weld it for a couple of days and then I would do that job for a while.After a year or so I had worked about everywhere in the shop there was and did every fitter job they had there and even did a couple of things myself where I showed others how to do it.I could already weld when I started working there.Also I could read a tape measure.Definitely a plus when fitting!
At one place where I worked ,they put me to working with a fitter.He would mark it out and measure everything and hold it where he wanted it,I would tack it with 6011.The reason I got that job is that whoever they had doing it before couldn't weld at all and every time the fitter let go of the part,it would fall off half the time. I helped him one shift and none of my tacks broke,so I stayed working with him for quite a while,then they had me welding and fitting myself.Another place where I worked I threw pieces in a jig and welded them up,There was a print,but all I needed it for was to see where it welded and how big of a weld,how many passes,whether it was welded all the way around,and stuff like that.
I'm sure you can handle whatever they throw at you. Just do as good as you can.
Also don't leave the print laying on your work next to where you are welding.They catch on fire real easy!
 
Good job Lanse! Love your welds. Be proud of what you've created and save it ( I still use the "machine shop" hammer I made in High School). Regardless of what you pursue, if it's blueprint related be sure to learn Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerencing and learn the difference between metric and inch. Some people are intimidated by metric but it is a simple matter of conversion (25.4 mm equals 1").
 
Lanse wants to pursue a career in welding. He is applying himself 110% and that includes showing pictures of his progress and asking for feedback, good and bad. Lanse is doing amazing!No one said he wasn't. Guaranteed if he's learning about blue prints, welding symbols will be next. A proper blue print for a fabricated structure isn't complete without welding symbols. They are as important as a material list. Welding symbols by themself are quite complex. Out in the real world Lanse will need to know these things and many more. The more he learns in school today the better. Getting the welding education he is now will make it 1000 times easier when he goes through his apprenticeship training because he will have covered a lot of it already. Most of the other apprentices will be learning it for the first time. It will also be a huge advantage if an employer asks him if he knows how to read a print. It's not only experienced journeymen that have to fabricate from blue prints. Good shops have a blue print for everything. Having welders that know how to read them make them more valuable employee's.
 

A Fab drawing / print without weld symbols? That's a new one on me, what's next no dimensions at all?

Lanse you'll need to get a set of these, but these are old school. It is amazing how many weldors don't know how to read these. Some weldors believe you go by the notch. :lol:

 
Thanks for all the positive words of encouragement
guys... I'll defiantly keep posting things I do and
make, and learn everything that I can... More to
come :)
 
Haha, no, I dont mind, but thanks :)

Well, welding blueprints will defiantly be something to learn, but what if you're ever doing fab work for someone who brings you a cash deposit for a drawing on the back of a napkin and just says "make this"... I wouldn't turn away a simple job like that. Not everyone who wants work done knows the first thing about welding, all they know is that somethings been welded...
 

Lanse that's when you'll have to call upon your experience, and knowledge.
Believe me I've had it happen to me on 100-million dollar heavy civil project. Sometimes engineers don't have the time to draw up a nice blue print, they'll grab a post it and whip out a quick drawing just to get their point across, and leave the details up to the weldor.
 
Yeah, I guess... That sounds like fun, haha...

Well, I think we should all just be glad that
those engineers had a real "Weldor" there, a true
craftsman who knows what hes doing, to figure that
out, instead of just some rod-burner that'll pick
up the closest electrode and weld the thing howeve
is easiest...

In these situations, how did/would you decide what
process/electrode/consumable to use?? There are
just so many ways to skin the cat out there...
 
The spatter just adds character. Not all real-world welds get cleaned up nice and painted. I'd say most don't, outside of building something new.
 
At my high school I took a board drafting class. The first half of the year, we did drawings. The second half, we drew parts, and went into the shop to make them. My cousin and a friend of ours went to the vo-tech to look into the drafting program. The teacher told them to look around, and there was some spare equipment and tables, if they saw something interesting, go ahead and set up and do it. He came around in 20 minutes, and asked what they were doing. Making this print. That didn't set well, they were knocking it out faster than his second year students could, and getting it right.

Two weeks later, our drafting teacher came in and told us we had to sand the tables, the paint booth, disassemble the torches, and mothball the lathes, foundry, bridgeport, and surface grinder. The class had been canceled, even though it was already full for the next year, and the students now had to find another class to take.

I graduated in 99, that was in 96. The lathes were top-line, too. All the equipment was less than 10 years old at the time. They replaced everything when they remodeled the school in the early 90s. The high-end welders had been used one or two years, and mothballed.

We used to rule in the technical competitions in the area. Now the school is another also-ran. When I was in 9th grade, we took 7 or 8 COtwo-powered cars to the one competition, and placed all in the top 10, and took the entire top 5.

But, that's how things are today. We can only do the safe things and the easy things and the green things. Never mind that without someone doing the dangerous, dirty, hard jobs, nothing gets done.

Sorry about the rant. I hope they keep your program going.
 
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