After waiting for what felt like an eternity, my welding class was finally here. Being someone who has never welded anything in my life, I went on the assumption it was like hot gluing but with metal. So, I pulled up to the class location which looked like a scene out of the Road Warrior with post-apocalyps metal shapes scattered all over the place, cars that had interesting metal attached to them, and stacks of things that looked perfect for fighting off zombies.
I met my instructor who admitted he was very tired as he just got back from Burning Man where he was welding metal sculptures. I did the obligatory sign my life away waiver and then he gave me the safety review and TIG/MIG welding 101. He then showed me how to do some basic welding and then said, "Ok, go for it." As the blood drained from my face I asked if he was sure I was ready. He explained there is little damage I can do to his tools, low risk of injuring myself, and the best way to learn was to jump right in.
After "tacking" some welds (pretty cool I can speak the welder-speak) he inspected my work and gave me the ok to move on to corner and edge welds. As I was going, I noticed sparks from the welds were either landing on my head (they felt like little bee stings) or flying up into my mask and bouncing off my nose or chin. I asked the instructor if this was normal and he shrugged and said everyone gets a few burns, it's like a child touching a hot stove, they learn. He said if I didn't want sparks to fly, keep the welding torch at the correct angle and not too far away from the metal - gee thanks! Of course, that worked.
After an hour of basic welding practice (welding metal to metal in no real form) he said I should keep going and just see what calls to me and make the form into that. It turns out I landed on a sunflower that is now yard art or some evil trap for racoons since it is razor sharp.
The final project was a cube. To make the form I had to cut all the metal needed. After what felt like a five minute safety review which consisted of him saying, "Don't ruin the blades and oh, don't cut off your fingers." I assumed he would stand by me and watch my cuts but instead he left me alone with a bandsaw the size of a small car. I got the first cuts done just fine but as I moved to the miter cuts I struggled. I had this fear of the metal shooting out from the saw and either embedding itself in my chest or launching into one of the large tanks of what I assumed was explosive gas. I took a few deep breathes and worked through the cuts. I then welded the cube and decided to attach it to the top of a piece rebar and call it yard art.
Needles to say, I survived the class and am now actively shopping for some welding equipment. I am hooked on the ability to take small pieces of what look like junk by themselves and turn them into something else.
What I learned today: Breathing through tough or stressful times really helps. It calms you down instantly and refocuses your brain.
What I appreciated about the day: Making something from raw materials that required very little technology. One of the goals for my sabbatical was to try non-tech activities to work other parts of my brain. Mission accomplished.
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