Yesterday my 9 yo boy said he wanted to make something. I asked him if he wanted to learn to weld. He was keen so we dug out some scraps, set him up and went for it. I did spend a little time explaining some brief points about how welding works and some key points about clean metal, gun angle and motion etc. He did a good job. First attempt Second attempt By his third bead he was really getting the hang of it. We stopped there because we had to get ready to go out to The Crusty Demons last night.
Then today guess what? He wanted to weld some more. And of course he wanted to make something "artistic". He decided that a Crusty Demons motorcycle would be good. I did the cutting and some holding. He did all the welding. And suddenly dad isn't such a bad guy after all Pete
Don't you hate it when a nine year old can do something better than you I wish my old man was still here to teach me how to weld properly Jonno
For sure. By the time he ran that 3rd bead I told him I had seen grown men do much worse. He liked that. I taught myself to weld so I'm trying to give him a better start by teaching him that there is more to fabricating stuff than point and shoot. If I can pass on a few tricks that I had to learn the hard way, I'll be happy.
Bloody hell, hes a natural! Welds better than me! Glad to see we have the next generation on there way, way to go mate! Doc.
by the way tell him good work, and he will be able to build a real one some day, just keep practicing.
Good stuff Pete! He looks pretty proud of his efforts and he should be too. Better watch out though you could be loosing some garage space to him soon.
The man that taught me how to weld passed away 2 years ago. The greatest mentor of my life, we spent many hours together in his shop building hot rods, but the lessons of life that I learned from him are the most appreciated. He never got impatient, or was too busy to take time for me, he was a loving family guy who had hundreds of friends. I know he is in heaven today talking flatheads with his old buddies! Thank you Johnny Chambers......................................................
My offer to teach him to weld was partly due to the realisation that I'm not always patient with my kids, I'm often pre-occupied (with my stuff) and I want to have more in common with them. They're not into sport much or anything else either, so I have a big opportunity and to date I've wasted it. I caught up with some friends from college the other night. One of them has a Porsche 356 that he's always wanted and finally got at 40. He told me how he took his 13 year old daughter to a big parking lot, switched seats and told her to drive. She freaked saying something like "but what if I damage the car...you love this car". His reply was, "if you scratch it, we'll fix it". I just thought that was so cool to give her that feeling that he trusted her and she didn't have to feel like she'd cop a mouth full of abuse if she dinged it. My A model is just on finished now and it's time for me to make up for some of what I've missed / neglected over the last 4 years. Hopefully this is the start because I sure have more projects I could use a hand on. Pete
Well said Pete, I think there are a lot of us guilty of the same thing. It only takes a small effort to teach our kids something new and usually you are rewarded with a smile and a feeling of greater respect.
That is so very cool, (on both accounts) .. that you found the time to show him & and that he has something right out of the gate to be very proud of!! Way to go! He picked that up really fast, weld #3 looks great - he just may be a natural at it! Someday down the road he'll be telling the story of how his dad taught him to weld. You both get A++'s Tell your boy there is a lot of work for him waiting on the HAMB
Thats great! Keep him going, give him a goal... if he gets to a certain point welding, you and him can build a go-kart or something this summer... something, keep him intrested. I remember welding for the first time at about 6 or 7, as my dad was the local vocational welding intrustor. It was, and still was one of the most memorable moments of my childhood. It was a big mildstone, I was actually doing something COOL in the shop, other than cleaning or sorting nuts and bolts. I just got my 10 year old daughter welding, and same results.... nothing but SMILES and talk about it for weeks.
Nice welds! I taught myself to weld in High School metal shop. Since I've recently started working on my 34 coupe again, my 10 year old has taken interest, so I'm including him in the build. MIG and Arc Welding is on the list and with his help, he gets to ride shotgun when it's ready to go to the streets. I'll show him your post.
i grew up without a dad so i learned everything on my own i will never let that happen to my son he's 3 and already helping me on my project car cutting stuff with the chop saw (safely of course) that bike looks great he should hold on to that memory forever heck if i had extra cash i would buy one from him i'l take a mini indian larry bike but it has to have your sons signiture so when he is a famous fabricator i'l have something of history in the making
Great post. Just the other day there was a guy on craigs list looking for a welding helmet for his ten year old girl. he dident have lots of money and was just looking to teach his kid. I gave him one of my old helmets. When it comes to kids I think we all like to give a hand. your boy looks like he has a natural skill. I wish you guys luck.
The kid's doing good, like that other guy said his welds look better than some of my first attempts. Good to know there's a kid out in the shop trying to learn something real instead of sitting in front of a TV or PC playing games.
That's the kind of thing that can change a kid's life. A few years ago, I was mixing some primer to shoot some epoxy primer on some brackets for my Mustang project. I had them hanging from wires and was loading the spray gun when I saw my son (about 6 at the time) was watching. He had asked a zillion times if he could help, but I always said "no" because I wanted everything to be perfect. But this time I asked him if he wanted to shoot them. His face lit up as I handed him the gun and put a spray mask on him. Yes, there were runs in some places and bare metal in others, but who cares? I figure it gave the part some character. Now when some one asks who did the work on the car, I make very sure I always tell them my son and I did.
Keep him at it. He's got potential even. Days out in the shop with dad are what hooked me on the lifestyle.
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