awesome garage father/son b-day project

[bigbadjim]

So I've been looking and dreaming up something to do for my 11 year old boys birthday party this upcoming saturday. I decided I'm gonna teach 8 boys how to tack weld scrap metal together. They are all so excited for the party and can't wait to put a helmet on and weld.

I figured it was going to be boring and figured I'd step it up a little. Took out the scrap metal bins in the garage and started brainstorming with the boy. We came up with a easy metal hot rod idea. Here is the prototype......A metal hotrod with only 14 tack welds. The boy took 15 minutes to tack it all together. After cutting all the steel up to size of course. Nothing bought, just cut up scrap steel, we spent 1/2hr of cutting with the bandsaw, and 15 mins with a mig welder and there you go!

Seeing your boy so happy with the results Priceless!

Showing a young kid you can make something out of nothing is a gift on its own for a dad. Pass the idea on!

Can't wait to see the expressions on all those little faces this weekend.

 

[Cobra4B]

Awesome idea... just be careful with kids that aren't your own. In today's overly-litigious society I could see some lawsuits flying if anything happened. I.e. kids looking at the welding arc unprotected or cutting fingers off etc. etc.

 

[Jay_mc1]

That looks like a great project for kids. You will have to show us some pictures of the other kids projects when they are done.

 

[Krokodil]

That is so cool! Can't wait for my baby boy to get older!

 

[bigbadjim]

Awesome idea... just be careful with kids that aren't your own. In today's overly-litigious society I could see some lawsuits flying if anything happened. I.e. kids looking at the welding arc unprotected or cutting fingers off etc. etc.

That's why there will be no metal grinding or chop saw cutting. Just a horizontal band saw. I borrowed a bunch of welding helmets so everyone has one and can watch each other weld. We will for sure have a talk about what can happen if you look at welding without a mask, lets call it a "go blind talk".

 

[KCarGuy]

Very Cool!
I think that its great that they are learning how to be Creative...How to work with there Hands...Most likely learning Tool Safety...and finish something that they can be proud of.
Nice Job!

 

[darwyn]

Did you make enough for the dads?

 

[e-tek]

Awesome idea... just be careful with kids that aren't your own. In today's overly-litigious society I could see some lawsuits flying if anything happened. I.e. kids looking at the welding arc unprotected or cutting fingers off etc. etc.

Nothing personal at all, but I'm sure he's thought of all that. Plus - we're in CANADA - the NON-litigious part of North America!! We may have too many laws - but then no one gets sued either!

Awesome plan for the party - I can imagine the fun now!! However, if I hear the screaming of many 11 year old boys I'll know Cobra was on to something!

 

[John in OH]

Great idea for a kid's birthday project and the car looks terrific!!

Most kids love to do this sort of project. I've got two granddaughters that totally love to do small wood projects when they come to visit for a few days (only 4 & 6 so not old enough for welding .... YET!!). These kid projects don't have to be anything fancy ... a little glue, a few nails to hammer, and some paint and they are proud as peacocks with their finished products!

Suggest you make sure the newly cut parts get properly de-burred before the kids handle them ... sure wouldn't want a sliced finger to ruin some kid's fun.

 

[Oldbear]

This is something your son will remember for the rest of his life - good job on building him a life monment to carry with him. More dad need to do this for their kids.

 

[luvit]

that should be a hit. looks real good, man!
reminds me of a old metal toy car my dad and i restored.

.

 

[camarotoolman]

Former shop teachers says for you to get some cheap safety glasses for each kid. It protects you from a suit, and teaches them good safety habits. Demo proper safety and "how to" each step of the project.

 

[darkk]

Wish I had that much GOOD scrap lying around. That base wouldn't be considered scrap at my house, great project though. The kids will be thrilled and you'll be the coolest dad in the neighborhood

 

[rbonitz]

Great stuff... The kids willl love it!

 

[srmofo]

I would probably get a few of the cuts that take longer done ahead of time, just because you now have 8 cars instead of 1. That's at least 4 hours of cut time if you don't and interest may start to fade other wise.probably wouldn't hurt to have them sign the cab so no bickering breaks out on whose is who se.

I've got a baby boy on the way and can't wait till i get to start doing this type of stuff.

 

[ArkTinkerer]

If I could make a quick elaboration on srmofo's great suggestion--when doing rockets with the Cub Scouts I made kits of parts. Different shaped fins. Different length tubes. Different nose cones. Let the kids pick. They did the assembly. Makes things faster for the video game generation's shorter attention span but also makes the end result their own.

Second, if you have the equipment, put out multiple setups including different types--gas, stick, wirefeed.

Lastly, get help! More hands makes for more fun and more safety.

ArkTinkerer

 

[Bull]

Father-of-the-year type stuff right there. That is really awesome.

Put it out there that parents are welcome to come and watch, if they are concerned about ther child's safety.

I also think it might be good to have all the scrap pre-cut into kits for each kid, but maybe you don't want to do it that way. I just figure it would speed things up, not create a bottleneck as 11 kids use one bandsaw, eliminate one potentially dangerous step in the process etc.

Take pics of the event and share them, even if you need to blur out kids' faces.

 

[carhunter]

Awesome idea... just be careful with kids that aren't your own. In today's overly-litigious society I could see some lawsuits flying if anything happened. I.e. kids looking at the welding arc unprotected or cutting fingers off etc. etc.

Lawsuits are nothing, you gotta watch out for the bitchy mom! That **** spreads like wildfire

Make sure you warn the other parents in advance so they can send work/garage clothes for the kids, etc. A little heads up makes it easier for folks to plan.

 

[78Bird]

Maybe do MOST of a kit, but have some cutting left to do, that doesnt take too long. Maybe just the wheels or something.

Kids love to cut stuff up and use machines, so a little is good.

also, post results! and pics

 

[Train]

He's in Saskatchewan,where friendly and common sense are the norm. Not much chance of getting sued and little chance of getting bitched at as long as the parents know ahead of time.

What an awesome idea for a party.

 

[clarkebd]

Very cool. My 11 year old son is helping me build a work bench in the garage (metal frame). He wants to learn to weld. I'm still learning myself. But it's nice to see the interest is there. We hope to weld it up this weekend (of course obligatory workbench thread/pics will be coming).

 

[diggler306]

This is something your son will remember for the rest of his life - good job on building him a life monment to carry with him. More dad need to do this for their kids.

Agreed! Wish I had got to go to a birthday party like this at 11.

 

[Ryan87LX]

Man, Saskatchewan people are coming out of the woodwork on this place lately, lol.

Love the project - I agree that you should do most of the cutting before hand. Safer, more interesting for the kids, etc. Like a Lowes Build-It project.

 

[BigGMC]

Hell, that's so cool , I wanna make one!

 

[bigbadjim]

The b-day party went pretty good, no burns, no cuts, no blind kids, overall a fun experience for them and me. They all got the hang of tack welding pretty quick. I set up a makeshift welding work station table in the garage. Each kid got a collection of precut parts to start with. Then we went to the band saw and steel bin and made extra parts or modifications as they dreamed up stuff in their heads.

I was impressed with their ideas and brainstorming. They came up with the following, a lifted monster truck, a coe flatbed towtruck, a coe flatbed snowplow truck, a roadster towtruck, 3 roadster pickups, and a rear engine dragster. A few mods like a , wrecker unit, snowplow, pipes, stacks, blowers, beacon lights, lift kit, headlights, bumpers, etc.

Took a couple hours to finish them all but they all turned out pretty cool.

 

[Danver]

The b-day party went pretty good, no burns, no cuts, no blind kids, overall a fun experience for them and me. They all got the hang of tack welding pretty quick. I set up a makeshift welding work station table in the garage. Each kid got a collection of precut parts to start with. Then we went to the band saw and steel bin and made extra parts or modifications as they dreamed up stuff in their heads.

I was impressed with their ideas and brainstorming. They came up with the following, a lifted monster truck, a coe flatbed towtruck, a coe flatbed snowplow truck, a roadster towtruck, 3 roadster pickups, and a rear engine dragster. A few mods like a , wrecker unit, snowplow, pipes, stacks, blowers, beacon lights, lift kit, headlights, bumpers, etc.

Took a couple hours to finish them all but they all turned out pretty cool.

Sounds like they came up with some awesome ideas. Any chance we will get to see some pictures of the finished products?

 

[strnge]

Pics!!!!

 

[Ryan87LX]

Pics!

 

[bigbadjim]

Some pictures of the party.

 

[bigbadjim]

a couple more...

 

[Train]

Now you'll have some pissed off parents because the kids will all want welders for Christmas.

Just kidding of course. I bet that party was the talk of the schoolyard. Hopefully a few of the kids get the creativity bug.

 

[str8axle55]

What a great idea for a party. The results look awesome. Congrats on the teaching, and passing the torch, so to speak.

 

[snowman1981]

really cool idea! two big thumbs up on that!

 

[Jarhead0408]

Wow man, That's freakin awesome!
The only problem you have now is that you've got to top yourself next year!

 

[lilscorpion]

That is nearly the coolest idea I've ever heard of for a kids birthday party. I could have done all of that had it occurred to me and my son and his friends would have loved it. You sir, we're using your thinking hat. Probably the coolest part is I'd be happy to have any one of those as a gift and I'd probably get it powder-coated and display it for all to see. Awesome.

 

[66 GMC Truckin]

Great Job on the party BigBadJim! My boy is only 5, but I think that this might be in the party plans when he gets older! Good to see so many of us Saskatchewan Boys on here! Good things, ideas and people come from Saskatchewan!

 

[coljar]

Thanks BigBadJim for this thread. I really enjoyed it and it looks like the kids enjoyed it, too. One never knows what sparks a childs amibition to succeed in later life.

 

[bigbadjim]

I received lots of thanks and positive compliments from parents after the party. Some parents were even skeptical that their kids could even build such a piece. Anyways, lots of the kids told my son they want to do it again and build other things, like a go cart or bigger models like planes and rockets. Look what I started. I think I got their little wheels turning. My son has also been bugging me to go burn more steel together.

 

[Carp]

Very cool idea and great execution. Amazed by what the children put together. I'll be putting this one away for a future use.

 

[FJ 432]

And the Father of the year award goes to....bigbadjim.

Awesome idea.