Teaching my kid to weld

[motobilt]

Anyone else teaching their kids to weld? My son asked a few weeks ago to go down to the shop and weld. I have never pushed the shop on him. I know it is more my love than his. I have never wanted him to feel like it is work. His entire life has been spent in around the shop seeing projects I was building from local guy vehicles to to large scale complete offroad competition vehicles for Red Bull. Most kids come around the shop and get excited about what they see. My kid is used to it I guess. Hopefully his new found interest in wanting to build things is a start.

I took him down to the shop. I let him watch me make a short weld. I explained what he needed to do and why. I then let him make a weld with me guiding his hands so he would know what the movement should feel like. Then... I let him go at it. I think he did well for the first time.

http://www.motobilt.com/blog/how-to/teaching-my-11-year-old-son-to-weld/

 

[ringneck]

Way to go moto!!! That's great stuff.

My boy had to do some practical problem solving with the welder recently. He has a TJ and decided it was time to replace those bound up hinges... He ordered up some new ones, then learned how things don't come apart like they should . He asked for how to proceed, and then did a great job cleaning up those crappy torx fasteners with the angle grinder, welding nuts onto them, and the torquing them out with the breaker bar.

Was a lot of fun to watch...

 

[Hotrod Addiction]

Moto that's awesome man. Glad to hear he's showing an interest. My son just turned 2. I can't wait for him to be old enough to star passing down the things I've learned. Some of my fondest memories from my childhood we're working with my dad. He's already making vroom vroom noises and is absolutely obsessed with motorcycles. Off to a good start.

 

[motobilt]

Way to go moto!!! That's great stuff.

My boy had to do some practical problem solving with the welder recently. He has a TJ and decided it was time to replace those bound up hinges... He ordered up some new ones, then learned how things don't come apart like they should . He asked for how to proceed, and then did a great job cleaning up those crappy torx fasteners with the angle grinder, welding nuts onto them, and the torquing them out with the breaker bar.

Was a lot of fun to watch...

I always use a hand impact on those. For the ones that still do not come out I have a couple tricks. Hit it with PB Blaster. They get a 1/2" bolt about 1 inch long. clamp on the hex with vise-grips. Heat the bolt until it is glowing. Hold the hot bolt against the torx bolt for minute. might need to reheat your bolt once. After you get the torx bolt hot hit it again with the hand impact. I rarely ever need to weld to them.

For those who do not own a hand impact check it out. I have one from Snap-On but they all work about the same.

http://www.toolup.com/proto_j7099a_38-drive-13-pc-hand-impact-driver-set.aspx

This is perfect for keeping the torx planted deep when turning the fastener. Works great on allen bolts also. This is a great tool to have out on the trail or in your race trailer to get super tight things loose when you do not have access to an air impact wrench.

Dan

 

[motobilt]

Moto that's awesome man. Glad to hear he's showing an interest. My son just turned 2. I can't wait for him to be old enough to star passing down the things I've learned. Some of my fondest memories from my childhood we're working with my dad. He's already making vroom vroom noises and is absolutely obsessed with motorcycles. Off to a good start.

Thats awesome. I am with you on the childhood memories. I lived in my dad's shop growing up. I went to work with him often and the backyard shop was my place to spend afternoons after school.

Dan

 

[ringneck]

Yeah, we started out with the hand impact, they are very hady... Had a few early where it didn't work, escalated to the welding. Once he had to do that a couple times, he decided the welding was more fun. Might have saved some time trying the impact on each first, but he was happy, so I let him go.

He actually twisted the heads off of a couple of them after welding, we drilled those out.

Great fun to see the kids working in the shop...

 

[zkling]

That is a very lucky kid to have a dad like you. Sounds like you got that father thing nailed down.

Anyone else teaching their kids to weld?

I taught myself to weld WHEN I was a kid, does that count? I wasn't lucky enough to have some to teach me back then.

His entire life has been spent in around the shop seeing projects I was building from local guy vehicles to to large scale complete offroad competition vehicles for Red Bull. Most kids come around the shop and get excited about what they see. My kid is used to it I guess. Hopefully his new found interest in wanting to build things is a start.

Again, VERY lucky kid. Mind if I ask how old your son is?

 

[shovel]

Kudos to you motobilt! I always thought I'd teach my son to weld... He turned out more like his Mom than me. That is a good thing. He is smart like his mother. Of course, I always wanted to teach my wife to weld too. I told here it was one of my fantasies to have a woman who could help me out and weld. We've been married 32 years and she has yet to strike an arc.
It is great to have your kid in the shop. The lessons he learns now will pay dividend to him from now on. Good job Dad!

 

[motobilt]

Kudos to you motobilt! I always thought I'd teach my son to weld... He turned out more like his Mom than me. That is a good thing. He is smart like his mother. Of course, I always wanted to teach my wife to weld too. I told here it was one of my fantasies to have a woman who could help me out and weld. We've been married 32 years and she has yet to strike an arc.
It is great to have your kid in the shop. The lessons he learns now will pay dividend to him from now on. Good job Dad!

HAHA.... yeah my wife and I have been married for 15 years. I have tried to talk her into giving TIG welding a try. No go.... too girly girl. LOL

Dan

 

[motobilt]

That is a very lucky kid to have a dad like you. Sounds like you got that father thing nailed down.




I taught myself to weld WHEN I was a kid, does that count? I wasn't lucky enough to have some to teach me back then.



Again, VERY lucky kid. Mind if I ask how old your son is?

My son was 11 when I made the post on my website. He turned 12 last week. Like you I taught myself to weld. While I had a shop to work in my dad was always busy working. My father was not a fabricator he was in automotive repair and body work. The skills I picked over the years were the result of being too broke to pay someone to do it for me. LOL I started building small projects like bumpers and it progressed on to custom scratch built vehicles.

Dan

 

[Thumper68]

All 3 of my kids know how to weld. The 11 yo just started in the last year, now he wants to learn to oxy/acetlyne weld.

My father was no great shakes in the shop, he knew the basics but it wasn't something that he found joy in so like some of the others I am self taught, I liked welding so much I spent a year in school refining my technique, figuring that I would head that way career wise didn't happen but the love of it is still there and sharing that with the kids has been a blast.

 

[Ohmthis]

Moto that's great man! I learned to weld myself as my stepdad worked too much. Keep all of these memories on film so you can go back and laugh. He may be your shop foreman before too long!!! My son is 4 and he loves being out in the garage with daddy, just hope he still does as he gets older.

 

[motobilt]

Moto that's great man! I learned to weld myself as my stepdad worked too much. Keep all of these memories on film so you can go back and laugh. He may be your shop foreman before too long!!! My son is 4 and he loves being out in the garage with daddy, just hope he still does as he gets older.

Hopefully my kid will want to spend more time at the shop learning. I think he will appreciate it more as he gets older.

Dan

 

[motobilt]

All 3 of my kids know how to weld. The 11 yo just started in the last year, now he wants to learn to oxy/acetlyne weld.

My father was no great shakes in the shop, he knew the basics but it wasn't something that he found joy in so like some of the others I am self taught, I liked welding so much I spent a year in school refining my technique, figuring that I would head that way career wise didn't happen but the love of it is still there and sharing that with the kids has been a blast.

Thats awesome

Dan

 

[motobilt]

Not welding... but here he is about 8-9 years ago helping me build a comp rock crawler. I wish i would have taken more pics over the years.

-Dan

 

[MillerMav]

This is an awesome thing to read about. I only have a daughter now and she is only 20 months old but she already gets so excited watching me or others work on stuff. She is terribly fascinated by a tape measure going in and out and has a very good attention span for being so young (its only a minute or two!).

That being said whenever I am out in my garage doing fabrication work or working on a car I constantly think how cool it would be to have her out there helping me and even more so me teaching her about what I am doing and why/how.

My old man didn't like working out in the garage and even more so was very annoyed when he had to explain to me what he was doing and showing me how. I was constantly relegated to "hold the flashlight" duty. Luckily I absorbed a ton of information from the original car shows on "TNN" (now Spike) and took fab courses in college so I could learn how to weld, run a mill and lathe and so on.

I know they grow up to fast but I can't wait until I can teach my kids this stuff. Good on ya Moto!

 

[gpalmer77]

Awesome. That is all.

 

[motobilt]

Awesome. That is all.

LOL Thanks

 

[motobilt]

This is an awesome thing to read about. I only have a daughter now and she is only 20 months old but she already gets so excited watching me or others work on stuff. She is terribly fascinated by a tape measure going in and out and has a very good attention span for being so young (its only a minute or two!).

That being said whenever I am out in my garage doing fabrication work or working on a car I constantly think how cool it would be to have her out there helping me and even more so me teaching her about what I am doing and why/how.

My old man didn't like working out in the garage and even more so was very annoyed when he had to explain to me what he was doing and showing me how. I was constantly relegated to "hold the flashlight" duty. Luckily I absorbed a ton of information from the original car shows on "TNN" (now Spike) and took fab courses in college so I could learn how to weld, run a mill and lathe and so on.

I know they grow up to fast but I can't wait until I can teach my kids this stuff. Good on ya Moto!

Good deal man. When my kids where very young I was very busy running all over the country to events and building vehicles for Red Bull and other high profile clients when home. I wish i would have slowed down a little more back then and involved them in things more. Sounds like you are on the right path.

Dan

 

[crewchief888]

if every dad took the time to pass on skills, the world might be a better place.

my dad started showing me how to weld when i was 9 or 10.

started with gas welding, and then stick welding.

funny thing was, he never wanted me to be a welder, but to have enough skill to be able to do it.
he was like that with everything i learned from him.
he didnt really "teach" me anything, i learned by overservation
i tried to pass along some skills to my stepson, but unfortunately he spends too much time with his real dad for any of it to be useful.
my oldest stepdaughter did start helping out a little bit in the garage, working on my sierra when it was time for brakes and oil changes.
she bragged to her male friends that she did the work on the truck neither of them had any interest in fixing thier own vehicles

 

[motobilt]

if every dad took the time to pass on skills, the world might be a better place.

my dad started showing me how to weld when i was 9 or 10.

started with gas welding, and then stick welding.

funny thing was, he never wanted me to be a welder, but to have enough skill to be able to do it.
he was like that with everything i learned from him.
he didnt really "teach" me anything, i learned by overservation
i tried to pass along some skills to my stepson, but unfortunately he spends too much time with his real dad for any of it to be useful.
my oldest stepdaughter did start helping out a little bit in the garage, working on my sierra when it was time for brakes and oil changes.
she bragged to her male friends that she did the work on the truck neither of them had any interest in fixing thier own vehicles

I have never pushed my son to learn things in the shop. He spends a lot more time with school work than I did as a kid. I want him to leaen more practical skills in the shop because I think it helps in other areas of life as well. Having different skill sets can be to your advantage and open doors that may not be there for others. Perhaps his interest will grow when he gets more in the "car" phase of life.

Dan

 

[gsport]

not my son, but my grandson... last year

 

[crewchief888]

I have never pushed my son to learn things in the shop. He spends a lot more time with school work than I did as a kid. I want him to leaen more practical skills in the shop because I think it helps in other areas of life as well. Having different skill sets can be to your advantage and open doors that may not be there for others. Perhaps his interest will grow when he gets more in the "car" phase of life.

Dan

well said


i agree,
i like to think the things i learned (mostly by observation) when i ws a kid, made me better at what i do as an adult.
as much as i wanted my step kids to "learn" things in their limited time around me, they need to have an interest in wanting to learn.
the oldest girl spent the most time here with us, and she got to observe the most.
she moved in 2 days after graduating HS, extremely shy, quiet, withdrawn, lacking social skills, and a feeling of being "abandoned" by her real dad.
she'd never really gotten any support, or encouragment.
one conversation about her future, college, work, (she wanted to e a nurse) we suggested her joining the military to get her education, and be able to still retire at a young age.
the feelings of abandonment came back, and she again withdrew.
jump ahead 4 years, she got her confidence back, and recently moved 1200 miles to live with some friends, saying it's "time for me to be on my own, i CAN do this now, thanks to you"

yanno,
even tho she never learned how to weld, i'm proud of her

 

[motobilt]

well said


i agree,
i like to think the things i learned (mostly by observation) when i ws a kid, made me better at what i do as an adult.
as much as i wanted my step kids to "learn" things in their limited time around me, they need to have an interest in wanting to learn.
the oldest girl spent the most time here with us, and she got to observe the most.
she moved in 2 days after graduating HS, extremely shy, quiet, withdrawn, lacking social skills, and a feeling of being "abandoned" by her real dad.
she'd never really gotten any support, or encouragment.
one conversation about her future, college, work, (she wanted to e a nurse) we suggested her joining the military to get her education, and be able to still retire at a young age.
the feelings of abandonment came back, and she again withdrew.
jump ahead 4 years, she got her confidence back, and recently moved 1200 miles to live with some friends, saying it's "time for me to be on my own, i CAN do this now, thanks to you"

yanno,
even tho she never learned how to weld, i'm proud of her

Thats awesome. In the end it really does not matter what our kids do as long as they love it. I don't expect my kids or people around me to share the same excitement I have for working in the shop. If it is forced I think they will hate it.

Dan

 

[Thumper68]

On fri I had to replace the brake booster in our 97 blazer, both my 11 yo son and 17 yo daughter jumped in to help, I was so proud of them, daughter under the hood and son under the dash.

We have a rule in our house, before they are allowed to get their DL they have to know how to change the oil, a tire, the brakes and check all the fluids in all of our vehicles. Even if it's not something that they ever have to do it prepares them when they have a tech do it for them.

 

[motobilt]

On fri I had to replace the brake booster in our 97 blazer, both my 11 yo son and 17 yo daughter jumped in to help, I was so proud of them, daughter under the hood and son under the dash.

We have a rule in our house, before they are allowed to get their DL they have to know how to change the oil, a tire, the brakes and check all the fluids in all of our vehicles. Even if it's not something that they ever have to do it prepares them when they have a tech do it for them.

That is a good idea.

Dan

 

[motobilt]

not my son, but my grandson... last year

Awesome... smiling!!!!

Dan

 

[crewchief888]

Thats awesome. In the end it really does not matter what our kids do as long as they love it.
If it is forced I think they will hate it.

Dan

yea if i'm required or forced to do much of anything, i really start to resent having to do it..

 

[theknurl]

to everyone that taught their kids and grand kids to weld, thank you

my instruction at ~8;
"this is a neutral flame.....
this is an oxidizing flame.....
this is a carburizing flame.....see the little tail? thats what you want OK? here's 2 tin cans and a coat hanger.....call me when you get them welded together.....
and don't burn yourself.....you mother won't like that, neither will you"

no kids, but taught a lot of girlfriends to weld, shoot guns and ride motorcycles

 

[motobilt]

I hope to have my son tig welding soon. I need help in the shop. haha. Seriously though it will be cool to see him throwing down welding aluminum.

Dan

 

[sberry]

I want mine to learn enough to be proficient if then need to get something done.

 

[Engine]

Anyone else teaching their kids to weld? My son asked a few weeks ago to go down to the shop and weld. I have never pushed the shop on him. I know it is more my love than his. I have never wanted him to feel like it is work. His entire life has been spent in around the shop seeing projects I was building from local guy vehicles to to large scale complete offroad competition vehicles for Red Bull. Most kids come around the shop and get excited about what they see. My kid is used to it I guess. Hopefully his new found interest...

It's great that your son is taking an interest. It's better to be with dad than to be parked in front of a video game. You and he are both better off spending as much time in the shop together as possible.

Some of my best memories as a kid was when my dad and grandfather would take me with them to the shop. I watched, looked, learned, and think I even helped sometimes. Keep up the good work!

 

[motobilt]

It's great that your son is taking an interest. It's better to be with dad than to be parked in front of a video game. You and he are both better off spending as much time in the shop together as possible.

Some of my best memories as a kid was when my dad and grandfather would take me with them to the shop. I watched, looked, learned, and think I even helped sometimes. Keep up the good work!

Agreed... some of he best memories I have were handing my dad wrenches and feeling like I had to hurry to find tools in the box for him. LOL Good times

Dan

 

[clarence wetzel]

From the sound of it he laid a good weld !!! im hoping my kids will want to be in the shop for some quality time!!!

 

[Bobhdus]

My son loves to weld. I taught him stick welding first when he was about 10. He's 14 now. Because I don't have a real weld shop, the biggest thing that I always stress is what to do BEFORE and AFTER we weld to prevent fires as well as making sure he doesn't weld without a fire watch. I first learned to weld with oxy-acetylene. He's not ready for that. Stick and mig are all fun though!

p.s. I wish I could get my wife interested so I could buy her that nice Miller AC/DC 200DX (and borrow it from her...)!