Welding in Middle School

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Hi guys, I'm a middle schooler and I have been welding with a Hobart MIG... I made a welding table for my shop teacher at school. We are getting a everlast GTAW/SMAW/PAW multiprocess welder and I am hoping to learn TIG.At school I am in a club making a super mileage vehicle which involves welding. My shop teacher spent two years convincing our school to let him get a SMAW MIG because they would let him bring in Shielded gas because they apparently think that it is flammable. After he got the welder he asked if he could have students weld. They didn't answer him. So for super mileage he really is the only one who is allowed to weld and he really doesn't have time to teaches classes. Now I want you guys to tell me if you think middle schools should be taught welding at school. It has been taught in the past ,but bureaucracy has taken over. Please tell me any ideas to convince the school to let middle schoolers weld. It is a great skill and welders are needed in the workforce.
Reply:I learned the basics of OA welding in metals shop back in Jr high back in the early 80's. We had stick as well, but I was more interested in forge and casting work than stick welding at the time.Sadly to many classes aren't allowed any longer due to liability. I know of several people who were seriously hurt in various classes because they were doing something stupid they were told not to, but did it anyways. Back then it was the students fault. Today, it's the schools fault because they allowed a child to be exposed to such "dangers". Remove the danger, remove the liability. It's that simple..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:DSW is right.What used to be done and what is, it's all liability.  It's never the individuals fault it is someone else's.I would agree it would be a good class for you to have.  But at the same time today their would be a lot of students who would want to goof off and do something stupid.  It only takes one person to screw it up for everyone.Eastwood 135 mig welderHobart Stickmate LX 235 AC / 160 DCHobart EX Tig 165
Reply:you sure know the talk.   are you sure your a student?   what grade you in?
Reply:Having taught high school shop, I can tell you the other replies here hit the nail on the head.    I was constantly being shut down on any ideas by admin and facilities management.   They often claimed liability issues that didn't even exist.   The school board and you local news media are your best chances for effecting a change.Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:I am in 7th grade
Reply:I started welding school at 14. Back then the teacher was God in the class room! The first day the teacher threw three guys out for talking after he said to be quiet. They never came back. In my opinion the teacher has to have that kind of control over the students, welding can be very dangerous!Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Yeah... Im gonna say it...Those were the days.Regards,RobGreat Basin WeldingInstagramBlue weldersRed weldersMy luscious Table DIY TIG Torch cooler
Reply:I haven't seen a public school around here with a shop for ages.  They were all yanked (along with home economics rooms) for liability fears.  Broke my heart to walk into my Daughter's Jr. High for the first visit only to find the the shop turned into a makeshift computer room and the hood that used to be over the hot-work area a decoration over the Teacher's desk.That being said...shop still exists in some areas where they previously killed it in schools but it's under a different hat:  FFA.  Most people think FFA is all about pushing dirt but it covers a LOT more.  Because of the shop issue (and some others), the fastest growing FFA chapters are Urban settings  where they cover all sorts of stuff other than how to raise a cow.  You might check into the availability of FFA in your area--they often use "school" facilities including providing/working with a teacher.  For some reason when it goes under the FFA banner, schools relax a lot regarding liability issues--as though someone with authority and knowledge calmed them down.  It might be worth contacting FFA to see if they can get the school powers to be a bit more realistic about using tools.It's one hell of a program for all sorts of life skills so I'd highly recommend anyone look into it if you have kids who like dirty hands.  Also good leadership programs.
Reply:Originally Posted by CEPI started welding school at 14. Back then the teacher was God in the class room! The first day the teacher threw three guys out for talking after he said to be quiet. They never came back. In my opinion the teacher has to have that kind of control over the students, welding can be very dangerous!
Reply:One thing our county did was start a regional vocational center. They were able to purchase better equipment than the individual schools could. They also take trips to the local industries to see real world settings. The center covers welding, machining, computer labs and cooking. This kind of weeds out the jack legs that are only killing time. Too bad it's only offered to high school students. They are bused to the center two or three times a week. Dan D.Manipulator Of Metal
Reply:We have a shop at our school,but just woodworking and little bit of metal working (angle grinder, coldcut saw)
Reply:My Daughter inlaw  learned to weld when she went to College for an Ag degree , welding was part of the program , she probably welds better than my son
Reply:Originally Posted by ratthepoodleHi guys, I'm a middle schooler and I have been welding with a Hobart MIG... I made a welding table for my shop teacher at school. We are getting a everlast GTAW/SMAW/PAW multiprocess welder and I am hoping to learn TIG.At school I am in a club making a super mileage vehicle which involves welding. My shop teacher spent two years convincing our school to let him get a SMAW MIG because they would let him bring in Shielded gas because they apparently think that it is flammable. After he got the welder he asked if he could have students weld. They didn't answer him. So for super mileage he really is the only one who is allowed to weld and he really doesn't have time to teaches classes. Now I want you guys to tell me if you think middle schools should be taught welding at school. It has been taught in the past ,but bureaucracy has taken over. Please tell me any ideas to convince the school to let middle schoolers weld. It is a great skill and welders are needed in the workforce.
Reply:I started to weld in middle school, (no school program) talked my parents in to getting me a welder,  I have started to teach my grand son a little, he is 11. has his own tools and works in my wood shop a lot, (I do supervise him when using power tools.)now days the government do not think you can sneeze until your 16.
Reply:I had shop class in school, metal/wood shop but never any welding. Our shop classes were a joke. My old man taught me how to stick weld when I was 12. I built my first weight bench with him.www.tjsperformance.comDynasty 300 DXHTP 240HTP Microcut 380Hyperthem 85JD2 Hyd Bender and HF Hyd Ring Roller all in one =(Frankenbender)Bpt. Mill/DRO4' x 8' CNC Plasma TableInstagram: tjsperformanceYT: TJS Welding and Fabrication
Reply:Yep you hit nail right in the head.
Reply:I think I might be... The shop teacher can't push to hard because he needs to stay on the good side of the administration (he pulls some sketchy stuff i.e taking tables in storage and cutting the up for metal). I think  I'll try to write a paper/letter about the benefits of teaching welding. I think the administration doesn't know much about welding (they've only heard about the accidents) so they shut down any ideas of teaching it. My shop teacher and I agree that MIG welding is safer than using a bandsaw ( it could be looked at different ways).
Reply:My principal is a single mother of 2. I spruce myself up, tell her she's beautiful, work my charm, and my ag teachers thank me later
Reply:Like DSW, my middle school shop teacher Mr. Ford was a huge inspiration. Learned to O/A braze and weld, stick weld, solder, sheet metal, foundry, rivet, even a little lathe work. Basically I think his goal was to put on every machine and use every tool in the shop. Some of the things I learned in those classes I use every day. What a disappointment when I got to high school and the metal shop classes were making dust pans. He has his curriculum up on the school web server although he's teaching at a different school than I attended. You might have your teacher take a look. From what I can tell it's the same stuff he had us doing in the early 80's. http://connect.issaquah.wednet.edu/m...s/default.aspxA friend and I put on the Boy Scouts welding merit badge clinic last fall. It spanned several evenings and we had both youth and adults who had never welded before. We divided a welding table with a screen and put half on stick and the other half on mig. One thing that we learned from that experience is that if we started the boys on stick they picked up mig very quickly... but if we put them on mig first they struggled... with both. We found that teaching arc control with stick was easy. It was also fun to have them try fixed shade and auto darkening helmets. A couple of the boys really could pad some nice welds. It helped a lot that the other councilor was a union trainer.A nice mig or tig welder may be nice but learning to gas weld did more for teaching puddle control than any other process... of course that's what I started with.Maybe your instructor can show the administration what another middle school is doing and gain some courage. Kids are more capable than we allow them to be.  Maybe the administration can contact Mr. Ford for more details on his program.I mentor in the afternoon at a high school teaching CNC milling and basic turning. I have some kids that are now programming their own parts with very little oversight.
Reply:Originally Posted by swampwelder13My principal is a single mother of 2. I spruce myself up, tell her she's beautiful, work my charm, and my ag teachers thank me later
Reply:Originally Posted by ratthepoodleYep you hit nail right in the head.
Reply:you got a start somewhere right? i started in Highschool, and i know a lot of people who came from middle schools knowing how to stick or mig. so i think it is a great idea! Now about the shielding gases AHAHAHA
Reply:We didn't have shop in the lower grades, but I took both semesters of drafting in ninth grade where usually you flipped midway from drafting to shop and shop to drafting. The drafting teacher was a hardball. Man. The stories that made it out of the shop class across the hall, though. Whoa. Kids were putting belt sanders on the floor, connecting them to 50 foot extension cords, locking the triggers, and riding them all the way across the room. Another gag was releasing acetylene into one of the welding surfaces that was made of fire brick. As soon a someone started to weld the whole thing went foom! They used to weld tools to the bottoms of the steel tables just for the heck of it. As kcb37 said, it only takes one person to screw it up for everyone.I hope you have success in getting a welding class, but it won't be easy. A lot of us were lucky to have learned it outside of school.KevLast edited by Kev; 02-28-2015 at 11:47 AM.Reason: Clarification
Reply:I think that if schools were to offer a welding program it should be offered to the students that show responsibility and get a good grade in a typical shop class as a reward so it would it would somehow weed out the students that would pose a liability from the horseplay.Originally Posted by RoadhunterI subbed in at the local Job Corps welding school for a couple of months and was terrified that one of those kids would turn on an acetylene valve and walk out of the building.  Could have easily killed a bunch of people.
Reply:Bottom line.Most kids today are not responsible in any way shape or form.And that is a recipe for disaster in a shop.Just a couple welders, big hammers, grinders, and torches.Work will free you.Men in dirty jeans built this country, while men in clean suits have destroyed it. Trump/Carson 2016-2024
Reply:Originally Posted by AKweldshopBottom line.Most kids today are not responsible in any way shape or form.And that is a recipe for disaster in a shop.
Reply:With welding you want students who want to be there. If it was just a general shop class and pretty much all the students took it could be disastrous. Obviously the administration knows nothing about welding if it thinks shielding gas is flammable. Tell them CO2 is used to put out fires. Mind you I worked at a large welding supply and one of the outside salesmen was freaking out the place was going to blow up because a customer was having a smoke on the dock in front of the empty high pressure rack. It was kind of hilarious actually. I wish I would have had a little trigger start torch and lit it over by the empty acetylene rack. I think the guy would have had a heart attack. You shouldn't smoke around cylinders but they don't just blow up, especially when they're non flammable gas in them.