A PROUD DAD & GRANDDAD

Date 07-25-2009 20:14

Hello ronnie, sure nice to see one of your own take an interest in what you do! I have 3 boys and 1 girl, the second oldest boy is currently running a job near Abilene, Texas. The others have an appreciation of where the trades have brought our family but don't have a direct interest in the trades. The youngest boy has been doing some welding too and is pretty decent at it, but I don't know that he plans to take it much further. Congratulations to you and your son. Best regards, Allan

By ronnie taylor (**)

Date 07-25-2009 23:39

Thank You so much for your kind words and engouragement, best regards to you and your children as well Thanks again Ronnie

By rick harnish (***)

Date 07-25-2009 23:43

Welding cap cocked half sideways and all. I like him!

By ronnie taylor (**)

Date 07-25-2009 23:52

As much as he hears your name and cactus name around here that means alot comming from you Rick you cant smack the smile off his face! Thank You

By rick harnish (***)

Date 07-26-2009 03:39

You are welcome, and I am flattered!!

By Cactusthewelder (*****)

Date 08-18-2009 19:53

ME TOO ! Im not quite sure what to think about that one. I guess I can hire him to replace Rick someday !

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 07-26-2009 03:38

I'm glad to see other guys doing that with their kids! That's great!! Been doing that with my boy and girl. Give them all the humidity saturated 7018's they can burn!! At least this way when they get older and if they decide it's the college road and a desk job they'll at least have some knowledge on how to do this stuff for themselves. He sure looked like he was having a blast!!

Shawn

By jrod

Date 07-26-2009 00:38

Where is the job around Abilene?

By DaveBoyer (*****)

Date 07-26-2009 03:20

It is good to see kids taking an interest in a trade.

By bigrod

Date 07-27-2009 04:33

haha maybe some day some of us younger guys may get to do a job with him!

By ronnie taylor (**)

Date 07-27-2009 16:29

Thanks everyone for your views and comments it means alot to him! You have really helped a little boy believe in himself! our prayers an best wishes to all! Thanks again from the Taylor family.

By warmka weld (*)

Date 07-27-2009 23:19

It's good to see kids learning early and showing an intrest. Not to be a jerk but he should probably be taught how to weld with safety glasses on. 8 is way to young to lose an eye. And we all know how sparks can fly around.

By chris2698 (****)

Date 07-28-2009 09:25

I would have to agree many times I have had stuff fly into my shield and I know not many people like to wear this but a respirator is good to because all those fumes can cause alot of damage to the lungs

By ronnie taylor (**)

Date 07-28-2009 19:28

Yes sir!!! I'am very glad you said that now he can read it for himself!! I've told him but it's like pulling teeth to try to get him to keep them on. He can't stand them they fog up on him and he gets frustrated. So I've ordered him a pancake He trys to wear mine but it doesn't fit very good. thanks again

By aevald

Date 07-28-2009 19:37

Hello ronnie, if he's got fogging issues try going to one of the sports shops and getting a Scott no-fog cloth, you can wipe down the lens and they won't fog again for quite some time. There are also some spray cleaner/no-fog products that work pretty well. I used to have some stuff that was made in Idaho and came in a clear squirt bottle that was a green color, it worked very well. I just can't find the bottle or remember the manufacturers name. Best regards, Allan

By ronnie taylor (**)

Date 07-28-2009 19:42

Thanks allan I'll try that. Thanks again.

Ronnie

By rick harnish (***)

Date 07-28-2009 21:01

Pancake!! It keeps getting better!
Nothing gets in them pancakes.

By jrw159

Date 07-28-2009 21:11

Bravo Ronnie!! I love the title to the youtube video. Priceless!! If that young one is reading this tell him to get real close......

WEAR THE PROPER PPE (personal protective equipment)!!!! LOL Your eyes are not replaceable young man. :-) Hope to see you on the ROW (right of way) someday in the future.

jrw159

By chris2698 (****)

Date 07-29-2009 00:39

I tried alot of anit fog stuff and really nothing worked. The AO safety glasses I ahve that I bought from work were fogging bad so now I put them on, smash them against my face then just pull them off just a hair and that helps from not having them fog I guess with some glasses you need some air to circulate in them to keep them from fogging. The color I wear is Blue because this dang aluminum was frying my eyeballs but any good clear glasses I have found works good from the welding store. I forget the other name brand I liked alot.

By rick harnish (***)

Date 07-29-2009 01:39

Mr. West, I believe you will inspect his work, and I will have direct competition. Learning the basics this young, I expect to meet him someday.
Carry on, young un!!!!!

By ronnie taylor (**)

Date 07-29-2009 17:21

Hi Mr West and Mr Harnish this is Patrick I promise to wear my safety glasses and do my best. Thank you for watching me weld. (welders are the greatest!!!!)

By jrw159

Date 07-29-2009 18:35

Atta boy Patrick. Post some pics of your welds. Keep us posted on how you are coming along. :-)

jrw159

By rick harnish (***)

Date 07-29-2009 20:41

Yes sir, Patrick. It was my pleasure. Keep in touch!

By ronnie taylor (**)

Date 08-18-2009 18:37

Thank you all !!

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 08-20-2009 03:48 Edited 08-20-2009 07:59

Way to go Patrick!!! :) :) :)

As a welding instructor for over 15 years, I've seen a lot of different students learn how to weld with a wide variety of success...
You remind me of my youth when I was being taught how to weld by my Grandfather also! I can honestly say that your welds are much better than mine were when I first started to learn and I wasn't even as fortunate as you are to practice on pipe!!! You are definitely a natural, and I see a very bright future for you in this field.

As your "grand-pappy", and others have already suggested to you; Practice, practice, practice, and practice some more is the key to becoming the best that you possibly can get, and then you need to maintain that high level of skill which I'm pretty confident that you will!!!

Another important aspect to this skill is to pay real good attention while you are in school, and the subjects being taught such as science that covers chemistry, physics, etc... Then there is Mathematics because, welders today not only must have good to excellent welding skills... They also need to know how to measure accurately, to lay out accurate dimensions in order to prepare the metal for fabrication which would involve different types of cutting, bending, forming piercing, drilling, assembly by welding all of the parts together, and so forth in order to do this with consistency, and accuracy... This will result in producing top quality products so that people will come back to you for more work!

You definitely need to learn how to work the numbers found in engineering drawings, or otherwise known as blueprints, or even hand drawn sketches with dimensions written in them... Companies need someone with decent math skills to properly interpret the dimensions in order to lay out the materials for fabrication as well as assembly in an accurate and consistent manner! The only way to do this is to be as familiar, and comfortable with manipulating numbers as you can!!! In other words, do not let math intimidate you as sometimes some folks tend to let happen with themselves... Remember that numbers do not hurt you unless you forget to give them the proper amount of attention! ;)

If you're going to work with pipe, then you need to also learn how to not only fit pipe, but also lay out the pipe accurately on site while working from drawings that do not usually give you all of the necessary dimensions in order to do this just from the measurements shown in the drawings... And this is why it is so important for you to become comfortable with topics in math such as geometry as well as Trigonometry besides knowing how to do fractions, decimals, converting dimensions to their metric equivalents... And this may read at first like so much to learn but, it will all be taught to you while you are in grade school as well as when you continue through high school so, STAY IN SCHOOL Patrick!!! ;)

These various methods of working, or manipulating numbers which will be taught to you while you are in school will be important for you to be comfortable with later on when you decide to start working as a welder/fitter, and will continue to be useful as well as being necessary to be proficient in for the rest of your life because, if you decide to start your own business, you will have had enough practice with math that you'll be confident enough to go out, and bid for work by providing your potential - as well as established customers with accurate, and fair estimates - enabling you to still earn a decent profit as a result.

The science of welding as well as the science of metals is as important also, in order to become comfortable with as well as being knowledgeable in... And you need to become comfortable with the fundamentals of scientific principals that are necessary for you to learn as much as you can in order for you to have an in depth understanding of what is actually going on while you're welding, what the metals are made up of, and why they are designed in the way they are as well as why certain metals, and other materials are used for different applications based on their own individual chemical as well as their individual physical characteristics...

Most of these subjects, and topics will be taught to you while you go through school also so, please do not take school, and the studies involved lightly Patrick, and please do not let all of the stuff I mentioned intimidate you into thinking that it's just too much to learn all at once because, you will only learn as much as can handle, and sooner or later, all of the topics you learn will eventually start to make sense in their relation to welding & fabrication. ;) As a result, you will be light years ahead of everyone else if you decide to dedicate yourself into becoming a sponge for knowledge!!! :) :) :)

Also remember this young man... There's no rush to learn everything there is to know about welding technology because, I want to share with you something that more than likely everybody else in here understands with respect to this field... Always remain teachable!!! I know that you understand what I'm saying because you use a similar saying in your signature which says: "Still Teachable!" In other words; I never stop learning because after all, it's a life long process. ;)

In other words if you dedicate yourself to learning as much as you can handle in welding and fabrication, then you need to keep an open mind that's willing to learn new methods, techniques in order to stay current with, or even forge ahead of the rest of the folks in this combination of crafts knowledge because, one day you might at one point or another in your life decide that you may want stay involved with welding, yet from a different perspective such as being an educator, or an inspector, or even someone who engineers, designs different aspects of weldments, including structures, piping, pressure vessels, machines like various types of vehicles, aircraft, ships, power plants, refineries, pipelines, compressor stations, design new automated welding systems, space systems and the list goes on as far as your imagination can take it!!!

So take your time but, learn as much as you can at your own pace because, an idle mind is a wasted one!!! You may also want to think about becoming a student member of the AWS (American Welding Society). Also, when you feel comfortable enough, get into the habit of coming into the AWS forum in order to seek advice, or just to look for some suggestions on just about anything related to welding and fabrication, and do not be afraid to ask any type of question because, no question asked in here in relation to welding is considered a stupid question!!!

So if you need to find an answer to a question, or two and you come to the forum to seek answers, then do so with the understanding that just about everyone in here will be willing to go out of their way to help you learn more, and if we can help you become better at whatever it is that you want be at the time, or to learn more about a specific topic, then we will certainly try our best to help you achieve that goal!!! Keep up the great work there Ronnie!!! ;)

That is something I can promise you with confidence Patrick, even after some of us are no longer around when you get older and wiser than you already are!!! Imagine that???

So stay in school buddy, and take advantage of this new learning tool for you to use as often as you like!!! :) :) :)
Man would I love to be your age again Patrick!!! ;)

Respectfully,
Henry

By ronnie taylor (**)

Date 08-21-2009 12:56

Hi Mr. Henry, My name is Angie, Ronnie's wife and Patrick's Mother I read your letter to Patrick after he got home from school and I had to write to tell you thank you. Your words not only touched me but Patrick and Ronnie as well Ronnie was so speechless he just couldn't write back. I bought a flatbed trucking company about two months ago it was taking a nose dive as most of them are, and for that one moment that I was reading your letter just for a moment the stress was lifted It gave me so much hope and I seen it in my son's eyes as well. I will keep this letter and read it to him again when he is 10 and again at 13,16, and 18 so he will never forget the importance of school in order to reach his dreams Thank You. What I feel goes deeper than just a thank you but I just don't know how to express how grateful I am for the support we have been given. Thank you for the tools and knowledge you have given us to help bring our son up in this world with a goal and love for a field that will carry him for the rest of his life. Sincerely Angie Taylor

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 08-21-2009 15:17

The pleasure is all mine Mrs. Taylor unless, you prefer for me to address you as Angie - if that's all right with you Ronnie ;)!!!

I'm usually percieved by the folks who know me best - my friends as being a sort-of tough guy character, and after reading your response; I just couldn't hold back my tears of joy knowing that in spite of all the suffering I've been through in the last 20 years, or so from my failing health that I know now that I was able to reach someone, even if it's just one young person to let them know that they are going to be all right as they go through life, and that this person will understand the importance of continuing their education in order to become the best they can possibly be!!! This alone has made all of the suffering from my illnesses all the more worth it in my book!!!

Your response is worth so much more to me than you will ever know... For me, it's worth more than any amount of money in comparison because to me, I consider it as being PRICELESS in being a small part in Patrick's development as well as giving both of you as parents the hope you seek with respect to your son's enthusiastic journey in eventually becoming a resounding success!!!

I'm really privileged to know that there are still enough parents like yourselves who honestly know the importance of encouraging their children to be all that they want to become with all of the LOVE and guidance as well as patience that they can muster!!! It just reinforces my own recently wavering optimism in our youth of today as part of the next generation who will inevitably take our places as the driving force that contributes to our own success as a nation with the family values being taught to them by parents like yourselves so, once again both you, Ronnie as well as Patrick have renewed my own sense of optimism towards the future of our GREAT COUNTRY!!!

I can now pass on in peace knowing honestly in my heart that all is not lost for this WONDERFUL COUNTRY I CHOOSE TO CALL: The UNITED STATES of AMERICA as my own!!! ;)

Once again, thank you for your kind words, and know that both of you deserve all of the credit in developing as well as being rightfully proud for having such a wonderful son like Patrick! :) :) :)

Respectfully,
Henry

By FixaLinc (****)

Date 08-21-2009 00:01

That grin tells it all he is having fun :) Keep up the good work with the young ones! I learned when about 10 dad gave use some rod and said learn to stick some scraps some together that couldn't be broke apart. Then made me weld the fork back on my mini bike that somehow got broke off playing Evil Knievel oops lol. Yeah dad cut our ramp up and put us to work no more goofing off lol.