Just started welding school a few weeks ago, and it is going great. I explained to my son, who just turned 4, what i was going to school for. I showed him my tools and let him try on my hood. He seems so excited that I now have a "cool" job! (I was a banker) The other day i overheard him arguing with my neighbors five year old, and i heard him say, "Oh yeah... Well my dad is a welder"
The question is this: he has all kinds of childrens videos about construction, farming, fire fighting, ect. but I can't find a childrens video about welding. Has anyone seen such a video? I hope someone can point me in the right direction... he would cherish it.
Thanks for your time...
the new guy
My daughter of 6 has been hounding me to weld since she watched me weld up a friends hitch a couple of weeks ago. At the time she was wearing shorts so I told her she had to have on long jeans.
When she has put on jeans the last few times she has been sure to show me that she is ready to weld.
Well just thought I'd throw that in.
I think AWS has some promotional videos about welding. I would check with them.
G Austin
http://weldinginspectionsvcs.com
see "www.AWS.org" home page and click on "welding so hot it's cool".
George,
"The new Guy" leads us to a very valid point. Very little is being done to attract the interest of 6 year olds and I don't realy think the AWS welding viedo is what the new guy was looking for... something along the lines of a Richard Scarry book "what people do" (but slightly more advanced to a 1st grade level) would be more appropriate to the age level.
Perhaps a search at Amazon.com?
Permit me to digress slightly to expand upon the "very valid point"...
It;s the truth that Mike Mulligan's Steam Shovel helped attract me to the artillery (the howitzers had the same kind of tracks, and at age five when I was able to climb into one they had to pry me out with a crow bar... I remembered that when I had to make a decision)
AWS's return on production and publication investment would be difficult to quantify and hard to justify, but we should realize that more resources and energy is being spent on removing "dirty" industries from America than is being spent on trying to promote their viability.
My local public high school has effectively removed the induatrial arts from their cirriculum, and people who want to pursue the trades tend to be treated like they are from Mars, I think, but they certainly are ailenated. Soon only ailiens will be welding, and thats supposed to be OK because our environment will be cleaner for it? I hope the Powers That Be at AWS wake up to the dire strategic situation welding and associated industries find themselves in. I'm curious about the priorities AWS has. I have the impression Sustaning Members will find themselves marketing their wares in other countries while little guys are retraining instead of retiring.
There is validity to pursuit of a "grass-roots" approach to promote welding as a career, particularly at an early age like 6. The video you mentioned is better than nothing, but I have a friend who says the same about his wife, and she's 87 years old. The mental picture is scary.
Welding is a better opportunity than selling hamburgers or crack, and I wish I could leverage my humble opinion to some real effect and justify my AWS dues as a patriotic civic investment sometime soon. If I sound like a crack-pot it may be an accurate evaluation, I don't know, but bear in mind many cracks can be repaired with--- guess what---
D
PS didn't mean to rant/nothing personal; just MHO
thanks for the suggestion george. I checked the video out though, and it is basicly just a bunch of talking. It was one of those boring high school videos... no cool pictures or videos or anything that my son would appreciate. So, the search continues. I can't believe it is so difficult to find such a video on something as cool as welding. go figure...
thanks
mike
the new guy
savvyhomeadvice.com has some realplayer video samples of welding projects. I don't have the realplayer software (almost 9 megs to download) so I have no review to offer but you might give it a try.
In the end your kids don't need videos- They've got you.
Give em a hug for me.
Bill
Why not take him to see the real thing? The old man at school or a local construction site and make a video of it. When I was 10 I spent more than a few days watching the welders build a gas pipeline through my Grandad's farm (they supplied me with the helmet to watch .... from a safe distance ofcourse). I was totally consumed with how those guys "glued" those huge pipes together and I'm still a back yard welder as a result of that experience. Real life experience beats videos by a mile, especially if your Dad is the welder. Good Luck!
Bob
If the little guy can keep the hood on his head and see what he is doing why not let him try it on some real easy stuff, with an easy rod, like a 6011 or 6010. My youngest daughter pestered me for a long time to let her try it when she was about 5 yrs old, so I told her when she can keep the hood on her head she could. Doggone if she didn' t tie a bunch of rags around her head so the thing would fit, Mom said Hey you told her, so she puts the hood on and in half hour she's weldin like a 60 year old. She is 16 now and she took the FFA program this year at school, got an A in the welding program, ( I think she took FFA to be with the boys myself), and still plays around with it when I'm workin on something, I doubt very much if she'll do this for a living, but she got to spend some good times with the old lad, and she'll cherish that memory for a long time and so will I. Try it just be safe. Have fun and God Bless J Krout
Hey man, be an electrician.
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