I’m 33 and a structural steel erector, welder/fabricator. I’ve been doing it for about 12 years or so and growing weed for 5, indoors for 2.
I’d just like to start a community of like minded individuals and see where it takes off!!
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I worked out of a local Iron Workers Union 20 years . Mostly high rise . Went through punkin school, lol . Mostly a connector , but can certainly run a stick with anyone . After my 4 th close friend died i gave it up and never looked back .
I also grow weed 
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Did structural ironwork for 2 years. Spent most time on bolt up crews and laying deck. Learned alot working with older welders. Never had a job that made me as proud of my work day to day. Im sure I took a few years off my knees but fuck it
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I’m a ticketted steel fabricator (canada) although my workplace accident in 97 put me out of the trade for the most part. Our shop specialized in heavy steel applications fabricating pile drivers, natural gas and pipeline spans (bridging) and forestry and rail bridges. I got crushed by a 400lbs + tank on a rail bridge instal site and that ended things for some time. I have taken a few big money jobs for a friends company but that is all custom stainless fab and a lot lighter work than when I was full time in the trades. I have a pretty well set up shop here and fabricate/weld as mostly a hobby on personal projects these days. In the midst of an offroad hunting trailer build right now.
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Hobby level, basically. Built a wood stove for the garage last week with sticks. Also, do some aluminum wire feed that looks far from professional.
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I stick metal together. Wouldn’t ever call myself a welder. I tig stainless for work at times. Trying to get my trainee into school for it now though. Our company could use another 1 or 2 sanitary welders.
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Yeah gorilla tents are strong but they ain’t got nothing on this angle iron 4x4!
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I decided to restore/modify a Coleman Colorado for an offroad capable camper years ago, started with a modified frame and a 110v Lincoln.
The important welds I had my nephew do, the rest were done by my son and I.
Enjoyed the project and spending time with my son doing it.
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This thread has you written all over it @HarborGrows.
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I have several ‘metal burning’ machines and sometimes I can get them to work, not always…better with an angle grinder.
For ‘real welding’ I have friends who are good at it.
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I worked as a rodbuster for a decade then went to heavy equipment
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I can weld (FCAW and GMAW) but I’m not a professional. My hobby is fabricating tube chassis as well as all the tube bending for them. I could probably do roll cages but I have yet try one.
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Im currently welding/fabricating for a precast concrete manufacturer. I repair old molds and fabricate new ones.
We also build debris racks/overflow grates out of stainless and aluminum that stop logs and children from falling into drainage pipes
Whats everybody growing??
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I built my own scrog frame from some aluminum round rod and square stock
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Hello, I’m a weed growing addict, how is everyone tonight?
How I got started, welding. I was a drunk as a kid, 8th, 9th grade.
Back in the 1970- 1971 school year, as I started 10th grade, I had been booted at the end of 9th grade, from my school district, and went to a vocational school like 25 miles away.
Got put into the welding class. We were the no where else to go group.
Talk about Fight Club, every day, you fought, or took shit. That is what got me there.
A few days into it, they all knew, I was the guy for weed!
Instant karma for me, LOL.
But what is really weird, I fucking loved the this world, of metal forming, fastening, grinding, the burn tables, just using the oxyacetylene torches, for brazing, gas welding, everything about it, I was crazy in love with it.
The vo-tech school would fix and repair stuff, from all over the county school district system.
So we build and repaired all kinds of stuff, and our instructor was very smart fabricator, welder, an older man, hard as hell on us.
But he taught life lessons, an that 3 years of time, changed me from being a smart assed, jackass mofo, with a big mouth, that knew everything!
Slowly it changed me to seek out knowledge, creating a hunger for knowledge and experiences in the working world.
In 1974 I worked building motorcycle parts for Harley Davidson, when AMF got the contract to build them, where the old bomb line was.
Then worked building tanks, and tank parts, for a military contract company.
Then locomotives, in LaGrange Ill, when the east coast had gas shortages.
Hand forged badly shaped crankshafts in Harvey Ill.
Then welded, for large corporation that had like 7 different specialized food processing companies, under one roof, where I built parts for, industrial freezers, fryers, baking equipment, and that was my first traveling job, setting up the equipment in the field.
Then I found, printing press manufacturing plant, building newspapers, magazine, rotogravure, and commercial presses.
The really weird one, currency presses, for the BEP, in DC and Ft Worth, I installed so many presses for currency making, in those 2 facilities…
Installing printing presses, was a passion for me! I loved going from a flat floor somewhere, standing up the iron, making it straight, and making them FLY, LOVED IT! I spent about 18 years with the printing press gig.
20+ years ago, I started growing our weed, learning it right here on Over Grow, building the New Ganja Boy Stealth Box.
I’ve been an addict of growing since then.
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I’ve mig welded pipe/brazed a few times, that’s about it, it’s an art that’s a great skill to have.
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I welded for about 15 years at sheet metal shop built curbs drop boxes dampers for AC units on top of every Walmart target
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Sir! You are my new legend to aspire to!
Id love to keep you in the loop for tips in the garden world and the welding world!!
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You are most kind!! The world of welding, was/is amazing to me.
I’m just an old retired metal worker now.
I’m thrilled to see the newer generations of welding folks, are gearing up more towards safety, to protect their longer term health issues.
We in the early 1970’s, there would be a face shield hanging by the grinding wheel stand, to use as YOU OPERATED that machine.
None of us wore safety glasses all the time in the shop area, as is done now.
Hearing protection, was laughed at, and ignored.
They should have been enforced as they are now, back then.
Ever use a Air Carbon Arc to remove bad welds out of a weldment?
Talk about a violent effect!!
I once had to remove about a 1000’ of 2" welds, due to porosity, in the first stringers laid down, then had been welded over.
That could have been a structural catastrophe, if inspectors did not find it. The job paid super good, for me, as I was from another company, and got the job due to experience from my weld shop training as a kid.
The weld’s scream, when you remove them from steel, as you air arc them out. Spewing liquid steel 30’ or 40’ away from you…until you reach a corner, then you going to wear a spark shower, and the burnies always find skin.
I got a spot in my heart for workers of steel!!
Thank you for reading my words MerryWanna030, it is always uplifting, when I run into a other welder/fabricators, or even just folks that are interested in it as a hobby, your all Iron Born, to me, in my humble opinion!
Sorry, I used that analogy from GOT’s!! LOL!
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Honestly i love the power sensation an arc gouger gives me. I used one every day when i was welding/fabing bridge beams…110" to bevel and then sub arc weld and arc gouge 110" on the back side and grind clean for a full pen weld to be xrayed!!!
One of these evenings, ill write my lil legacy for ys to read!!
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