Why Weld?

By Pat Murphy

Back in high school, I decided I wanted to learn how to weld. That was more years ago than I care to admit. But somehow, I never got around to taking a class in welding.

The very characteristics that attracted me to welding also intimidated me. Welding was industrial and dirty and macho. Welding involved special equipment and protective gear and sparks and flame. As a girl with three brothers, I was used to holding my own in dirty and somewhat macho situations. At various times, I took woodshop and auto shop. But somehow welding eluded me.

A few months ago, I got a job at The Crucible, Oakland's school for the industrial arts and the fire arts. Last weekend, I enrolled a Crucible class titled Introduction to Welded Sculpture. The class I took was a women's class-ten women students taught by two expert women metalworkers. In that class, I not only learned the basics of welding, I also learned to cut and bend metal with an oxyacetylene torch.

After taking that class, I want to tell everyone who has ever considered learning to weld: Do it now! So I consulted with a member of The Crucible's welding faculty and came up with five good reasons to take a welding class.

Admittedly, fire and electricity can be dangerous. But they can also be extremely useful when you know how to handle them. Over the course of a weekend class, my fellow students and I grew confident in our ability to use these tools safely. Our class of ten students had two instructors, which meant that there was always guidance and advice when we needed it.

If you're practically inclined, you can use welding skills to fix things, repairing that old steel kettle or bent fireplace poker. I'm not all that practically inclined, but even so, I'm glad to have such a useful skill.

All right-I'm joking. But the protective gear really is great. When I put on a protective leather jacket, safety glasses, and a welding helmet, I suddenly feel very tough and cool-sort of like a superhero donning a costume. Leather welding gloves and two kinds of protective glasses were included in the price of the class. Since the class, I've kept my welding gloves on the corner of my desk and I smile every time I look at them.

In the end, I think this is the best reason of all. Back when I was in high school, I had to make a turbine-powered car for my physics class. My lab partner and I rummaged around in scrap metal yards to find the parts we needed. We learned to solder and had a great time. Now that I've taken a class, I find myself remembering all the reasons I wanted to weld. I find myself with the urge to rummage around in scrap yards and start fixing things.

I look at metal in a new way, knowing that I can easily bend and twist that iron bar or slice right through a half-inch-thick steel plate. Since that weekend class, I've been thinking about constructing a room divider that incorporates welded steel and art glass (another class I would like to take). Take metal, add sparks and fire, and suddenly the creative possibilities are endless.