Life Skills: Welding

There is a set of life skills every person should have. One need not necessarily use all of these skills often - indeed if you don't live out in the country you might rarely have the need. But the ability to sweat a pipe, run a table saw, lay brick, and run a chainsaw not only improves the size of one's toolkit, but improves one's creativity, confidence, and problem-solving abilities.

Welding has always been on that list. My friend Eric learned welding in a life skills class in college. But there is no longer any need for a college course. With Youtube, one can learn these skills, the basics anyway, without spending any tuition money.

An encounter with another friend, Jorgen, proved to be my welding tipping point. In his old warehouse he had various steel carts and other useless objects. He brought them home while considering what useful thing he could make.

That day, I bought a welder.

It is a DC arc welder, supposedly good for general fabrication and at the same time relatively easy to learn. Two hours of Youtube later, I'm welding.

My first project, one that has been needed for many years, was a water meter valve key for the poolhouse. This valve is particularly stiff and unusually deep. The typical store-bought keys have failed in numerous ways, but on the third try our local plumbing company finally devised a solution using 15/16" socket flipped around so that the wrench end (rather than the end that goes on the nut) fit down on the valve. With two pairs of locked nuts, one at the top and one at the bottom of a threaded rod, we could get the water on and off. But the socket wouldn't stay on the nut. For the last several years I held it on with duct tape.

The plumbing company's second try had the benefit of a length and a strong handle, but end of the key never fit well on the valve. So I cut off the end, flipped around the socket, and welded it up.

It's not pretty but it seems strong. I won't know for sure that it works until spring. Next project is a pin-hitch garden cart.