Welding with the kids

[Bulldog]

I was reading last week when someone had a post that very few people appreciated much. This person didn't think that welding was appropriate for kids. This brings me to my question... How many of us bring our kids into the shop with them. I for one do. As a matter of fact he's in the shop about 90% of the time. The only time that it's trouble is when there's school the next day and it's after 8pm. (My wife lets us both know what time it is). I make sure that we're very careful and we both wear all of our safety equipment.As a matter of fact having him in the shop makes me more safety aware. (We're installing a new ventilation system).He actully welds very well. By the way he's 9 yrs old. There is nothing better then spending time together and me teaching him something is just a bonus. Him teaching me priceless.
Bulldog

[Paul Seaman]

Bulldog:
Fantastic, show him the right way and he will follow.
Peace,

[Tanner]

Well, I don't have any kids, but I am a kid, and I'm in the shop 80% of the time.

[thehat]

I started with my son when he was about 6.He lost interest for awhile but he's right back into it and does great.

[boilerman79]

start them young,if they show an interest ,keep them going with different projects.take night classes together.any thing to keep them out of the streets.you will never regret it.

[tackit]

I don't see how anything that brings a father and son together could be a bad thing, he's in good hands. My oldest daughter always worked with me in the shop and because of it she is pretty darn good with the tools today. She doesn't even need me anymore to do her remodeling and repair work and the quality of her handiwork I'll put up against so-called experts.

Keep on keeping on,it's a good thing.

[boilerman79]

there are to many things out there for kids to get into[the wrong things],if they are interested in welding or any trade ,by them the tools they need,you could go to yard sales together to buy used tools.do what ever it takes to help them stay on the right path.it will help make your life a lot easier in the years that follow

[paulrbrown]

I was unlucky not to have a Dad who played in the shop while growning up, I had to hang with a buddy at his dad's shop learning body work, to the wee hours too. No kids, I used to let the neighbor kids hang and do stuff, then a new kid came around and was scarred of the noise, even though I had insisted on him wearing earmuffs. Next thing I know, they are all indoors playing computer games and hanging at his house, hurt my feelings, but they are the ones to loose out, what happened to the kid building a tree house, or hopping up a car, or even building a boat in his yard????? P

[Bulldog]

Thanks for all the great replies! My son and I do a ton of things together. I build custom molds for concrete block plants. Cody does alot of the work himself. He's at the point that he understands what he's doing and he realizes that it's not just playing in the shop. I can't express how good it feels to have him there with me. We're in the planning stages of building a new shop and we're all excited. (30x50) I want to build a place where he and his friends can hang out and I can keep a close eye on him. I run a concrete block plant in Kingston N.Y. and I see daily the results of kids growing up without a father that spends time with their sons. It won't happen to my son!
Bulldog

[fun4now]

My son is 5

and he cant get enough of the shop . as you do i too insist on safty first it is easyer to lern safe habbits than it is to break bad habbits. so he starts off right and keeps me om my toes.as a teen i want him to want to be in the shop not the street. he has a 90cc quad that he just started riding on his own this summer. last year he just drove with me on the back.i will do anything i can to keep him buisy as i know what i did as a kid when i was bored.
im happy for you that you get to spend that time with your son i know how much it meens to me and my son.just ask mom how manny times she has had to drag us back into the house for silly stuf like food and sleep.
.LOL who needs that stuf when you got a shop and your son!

happy welding

[BCarlucci]

I started welding when i was 9 years old, i used to hang around my fathers old shop and when he finished a job he'd teach me how to oxy/ac weld and then stick, then tig, and i have to say those times that i shared with my pops had to be the best times in the world, kept me out of trouble and taught me what real work was all about. Plus i just love welding so that made it even better. I hope to pass it on to my kids when i decide to have em'

BC

[Alex]

Like I said in my reply to the "other" post, my son is now 14 and has been welding since he was 12. I gave him his own 150A mig machine so he'll keep his hands off my MM251. As with ANY POWER TOOLS I give him, he is not allowed even to touch it until he's read the operator's manual from cover to cover and can answer any questions I ask about it. He spends as much time in the shop as I do and we work of a lot of stuff together. His latest project is, get this, a boat made from two wheelbarrow buckets with the back end cut out and then welded back together. He's constantly inventing some sort of Rube Goldberg contraption and it almost always involve OA cutting and electric welding. He totally cracks me up, which is why it's so much fun to have him in the shop. We watch OCC together and he's always got something to say about what they're doing or how they're doing it. I wouldn't trade our experiences together for all the money in the world.

Keep your kids close,

Alex

[racer071]

I am only 13 and i am in my dads shop 99% of the day doing something from welding to cleaning!! my dad showed me how to weld when i was 9 years old (we have a miller 210 and many other miller products).

Logan,