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I can weld!

My lady is pretty spectacular in the gift-giving department. She’s got a knack for paying attention to my quips and thoughtless rambling throughout the year, and she’ll surprise me with things that I had specifically mentioned that I wanted (but had forgotten all about!). She’ll do this all without ever having to ask me, or even generally hinting at what I should expect – and this past Christmas was no exception.

Brownie points – over.

I got my gift from Kim in the form of a tiny envelope. Upon opening it, I was thrilled to find a gift certificate for a 2 hour private lesson for something I’ve always wanted to learn – MIG welding! I’m totally fascinated by the idea of joining two pieces of metal together with additional hot metal and an electrical current (isn’t everyone?), and this past Saturday I finally got the chance to put it to practice. We grabbed a quick breakfast and headed to MidWest Metal Works armed with my voucher and a set of flame retardant coveralls that I “borrowed” from the stockroom at work.

We were greeted by Steve, the proprietor of MWMW, and were ushered into a garage full of a half dozen vintage motorcycles and all the welding equipment you could ever want – or need! Steve is a great teacher and has a knack for explaining things in a way that is easy to understand and can quickly put into practice. I left feeling very accomplished and am now comfortable saying: I know how to weld!

Kim came along to document (yup, she wore the welding helmet, too), and all told, this was an all-around fantastic experience. I’m anxious to get to the second class, which focuses on joinery and more advanced techniques – at which point, I could become a welding hobbyist; fancy, right? While I’m not quite ready to fabricate my own furniture or build a bicycle, I can say that I could repair the metal legs of a broken chair or table in a way that would be safe, functional and fun to do. Who has broken metal things? I’d like to fix ’em.

Three cheers for hot metal!

PS… Kim found MWMW with a quick Yelp! search, read the glowing reviews, bought the session, and called it a day. 

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  • Hannah K3.14.13 - 7:37 AM

    Too cool, Scott! My uncle taught me to weld years ago, but I haven’t done much since — I’m so jealous of you! What a great gift, Kim!ReplyCancel

  • Kim3.14.13 - 9:13 AM

    Hannah, so cool! He can’t wait to get started on the next class! I may have started something big…ReplyCancel

  • Cait @ Hernando House3.14.13 - 10:27 AM

    That looks like so much fun! What an awesome gift!

    Robert knows how to weld (I can’t remember where he learned), and in the past he got his welding fix in a friend’s garage working on motorcycles. We’ve been meaning to stop in at our neighbor’s garage (he heads up a local high school’s robotics team, and has lots of cool “toys”) so he can brush up on things. Maybe I can get him to make me some hairpin legs… haha.ReplyCancel

  • Emma3.14.13 - 11:26 AM
  • too cool! what a great gift idea too :) can’t wait to see what cool things you guys make!ReplyCancel

  • Kim3.14.13 - 12:00 PM

    Cait, hairpin legs – yes!ReplyCancel

  • Jimmy3.14.13 - 9:25 PM

    This is badass – as knowledge gained, as an interest pursued, and as a gift.

    My sister’s longtime boyfriend welds artwork as a hobby. Does really amazing stuff. As an art major, his senior project was 10 foot bucking horse, made entirely from welded horseshoes. It’s incredible. I’ve wanted to have him show me how to do this for years, and I keep putting it off for no good reason.

    Good on you guys for doing this. You’ve inspired me. Yet again.ReplyCancel

    • Kim3.15.13 - 2:00 PM

      Jimmy, thank you! Steve actually made a huge horse, too – it’s the sign for a local bar in our neighborhood, and we’ve always loved it. You should definitely weld some beautiful art for your home and take advantage of some free lessons from your sister’s boyfriend!ReplyCancel

  • Daphne3.15.13 - 3:56 AM

    I know how to weld oyes! haha so cool :DReplyCancel

  • Nina3.16.13 - 9:36 AM

    Fantastic documentation Kim, as always. Great job Scott! What a cool new hobby. (Also, is it the Rocking Horse?)ReplyCancel

  • Kim3.17.13 - 11:28 AM

    Nina, it IS Rocking Horse :)ReplyCancel

  • Nina3.18.13 - 6:22 AM

    Nice! Before ya know it Scott will be contributing to the neighborhood scene too. :)ReplyCancel

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