Friday - Spring 17 Welding - Week 2
We kicked off week 2 of Welding After School with a silly provocation.
Who's really good at drawing?
Will you draw Amanda standing at a welding station?
Now, let's make Amanda Ready to Weld.
This quick review of what's necessary to weld helped everyone refocus and review before jumping in again. Because, remember, in order to weld, there are a lot of precautions. We have to protect our eyes and skin from UV rays. We have to make sure our clothing doesn't melt or set on fire. We have to do a lot of step before actually welding ANYTHING.
So, we got ready!
Just like doing warm ups in sports, or conducting mini experiments before jumping right into a science project, we practiced welding on single scraps of metal. We got to practice holding our bodies in certain positions and holding the welding gun the right distance and going the right speed. And, after our warm ups, we tried welding two pieces of metal together.
Two pieces of metal is even more complicated than one piece of metal. We discovered that there are quite a few extra steps to successfully welding two pieces: you have weld in the crease, you have to make sure both pieces are getting hot at the same time, and you also have to make sure they don't accidentally move! This meant we got to practice concentration, but also moving really strong magnets with super floppy gloves on.
Practice took most of the session, and we ended our day by starting to talk about projects and by asking some important questions: What is possible to make out of metal during our remaining times together? How can we take a 2D drawing and translate it into a 3D sculpture? What does an eagle head look like?
Next session, we take our newly learned skills a step further -- let's start individual projects!