Tools of the Trade: On the scale of macho, welding is up there heavy equipment operator and lumberjack. How could it not, when it involves molten metal? But it requires plenty of know-how too—about the various tools, materials, and techniques of the trade. If there is anyone better at explaining that stuff than Jody Collier, I don’t know who it is.
5 comments:
I am highly disappointed in this article; I was hoping for some sort of extremely odd scientific reason that clams (the animal) and welding were similar. That being said, I still think that welding is incredible and I am so glad that this school has access to that kind of machinery and technology. I learned briefly how to weld in the beginning of my freshman year so that I could make my shoe project. Before learning, I thought that any kind of metal could be easily welded to another. I was completely wrong and had to buy all new materials purely in steel. So after buying new metal pieces, I got to weld, and it was so much harder to do than expected! My compliments to master welders! To get nice welds is incredibly hard for me, albeit I have welded a total of three times in my life. Although my lessons in welding were extremely brief, I feel that everyone should have the experience at least once.
While the article has some interesting information, I was taken aback by its somewhat sexist tone. While I may be reading too much into it, the author's use of the term macho is off-putting. Macho typically refers to something aggressive and masculine, and using it to describe an occupation is not a modern concept. Much like Sasha, I was expecting a funny explanation of what the clamming industry and welding had in common and was instead treated to a brief description of a welding technique and how it applies the acronym CLAMS. While the information may have been interesting, I do not believe it was dense enough or strong enough to justify the vocabulary used.
The author also compared welding to careers such as lumberjacks and heavy equipment operators to the same macho style, which means not only is the author demonstrating that these formerly male-dominated careers are analogous in skill required but that they all require a certain level of masculinity to master.
We had a stick welder this summer. I think we used it as a weight to hold layers of foam together during glue up.
That being said, it seems to be the most “stage carpenter” way of welding something. Quick, dirty, and fairly arbitrary when it comes to settings and technique.
This guy in the video is actually pretty good at this.
Clams. That’s an interesting acronym for stick welding. It’s actually a pretty good acronym for any type of arc welding.
So back to stick welding. I know it’s an older welding technique, but I wonder if maybe it’s the right thing for some jobs. Maybe stick welding is the first thing to teach people. It’s certainly the easiest way to weld for an inexperienced welder.
We had a stick welder this summer. I think we used it as a weight to hold layers of foam together during glue up.
That being said, it seems to be the most “stage carpenter” way of welding something. Quick, dirty, and fairly arbitrary when it comes to settings and technique.
This guy in the video is actually pretty good at this.
Clams. That’s an interesting acronym for stick welding. It’s actually a pretty good acronym for any type of arc welding.
So back to stick welding. I know it’s an older welding technique, but I wonder if maybe it’s the right thing for some jobs. Maybe stick welding is the first thing to teach people. It’s certainly the easiest way to weld for an inexperienced welder.
In most theater applications, we do not use stick welding. That isn’t to say that it isn’t worth knowing or understanding. At its core, all types of welding have some similarities. Stick welding is mostly used for industrial and commercial applications. Scenic welding is mostly MIG and TIG welding. Part of the similarities among all the types of welding is they each have specific techniques. This article focuses on stick welding technique and the mnemonic device CLAMS – Current, Length of Arc, Angle, Manipulation of electrode, Speed. Each of these plays a factor in getting a good weld. Just because this article applies to stick welding, this doesn’t mean that the same mnemonic device can’t be used for other types of welding. Why learn about stick welding if we don’t use it in theater? Just because most don’t, that doesn’t mean you won’t come across it. Also, if one is ever involved in the construction or renovation of a facility, it will be helpful to understand the welding that is being used on the building.
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