By Max Calhoun
Standing at 6 foot 5 inches most would think he is a basketball phenom, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Everyone has tried to get me to play sports, but welding and working on mowers is more my speed,” freshman Adam Carr said.
Welding is the process of fusing metal with heat and is used in construction, such as working on houses or cars. Many everyday items you see that go unnoticed were probably welded, like school desks or tables.
Carr started welding when he was 11 years old. His father, Mike Carr, was a professional welder for around 20 years. Since then he has retired and has stuck to hunting and working on cars with his son. Carr’s grandfather also welded for part of his life.
“It runs in the family,” Carr said.
Carr started small, working on welding pieces for lawnmowers he found on Facebook Marketplace.
Then it progressed to bigger projects like working on trucks and building personal projects.
Carr thinks welding is a good skill that everyone should know at least a little about.
“It saves you a bunch of time and money when you need to fix something rather than having a professional place do it,” Carr said.
However, Carr doesn’t see himself welding as a career in the future.
“My dad was a professional welder for 20 years and it’s had an effect on his lungs and it’s kind of rough on your body physically,” Carr said. “There’s good money in it, but I’m just not really looking to do that necessarily.”
Welding takes skill, says Carr. You need to be tough and willing to make mistakes and learn.
“I practically taught myself and slowly got better over time,” Carr said. “I ain’t no professional, but I can get things done when I need to.”
Welding is not for the weak, he says.
“It may look easy but you gotta be able to run machinery and not really be afraid of welding sparks,” Carr said. “If they get down your sleeves them suckers hurt.”
He wants to continue to get better at welding with the help of his dad and his friend, freshman Dylan Gaddis. He and Dylan recently welded a science project together.
He says he did most of the work, but Gaddis disagrees.
Like Carr, many other Delta High School students take an interest in welding. Junior Ryan Neal welds at the Muncie Area Career Center.
This is Neal’s second year welding. He found interest in welding in Mrs. Nicole Lodl’s class last school year.
Neal said he had been wanting to learn a trade and thought welding looked cool. His grandpa was also a welder and was a big influence on why he decided to weld.
It also happens to pay well if you can get good at it. Unlike Carr, Neal does see himself having a career in welding.
“I would like to be a pipefitter. They can make real good money once you work there for a while,” Neal said. “They also get to travel a lot which is nice.”
The salary for a pipefitter starts around $37,000 and can go up to $120,000. Pipefitters normally weld pipes together that carry water, gas or chemicals so it’s important to make sure it’s done correctly.
“It’s also good to know what you’re doing, otherwise welding can be really dangerous,” Neal said.
Neal, like Carr, puts his welding skills to use on mowers. He has welded parts back onto mowers and even fixed the mower parts themselves. Welding can be used in small everyday projects or even working on whole buildings.
He spends the first half of his school day at the MACC learning different types of welding techniques.
First-year students learn techniques like SMAW (stick welding) and GMAW (MIG welding). Toward the end of the year, they take the SMAW test. If they pass they are then considered a certified welder.
Neal’s next year welding will consist of twig welding and more in depth levels of GMAW.
“The students learn to weld in all positions with opportunities to earn certifications in both the first and second year of the program,” welding instructor Mr. Braxton Strait said.
Strait says there will always be a need for welders in the world. Almost everything made with metal needs a weld. It’s an important trade for people to know.
“Even if people don’t want to do welding as a job, it’s always a valuable skill to have,” Strait said.
