aametalmaster Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Hi guys. Some of you have seen some of my lathe projects or posts but i have never formally introduced myself here. I am from Salem Ohio birthplace of the Silver and Deming drill you all know those fat drills with the turned down straight shanks. I am 49 years old and may sound like a BS'er to some when i say i have done it all but i really have. My dad was an ARCA racecar driver so for the first years of my life it was spent in a tow vehicle in many states or in the pits at the races. He also owned a large welding shop where i learned and watched how to do things and how to weld when very young. He also had a "new" alum welding mig that in 1964 was a fairly new process for any shop to have and i still have his welder. I went to work for him in 1976 while still in high school because i was in Voc Machine Trades and tested out my senior year which meant you are pretty smart now go get a job and prove it. It also meant a tool and die apprenticeship in a local shop which i turned down.. I worked for him for 10 years doing repair work on all the local farmers equipment as well as building 500 trailers to sell to wood burners in the winter time. We also sold chainsaws and log splitters so i got to know them pretty well. Then at night it was build stuff for my buddies like 4x4 cars, trucks, street rods and enough to keep me busy. Then it was time to move on so i bought a union card into the Sheet Metal Workers Union which covered NE Oh and all of VWa. At that time i had a handicapped kid that needed more than i made so i got another job working 2nd shift in a tool and die shop. So for 8 years i worked like a beaver with no vacations or days off. Makes you old quick. But i learned alot in the 2 trades. Then i was offered a job as a Millwright in a big factory across town where i did machine repair and lots of welding. It was great working on 100 year old machines and wondering how they did alot of the work building them. I also was an inventor there making some hard projects simple Some are still used saving them millions of dollars. Then it was time to move on now to the big oil refinery where i am now as an inside control room operator. I physically don't do any repair work or welding there but i have a chance all the time to go to the machinist group of the pipe fitters but i don't like the hours. I also moonlighted as a wedding photog but the hours conflicted with my schedule too much so i quit doing weddings. Now i have my own welding shop where in my spare time i invent and repair stuff for some local shops as well as sell and mfg my own line of products. I was doing lots of ornamential iron work but ran out of time so i just do it now for friends and family. I also run my 4 metal lathes 20 or so hours a week making cool usefull projects. I designed and sell my line of ceiling mounted O Scale train bridges to run Lionel sized trains around a room. Tracks OverHesds I also teach welding and lathe operation to anyone that stops in for free, just give me a call. So thats pretty much it in a nut shell. I have about a thousand pics of my projects i am going to put in the blueprints section soon. Oh and i helped raise a 46 point 296 7/8 B&C sized buck for all you hunters out there...Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keykeeper Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Welcome, Bob, from West Central WV! I have read some of your posts here, and all of them seem very helpful. Feel free to share all the knowledge you want to! I might have to come up there sometime and take you up on that free teaching offer, you are really not that far away from here. Join us for the Tuesday Night Blueprint session, if you haven't already. You might also check out the Appalachian Blacksmith Association, great group of guys there. They meet twice a year here in my hometown. Pretty good time there, spring and fall. Appalachian Blacksmiths Association You loan out that Big Buck? I just need it to watch my Brother In Law drool.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aametalmaster Posted January 2, 2008 Author Share Posted January 2, 2008 I get thru Ripley twice a year when i go on vacation right down I-77S. That is usually where i stop and sleep on my way home from Myrtle Beach. Seems like i can never make it any farther north in one day. I will have to look you up. I have some desi the Deer pics i am working on a Wikipedia right now for him...Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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