Tomorrow is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life!

Aaaaggghhhhhhh!!!!

I shall write but briefly while I drink my nice warm mug of L-Triptophan rich Ovaltine. Cuz then, I gotta get to bed. Early day tomorrow. Tomorrow I become a Cabinetry Finisher. Wearing my Wescos and Safety Glasses (Huh... Interesting how along with most of the trappings of blue collar men--boots, carharrts, utility belts and the like--no one has ever fetishized that absolute essential: safety glasses), I go to my new job. I packed a lunch, and packed a gym bag for after work, and I'm good to go.

Tonight in Welding Class, I did some home repairs. A couple of decades ago, my father had constructed this device for splitting firewood. It's basically a steel spike that attaches to a length of pipe. The pipe telescopes down on a steel rod welded onto a broad base. So you can position the spike where you want to split the log, and drive it in with a sledge hammer. Basically, it holds the spike in place while you strike it, eliminating the possibility of the Three Stooges routine built around the key phrase, "Okay, when I nod my head, you hit it."

Anyway, the piece of steel plate that attaches the wedge to the pipe broke after years and years of use. Tonight, I welded it back together. First, I cleaned the thing up with the grinder, and then, I ground down both parts to form a trough along the weld edge on both sides. Then, using a 6013 electrode, I welded the thing back together.

The instructor's comments upon looking at the finish product were as follows: "Beautiful bead. Penetration is perfect. It's better than it was when it was new. Good job."

Folks, lemme tell ya: I can weld.

Damn can I weld!

I started in on the firewood rack, too. I was pressed for time and rushing, so the welds were not as aesthetically pleasing as I would have liked, but they're good and strong. If things go as smoothely on Wednesday, I'll have finished up the firewood rack and have time to spare. Maybe I'll turn my attention to learning TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) Welding, used for stainless steel and aluminum. Or, maybe I'll make myself a nice pair of shackles. Shackles are actually a pretty easy project. All you need are a couple of lenghts of pipe and some chain. (What do you know, I happen to have about 150 pounds of chain!) Be fun to see the expressions on the faces of my fellow students when in reply to their questions about what I'm working on, I smile and say, "Shackles."

Class is winding down, so I might as well go out with a bang, right?

So I can weld.

And tomorrow I'll find out if I can do finishing.

Hey! I just realized something! It's another 'W'! Months ago, I blogged about how I was going to pursue career paths starting with 'W' such as Welder, Writer, and Whore. (I failed miserably at 'whore.') Well, 'Woodworker' starts with a 'W,' too!

Woodworker, Welder, Writer. I'm looking forward to putting that down on my 1099s.

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