GEARED UP FOR CHRISTMAS

The spring issue of The World of Welding presented an opportunity for high school students to use their creativity and submit entries, with a postmark no later than April 30, 2004, to the Hobart Institute’s Christmas welded art competition.   

The first place award was presented by Hobart Institute President Andre Odermatt on May 19 at Tecumseh High School in New Carlisle, Ohio, to John Ellis, a sophomore student of welding instructor Mr. William Grimpe.  John’s work, Geared Up for Christmas, displayed originality in welding through the use of recycled items.  HIWT Admissions Representative Terry Brown and Editor Marty Baker accompanied Andre to the high school.   

John describes his work, “I made the Santa Claus, as well as the sled, based on the gear theme.  The body of the Santa was made out of a timing belt gear (pulley) and the head was a smaller gear.  The legs are made out of valve springs and the feet are made out of rocker arms.  The arms are old bike suspension springs and the glasses are a piece of steel wire.  The beard and hair are made out of steel wool.” 

“The sled's body is made out of the sun and planetary gear from an automatic transmission,” John continues. “The runners are a timing belt gear, and the extension on the runners is made from band iron.  The "wiener dog" (in place of a reindeer) is made out of garage door spring for the body.  The head is made out of a hose faucet valve and the legs are made from valve springs and valves.” 

The various pieces were gas metal arc welded together and then painted in holiday colors.  John was awarded a Hobart Handler® along with a $200 cash prize. 

Students in Mr. Garry Wilfong’s welding class at Tulia High School in Texas submitted several entries and Nicole Garza’s Candy Cane won second place and a check for $100.  Lanesia Johnson’s Shooting Star was awarded third place and a check for $50.00.  And honorable mention went to Chad Miller for a Christmas Train.

All cash prizes were donated by the Dayton Section of the American Welding Society and the Handler® was donated by Miller Electric Manufacturing Company.

CANDY CANE

Taking all the safety precautions and following the rules in observing her surroundings including others working in the general area, Nicole Garza describes the construction of Candy Cane: 

• I began with cutting five, 1/8-inch x 1 ˝-inch flat mild steel, 22-inches long. 
• I then welded a six-inch jig O.D. pipe to the welding table. 
• When that was welded, I clamped a piece of the 22-inch steel to the pipe and bent it around to start to make the inside frame of the candy cane.  This was repeated until five rings were in place. 
• Then I welded the open ends of the rings to where they were closed.  I placed them on the anvil, one-by-one to make them as close to a circle as possible.
• Four pieces of 10-inch long rebar were cut.  Two of the pieces were clamped and bent on the base of a 20-inch round jig and the other two were clamped and bent around the 5-inch I.D. jig pipe.  I tacked the rebar in place on the rings and then welded them. 
• The top of the candy cane was then heated with a cutting torch so that it would fit together perfectly.  Any extra rebar left hanging was cut with the torch. 
• I rechecked my work to make sure that all of it was welded and I hadn’t missed any spots. 
• A grinder was used for touch ups. 

So that the candy cane could stand by itself with no strings attached, I made a base frame. 

• I began by cutting two pieces of metal, 46-inches long.  These were welded together in a V-shaped position.
• I then cut three pieces of rebar; two were 4-feet long and the other one was 31 ˝-inches long.  The 31 ˝-inch piece was welded at the closed part of the V.  The other two were welded 17-inches from the open end of the V. 
• I used a cutting torch to make holes in the base so that stakes could be inserted to fasten it to the ground for protection from the wind.  Two of the holes were placed 25-inches from the open end and two are 1-inch from the open end. 

Once I had the frame completed, I enlisted the help of classmates and Mr. Wilfong to place the candy cane on the frame.  I then tacked, then welded, it into place.  Using a file to reach some of the small places, I completed the touch-ups.  When construction was complete, I painted the entire piece by hand so that it would look great on display.

Nicole spent more than twelve hours on this project from design through completion, making sure to follow all of the safety procedures.  And she did excellent work describing, step-by-step, the entire process.

In our winter issue we will take a look at Lanesia Johnson’s Shooting Star and Chad Miller’s Train.