By Neil Mansfield
Metal Fabrication Teacher
Assabet Valley Vocational High School

Neil is a graduate of the Combination Structural and Pipe Welding Program at Hobart Institute of Welding Technology.

The outstanding talents and trade skills of Cody Taylor have impressed his shop instructors at Assabet Valley Vocational High School for the past four years. At age 18, Cody is a senior in the welding program that includes welding, sheet metal fabrication, heavy steel fabrication, and blacksmithing.

Like many other vocational students who are currently enrolled in welding programs throughout the country, Cody is diligent, hard working and very skilled in solving fabricating problems from day to day in his welding projects. Cody has achieved several American Welding Society (AWS) welding certifications throughout his four years at Assabet, in shielded metal arc, gas metal arc, and gas tungsten arc welding processes working with mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. During his senior year, he achieved ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) GTAW stainless steel pipe welding certification.

Cody, who has set goals and worked very hard to reach them in becoming a well-rounded metal worker, says, “You need to be good at a lot of things in this trade to stay working.”

Cody’s ability to take a project from a detailed blueprint sketch to a final finished product has earned him Most Outstanding Student awards in his school shop. He has positioned himself to be employed as a sheet metal worker, a welder, and a light or heavy gauge metal fabricator.

Cody states, “In today’s metal trades, students need to be able to read and understand blueprints, perform basic shop math, layout flat metal to be formed and cut, and fabricate components to be welded, and have a basic understanding of metallurgy to be able to weld different types of metals. Mastering these skills will lead to a very rewarding career and a decent paycheck.”

Cody has proven that he has the talent, motivation and desire to become a skilled craftsman in today’s work force. His future plans upon graduation from Assabet, are to go to work and gain valuable trade experience as a welder in a fabricating shop for several years. He then plans to obtain a business degree to learn how to run a small business, which will help him run his own metal fabricating shop to build custom motorcycles.

Cody attended several field trips with his classmates and shop teachers to local custom motorcycle builders and fabricators. Fay Butler’s field trip was the groundwork for Cody’s interest in custom motorcycle, fender, and gas tank building. Butler’s shop is located in Wheelwright, Massachusetts. Fay, an extremely talented fabricator and welder, instructed Jesse James (owner of “West Coast Choppers” and host of “Monster Garage”) in GTAW welding and sheet metal forming.

In addition, Cody has visited Steve Stone’s custom bike shop (Stone’s Cycles, Northborough, Massachusetts). Steve builds some of the finest custom motorcycles in the country. Visits to local shops leave a strong impression on young folks in how important quality, craftsmanship, and “good old hard work” is in welding and metalworking trades. The possibilities are endless in what a young person can do once they have mastered basic welding and metal fabricating skills.

Cody’s other influences came from both his parents who are excellent role-models and are very much involved in Cody’s life and his education. The instructors at Assabet often see Mr. Jeff Taylor, who owns an HVAC company, stop by the school to talk and donate sheet metal. Mr. Taylor has taught Cody to be respectful, work hard, and do his best to get ahead in life.

Since he was a teenager, Jeff has always been interested in restoring vintage cars to their original condition. Just recently, Jeff and Cody purchased a 1923 Model-T Bucket Ford. While using their combined sheet metal and welding talents, this father and son team brought this old car from ruins to its original impressive condition. After school, Cody could often be seen welding and restoring the original 1923 frame as well as welding and fabricating other components such as the exhaust system, gas tank and floor boards. It took one and a half years of diligent work to complete this vintage car, which can now be seen at local Massachusetts' car shows. Jeff and Cody take great pride in knowing all of their work was done by hand, including the leatherwork. It is a pleasure to see fathers and sons spending time together, working on unique metal projects, on which they can reflect back with great sense of accomplishment.

In today’s vocational education, young men and women preparing to become welders, sheet metal workers, and metal fabricators are well trained in many outstanding welding programs throughout our country. These programs, such as Hobart Institute of Welding Technology and Assabet Valley Vocational High School are raising the bar to a high level of quality, workmanship, and a great sense of “pride in your work” standards. Students are ready to meet and overcome any challenges that they will encounter from day-to-day in any one of the metal trades.

These new members of our work force have proven to their teachers, administrators, and fellow peers that they are ready to go to work and ready to prove to themselves that they have a level of skill that will match any demand for today’s industry. Also, today’s vocational welding students are on a path of pursuing their studies in two and four-year technical colleges, while others are continuing their welding training at the Hobart Institute or in the armed forces. Vocational students are becoming skilled tradesmen and women, metal art students, and contributing good citizens in our society. Vocational education is developing not just important technical trade skills, but also important life skills that will give the students the ability to make sound decisions in their lives.

Cody is an excellent example of how students excel in a vocational atmosphere and go on to accomplish great things in life. The need for vocational education is stronger than ever before since the country is experiencing a shortage of skilled craftsmen and women. Today’s metal working conditions are safe, clean, well-ventilated, and enjoyable. Careers are exciting, rewarding, and financially successful.

Cody has received several awards from the American Welding Society in outstanding welding performances; Klink Hand Tools Company awards in outstanding sheet metal fabrication; First place ($500 cash) award for a state-wide essay contest (Cody’s subject was “How Vocational Education Influenced My Life”) Morgan Construction Co. of Worcester, MA presented this award at a business trade show linking vocational education to the business world.