Women in Welding Workshop At Edison

After a short week before vacation and then the break the ladies were ready to get back in the welding shop for Mondays Women in Welding Workshop to let sparks fly. The ladies didn’t disappoint as they worked while being filmed for a WXXI story on their adventure into welding. It will be a combination video, print, radio, and web based story on the ladies and their accomplishments.

This week found our ladies have started to break off into small groups to work on individual design elements for our CTE Bench. The ladies this week wanted to share with the campus the processes they go through to make each element. They worked together to create a list of steps they perform to create each piece. They photographed the steps as they were working to share with all of you the amazing talent and growing expertise they are all acquiring. You can also see form the above photo what the final back rest of the bench will look like. All of the ladies are thrilled to be working on this project, and are very excited to know the campus shares in their excitement as well.

Steps we take to make each artistic element:

1. We take our large scale drawing and make a smaller scaled version of that object.

2. We then cut all the pieces to the exact length required.

3. The next step is to prep the metal to be welded by de-burring and grinding the edges.

4. Bending and shaping the metal to fit the design is the final step before we weld the steel together.

5. Welding all the pieces together is the next step, assuring that they are strong welds, and look good to the eye.

In week 5 the women came together on Monday to start the fabrication processes of the small artistic elements that will make up the benches back. They quickly found out how much work and skill was involved in creating just one small element. The ladies wanted to share that processes with all of you by showing you pictures of their progresses on the Masonry Trowel. You can see the planning, welding, cutting, and hard work that went into this one piece. They will be fabricating many more like it in the coming weeks.

On April 25th WXXI will be at the Edison Campus to do a story on our Women in Welding Workshop!

In our fourth Monday session the girls were ready to start base of the bench they are making. They learned about various joint types, welding styles, and finishing techniques. Together the ladies worked hard to get the entire base of the bench fabricated, and finished all the cosmetic grinding work. The students worked from the large scale drawings and plans that they created to fabricate the parts for the bench.

The next phase of the fabrication will be the back of the bench and the arms. This will feature several artistic elements that will represent all of the CTE Programs at Edison. The ladies are very excited to start bending and welding each individual artistic element.

On April 25th WXXI will be at the Edison Campus to do a story on our Women in Welding Workshop!

The third week of our Women in Welding program was brimming with progress, learning, and comradery. The women worked with Edison Art Department’s Ms. Niederpruem to finalize their project ideas. The students will build a bench similar to the one pictured below for the Edison Campus. After a lot of design ideas, they settled on a bench which will highlight the 12 CTE Pathway Programs offered at Edison.

Stacey Mrva, a local artist and welder, is working with the young women every step of the way. In order to ready the intricate pieces of the bench for welding, Ms. Mrva consulted and instructed the women on technique and execution. Together, they learned to create specific bends and curves in metal. Moreover, the women practiced the technique by creating a metal heart which they were able to take and hang in their homes.

Next week, the students will be using their measuring and welding skills to fabricate the bench frame with Ms. Mrva and Edison Welding Department instructor Jim Putnam. The young women are excited and ready to start the final project. Stay tuned for more details and pictures!