A stainless steel World will go on display in the Learning Resource Center in May. At about the same time, a from-scratch hot rod will take center stage at a local car show.
Both projects are taking shape in the Welding Fabrication class this semester at Ventura College.
VC students are heating up metal in the welding classes to earn a certificate or associate’s degree, add to job skills or get a raise and a promotion. Some students are retired, some are trying to pursue a second career and some are professionals, taking the class just to have fun. Students range from high-school-age to senior citizen.
In the welding fabrication class, some students are working on individual projects and others are on group projects, said Mike Clark, the VC welding instuctor.
Brittany Maurette, 19, a Fine Arts major, is in charge of the World group project.
She is the only woman student in the class. “I have been working on this project by myself Monday through Thursday,” Maurette said.
“I am cutting pieces for the world lateral lines one by one to fit.” A few students come in on Friday to work on the project as well, Clark said.
The hot rod group project parts have been donated from a local car club, Ventura Vintage Rods, Clark said.
Mark Findlay, 19, has developed an individual project, Baja Bug. “I bought the VW from a Santa Barbara welding company,” Findlay said.
“It’s a good candidate; it doesn’t have a frame,” Findlay said.
“The engine is supported off the body and pan, which makes it easier to cut away and to modify.”
The most recent work Findlay has done with the VW was building a suspension. It has doubled the length of travel from the original suspension.
Findlay wants to complete his associate’s degree in welding and pursue his studies with a bachelor’s degree toward an industrial design degree.
The students develop skills and tools to use in manufacturing companies that make automobiles, aircrafts and ships, and out on the oilrigs or in the oilfields, Clark said. Reid Bowman, a retired chemist and an Ojai ranch owner, is benefiting from the class. Welding has taught him how to repair the piping for the horse corrals on his farmland, Bowman said.
“I’m taking the class for fun,” said Jose Marin-Carmona, 28, a photographer. “It’s both creative and part science. It’s like photography; it has technology and art.”
Peter J. Raab, 20, plans to be a movie director. He said he’s taking the class to learn how to weld and build movie scenes. He’s working on a medieval war helmet.
“I’m cutting a piece out to weld in a new piece. It was crinkled like a coffee filter, so I’m making it smooth,” he said.
Raab is also making Roman-style armor. “I’m using the hydraulic press; it presses the piece into shape,” he said.
The military is also interested in VC’s welding program, Clark said. “The military wants to train their service personnel soldiers for welding in combat.
They want the soldiers to cut welding and to be able to repair equipment quickly in combat.”
Deb Kelly, a VC welding instructor and a retired battleship welder, teaches introduction to welding. She stresses safety first in her class and the understanding of technical terms. “Wear leather boots, jeans, a long-sleeve cotton shirt and jacket,” Kelly said. “Otherwise the steel sparks will burn a hole right through you.”
“It’s hands-on learning,” Kelly said. Students work in teams, take a quick lesson and a safety test and then they’re ready to work.
Charles Nichols, a VX-30 assistant aircraft maintenance officer who is responsible for fixing airplanes, is taking the introductory course.
Nichols plans to retire soon. He and his wife are moving to New Zealand to work on his brother-in-law’s dairy farm.
Nichols practices cutting pieces of metal for welding. He is preparing to work on the stainless steel milking tubes.
“I’ll stay away from the cows,” he said. “Anything as big as me, I leave it alone.”
