Welding Together A Future

DAYTON - Dayton High School students don't have to wait for the new skills center to be built at Walla Walla Community College to gain employable skills before they graduate. They can, and many do, enroll in the high school's welding class to satisfy credit requirements and learn a trade they can use as a career or as part-time work to pay for other education.

Steve McLean has been teaching welding at Dayton High School for 33 years. His uniform is dirty blue coveralls with "Boss" stitched to the front. The "Boss" currently has 42 students in his welding classes, which he said is a pretty average number for the term.

"It's not the cleanest shop you're going to walk into, but we get a lot done," McLean says with a smile on his face.

High schools like Waitsburg, Walla Walla, Pomeroy, Kahlotus, Washtucna, Asotin and Clarkston also have welding programs for students. But, McLean says the size of his shop is a rarity as well as the amount of equipment the students can learn to use.

"I'm fortunate here that I have a very well-equipped shop," McLean said.

The shop is certainly not a quiet place. Grinders and gas torch welding tools are noisy and sparks fly though the air all around the shop. Some students are up on ladders welding a truck bed. Others are nearly on their bellies on the dirty floor welding a large metal frame together.

On one table, a sweet, small metal birdhouse sits, seemingly out of place compared to the large projects the students work on.

For students who want to learn how to weld, they go through two weeks of safety training and then begin learning basic skills. McLean is proud to add that there has never been a serious accident or injury in his shop. His students must all wear safety glasses and coveralls in the shop.

The students start out learning how to do basic stick welding and gas torch welding. After that, they'll use an arc welder and other various pieces of equipment he has added to the shop over the years.

The students come up with their own projects to make. If they do an artistic sculpture or metal cutout, they can even earn art credit. They can use flame to color the piece or paint it as they see fit.

Or, they can head in a different direction into machining and use the milling machine for farm-type projects. McLean makes sure to put few limits on what students in his class can make.

"If we can't get a part, we make it," he said.

At the end of the term, the students emerge from the welding class with great machining and welding skills, McLean said. And with some quality work and ambition, he has had some students use his class to succeed in their careers.

Five of his students have gone into welding as a profession and done quite well for themselves. A couple of other students have done part-time welding to put themselves through college and graduate school. One of his former students worked as a welder while she put herself through veterinarian school and another now owns an engineering firm in the Tri Cities, he said.

"It makes all job-hunting easier," McLean said, when students have skills like welding and machining on their resumes.

Junior Chris Conley has been taking welding from the "Boss" for three years because he says it's fun and he likes to learn new skills. After he graduates from Dayton High School, he plans to learn mechanics and welding at Walla Walla Community College. He would then like to learn diesel mechanics to repair broken trucks and open an auto repair shop of his own.

Conley said he has always known he wanted to work on cars and motorcycles as a career, but he didn't know the exact direction he wanted to take until he enrolled in McLean's welding course.

"I like the shop and working with my hands," Conley said he has learned.

However, McLean said he does not tell his students to become welders.

"Welding is really hard on your body inside and out," he said.

For full-time welders who log many hours at work, McLean said lung problems are the most common of ailments associated with the trade.

Welding can also be very hard on your eyes and the temperatures one is welding in can be extremely hot.

Even though companies are greatly improving the environment for welders to prevent these problems, McLean said it is still a difficult occupation.

Journeyman welders can make great money doing their trade, he said, but it's hard to reach that income bracket, especially in today's tough job market.

But most of all, the job is just fun, he said.

Last week, students in his welding class were working on a set of new tables for the school and one was repairing a truck bed. The shop is large enough to handle a wide range of projects and the amount of equipment McLean has allows the students to take on pretty much anything.

Because of tight state budgets for education, McLean hasn't been able to update much of his equipment recently. But, he has a special contract with the school district that allows him to work through the summer to maintain the equipment in his shop so it can continue to last for years to come.

Also, the district has started charging students a $5 lab fee for the course to cover materials, but many of the projects the students complete for the community bring in some money for the welding program.

Over the past 15 years with the program, McLean said his students have built about 75 trailers from scratch and sent them to customers in Montana, Idaho, Oregon and to local communities. Right now, they're helping out a local farmer by putting a new truck bed on a semi. They've even done work for the Columbia County Sheriff's Office by remodeling its trailers. The students have also built swine wash racks at the fairgrounds.

"We do projects for the cost of the metal and the kids get the experience," McLean said.

Most of the customers will also donate additional money to the program when the work is completed, he said.

And because of the machining skills of the students, they've taken on some unusual projects including building hay feeders, grain storage tanks, augers and gear boxes.

The kinds of skills students are learning in welding classes are really setting some on the course to a great career, like Conley, who enjoys the shop's environment and having the ability to come up with his own projects.

"It's teaching me to work with others and build stuff on my own," Conley said. "It's making my ideas come to life."