About open weld lab
If you’ve ever wanted to learn to weld – now’s your chance! The Hill Hall welding lab is open during the fall and spring semesters for students and staff to explore various welding techniques. Sessions are free and no experience is needed.
For Spring 2023, the Open Weld Lab is scheduled every Friday 11:00 am – 1:00 pm.
Each week we plan on teaching the basics of the advertised welding processes. Our goal is to help new welders learn how to lay down basic welds and what common mistakes to watch for as they practice. For more experienced welders, we give you practice time, provide feedback on your technique, and answer any questions you may have. For beginners and experienced welders, we are happy to use personal projects or some of our pre-planned projects to guide you in improving your welding.
Using a combination of MIG and oxy-acetylene torch create your own tree made from steel rods. MIG welding will be used to join the rods together and to form roots along the base. An oxy-acetylene torch will be used to heat your trunk and branches, allowing you to bend, twist, and manipulate them into the design you desire. This is a great exercise in understanding heat control.
This project is for MIG or TIG Welding. It gives you several different positions to weld from and provides variation in the work space around the weld. The goal is to manufacture a box with or without a lid that is welded at each edge. When filled with water, the completed box will be leak free!
A simple, but interesting challenge for stick welding. We take two pieces of angle iron and weld them together. Then using multiple passes fill up the gaps between the iron to turn it into a solid bar of steel. This will give you a chance to practice welding on top of welds, mimicking a wide gap situation.
Safety Requirements
· Cloth face masks required (cotton or N95; no spandex or other synthetic materials). If the face mask has ties, the ties must be short and not dangle below chin level.
· Come with safety glasses with side shields
· Wear long pants and a long sleeved shirt (no synthetic materials)
· Wear closed toed shoes (not synthetic materials); Steel-toed shoes are strongly recommended.
· Remove all rings, watches, necklaces, bracelets and dangling earrings before operating any equipment.
· Long hair must be tied back and secured.
· We provide the rest of the PPE required.
You will be given a safety walkthrough of the shop. Once completed, you will be able to explore all the shop and instructors at CWJCR have to offer!
Testimonials
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Coming into OWL with little welding experience, I was worried my project would take several hours to finish. However, Alex and the TA’s were incredibly helpful and willing to work with me one-on-one to make sure I completed my welds. I learned so much in just two hours and had a great time getting to know the lab and everyone that works there. I couldn’t recommend attending OWL more! – Maggie |
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I just wanted to say I had a great time during the open lab today and really appreciated the time, attention, and resources that went into such an incredible opportunity. Also I wanted to show you what I ended up doing with the finished product. Thank you so much and it was a really amazing experience. – Nicole |
Come Join!
When and Where:
Hill Hall Welding Lab
Every Friday!
11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Contact:
aaronwells@mines.edu