fandomhigh | Practical Mechanics [Tuesday, May 13, 2014]

"Hello again," Ben said, waving from the front of the Danger Shop that had been turned into a metalworking shop. "Today we're going to play with stuff that gets really, really hot, so eyewear, a leather apron, and gloves are not an option. It's much better to look kind of stupid while you're working with metal than to be that guy with the burned face and only one hand. When you know how to weld, you can fix all kinds of stuff: cars, starships, droids--" he glanced at some of the students from less technologically advanced worlds, "--fences," he added a bit stupidly. "At its most basic, welding joins two pieces of metal using melted steel as the glue. Today we'll be doing that process with a flux-cored wire-feed welder. When the powdered flux inside the wire melts, it emits a gas that condenses to form a thin shell of slag. This protective layer prevents contaminants in the air from polluting the cooling molten metal and reducing the strength of the weld."

Just nod and pretend you understand what he's talking about, class.

"Most projects require five steps: prepare the metal; clamp the pieces in position; tack them together with blobs of metal; finish-weld the parts; and clean up the assembly. Get that down and you can handle a project: I've put two out. For people who haven't welded before, I've put out instructions on how to build a windchime.. For those of you with more experience, you can try to build a pulse jet engine. Don't set yourself or anyone else on fire, okay?"

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Being hot.

Edited 2014-05-13 10:34 (UTC)

Leather aprons, fireproof gloves, and that cool welder's helmet. You look amazing!

Before you get started on your project, there are a few pipes out, along with welding wire and the welding gun. Get used to the feel of your tools, especially if you haven't welded before.

Try not to weld the pipes to the metal tables.

Edited 2014-05-13 10:23 (UTC)

Or a gremlin/squirrel alert system, depending where you put it in your room.

Ben's put out instructions, but he's also walking around to make sure no one's getting to stuck or overwhelmed.

Put it on your scooter, your bike, or a gremlin!

Ben recommends not putting it on a gremlin. Instructions are out for this project too, and Ben's watching this table carefully to make sure no one accidentally (or purposefully) makes something explode.

There are fire extinguishers under the table, just in case.

They're here to help!

Welding is fun!

Barry Ween

Um. No. Barry did not look amazing. He did look like a welder and he also looked eager to get started.

Barry jumped into the pulse jet engine project and finished it about halfway through class.

So then he started to make another engine but this time one that was more efficient and with additional thrust capacity.

Don't worry, Ben. He wasn't going to blow up anything today.

Nathan Byrn

Nathan figured using the excuse of 'I'll just heal' to not wear the protective equipment wouldn't work so he put it on without a protest. He was already used to bundling up anyway.

Nathan was definitely going to get some practice in before he started any kind of project. Welding was not something he'd ever done before so better to make sure he could even handle the whole thing first.

Ah, reading. The bane of his existence. Nathan was going to try and parse some words but he was mostly going to try and get through this looking at pictures.

Celia Bowen

Celia was more than a little intimidated by the fact that there was a special outfit to go with this activity. She carefully pulled on the gloves and apron, and made sure her hair was tucked in under the helmet.

She felt very glamorous, yes.

It took Celia a few tries before she really got the hang of how the welding gun worked, and a few more before she was able to concentrate on the heat and make it do her bidding a little more.

She still didn't especially love this, but she felt more comfortable and less likely to hurt someone, at least.

Joker Moreau

Joker was less concerned about how he looked, and more concerned about how heavy the apron and helmet were.

Not TOO heavy, thankfully.

Joker tried welding pipes until he felt he'd gotten the hang of it. More or less. He didn't weld anything to the table, and the pipes stayed together, so that was something.

Joker made an engine, and had it finished by the end of class, although he was hugely unsatisfied with it. "I hope we're not being graded on quality," he grumbled. "This is NOT my calling in life."

Andros

Andros' previous welding adventures had not required this type of safety gear, but he guessed the equipment was better where he was from. He put on his new outfit without protest, although he briefly considered whether morphing would be adequate protection.

Andros set to work on a pulse jet engine, making a few alterations he thought would make it more efficient.

There was no need to worry about explosions; he had this under control. Maybe he would get a bike to put it on. It would be more efficient than walking everywhere, although bikes would still have trouble with the stairs.

Edited 2014-05-13 19:22 (UTC)

After finishing his engine, Andros had some time left over, so he decided to make a windchime, too. It might come in handy, and his side of the room could certainly use some decoration.

Marasiah Fel

Practical Mechanics [Tuesday, May 13, 2014]

Sign in [5/13]

Suit up and listen to the lecture!

Practice Welding!

Make a Wind Chime!

Make a Pulse Jet Engine!

Talk to Ben & Cassidy!

OOC

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