Page 11 - HIWT Winter 2013 World of Welding

hiwt@welding.org HOBART INSTITUTE OF WELDING TECHNOLOGY

COVER STORY
SHARING WELDING EXPERIENCES

By James C. Walters

I completed the nine month
Combination Structural and
Pipe Welding Program in 2002.
Upon completion of the course
at Hobart Institute of Welding
Technology, I moved back to
Middletown, OH where I took
a job with 3D Industries in
Carlisle, OH. At 3D Industries I
worked as a welder, fabricating
as well as repairing various
weldments for the AK Steel
Middletown Works facility.

Eighty percent of our work
was done in the shop but some
duties included field work on
installations of fabricated parts.
The majority of my welding
experience there was FCAW on
.5-in.+ low and medium carbon
steels as well as heavy stainless
applications. The biggest thing
I took from 3D was learning
the skills to perform off-site James Walters working on the job site and assisting with assembly of the stainless steel bell tower at
work and all that it entailed. the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial.
Working in your shop is one
thing, but working in a foreign I currently work for Axis Fabrication and Machine where I
environment filled with have been employed since 2006. Axis has been another great
unknown obstacles is a whole experience not only in the aspect of diversity but the attention
other animal.
to detail as well. At Axis, we work with many different
In 2004, I relocated to Knoxville, TN where I worked for customers that require various forms of products. I have built
Quality Machine and Welding and Pip’s Iron Works as a Fitter/ local artistic structures like the 316 stainless steel bell tower,
Welder. At Pip’s Iron Works I was introduced to structural at East Tennessee Veterans Memorial, the eternal flame at the
applications working to American Welding Society’s D1.1 Unto These Hills amphitheater in Cherokee, NC, and various
Structural Welding Code. This was my first experience things for The University of Tennessee. I have worked on
working to a particular code and I was very intrigued by it. I code-specific jobs for The Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
enjoyed the quality aspect and the attention to detail that was some military suppliers, and The Spallation Neutron Source.
expected working to AWS D1.1 code. After being an HIWT
student it feels pretty good when the inspectors compliment The scope of work at Axis can range anywhere from in-depth
your work! This was also my first time working in a somewhat code specific applications to the tediousness of a grained,
production-based shop. I noticed how much the layout of the sanitary stainless x-ray cabinet for the food service industry.
shop as well as many other things can effect production and Most of my work is performed with a Miller Dynasty® 350
it was a great learning experience. At Pip’s all the fit up is on low to medium carbon steel, 304 and 316 stainless steel,
completed with E7018 stick electrodes. After a hold point for 1100 and 6061 aluminum, with some Inconel®, copper, and
inspection, welding is usually completed by FCAW. titanium work. Some of this work can be seen at www.axisfab.
com. (Continued on page 12)

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