Sparks snapped and metal hissed under the heat as students shaped thin sheets of steel in massive letters. For months, they have been working in the manufacturing shop and they couldn’t wait to see the finished product.
Manufacturing students have been working on a Ted Talk sign since Thanksgiving break for an upcoming program where magnet students perform Ted Talks.
“The first half of it is complete, and we’re excited,” junior Madison Frischhertz said. “It’s almost done.”
Manufacturing teacher Ronald Nelson handled the initial design but left the fabrication to the students so they could apply the welding skills they’ve been learning.
“He mainly wanted us to focus on the welding part of it,” Frischhertz said. “He just wants us to broaden our horizons on welding and learn as much as we can.”
Junior Carson Mangelsdorf said they divided up the work and each student took on different welding roles. Frischhertz and Mangelsdorf leads the welding, while Rodriguez works on cutting out sheets of metal.
“We just kind of all picked a letter and started doing it,” Mangelsdorf said. “We started with MIG welding the entire thing, then cleaned it up on the outside with TIG. It looks pretty cool.”
Mangelsdorf said the thin sheet of metal made it difficult to weld, and the heat often became too intense and burned holes straight through the metal.
“We got to work through that and that was just the difficult part of it,” Mangelsdorf said.
Senior Hector Rodriguez said the curved parts of the letters were the hardest to complete.
“Welding in tight spaces is our main issue, but we’re working through it,” Rodriguez said.
Nelson said the students handled the difficulties well, especially considering the limitations of the shop. They didn’t have a metal brake to bend curves, so the students had to tack the rounded pieces together by hand.
As the letters took shape, the students realized they were really heavy. They experimented with different methods before deciding to keep the letters separate so they would be easier to transport.
“We’ve had difficulties trying to get them to stand up because it’s all about the balance,” Frischhertz said.
Once they finish welding the sign, they will sand and pain the letters. The team hopes to finish the sign by spring break. Nelson said assistant principal Bill Parker will likely set a deadline once the event gets closer.
Despite the challenges, the students say the project has been worth it.
“We’ve been working as much as we can on it to get it finished and it is almost done,” Frischhertz. “So we’re excited.”
