High school students are at a perfect time in their lives to learn about a career in welding or to pick up some life-long skills that they can use around their homes, farms, and workshops. Welding projects for high school students provide excellent engineering and practical challenges that can intersect with their other classes and interests.
In the picture below, students from a local high school welding class took a class at the Industrial Manufacturing Technology Center at Clatsop Community College’s MERTS campus. Students earned credit for their high school and have the chance to apply credit to classes at CCC. The students below are standing by their gate project at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds.
Coat Racks
Welding students can make a coat rack out of just about anything: a series of horse shoes welded together, a series of hooks and metal plates, or a piece of salvaged metal that has been cleaned and customized. As students are just learning about welding, start with a welding project that is relatively simple so they can focus on the basics of safety, metal prep, arc distance, and getting good penetration without sticking to the metal work piece. Just make sure that your welding class isn’t making coat racks as a final project!
Fire Pit, Grill, or Roaster
Many high schools are located in towns where tailgating before a football game is an honored weekend tradition. A welding shop is a great place to build a custom smoker, fire pit, grill, or roaster. Whether that’s a huge smoker that you can hitch behind a truck or a fire pit for a back yard, welding goes perfectly with grilling. If a student wants to stand out from the crowd, it’s especially easy to customize a grill for their purposes.
However, the most basic project for welding students would be a fire pit. This could be a rounded piece of metal that has a custom grate on top of it and is placed over some rocks or bricks. There are many plans for simple grills and smokers at Weld My World that will be ideal for students.
Fences and Gates for Farms and Gardens
Whether students work on farms, know local farmers, or have a large fenced in yard at home, there are many applications for fencing and gates. Gates are ideal for beginning welders since they’ll teach a lot about measuring, planning, and tacking pieces together. Gates can be simple or complex projects depending on the ornaments. The welds don’t have to be long or complex for new welders, but the final product can be both impressive and useful.
Bumper Kits for a Jeep or Truck
One of the easier and more practical welding projects for high school students is a bumper kit that can be assembled and installed in an afternoon. The metal is already cut and just needs to be shaped, set up, and welded into place. It’s likely that many welding students have older cars that they drive to school, so a new bumper kit may provide a good incentive to strike up a spark and get welding.
Decorations and Gifts
While a coffee table would make a great welding project for high school students, it’s also not the most original. By encouraging students to pick out their own projects, they may come up with a creative idea such as creating a piece of art work, a decoration, or a sign plate.
One student created an impressive die that was welded together, smoothed out, and polished clean. While this may not necessarily work for a board game, it’s a great decoration for a game room, den, or living room. The die is only 3 inches square, meaning that this student had to learn some particularly detailed welding techniques.
Plasma Cutting Old Machines
There’s a chance that you can easily find a frame from an old four wheeler or machine around. You could bring in some older materials and teach students to make precise cuts while also learning more about how they’re put together. In addition, while working on older machines with plasma cutters, students will get to learn about safety precautions for cutting and grinding.