A recent newspaper story explains how local Boy Scouts are learning to weld metal to earn a merit badge. Nearly 150 Scouts attended sessions at Ohio Technical College (OTC) in Cleveland to learn about welding and other technical skills. The program was sponsored jointly by OTC and Lincoln Electric. Volunteers showed scouts how three pieces of pre-cut metal supplied by Lincoln could be welded together to create a statue of an eagle.
One scout went on to practice his new-found skills to make a lap joint, a butt joint, and a T-joint; another welded a chair.
The Boy Scouts created the welding merit badge in 2012 in collaboration with the American Welding Society, the story explains. To earn the badge, scouts must learn welding safety requirements, demonstrate first-aid procedures that may be needed in the welding environment, demonstrate proficiency in skills related to the welding of joints, and learn about careers in various industries that employ welding skills.
“It’s the hottest new merit badge in years,” said a scout leader. Beyond being an unusual experience, the program has the potential to make some scouts consider physical trades such as welding.
What a great idea! What if there was a merit badge for machining? Scouts could visit a qualified machine shop or machine tool manufacturer’s technical center, learn about the various machines and what they do, maybe engage in some conversational programming on a machining center, mill a part, and earn a CNC badge. It could be a win-win for all – a chance for scouts to try something new and another chance for the industry to show that manufacturing is not a dirty, dismal, dull occupation.
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