Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
I love to weld! I first started welding in Lodi California at the age of 7 I was a welder’s helper for about a year. Then when I was 17 my father put in his WILL that I must complete a career class so the summer of my 18th year I attended OCC and got my first welding degree. Then I hit the ground running thinking I could conquer the world like all young men do at that age. Boy what a big shock did I have? So my next job was with BLM Logging Co. I was in training to be a Millwright as a maintenance man AKA Millwright for the whole mill I would be sharpening saw blades and working on anything that broke down in the Mill. Well after all of the spotted owl song and dance it shut most of the logging company's down! So just about that time a friend of mine from Oklahoma called me as he knew what I was going through and asked me if I wanted to get into the oil industry. So I jumped on a greyhound bus and headed out to Oklahoma. As soon as I got here I got a job in Bartlesville Ok, and got a job at a pipe making co. at first like all jobs you start at the bottom and I got stuck outside cutting up steel to the size needed to be rolled into pipe. Then I was moved up to running the boom loading sheets of steel on to the sheer table to be cut down to a precise size. After about a year of that i got a new job offer inside the Co, As a Heavy Equipment Operator. Then I got a job offer through a friend at Norris Sucker Rods! I was an Over Head Crane Operator / Safety Rep for the local steel workers 993 I worked at Norris Sucker Rods for 5 years.
I started in the refract section and started doing most of the welding down there so in my yearly review I asked to be compensated for my skills as a welder so they moved me to the welding shop. I was very happy about that. Welding was my life. As normal I started at the bottom again once moved to the new department I had to start at the bottom as a welders helper but it did not take long to move to a welder.
As a Overhead crian operator it was my job depending what crain I was operating that day to keep the to keep the Auto-forge, 14 CnC's, or the paint-vat vat running smoothly as safely as I could.
I made Block Buster Anti Theft movie cases for 2 years.