Owner, Brown Dog Welding
- FMA
- The Fabricator
- FABTECH
- Canadian Metalworking
Categories
- Additive Manufacturing
- Aluminum Welding
- Arc Welding
- Assembly and Joining
- Automation and Robotics
- Bending and Forming
- Consumables
- Cutting and Weld Prep
- Electric Vehicles
- En Español
- Finishing
- Hydroforming
- Laser Cutting
- Laser Welding
- Machining
- Manufacturing Software
- Materials Handling
- Metals/Materials
- Oxyfuel Cutting
- Plasma Cutting
- Power Tools
- Punching and Other Holemaking
- Roll Forming
- Safety
- Sawing
- Shearing
- Shop Management
- Testing and Measuring
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Tube and Pipe Production
- Waterjet Cutting
Industry Directory
Webcasts
Podcasts
FAB 40
Advertise
Subscribe
Account Login
Search
Still Building America—Don’t let anything hold you back
- By Josh Welton
- November 2, 2017
Earlier this year I posted a question to social media looking for responses to incorporate in my first “Playing With Fire” column for The WELDER magazine. The post basically asked, “How did you get into welding and what has kept you welding?” One of the first replies on Facebook was from a young man named Jeremy Hannaford. He was excited to share a little bit of his story for this month’s “Still Building America” feature!
JW: Could you explain what kind of work you do?
Most of the work I do is scrap metal art, but I also do some fabrication and repairs.
JW: How did you get started as a welder?
JH: I was paralyzed in 2004 and became a quadriplegic. With no hand function and three-fourths of my body not working, I thought I was doomed. After getting some independence back, I began an office job, but that business closed. I needed to get my mom a birthday gift, and I was broke. My dad had a welding machine and some junk lying around; he helped me booger together a flower… and I fell in love.
JW: How did you decide on your career path?
JH: Welding went from a hobby to a career once people started seeing my work. Lots of people love seeing something that once was junk turned into something beautiful. And just sitting and practicing welding brought me so much happiness that I had to pursue it as a career.
JW: What type of background/training do you have?
JH: My dad first gave me some quick lessons, and I spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos trying to get the motions down with my small MIG machine. But then I got my TIG machine; that was all self-taught. I can’t run a finger switch without the finger functioning, so I learned to run the pedal with my elbow as I held the torch with one hand and dabbed filler with the other. It was ugly at first, but it looks pretty damn good now.
JW: What is your favorite part of your job?
JH: Freedom. I am usually just given an idea from a customer and then set free to use my imagination to bring it to life. Seeing the look on their face once it’s finished makes it all worth it.
JW: What's your future career goal?
JH: Just expanding the work I do. I want to be able to weld anything that someone brings to me, and I hope to make a bigger name for myself.
JW: What advice would you give your peers if they wanted to find a similar path?
JH: Don’t let anything hold you back. Even if you think that it’s impossible, there is a way, if you try hard enough and work hard enough. Learn all that you can and make it your passion!
Thanks, Jeremy. Never has that final statement had more meaning than in this interview. Inspirational, to say the least.
All images courtesy of Jeremy Hannaford.
subscribe now
The Welder, formerly known as Practical Welding Today, is a showcase of the real people who make the products we use and work with every day. This magazine has served the welding community in North America well for more than 20 years.
start your free subscriptionAbout the Author
About the Publication
- Stay connected from anywhere
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Fabricator.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Welder.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Tube and Pipe Journal.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Fabricator en Español.
- Podcasting
- Podcast:
- The Fabricator Podcast
- Published:
- 04/30/2024
- Running Time:
- 53:00
Seth Feldman of Iowa-based Wertzbaugher Services joins The Fabricator Podcast to offer his take as a Gen Zer...
- Trending Articles
Aluminum MIG wires offer smooth feeding, reduced tangling
The role of flux in submerged arc welding performance
Three ESAB welding machines win Red Dot Awards for product design
Power source added to cobot welding system for simplified automation
Connecticut students compete in Maritime Welding Competition
- Industry Events
Pipe and Tube Conference
- May 21 - 22, 2024
- Omaha, NE
World-Class Roll Forming Workshop
- June 5 - 6, 2024
- Louisville, KY
Advanced Laser Application Workshop
- June 25 - 27, 2024
- Novi, MI
Precision Press Brake Certificate Course
- July 31 - August 1, 2024
- Elgin,