Welding Open Studio is designed for those with prior welding experience that would like use of the CVU Metal Shop to work on projects independently and with supervision. Participants may bring in their projects and use the welding facilities during the allotted timeframe. Projects will need to be carried in and out of class as there is no storage available.
There will be a brief overview of the CVU safety guidelines at the beginning of the course. Each class will be supervised with one of our welding instructors who will also be available for hands help.
Safety Requirements:
Minimum age requirement: 16+
Wes McEntee is a 2018 graduate of Vermont Tech where he got his degrees in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Technology. Wes is currently an Equipment Engineer for Global Foundries. Previously he spent three years as a machinist and a welder for Hayward Tyler Inc. and as the Adjunct Professor of Welding at Vermont Tech. Wes has been welding and fabricating since his first Metal Fabrication course at CVU during his freshman year of high school in 2010. He continued his passion for welding, while at Vermont Tech, taking their offered welding courses as well as founding and running the Vermont Tech Fabrication Club, and achieving his American Welding Society D1.1 Structural Steel qualification. Wes also competed at the national level of SkillsUSA for Job Skill Demonstration, where he gave a lecture on Welder Safety & PPE. During his time teaching at Vermont Tech, Wes took on additional roles as the Faculty Advisor for Fabrication Club and the SkillsUSA Welding Fabrication team. When working at Hayward Tyler, Wes became qualified to weld carbon and stainless steels in nuclear applications for the company, while also being a machine operator and programmer. In his spare time, Wes loves to weld, fabricate and tinker in his shop at home. Wes has also designed and fabricated his own log-forwarding trailer, and can be found at his happiest out in the woods running his chainsaws and forestry equipment.
Bob Otty is a UVM graduate, with a Master’s degree in Biomedical Technology. For much of his work life, Bob has managed a service team for a local medical device company. Bob started welding early, with a father who was (and still is) a hobbyist fabricator. When presented with a problem, a motto in his house was, “We’ll weld something up!”. MIG welding was the most common process used in his father’s shop when Bob was growing up, while a beautiful TIG welder sat in the corner gathering dust. Years later, and with a shop of his own, Bob decided someone in his family should learn to TIG weld, and he acquired a machine of his own. Today, Bob and his wife have a small sheep farm, which offers an endless list of metal (and wood) working projects that have helped him hone his skills and occupy his weekends and evenings.
Wesley McEntee , Robert Otty
