4 ms·
Small time farmers seem to be a lot more likely to know these sorts of skills, because it allows them to save an obscene amount of money on specialty equipment
by jsmith45 7y ago
Small time farmers seem to be a lot more likely to know these sorts of skills, because it allows them to save an obscene amount of money on specialty equipment by modifying something inexpensive to do the job.
When the commercial offerings are $100,000+ but you can make something good enough yourself for $20,000 or less, well, yeah, it is well worth it to take the time to learn welding, since you will more than make up for it with just one such project.
- philipkglass 7y agoSmall time farmers seem to be a lot more likely to know these sorts of skills, because it allows them to save an obscene amount of money on specialty equipment by modifying something inexpensive to do the job. That's how/why my grandfather knew how to weld. And all his children. And his grandchildren too. His kids all went to college but also got a big boost from having practical hands-on skills to augment with theory and specialization. One of my uncles got a PhD and then spent most of his career helping grad students fabricate equipment for their field experiments, because hardly any other students or professors knew practical welding/soldering/instrumentation.
- bluGill 7y agoSmall time farmers are not trying to save money so much as time. When you are in the middle of nowhere with a broken part no amount of money can get you back in the field in 20 minutes (if the welder is sitting by the phone waiting for your call he can just barely get there in that time, but he hasn't looked at the part yet). 1 minute with your own welder and you have a repair that will let you limp to the end of the busy season where you can decide if it is good enough or you need to repair it right.