how can we bootstrap a station champion? (Welding in particualr but others in general)

[David Lang]

when we do not have a champion for a station, how do we pick one and define what
needs to be covered in the certification training?

Welding has not had an active champion able to give certification classes in a
good while. There are a number of us who know welding to some degree.

It doesn't seem right for someone to be able to walk in and say "I'm going to be
the new welding champion, here are my rules" and just do-ocracy it. It would
seem that some sort of vetting needs to be done. does this person actaully know
anything? are their rules reasonable? etc.

I don't know how many people who were certified before are still around.

My thinking is that people willing to step up and be the champion should have
their skills checked by others in the space who claim to be proficient in the
needed skills

there was a slack thread on this about a month ago. see:
https://heatsynclabs.slack.com/archives/CBQH0NH0T/p1776876864158659

another example is the maslow. I say I know a lot about it, but how can you
folks know?

David Lang

[Kirk]

Skills could be checked by a third party, not only by others in the space.  In particular, I think there is a Phoenix hackerspace that has welding up and running.

[Rick Blake]

In the past this was acted on either by proposal or discussion and vote at a HYH. Qualification and vetting were spotty, but that resolved itself, usually, either by members conducting their own research in advance or after a HYH where the vote was postponed. A formal process would be useful, but right now not necessary. I would recommend candidates for welding a Champion contact the previous Champion and ask for an endorsement. I suspect even a welding candidate could be vetted by a phone call and discussion. At the least the unqualified candidates could be identified. 

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[David Lang]

Kirk wrote:

> Skills could be checked by a third party, not only by others in the space.
> In particular, I think there is a Phoenix hackerspace that has welding up
> and running.

Yes, PhoenixForge has a welding program, but just because someone has gone
through a introduction class doesn't mean they are going to be qualified to run
it as a station.

the sign off is not just 'can you weld' but also setting policies for the
station, and being able teach or at least explain is useful :-)

David Lang

[David Lang]

The previous champion being Shaundra?

David Lang

>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/d79b987b-438d-4431-bd2b-5fdb3ca7ade2n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
>> .
>>
>
>

[Rick Blake]

Yes. She still is Champion, but incapacitated. 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/4qoop527-po2q-qq06-nn53-npopq87n137r%40ynat.uz.

[Kirk]

"Yes, PhoenixForge has a welding program, but just because someone has gone
through a introduction class doesn't mean they are going to be qualified to run
it as a station.

the sign off is not just 'can you weld' but also setting policies for the

station, and being able teach or at least explain is useful :-) "

Yes, I understand.  I was just saying for the skills testing part, an outsider could also be used (in addition to HSL vetters).  It is kind of "who will watch the watchers" problem.  How do we know the vetters themselves are qualified to vet if they are not officially certified?  That is all I am thinking.  If there is no one officially certified at HSL, then have an outside official certification in addition to internal HSL vetters who may not be officially certified but know their stuff.  Internal HSL vetters have veto powers.  Just throwing it out there as I am no expert. 

[Moheeb Zara]

The philosophy around authority in do-ocracy is that "those that do, decide" and non-coercive authority. So when someone stops championing and someone else starts championing, they are the authority to defer to on that particular station. When it comes to certification on machines that pose safety risks, we've just gone accross the chain of whoever was previously certified and had the most knowledge/desire to teach or someone who came in with sufficient credentials. For example, if Brian Keller wanted to teach the lathe, I think we can safely say he knows his stuff. When someone came in who knew the machine already, often they'd just have to prove to an instructor that they knew it and how to be safe vs going through the whole class. 

I'm not against a semi formal process outlined in a wiki page (not the bylaws) that clarifies that. Those most concerned with the metal shop station should convene and agree on a process and document it. Policies like this are only made norms if they are written, agreed upon, followed, and passed on to those that come after by whatever means. I don't think it requires any serious formalities and if people have issue with a process you adopt, they can voice it and it can be revisited.

TLDR get together, put it in the wiki, let us know what you agree on. 

On Friday, May 15, 2026 at 4:06:18 PM UTC-7 rick...@gmail.com wrote:

[Moheeb Zara]

For welding, talk to Austin Kipp, he still comes around and was our original welding instructor. 

[Tim M]

Austi...@microchip.com

It doesn't help that board members requested he remove all the additional personal welding equipment he let other use in the lab at any time. 

Regards,

Tim Moffat

---

From: heatsy...@googlegroups.com <heatsy...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Moheeb Zara <mohee...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, May 15, 2026 4:31:46 PM
To: HeatSync Labs <heatsy...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [HSL] Re: how can we bootstrap a station champion? (Welding in particualr but others in general)

 

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[David McGuerty]

There are also many different kinds of welding. MIG, TIG, etc... Iron, steel, aluminum, and some 'experts' may know more about one vs another. Maybe someone can at least write a paragraph about their experience so we have something to go on? I would certainly like to take a class or two.

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[David Lang]

David McGuerty wrote:

> There are also many different kinds of welding. MIG, TIG, etc... Iron,
> steel, aluminum, and some 'experts' may know more about one vs another.
> Maybe someone can at least write a paragraph about their experience so we
> have something to go on? I would certainly like to take a class or two.

there are a few different things here.

May people are like you and say "I want to be a good welder, how can I learn"

The certification class doesn't teach how to be a good welder, it teaches you
enough to not damage the equipment, yourself, and random people in the area.
Pretty much every makerspace requires that you go through their certification
class, even if you are an expert. it covers details of their equipment, the
area, and 'house rules' for use.

In the process, it teaches the most basic introduction to welding, mostly
because you can't learn to be safe if you don't touch things

We need someone to be the Champion of the Welding Station (or at least
acting/assistantg), our current Champion is out sick and has been for a long
time. This involves care and feeding of the equipment and also being able to
teach the certification class. I is nice if this person is an expert welder as
well as being able to teach, but being able to teach is more important.

I am not an expert, but I've been using welding as a tool since high school auto
shop (mumble-mumble years ago) and have been through the welding certification
of many different makerspaces. I am willing to take it on here, but as much as I
know what I can do, I don't believe that the rest of HSL should just take me at
my word for a safety critical thing like this.

David Lang

[Antonio Contrisciani]

I had suggested before, and I still think, that we should break off a few hundred dollars to "hire" someone from one of the local community colleges or machine shops to come in and run not only a couple certifications but also a class for potential champions to help fill in any gaps they have and get the station back up and running. In the past the welding station has been a major source of revenue for the lab and I think it makes sense to make a minor investment for the future.

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[David Lang]

Antonio Contrisciani wrote:

> I had suggested before, and I still think, that we should break off a few
> hundred dollars to "hire" someone from one of the local community colleges
> or machine shops to come in and run not only a couple certifications but
> also a class for potential champions to help fill in any gaps they have and
> get the station back up and running. In the past the welding station has
> been a major source of revenue for the lab and I think it makes sense to
> make a minor investment for the future.

what exactly would our ask be? for example, I've gone through the welding
classes for PhoenixForge to be allowed to use their equipment (equivalent of our
certification classes)

their rules assume that there is paid staff to do a lot of stuff, so we can't
just copy them.

David Lang

[Antonio Contrisciani]

The ask is to train one or preferably more than one of a select group of people who already know welding to something closer to mastery so they could take over as champion. 

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[David Lang]

Antonio Contrisciani wrote:

> The ask is to train one or preferably more than one of a select group of
> people who already know welding to something closer to mastery so they
> could take over as champion.

how many days/months/years of training are you looking for in the champion? they
will point you at a multi-year welding program if you ask for that.