Finaly got to weld again after being paralysed.

I can tell you what it looks like....... 1st of all he always wears wife beater/tank tops so that he has skin to skin where the rod is. It appears as though he uses his chin as the guide with his shoulder lifted up pinching the rod between his chin and shoulder, and then rolls his shoulder forward pushing the rod, lifts the pressure on the rod and slides the shoulder back without the rod moving, then rolls his shoulder again to push more rod. The net result is a very similar action to what I see some of the best welders I know doing with thier thumb and forefinger. I, being an amatuer, hold the rod and "stab" it in and pull back and repeat. The best guys "slide" the rod continuously into the puddle creating the same feed distance every time. In the end George has as nice a bead as anyone I know, and I know some very good welders. It's amazing to see - and more so because of the quality of the weld than because of his 'limitation'. But every injury is different and you just gotta find the system that works best for you.

 

what else could i say??it is very moving..........question??? where is "Land of the Long White Cloud"????????cause unless it's across the seas, it has to be on my cruise'in the usa topo tour............i'ld drop by just to tell ya you're one dedicated rodder.......mark

ya rank right up there with the really hard core hot rodders of all time...HambAndy type hot rodder.........

 

You can't keep a good man down, and you are a very good man! My hat is off to you!

 

Good for you, you are an inspiration to all you have ever felt like they could not accomplish a task. Great outlook , Gary

 

CutUpCars,
You are an inspiration to all, life dealt you lemons and you made lemonade, and thats what it's all about. Good Luck in everything you do, and remember, the H.A.M.B. can't have enough good fab guys.

Later,
Billy

 

Very ###### cool man,

This hits close to home for me. My dad had a car fall on him when i was 9 years old. It broke his back in three places. He spend 13 months in the hospital. He was in a wheelchair for over 2 years only being able to fill his toes, he never gave up. Though he can walk today. (It is people like you and him that makes people like myself never take anything for granted.) GREAT JOB MAN!!!!!!!!!

So keep building and Keep us all posted.

 

Man, I'm blown away. This has got to be post of the year.
I'll quit complaining about my tendinitis now.

 

Sorry CutUp , I didn't read your post very well my idea still may work if you could get your index finger to just lay on the wire and shrug your shoulder to move the wire.
You have inspire others and me by your positive attitude ,keep up the welding Iam sure there is a way to feed the wire and you will find it. Take care, Rob.

 

Good goin man.

 

Very cool , keep it up.

 

CutUpCars

I will never complain about my health again.....

Damn Man keep up the great work and I just got to say it one more time

DAMN Man, I'm proud of you.....

 

Good for you,man,keep up the good work !and guys havings wives nag at them about there cars think they have problems.you are a true to the heart hotrodder!

 

Dude, I'm #3 that thinks you are a hero.

 

Hey your just back to doing what you love and you take it for granted. What you didn't realize was what kind of impact you had on a bunch of well bodied hot rodders. What you now know is you got a whole bunch of new found friends that got your back. Thanks for making my day.

 

your pretty much a badass and thats all there is to it.

 

You are a true inspiration!!! Never let anything stop you from doing what you love! Rock On!!
Poncho

 

Frame looks good, a little more kickup in the rear than I like, but its not my car is it!
Need more pics of the frame. Its looking good.
Keep us updated we love pics of the progress.
Keep on keeping on!

 

If you can't roll your shoulder, can you make a glove-like holder to put in your hand? If you can I could rig up a tube with a rubber feed wheel and a small electric motor (tiny motor)...then all that would have to be done is figuring out how to operate the feed wheel, something like a switch you could rest on your shoulder or under your chin to lean your head over to activate...

EDIT: I could use a DC motor and run it off a small battery (9VDC) and use a resistor to control the motor speed, that would make it more lightweight and portable along with adjustability...

Like was said earlier, "hero" is a word that doesn't mean as much in our society as it did long ago. Your resilience and perseverance truly give you the right to be called a hero. Righteous!

 

There is most likely no factory made holder you could use. But using a tube with a bladder inside and a hose to your mouth to blow and suck to inflate and deflate might hold the wire. Get a tube you can handle size wise and some type of rubber bladder you can easily inflate. Put the bladder and the wire inside the tube. Because of friction you might need some extra weight on the wire to get it to slide when you suck to deflate the bladder.
Just thinking out loud.

Nick

 

Someone mentioned using a wire feeder. That sure sounds like a great solution. You could use a foot pedal to advance the wire. Feeder speed adustment would help with how fast filler was advanced.

Like everyone else has said here, you are an inspiration. I wish you well in the future.

 

What electrodude said might work with a puff and suck electric wheelchair switch.
Nick

 

My best friend is a para. We've been thick as thieves for 25 years. He has been injured for 12 years now. He mentors people who have had severe head, neck and back injuries that have woken up with a new set of circumstances. ie paralyzed.
He has told me some pretty rough stories about who will and won't do well. Very little of it has anything to do with the level of injury. Most of it is mental. He said it comes down to " get busy living or get busy dying". I think that we would all do well to live like that.
It puts a smile on my face to hear about someone doing so well after such life changing events. Thanks for posting about it.
Keep us posted with progress pics. I'd like to see someone set the standard for "traditional" hand controls.

 

Ruler!

 

The true spirit of a hot rodder, thanks for the inspiration !

 

inspiring!! keep it up man

 

absolutely incredible and inspiring! Thanks for doing what you do, keep at it, and keep sharing with the rest of us

 

I know its been said over and over but man. inspirational

 

That's awesome, can't keep a good man down

 

Wow, INSPIRING to say the least.
just posted a link on my FB page..
A local welder, asked me to forward this link..
http://www.ckworldwide.com/coldwire.htm




Dude, your a HERO to so many..
-41-

 

im just thinking out loud here like the rest. but im thinking about a shoulder harness holdind a small power window motor, with a rubber wheel instead of a gear and another wheel on top. and a 12 volt battery. maybe a rubber booted dome lite switch to bite when you need to feed wire.this may sound a little hokey but you coulkd get the stuff for free, and im sure you could make it work.. hope it helps, and good luck dave

oh... i just thought that the motor will go to fast. maybe a heater/ defrost switch to turn down the speed .. still 12 volts.. sorry i could probly make the harness and motor work , but i dont know shit about electrical!! lol