I always knew that I wanted to do something as a career that involved me working with my hands.
I got my first taste of this when my dad let me use some of his older power tools that he didn’t mind losing if I accidentally broke them.
Since my father is an electrician, he had access to all sorts of building supplies whenever he wanted them. While we had to buy all of our new wood from the hardware store, he had access to scraps from job sites and brought them home all of the time. He also had metal and PVC pipes, fittings, screws, and all of the tools needed to build a house. Once I reached college age, I decided to forgo university for trade school so I could become a welder and ironworker. I considered underwater welding at one point, but then I met a friend who would become pivotal in my future. His father was a building contractor and he desperately needed more help with the cement pouring. He lost one of his rebar welders and he said he was willing to train me during off hours and pay me for it. I couldn’t say no to the offer. Now I make fairly decent money welding steel rebar tie wire for both commercial and residential building projects. A lot of the rebar we use for concrete reinforcement is corrosion resistant. You can purchase stainless steel rebar tie wire and galvanized steel rebar tie wire, with the latter coming with a zinc coating to protect the steel from moisture. While it’s much more fragile to work with, epoxy coated and PVC coated rebar tie wire are also used.