Premier Power Welder Helping Weld a Solid Future for Our Trails
By Del Albright
Founding Trail Boss, Friends of the Rubicon
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In their on-going show of support of access, the great folks at Premier Power Welder decided that it was time for me to quit borrowing welders while fighting to keep our trails open. They donated a new welder to my Jeep (re)buildup!
My poor old jeep, “Red” has broken a few metal parts over the last near 10 years, and many of my trail buds and FOTR pals have welded on him. In fact, it’s safe to say that there were welds on top of welds in a few places.
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But now that Red has a new lease on life and a complete rebuild thanks to Wyotech (automotive college) and many businesses, Pat and Jan Gremillion of Premier Power Welder just didn’t want me to have to be stranded any more, waiting for a weld. They understand the importance of folks like me working full time to ensure our continued access to roads and trails that we love to wheel. So now I’m learning to weld, RIGHT! |
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What’s funny is that while I’m not what you would call a great mechanic or welder, my Dad was a master machinist and welder. As a kid in the 60’s, I remember his trailer-towed Lincoln Arc Welder (with huge generator) that he used for years. I couldn’t even see over the top of it. What a monster. And boy can he still weld… |
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I learned to hold the light and stay out of the way of falling tools. But I just didn’t pick up the knack for welding. Now that I am a full time wheeler and trail advocate, I have learned that some things are just essential to staying in motion and welding has become one of them for me. The good news is that now I can do it in style, and right.
Jerry Sparkman, FOTR volunteer and member of Four-Dice 4WD Club as well as the Motherlode Rockcrawlers 4WD Club, installed the Premier Power Welder for me. A long time master fixit guy and all around awesome wheeler, Jerry pretty much serves as my mechanic helper on many of my western runs, especially on the Rubicon.
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Jeff Arabia of
Arabia
’s Overkill Jeep Fabrication has done more than his share of welding on my rig also, and he sports a Premier Power Welder as well. Guys who fix stuff know good tools, and the Premier Power Welder is just that.
After we got the Premier under the hood, Jerry had me crank up Red just above an idle for the test weld. Right off the bat, no questions about it, we noticed the serious metal penetration and even arc provided by this welder. We even wound him up a bit more and tested some power tools (grinder). WOW! Dude, I can honestly say that I am going to love this machine.
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