SENIOR SCHOOL
Blair builds a new firepit in Beacon
Year 11 student Blair Dunne (11He) put his considerable welding
and metalwork skills to good use during his time at home in
Beacon, to make a fire pit for his family using recycled materials.
There is something about fire. The warmth? The comforting glow?
Maybe the energy contained within it? One thing is for sure, when
you grow up in the country, a good fire is a part of your life.
During COVID19, when our boarding houses closed in Week 8,
we travelled home to our farm in Beacon to commence remote
learning. By the time the school holidays and Easter arrived, we
were itching to get out into the great outdoors. We had to cancel
the camping trip we had booked with friends for Easter due to the
travel restrictions, so Mum decided we would make our own fun for
Easter. “A new fire pit,” she declared, to replace the humble ring of
rocks, where we usually sat outside around a fire.
We drove around the farm to various metal dumps where we drew
inspiration from vintage machinery and parts which were to be
given a new lease of life. We found the base, half buried in dirt,
up at our old sheep yards. The rim that the pit sits on was found
near the fertiliser shed and the old plough disks that are welded
together to make the pit itself, are from some old disks in the scrap
metal pile. After loading the ute up and heading off to the main
workshop, we pieced the parts together to finalise the design.
I designed and welded the creation using the welding skills
I have been taught by my dad, Mr Tolomei and Mr Jones in my
metalwork class.
The finished product was placed in a spot in the garden, the base
filled with rocks from around the farm, and it will be a landscaping
work in progress on the next school holiday break!
Blair Dunne (11He)
Blair also used his welding skills and knowledge on the holiday break
to complete some repairs on the farm truck in preparation for seeding
time. “There were a few holes that rusted through on the tray of the
truck. Blair cut out galvanised sheets of metal to the correct sizes and
welded their perimeter over the holes, directly onto the truck tray.
It was a pretty time consuming and monotonous job that really needed
doing, and because he was welding thin rusted metal, it required
quite a bit of skill. He’s a pretty good welder for any age person but
given the fact he is not quite 17 yet, his ability is impressive,” said his
dad, David (He 91-93).
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