Photos by Jarod Opperman / The Bulletin Abbey Leis lights a welder during a kid’s welding class at the DIY Cave in Bend on Sunday.

When Jim Currie, 54, was a student at Pilot Butte Junior High, building a gun case with the table saw was the cool thing to do in shop class.

“So I’d have my boards and wait in line, but by the time the buzzer rang, I had never gotten to the saw,” Currie said. “All I ever did in that class was push the broom around.”

Eventually, Currie noticed no one was in the welding corner. One thing led to another, and eventually Currie fabricated a go-kart using a motor he stole from his dad’s lawn mower. After that, he was hooked.

On Sunday morning, Currie led a youth class at Bend’s DIY Cave, which opened earlier this year, to pass the skills of melting and fusing metal on to the next generation of Central Oregon kids. The day’s focus was on the basics, “cutting metal, putting it back together and making sparks,” as Currie put it.

The class was held in DIY Cave’s workshop, where a number of woodworking, metalworking and automobile tools are available for members and those who want to drop in.

Classes, like Sunday’s, are held throughout the week for adults and kids and usually cost around $30. Other classes this month will cover subjects including guitar building, oil changes and glass mosaics.

After passing out safety glasses and gloves and sharing a wince-inducing anecdote to underscore the importance of caution, Currie handed the torch off to Max Ranzuglia, 8. With Currie behind his back, Max turned the knobs until the instructor was satisfied that the flame resembled the tail of a galloping horse.

“The sparks are going to freak me out,” Max said before beginning to cut.

Currie told him not to worry, joking that the adults could easily dunk him in a nearby bucket of water should he ignite.

After withstanding the sparks as he cut through a piece of scrap metal, Max reflected that “it’s crazy you can get so close and not have your clothes burn.”

Chloe Leis, 13, said the only challenge for her was getting the timing right, as thicker metal requires a slower cut, while you can breeze through thinner pieces.

Chloe identifies as an artist, and while she mostly works with pencils and markers, she noted she’s excited about the possibility of welding a metal tree to stick in a roundabout.

“I’d want to attach light bulbs that hang down and light up at night to be the fruit,” she said.

— Reporter: 541-633-2160, tleeds@bendbulletin.com