Meet Drew | Welder/fabricator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Drew and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Drew, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
My business was quite different before I switched to solar power for my mobile welding. I look at it as two phases, before and after. Before, it was the loud gasoline generator and fumes from both the gas and exhaust. After is completely silent, and 100% powered by the sun. The switch to solar/battery power came after consulting for a PHD electrical engineer/inventor who didn’t know how to weld, but had made a welder that is in a backpack and weighs only 30 lbs. I am his product tester. I tell him what it needs to be able to do. And he makes it happen. It’s almost ready for the public. It truly is a pioneering idea, and I can’t wait for us to have all the bugs worked out and to have one of my own. However, it isn’t my Miller Multimatic 220. Once it was brought to my attention that a welder could be powered by a battery, I went to work developing a small wheeled battery generator that I’m calling R2-PO (Remote Dual Power Outlet). It’s a 6,000 watt, pure sine wave, split phase, inverter/charger, powered by 4 12volt lifepo4 batteries wired to make 24volt at 100 amp hours. I can weld all day in the middle of nowhere, miles from grid power with my dream welder (the multimatic) that can do anything. The cool thing about the backpack welder though, is going to be the ability to climb a 1,000 foot tall antenna, and weld a broken bracket at the top without needing to involve a helicopter or fossil fuel generator.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve always tried as had as I can not to be wasteful. In the past, working for other people/companies, it wasn’t up to me what happened to the leftover material at the end of a job. It often got wasted. With Boulder Welding, not only am I powering my work off of the sun, rather than loud, hot, and smelly gasoline or diesel; but all of the extra material gets used in an art sculpture, future repair work, or student practice pieces. Teaching welding to beginners has been the most practical method of making sure that every piece of metal gets good use before it ultimately winds up being scraped (melted down at a steel mill) and made into new steel stocks. The art of not wasting is something I’ve always been very passionate about. One downside is I wind up hoarding a lot of it at my shop, and it gets crowded some times. So come on in and take a welding lesson. Maybe you can use it all up making art sculptors.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Definitely Moab, Utah. The fact that Boulder/Denver is only 6 hours away from it is like teleporting to Mars. Hanging Lake is cool and a little closer. And closer yet, but requiring 4 wheel drive is the magical realm of Forest Lakes up Rollins Pass just out side of and up a bit from Rollinsville, CO. Right here in Boulder though, DREAM CANYON. It’s Boulder’s little Yosemite. Restaurants in Boulder? Parkway Cafe for Breakfast and lunch(hidden gem), Vision Quest brewery for strange and interesting beers, music, and comedy, and then Il Pastaio for dinner(but call and make a reservation a few days in advance it’s the best.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Ammon Balaster – The engineer/inventor (backpack welder)
Paulo Coelho – The author of the book The Alchemist
Andy Pratscher RIP – My welding mentor
Tom Reder – My detail/designer mentor
Bennett – My current apprentice
My parents – supporters of my passion since day one

Website: Boulder Welding

Youtube: Boulder Welding Promo Video