05/31/2026
This post is not to make fun of anybody whatsoever, because I myself have been there and done it, because that's all I had. I had a youth driver reach out about a bumper kit, so I cut it out and helped him with it. He sent me a Snapchat this weekend of them welding it together, which is awesome - I absolutely love to see it. They're welding it together with a 110v MIG welder with flux-core wire. Yes, it looks just like you could expect from a young kid trying to learn, which I absolutely love to see. These bumpers take a lot of abuse, and my logo is top dead center of that bumper kit. I've cut a lot of bumper kits in the last few years. From now on, all my bumper kits will have 'Rodgers CNC' with an X at the end of them. I know good and well that if that bumper were to get blown apart at a local fair, I would never hear the end of it. So, I offered him to come weld it at my shop because, once again, I've been in that situation where all I had was a 110 MIG welder in a youth car, and it did not fare well. You have to start somewhere; you can't always be the hammer. You learn way more when you're the nail than you do being the hammer, unfortunately. I posted below my first ever youth car and my more recent build. A lot has changed since then. I'm nowhere near the driver or builder that the guys I run with are, but we make do!
