Machinist / Fabricator

Ames Hydraulics; Ames, Northern (IA, KY); Hybrid; USD 25,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid training

Job summary

Ames Hydraulics in Ames, IA is seeking machinist and fabricator talents who enjoy turning parts, cutting, welding, and finishing with a hands-on approach. Expect varied daily tasks from repairs to custom fabrication for industrial equipment.

Shop work includes reading prints, setting up machines, and delivering finished parts that meet spec. Paid training is available for entry level and growth opportunities exist for skilled machinists.

Qualifications

• Ability to read prints or sketches and work from them.
• Strong tolerance/fit understanding for parts.
• Willingness to learn welding and fabrication as needed.

Responsibilities

• Operate manual lathe and related turning tasks.
• Perform plasma cutting for fabrication projects.
• Weld and fabricate with MIG/TIG/Stick processes.
• Repair worn components and surfaces as required.
• Read prints, set up jobs, and complete parts to spec.

Skills

Manual lathe

Plasma cutting

Welding fabrication

Repair machining

Read prints

Tolerance focus

Own full job

Tools

MIG welding

TIG welding

Stick welding

Job description

Machinist And Fabricator Jobs In Ames, Iowa — Lathes, Mills, Plasma

Machinist And Fabricator Jobs In Ames, Iowa — Making Things That Did Not Exist

Machinist jobs and fabricator jobs at Ames Hydraulics are for people who like solving problems that end in a physical part sitting on the bench. Every day is a mix — one job is a replacement hydraulic cylinder rod that had to be turned from scratch because the OEM part is discontinued. Next job is a custom bracket for a customer’s trailer. Next is a batch run of industrial steel bollards for a warehouse. If you have never quite fit at a job that made the same thing all day, machinist jobs here will fit you differently.

Our shop runs manual lathes and mills, plasma cutting, welding, and sheet metal work. Machinist jobs cover the machining side; fabricator jobs cover the welding and sheet metal side; most people here do a mix of both because that is how a real small shop works.

What Machinist Jobs And Fabricator Jobs Cover Here

• Manual lathe work — hydraulic cylinder rods, custom shafts, bushings, sleeves. Turning, threading, boring, polishing.
• Plasma cutting — plate profiles for fabrication and industrial steel products.
• Welding fabrication — MIG, TIG, stick on steel and aluminum. Building up what plasma cut apart.
• Repair machining — restoring worn shafts, resurfacing sealing surfaces, machining custom replacement parts for equipment where the OEM is out of stock.

Who Thrives In Machinist Jobs Here

• You can read a print, or you want to learn fast. Prints and hand-sketched drawings are how we describe most jobs.
• You care about tolerance. A part that is close to spec is not a part that fits.
• You like variety. Machinist jobs here are not one-part-all-day.
• You take ownership of the whole job. From print to setup to first article to finish. That is what a real machinist does.
• You are willing to learn welding and fabrication too, if you want the higher-paying jobs. And the reverse — welders here often learn basic machining to broaden their skill.

Pay Range For Machinist Jobs And Fabricator Jobs

Machinist jobs here range from $18 per hour for entry-level paid training up to $45 per hour for experienced machinists who own complex jobs independently. Fabricator jobs follow the same range. The higher end tracks the same range as our diesel mechanic and welder tiers because a great machinist is worth what a great mechanic is worth in a shop this size.

Paid Training Available

Entry-level machinist jobs and fabricator jobs at Ames Hydraulics include paid training. Details on our paid training jobs page . If you are experienced, you skip the training track and start on the higher tier.

Culture — Why Machinist Jobs Here Are Different

A big machine shop can pay well but the work is often repetitive and the culture cold. A small home-shop is fun but the pay is not real. Machinist jobs at Ames Hydraulics land in the middle — small enough that you know every person on the floor, big enough that the pay is real and the customer base is diverse. Read more about the culture on our why-work-here page .

Typical Day For A Machinist Here

Machinist jobs here look different every day, but a normal day runs something like this. First job of the morning is a hydraulic cylinder rod that came in for repair. The rod is bent past straightening and the customer needs it back this week. You pull steel bar stock in the correct diameter, chuck it, face it, turn it to the rod diameter, thread the end, and polish. The finished rod goes to the hydraulic bench where the cylinder gets reassembled with new seals.

Next up is a custom bracket a fabrication customer sketched out on a napkin. You read the sketch, ask two clarifying questions, cut the plate on the plasma, mill the mounting holes on the manual mill, and hand it off to a welder to weld it up.

Afternoon might be a batch run — twenty steel bollards for a warehouse customer. Cut the pipe to length on the band saw, weld on the base plates, weld on the dome caps, prime, paint. Repetitive-ish work but with a defined end.

End of day you tag your open jobs and go home. Machinist jobs and fabricator jobs at Ames Hydraulics mean showing up, thinking with your hands, and going home with something built. That is the appeal.

What Makes A Great Fabricator Different From A Great Welder

Fabricator jobs and welder jobs overlap but they are not identical. A welder is measured on bead quality and joint integrity. A fabricator is measured on the whole part coming together to spec — reading the print, cutting the layout, welding the joints, and finishing the piece. Fabricator jobs here reward people who can hold the whole part in their head from print to finish.