Dillon Bombardier (@dbomb.41)
Welcome to this week's #benchmarkspotlight (formerly the #weldershowcase) - we had the opportunity to sit down with Dillon from @dbomb.41 and talk a little shop.
If you would like to be featured in our weekly spotlight (100% FREE) and have a chance at winning one of our Grinder Hoods please send us an email to leo.benchmarkabrasives@gmail.com to get you scheduled in an upcoming week. And for those of you that take the time to share your story with us, we'd be happy to provide a free BA banner. These spotlights are intended to highlight your skill, your business, and your tips and tricks. Most of all it's to have a little fun!
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Name: Dillon Bombardier
Location: Cranston, RI
Specialties: Fabrication/
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Tell us about yourself - what inspired you to get into your trade? And how long? My name is Dillon Bombardier, and I am 19 years old. Both of my grandfathers were big into building projects and as far as I remember I was helping out in their respective garage workshops. When one of my grandfathers unfortunately passed away in 2019, I inherited a bunch of his tools, and when I was offered a chance to join the construction and welding program at my local high school, I jumped at the opportunity. I spent 4 years in the program learning welding and fabrication skills, and when I graduated I went back to the program to volunteer as an Instructor. I want to pass down the skills I learned in the program to the next generation. I also help by fabricating various shop furniture, like the table or material rack I built. In my afternoons for the past year or so I have been working full-time as a maritime pipefitter for a defense contractor.
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What keeps you motivated throughout the day? What keeps me motivated during the day is being able to further my skills and share these skills with the students |
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What is your favorite shop tool and why? I would say that my favorite shop tools are the dry cut chop saw and belt grinder. These tools allow me to get the best fit-ups possible (mostly angled cuts) |
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What's your favorite piece that you've worked on? My favorite piece that I have worked on has to be the smoker I built out of an old air compressor tank. I built it while I was still in school in the welding program. On the last day of school, I even smoked 10 pounds of pulled pork for my graduating class. I was told that people could smell it on the other side of the building. |
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If you could have any job as it relates to question 1 what would it be and what would you do with that? My dream job would have to be owning my own fabrication shop where I would build various projects and jobs for customers. |
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What BA product is your favorite and why?
My favorite BA product is easily the mixed grit 4 ½ 10 pack of Flap discs. I like the variety of aggressiveness of the pack. This allows me to grind and finish any job I come across
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What BA product surprised you in terms of quality - what about it set it apart from the competition?
The BA product that surprised me was the 12” 24 tooth hacksaw blades. They lasted 4x longer than any other brand of saw blades that I used with constant use at work.
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What tips and tricks do you have for us that might be different or eye opening for others to try with BA product?
While using one of the 4 ½ flap discs, try to keep the wheel as flat as possible to avoid making low spots in your work and to achieve a better surface finish. |
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If there was one person you could collaborate with - who would it be and why?
If I had the chance to collaborate with anyone, It would be Colin Furze on youtube. It would be awesome to work on one of his cool projects with him, and I feel like I would learn a lot from the situation.
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Do you have any advice for the next generation that you wish you had when you first started?
Utilize as many resources as you can to gain skills and knowledge of the trades. Nobody can take learned skills away from you.
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What are your future plans for your shop?
I want a shop where I can do my own projects and take fabrication jobs from people.
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Thanks for sitting with us and sharing your story with the community - is there anything you'd like to add?
Don't waste your time with other abrasives, Benchmark is the way to go.
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A Note From Leo
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Dillon! You've got a long future ahead of you and it's great that you're already giving back to other students. Keep up the great work!