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Job Description

Overview

Ironware International is seeking blacksmiths, metal fabricators, welders, and mechanically inclined makers in West Chicago, IL. The company values craftsmanship and creativity, focusing on creating extraordinary, hand-forged lighting, furniture, and architectural pieces.

Responsibilities

  • Forge, shape, bend, weld, and fabricate metal into custom lighting, furniture, and decorative pieces.
  • Work with traditional blacksmithing techniques, welding equipment, torches, grinders, and other metalworking tools.
  • Transform raw materials into finely crafted pieces that are as beautiful as they are functional.
  • Interpret drawings, sketches, prototypes, and creative concepts, then help bring them to life.
  • Assemble complex components with precision, care, and an eye for the smallest details.
  • Collaborate with designers, product developers, and fellow craftspeople to solve unusual challenges.
  • Experiment with techniques, materials, tools, and processes to continually improve products and methods.
  • Help maintain a clean, organized, safe, and efficient workshop.
  • Pitch in wherever needed.

Requirements

  • Experience in blacksmithing, forging, or ornamental ironwork.
  • Experience in MIG, TIG, or other welding and metal fabrication.
  • Experience in metal shaping, bending, grinding, and finishing.
  • Ability to read fabrication drawings and work from sketches or prototypes.
  • Experience in precision measuring, layout, and assembly.
  • Experience in furniture making, sculpture, architectural metalwork, or other artisan trades.
  • General mechanical aptitude and hands-on problem-solving skills.
  • Strong mechanical ability, a willingness to learn, and genuine enthusiasm for the work.

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • PTO

Additional Information

  • Full-time and part-time opportunities available.
  • In-person work location.

Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
PTO
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How this job compares in West Chicago, IL

Pay in context

This employer didn't publish a rate. For reference, welder fabricator jobs across Illinois currently run a median of $25/hr in our index, with the middle half of them falling between $22–$29/hr across 19 postings with published pay. That median is a reasonable floor to anchor on when a recruiter asks what you're looking for.

The local market in West Chicago, IL

West Chicago, IL is a small market in our index: 1 other active welding opening alongside this one, from 1 employer. Across Illinois as a whole we're tracking 341 other active welding openings from 216 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across Illinois.

The most active employers in Illinois at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Gerber Collision & Glass (16), S&C Electric Company (10), and The Boyd Group LLC (8). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Illinois, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Chicago at $39/hr, Downers Grove at $36/hr, and Elk Grove Village at $34/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG and TIG work. MIG (GMAW) feeds a continuous wire electrode through a shielding-gas nozzle. It lays down metal fast and is forgiving on clean material, which is why it dominates production and light fabrication work. TIG (GTAW) uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode with filler added by hand, giving the operator the most control of any process. It is slow, demanding, and the standard for stainless, aluminum, and anything where the bead has to look as good as it holds.

See all welder fabricator openings if you want to compare this against similar roles.

Similar openings near West Chicago, IL

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Metal fabricator/shop help figures were last recalculated when this page was built.