Metal Head Metal Works: Larson offers custom welding and metal works for local producers

Anton Larson, the fifth generation of a large family sheep ranch near Lyman, realized he enjoyed welding and metal work pretty early on.  

“I always enjoyed shop class in school,” he shares, noting he attended Lyman High School before transferring to Mountain View High School during his freshman year. “I was always interested in the metal aspect and became very familiar with the plasma cutting table on the Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine.”  

CNC refers to the computerized operation of machining tools, and CNC machines operate using pre-programmed software and codes which tell the machine the exact movements and tasks to complete. This process can be used to control a range of complex machinery, from grinders and lathes to mills and CNC routers.

“This allowed me to fabricate anything to precision and make signs and many different things,” says Anton. “I became interested in this, which is what got me started welding. After high school, I worked a few ranch jobs as a mechanic for about four years and did a lot of welding, as well as mechanic work.”

Getting started

After working some mechanic jobs, Anton returned to the family ranch with his wife and high school sweetheart Brandi. 

He also did some welding projects because there wasn’t a local welder readily available. 

“It was always difficult finding someone who could do it,” he says. “I didn’t have a welder of my own at the time and realized the need for having someone who could actually come out and repair things on the ranch.”

“I was still trying to decide what I wanted to do and told Brandi I might start a full-time welding business,” Anton adds. “I used a tiny 120-volt welder to make little repairs on fences and corrals and fabricate a bunch of panels. I saved the money I made from small jobs while I was going to college to purchase a larger, engine-driven welder I could travel with to do jobs in different places.”

Anton notes in 2020, he went back to college to receive certification.

“One of the main reasons I went back to college was some funding during COVID-19 which allowed me to take more classes in a short time,” he shares. “I realized I needed certification. A person can weld amazingly, but some people – and most companies – want to see paperwork telling them you can do the job.”

With his wife and two kids at home, Anton spent his years back at school very motivated.

“I wasn’t going to college just for the experience or the fun of it,” he says. “I took classes in metallurgy, reading technical schematics, industrial safety, etc. to get my certification. I can do every process – tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, metal inert gas (MIG) welding, flux core, stick welding and submerged metal arc welding.”  

“I set my truck up so I was able to do it all – and weld stainless steel, aluminum and carbon steel – without any limitations if someone called me. I could do any job, no matter what kind of metal it was. I don’t like to disappoint people,” he adds.

Both ends of the coin

After getting his truck set up and starting his own business – Metal Head Metal Works – Anton reached out to local ranchers and businesses in the area to offer his well-tuned services.

“I went door to door and told them I was welding and they could let me know if they needed any welding done. It gradually grew from there,” Anton notes.

As a rancher himself, Anton has been on both sides of the coin – as a customer of welding services and as the person providing the services – which he believes has helped lead to his success.

“This is one of the things that drove me to develop good people skills and be considerate in whatever scenario I was dealing with, with different people and different jobs,” he shares. “It’s frustrating being broke down out in the middle of nowhere with the back door of the horse trailer broke off.” 

He continues, “This is the thing about ranching – the animals and things we are taking care of don’t have time to wait around if something needs to be repaired. On our ranch, we haul hay out in the winter and there have been times we’ve gotten out there and something happens that immobilizes the trailer, but it can’t be left this way for several days because there are hungry mouths to feed. 

“I understand the logistics of ranching. It’s one of those jobs where there is no retiring and no days off,” adds Anton.

High-quality service

After gaining some traction close to home, Anton started traveling further out into Cokeville, Riverton, etc. and developed many repeat customers and several new ones by word of mouth. 

As a mobile welder with the ability to work on aluminum and steel, he is able to work on pivots and pipelines.

“It’s really inconvenient for some remote ranchers to bring their irrigation pipe to a place where they can get repairs done. Rather than hauling it on a trailer, they can call me, and I go out to their fields and take care of repairs on pivots and pipelines,” Anton says.  

“I work with different companies that install pivots, and they reach out to me when they need a mobile welder to do installation in different areas,” he adds.

Anton also works on machinery of all kinds – haying equipment, tractors, etc. – as well as horse and camper trailers which take a beating on the area’s rough back roads. 

“If it’s metal, I can weld it. I always warranty everything I fix with a lifetime warranty. If I weld it and it breaks, I will come back and fix it at no cost. I stand behind my work, and I like things to be done right,” he states.    

Life on the ranch

In addition to running his own welding business, Anton is active as the fifth generation on his family’s sheep ranch and his boys are the sixth. They help with every aspect of the operation, including moving sheep camps, shipping and shearing.

“I am grateful my kids can grow up here. Growing up on a ranch helps instill a good work ethic, morals and responsibility,” Anton shares. “I think growing up in this kind of environment benefited me. I can’t imagine growing up in a city or not living in a ranching community.”

Brandi also has fond feelings towards the ranch and spends a lot of time caring for sick and injured sheep.

“She’s very kindhearted and takes care of what I call the ‘hospital herd,’” Anton chuckles. “Any sheep that are having problems are taken to Brandi and they get the best care. She’s nursed a lot of them back to health and has seen several miracles.”

He shares, most notably, Brandi nursed a ewe back to health that had no function in her hind legs. She encouraged Anton to weld a stand so they could create a sling to hold the ewe up and now she is walking around fine and has had two lambs. 

Brandi also saved a lamb that had a leg freeze off, despite the vet telling her sheep couldn’t function without a front leg. 

“The vet thought we should put him down, but Brandi said we were not going to do it. She could tell he was a fighter and she wanted to give him a chance,” Anton says.

Life on the Larson Ranch is good and Anton continues providing welding and metal work services to producers across the West.

For more information on Metal Head Metal Works, visit @MetalHeadMetalWorks on Facebook.

Heather Smith Thomas is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.