We’re getting more and more calls from weld shop foremen as well as job site and safety managers telling us that they have to find a solution to grinding tungsten electrodes. Many tell us they’ve used bench grinders, belt sanders or side grinders for years- But, they all say the same thing – either someone got hurt, or they almost did.

Think about it– you’re trying to hold the tungsten to the wheel or belt and rotate it, sounds simple, but what happens is that the tungsten gets real hot real quick, and if you lose your grip, the tungsten rotates around the wheel and shots back toward the operator like a rocket– not good when it’s a hot, pointed, fast-moving object!

Of course once a shop upgrades to a dedicated tungsten grinder they will immediately benefit from improved welding performance, better quality welds, less tungsten electrode waste and of course a safer weldshop!

Check out our line up of tungsten grinders. Arc-Zone.com(tm) offers one for every application and budget, from reasonably priced Sharpie(tm) hand-held tungsten sharpeners– great for in the weld shop or in the field– to robust bench-top tungsten grinders for precision, repeatable grind angles. We even have tungsten sharpeners with integrated dust collection.

What’s with the fabricators on the TV shows? They’re on camera with no helmets, or eye protection when welding/tacking – worse yet no safety glasses when grinding etc. Do these guys think it’s macho?

I think they are being foolish, and I’m disappointed in the large retail gas suppliers that sponsor these shows, their ads in virtually every camera angle. They should insist that these shows focus on safety and set an example for the new up and coming metal fabricators.

The picture here is one of our favorite customers, David Anthony of David Anthony Customs, a local custom bike builder, decked out in all the proper safety gear.

Proper hearing, eye, breathing and skin protection is easy, and an absolute necessity when you are welding, grinding and heating metal fabricated parts. I wouldn’t have considered not wearing proper eye protection, (a quality helmet with the best optics) gloves, and a long sleeved shirt while welding.

It’s important to think about the other people in the shop as well. I can tell you from experience that there was a couple of times that my Dad got the “sandy eye” feeling as he was indirectly exposed to the arc rays from TIG welding. Here are a couple of links to companies with new and innovative safety products.

WELDING SAFETY HELMETS
Sellstrom Manufacturing Co. for high-quality polymer welding helmets
Jackson Safety Products
Miller
Sevore America

GLOVES
Revco Industries (Black Stallion brand)
Perfect Fit Glove Co.
Miller

I would be interested in your thoughts on new safety products.

My competition origins are an important part of Arc-Zone.com’s history because the business of racing, amateur and professional, is a demanding and exacting one. Success in racing is forged from hard work and dedication. Racing does not tolerate the imprecise nor does it reward those who place style ahead of function. Innovation, thorough preparation and attention to detail are the foundations of a successful racing team.

The work ethic of racing is woven into everything we do at Arc-Zone.com. It’s not enough for a part to look good; it must also work well, and serve a useful function. We apply a “racing quality standard” to every product and service we sell. Whether it’s MIG, TIG, Plasma Arc Welding or cutting, Oxy fuel, parts or related welding and metal fabricating accessories — you can be sure you’re getting the best product available at a fair price.

I got into racing thanks to my Dad, Jim Watson Sr. who was raised in the rich farm lands of the central valley in California my Dad was introduced to Midget racing by my great Uncle Ben Humke. Known across the country as “Farmer Ben.” As a car owner In the 1950’s and early sixties he was a multi time URA champion, and winner in USAC, AAA and BCRA and other sanctioned events.

Farmer Ben was a modest cotton/dairy farmer with a keen sense of numbers. He had a policy “if the race car didn’t pay for itself we don’t race.”

He had many famous hot shoes that drove for him– Billy Garrett (pictured above), Marty Mazman, were the most noteable champions. They primarily raced Midgets in the central valley at tracks like Visalia Speedway, Hanford Speedway, Lemoore Jetbowl, Contra Costa Fairgrounds, Clovis Speedway, Tulare Speedway, Watsonville Speedway, and many more.

Midget racing was big then, and each car was hand built and car owners used a variety of power plants, from the high-end “Offy” or Offenhauser engine and the Ford V8 60 to Ferguson tractor and marine engines. The Solar Midget (now Solar Turbines) even used a Drake which was a highly modified Harley-Davidson VTwin.

A true innovator, Farmer Ben solved the overheating problem common with Ford V8 60 racing engines. Ben engineered a remote water-cooling system that was run by a custom fabricated water pump, he reworked the engine block with a series of baffles and diverters in the cooling passages.

He did all the work in his barn in Tulare Ca. I loved that place, a big barn with a little Midget race car and all the tools it takes to build one inside! I still have my Uncle Ben’s 1929 Atlas lathe (photo coming soon) and the chucks and tools that he used to make his own pistons and other engine parts.

I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did while they happened and now looking back. I know there are many people that have similar interests and hopefully these stories will put a smile on your face.

Please feel free to comment (Click on the “Leave A Comment” link at the bottom of this post)

My first “real” motorcycle was a Yamaha 80, I got from a girlfriend – her Dad backed over it with his wagon.

My Dad and I straightened the frame, hand cut then “bobbed” the rear fender, took the emblems off, painted it orange and went racing.

I will never forget that Tuesday night — a school night. We went to Trojan Speedway in South Gate CA, a sticky little clay oval next to the LA river, behind the rock quarry, east of downtown LA.

My Dad stopped at Kmart to get a helmet. For $14.95. I remember thinking, “is that all my head’s worth?” Dad checked the specs and said “It’s Snell approved.” It was a cool looking orange metal flake Grant helmet.

Off to the races! “I got so excited I let the clutch out early and jumped the start.”

That race was an eye opener — the other bikes were fast and highly modified so we bought Floyd Clymer’s book “How To Tune A Two Stroke Engine.” I learned early on to research what others have done, it’s your quickest way to the top.

We first went to work on the engine, a rotary valve design which was easy to hop up, new valve, over-bored 7 port barrel, single-ring cut-skirt piston, machined radial head and total loss ignition system. Finished it off with a tuned exhaust custom fabricated and artfully oxy acetylene welded by Dick Haycock. A beautifully rolled and formed expansion chamber complete with a 7” X 1/2” stinger tip – that thing screamed!

An Arc-Zone.com customer recently emailed an information request:

I would like a quote on your MT-125 and WP-20 TIG torches and the power source that they can both be used with for welding stainless steel.

We get a lot of questions like this, and the first step is usually to get more information from our customer so we can be sure to get the customer exactly what they need. We’re always happy to put a quote together for a customer.

Both the MT-125 TIG Torch and the WP-20 TIG Torch can be used on many power supplies. Which power supply the TIG torch needs to be connected to will determine the type of connector we recommend: standard bolt on, international style DINSE or Gas Thru DINSE.

Arc-Zone.com doesn’t currently sell Power Supplies, we do put together “turn-key” welding packages for customers that want the best products complete and ready to go. But, for shoppers or someone who has the time and energy to assemble the needed components — we recommend your local supplier. You’ll be buying gas there, so it would be a good idea to establish a relationship with them. Miller has a great tool online, the Smart Selector, which walks you through the process of selecting the machine that’s right for you based on our application.

What length cables do you need, 12.5′ or 25′ ? and Do you already have front end parts (nozzles, collets, collet bodies, etc) for your TIG torch?

A Weldcraft brand industry standard torch package includes a torch body and basic vinyl cables and hoses. The premium torch package would include the FeatherLite™ heavy duty braided rubber power, water and gas hoses.

Arc-Zone.com sells an Arc-Zone PRO package which includes not only the TIG torch body and the FeatherLite™ heavy duty braided rubber power, water and gas hoses, we offer a cable cover and front end parts installed. Our TIG Torch PRO Packages are loaded and ready to weld.

You can also get an accessory kit, either the standard Weldcraft Accessory kit that includes a basic set of collets, collet bodies and nozzles for your torch– along with a back cap, and some tungsten– or get a PRO Accessory Kit from Arc-Zone.com with gas lens collets and collet bodies, nozzles, back caps and a Multi Pack of ArcTime™ Hyperformance, All Purpose Tungsten.

And if all this completely confuses you, give us a call and we’ll get you dialed in with the TIG torch that’s right for you.

Here is an interesting article on a new inspection product.

Automation is becoming widespread in the welding industry, not only with respect to robotic welding but in the area of robotic vision inspection systems. Companies install robotic vision inspection systems for the same reasons they install other automated systems: to reduce costs due to poor quality welds; improve weld quality and consistency; increase productivity; and as a way to offset a lack of skilled labor. Additionally, if one automates the welding process, it makes good sense to automate the inspection process as well.
READ “New Automated Welding Inspection Systems” at Welding magazine online….blockquote>

My first motorcycle was a Mini Bike, a Taco 44 kit that my neighbor and his dad couldn’t figure out/or didn’t want to hassle with building. I traded my electric guitar for it.

My Dad and I collected all the needed parts, centrifigal chain drive clutches were popular but, unreliable, so we engineered a bitchen belt drive system with a double pulley jackshaft connected to a variable speed clutch installed on a polished and chromed Briggs & Stratton 5HP engine complete with a Tecumseh down draft carburator and a straight pipe exhaust! We designed a friction rear brake and custom foot pegs, which we had HeliArc welded at Foothill Welding in Claremont California. We dropped the parts off to be welded along with the drawings, and when we picked them up a few days later, I was turned on by the cool looking Heliarc welds the dude laid down—I asked a couple of questions and he showed me how it worked. My friends thought it was so cool– and before long they started calling me “Joe Welder.” I had a lot of fun on that bike and that’s were I learned about engine modifications. We turned the flywheel all the way down to the magnets, milled the head and made our own copper gasket as the OE one was a thick layered sandwich design. One night my Dad came home and I was doing a trophy run down the alley behind the workshop– he said there was a long white flame streaming from the exhaust and it smelled like it was burning up. When I told him I added some nitro to high-octane av gas, he knew I was ready to move up to a motorcyle.