We are so excited about the new website and hope you are too. From the the official press release:

The new store opened for business August 25, 2008.

“The revamped website is the first created in-house to our exact specifications and style,” says company founder and President Jim Watson. Other new features include a rotating gallery of featured products on the home page, and video. “Our ‘Welcome to Arc-Zone’ video will show visitors first-hand what differentiates Arc-Zone from our competitors while our Weld Like A Pro™ series of How-To videos will showcase our technical expertise and the added value of buying from Arc-Zone.com.”

The remodeled web store will also allow customers to write reviews of products they have purchased. This is a great tool for other buyers to assess which product is right for them.

The new store will continue to feature secure checkout, easy sign-in, real time actual UPS shipping quotes and Live Chat support with customer service and technical representatives.

Founded in June 1998, Arc-Zone delivers proprietary, brand name and OEM replacement parts and accessories for GMAW, GTAW and Plasma Arc Welding and Cutting applications to customers worldwide. For more information, visit the Arc-Zone.com web site at www.arc-zone.com, call (800) 944-2243 or email sales@arc-zone.com.

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Check it out and let us know what you think.

We’ve written a lot about tungsten electrodes here on JoeWelder.com, from tungsten electrode stick out gauges and new tungsten electrode sharpeners to Weldcraft brand tungsten electrodes and our premium tungsten electrodes, the new Sky Blue ArcTime™ Hybrid All Purpose Tungsten.

Whatever your preference– ceriated, lanthanated, or thoriated tungsten– we always recommend buying your tungsten electrodes from a trusted source. At Arc-Zone.com we pride ourselves on being that trusted source, offering a wide variety of high quality product to optimize your specialized welding application.

That said, we are pleased to announce that the Made-in-the-U.S.A. Sylvania tungsten electrodes are now available for sale at Arc-Zone.com– in stock and ready to ship. We will maintain stock of 7″ length in the most popular diameters (.040″ to 1/8″) in the following tungsten blends:

• PURETUNG® / Pure Tungsten (Color Code Green)
• 1% Thoriated (Yellow) Tungsten Electrodes
  
• 2% Thoriated (Red) Tungsten Electrodes
  
• 1.5% Lanthanated (Gray) Tungsten Electrodes
  
• 2% Ceriated (Orange) Tungsten Electrodes and
• ZIRTUNG® / Zirconiated (Brown) Tungsten Electrodes
  

Other diameters are available, contact Arc-Zone.com to discuss your specialized welding application.

If you’re going to be in Ontario, Canada, you may want to check out Canadian Manufacturing Week September 23-25, 2008. The event will feature Weld Expo Canada and the Metal Finishing & Coatings Pavilion– all in one location.

Canadian Manufacturing Week (CMW) is Canada’s definitive showcase for design engineering, maintenance products and industrial support services. Only Canadian Manufacturing Week delivers the latest ideas and methods for designing new products, maintaining your operations and staying ahead of the competition. If you’re an OEM involved with overall product design, fluid power, motion-control, electronics or materials, this is your event! With hands-on demonstrations and expert-led conference sessions, you can reduce equipment downtime, optimize your MRO operations, cut costs and get more out of your machines.

Weld Expo Canada CMW’s co-located event is Canada’s leading event for welding and finishing. Weld Expo features leading companies displaying the latest in productive welding equipment, machinery, products and services. You’ll discover new ways to increase productivity, cut costs and stay ahead of the competition. Click here for a full list of Weld Expo Canada Exhibitors.

Conveniently located within Weld Expo is the Metal Finishing & Coatings Pavilion – Canada’s only forum for displaying and demonstrating finishing and coating systems. Investigate cutting-edge equipment, products, supplies and services to make your operations more efficient and environmentally friendly.

For more details, to register, view a list of exhibitors and the schedule of events, check out the website.

As the summer winds down, and there is a hint of that Fall chill in the air (that could be wishful thinking), my thoughts always turn back to school….

If you feel the same way, and you plan on being in Cleveland, The Lincoln Welding School has announced their upcoming schedule:

The Lincoln Electric Welding School, which has instructed more than 100,000 students since its inception in 1917, announces its fourth quarter schedule for 2008.

It is the oldest and one of the most respected arc welding schools in the United States. Classes are taught by the school’s seven full-time instructors who have more than 100 years of combined industry experience. Courses are designed to teach the arc welding skills that employers want. Lincoln-trained students are in high demand by welding fabricators at pay levels that tend to exceed the industry average.

Classes range from a six-week basic course to an advanced 15-week comprehensive course, as well as one-week classes on specific welding processes, certification and customized programs. Students spend 80 percent of their time in the booth learning to weld. Additionally, Lincoln limits class size to 15 students per class in order to maximize learning and guarantee one-on-one instruction time.
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I can’t believe what people do for their kids these days! Last weekend I took my daughter to a Birthday party for one of her pre-school buddies – it was at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park – the first thing you see at the entrance is a real SR71 Blackbird (pictured above) – more on that later.

Our private guided tour included a rocket making class, and each child got to fire their Alka Seltzer powered paper rockets! It was bitchen.
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Kenneth from Pennsylvania asks Joe:

Do you have Weldcraft TIG Torch parts to fit a Miller DB20 water cooled TIG torch? Specifically a gas lens, collet and nozzle for .040? through .125″ diameter tungsten electrodes?

This question brings up a couple of points. First off, did you know that Miller and Weldcraft are related? Both are owned by the Illinois Tool Works (ITW). Currently all Miller TIG torches are sold as Weldcraft, taking advantage of the brand recognition of Weldcraft, a leader in the industry. Some earlier Miller torches were made by another company, but to quality standards.

Which leads me to point number two.

Most TIG torches parts are interchangeable. There are some exceptions, and certainly with some of the cheaper non-name brands you’ll find that the materials are not as good and the tolerances are, well, not tolerable…. But with quality brand names like CK, Diamondback, Lincoln, etc the parts should interchange.

If you google “Tony Welding” you’ll find a link to a cache of videos posted online and the opportunity to “attend” welding classes taught by Tony Marsden, a welding instructor at the Simi Valley Career Institute. Funded by the state of California, the Institute’s welding program is free, however, there is usually a waiting list.

An instructor for over 25 years, Tony has always used videos to supplement his instructions. “It did not occur to me to put them on google video until recently,” he says. There are 54 videos in total, covering everything from equipment and accessories, metal identification, welding symbols, tube bending, fabrication, and structural codes in the areas of Arc Welding, MIG, TIG and Oxy-Acetylene. These videos offer a way for students who can’t get into the program either by limits of space or geography, to learn from an instructor with over 40 years of welding experience and certifications in SMAW, FCAW, GMAW and GTAW.

The son of a general contractor, Tony was introduced to the construction industry and welding at an early age. Over the years he was told many times he would make a great teacher. When he was offered a position to teach part time, he accepted and part time soon led to full time. “I have always enjoyed sharing information,” he says.

Working at the largest and most comprehensive adult school in Ventura County, California has allowed Tony to share a lot of welding information. And place over 3000 students in good jobs over the last 25 years.

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