Any Cutting and Welding based out of Portage, Michigan has done its share of odd jobs.  They have built and/or repaired deep-fryer cooking baskets, snowplows, a chimney flue, demolition derby cars, a cow-catcher, a wood-burning stove, and a 1880 metal flag holder and gravesite marker. 

Why?  Because they can.  And often, because nobody else will do it.

Portage welding shop thrives on willingness to go anywhere, do anything

by Al Jones | Kalamazoo Gazette
Saturday March 14, 2009, 8:30 AM
John A. Lacko | Special to the Gazette

Assemblies that support the 10-foot-wide by 16-inch-high “belly” blades on the city of Portage’s 16 snowplows wear down and ultimately become unusable when drivers bang the blades too often on curbs.

Either of the two mechanics in the city’s Department of Streets and Equipment can fix them. But bending metal and welding can be time-consuming and it takes away from lots of other work the mechanics need to do. So the city gets Terry Meisling to do it.

“He’s the metal magic guy,” says Raymond Waurio, deputy director of the Department of Streets and Equipment for the city of Portage. “He just does a fantastic job.”

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a guest post, from an Arc-Zone.com employee who chooses to remain anonymous….

It’s not you…..

Every guy dreads the phone call, or today the text message, where your girlfriend says “It’s not you, it’s me…” And when that same girlfriend is the one you snagged by taking her for a ride on your motorcycle, every time you look at your bike it will stir up some heart break.

So what do you do now….

You could put the bike in the garage under a tarp and go out with the guys and drink more beer than you need. Or you can take your two passenger bike and make it a solo ride. Granted the beer sounds like a good idea, it doesn’t help the bike situation and you and I know your bike will never say “It’s not you….”

The major parts on your bike that make it tandem are the seat and the foot pegs. So if it is a one piece seat, take it to the upholstery shop and have them cut it down.

Now the fun part, the foot pegs. You’ll probably be able to take the foot peg hardware off pretty easily but the peg mounts that are welded to the bike need to go too.

This is where Joe Welder comes in….

I took my bike out back to the shop, and asked for Joe Welder to give me hand. We coulda pulled out the old hack saw but that would have been messy. And the cutting torch would have required us to take apart the whole bike.

But the grinder was just right, and we could clean up the grind with a polish disc.

Now You Are Back to The One Love in Your Life….

The solo seat and the additional fender exposure will not only make your bike look sleek but also leave you thinking Michelle who?

Cruising down The 101 on your latest fabrication endeavor will get the ladies turning heads, just make sure the next one likes cars.

This is your language lesson for the day.  Today, Joe Welder goes INTERNATIONAL.

Our first stop is la belle France, where welding is called la soudure or le soudage.

My favorite French welding website www.soudeur.com (translated as “welder”) has a forum nearly impossible to navigate unless one knows the language.  Luckily the French also use the same names for MIG, TIG, plasma, and laser welding, so at least there’s one thing there that’s familiar.

Second, we have Spain or España.

There, welding is known as la soldadura and a welder is un/a soldador/a.  (I expect in French that means that a female welder would be called une soudeure).

My chosen welding forum is Spanish has to be http://www.ondacuadrada.es/ which is translated as “square wave”.  They too use the same acronyms/names for different types of welding that we do.  Globalization much?

If you or anyone you know has some interesting recommendations for welding sites in other languages, let us know!  We are always striving to be more globally focused.

And if you can teach us how to say “welding” in say, Chinese, or Arabic, we’d be highly appreciative.

Make your plans now! Take advantage of great airfares and spend June in New Orleans:

AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY’S TO DRAW WELDING EXPERTS TO NEW ORLEANS

When it comes to shipbuilding, welding is the most vital and fundamental manufacturing process in the construction of ships and metal hull boats. At the American Welding Society (AWS) 6th Annual Charting the Course in Welding: US Shipyards Conference, attendees will learn the progress of new and innovative developments, as well as how their potential value and impact to the industry is essential for those in the shipbuilding community.

The 2009 Shipbuilding Conference which takes place June 16-17, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana, will also address the critical importance of welding in the shipbuilding industry by providing current information on new and emerging technologies being developed for shipbuilding applications.
(more…)

One should never get tired of watching welding videos.  Or, at least, I don’t.  So, if you’re like me and you need more welding footage in your life, check out this Welding Theatre website I found.

It’s amazing and it has videos from nearly every company that you can think of; you can even submit your own.

Actually, it has videos for everyone except Arc-Zone.com, but we all know you can just go to our website to see those.

If you conveniently happen to be searching for the ultimate portable welder/generator combination, look no further.  Lincoln Electric has the answer to every one of those needs all wrapped up in this one versatile machine.

Lincoln Electric Introduces the New Outback® 185 Engine-Driven Welder for On-site Welding Applications
Portable unit ideal for jobsites and rugged outdoor welding applications
• Low-Lift™ grab bars for easy transport
• Portable 185 amp DC stick capabilities and 5,700 watt peak AC generator power
• Largest in its class with a 6.8-gallon fuel tank for extended run time
• Easy-access front panel controls

Cleveland – Lincoln Electric introduces the new Outback^® 185 engine-driven welder, specifically designed for portability as the ultimate DC stick welder and AC power generator.

Ideal for service truck operators, maintenance crews, farmers, ranchers and contractors, the unit’s Low-Lift™ grab bars provide move leverage for lifting the unit on and off truck beds. The Outback 185’s engine control panels are accessible from the front, allowing users to start up, turn off and adjust output on truck-mounted units. These features and the Outback 185’s 6.8-gallon fuel tank make it the ultimate portable welder/generator option.

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

Get excited.  Coming March 30-April 2, 2009 WESTEC 2009, the annual metalworking & manufacturing exposition and conference, comes to LA.  With more than 600 exhibitors setting up in the Los Angeles Convention Center, not counting all of you who will be in attendance, this should be an event to remember.  For more information, check out the event’s homepage HERE ->

thefabricator.com has just launched its own online TV series to accompany its magazine Practical WeldingToday.  The television series will go by the name Practical Welding TV and will be airing a new episode every two months.  For a full line-up of this season’s webisodes and to view their first one (How to Properly Set Up Equipment Before Welding), go to their website HERE ->

Come back here afterwards if you’re intrigued by all that safety information and check out Arc-Zone.com’s selection of welding gear packages including (but not limited to) welding jackets, gloves, doo rags, HellRaiser™ glasses, and much more.

And for all you excited student learners out there, check out our Arc-Zone.com’s student discount (10% – woohoo!) and SAVE.

Ohio Technical College, in conjunction with Lincoln Electric, is excited to offer a brand new welding program that will take place in Ohio Tech’s state of the art welding facility.  It will last 12 months and provide companies like Lincoln Electric with skilled workers who are ready to enter the workforce on completion of the program.  It’s an impressive move that will benefit not only the college and Lincoln Electric, but the new beginning welders and the welding industry in general as well.

The above logos are now being included on all Lincoln Electric Products that meet its new Green Initiative Awareness Program standards.  The upper label highlights Lincoln’s products that now utilize interverter technology which can cut energy consumption by a full 10 % or more by using higher frequencies.

The lower label (another is available for EPA Tier 4 Compliant) has been placed on all of Lincoln’s diesel engine-driven welders, which have been modified in compliance with the EPA’s upcoming 2011 emission standards.  Lincoln Electric hopes that their program will benefit both their customers and the environment by reducing costs and making their products a bit more “green”.

Read more about Lincoln’s Green Initiative Program at:

Lincoln Electric Announces Green Initiative Awareness Program

and

Lincoln Electric Green Initiative Awareness Program website