How much do you value your car’s catalytic converter?  I don’t know about you, but I kind of like mine, and I’d kind of like it to stay where it is: attached to my car!  Thankfully, a device exists called a CatClamp™ (made by American Welding Inc.) to thwart off any would be “CatCons.”  

Stainless Steel Clamp Thwarts CatCon Thieves

May 1, 2009 12:00 PM

When welding isn’t the answer, fabricator finds the right method to get an idea to market.

Thieves are shameless in their pursuit catalytic converters (they’re after the precious metal contents, especially platinum), which has resulted in the development of a number of defensive devices aimed at preventing efforts to cut the “cats” away from a vehicle’s exhaust system.

The emissions control devices use platinum and palladium as oxidizing catalysts to remove several pollutants from a gasoline engine’s exhaust stream. Platinum, the more expensive metal, sold for $600/ounce five years ago. In 2008 the price was over $2,000/ounce — far more valuable than gold.

The crime is simple, and too common: a thief slips under a vehicle, often a SUV or truck with ample clearance and, with a reciprocating saw, slices through the exhaust pipe on either end of the catalytic converter, freeing it for removal. The operation takes about 10 seconds, and may yield the criminal $50 to $250, or more, from a scrap yard or recycler.

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

“Home, home on the range… where the deer and iron triceratops play…”

Wait, that’s not how you heard that song growing up?  Hmm…  Well, perhaps John Lopez heard a different version, and you’ll see what I mean, once you view this video:

Ok, so I lied, it’s not all about dinosaurs (althought that was my favorite part).  For more information about John Lopez and his work, you can visit his website here.

We introduced the Sharpie hand-held tungsten electrode grinder in 2000.  We started with the SD or “standard” which is our low-cost model with a fixed grind angle.  Based on customer feedback we added the DX which has an adjustable grind angle range from 5-45 degrees, and more recently the vacuum model which is adjustable with a dust collection bag.

The machines are very popular with hobbyists and fabricators that need to grind tungsten electrodes up to 1/8″ (3.2mm).  They solve the problem of wearing out grinding wheels and belt sander belts, and greatly improve safety in the shop or on the job site.  I have been very pleased with all the positive comments that we get from customers after they receive their Sharpies.  It’s a great product!  Try one and see if you agree — as with all Arc-Zone purchases — its guaranteed!

Three Models to Choose From:

The Sharpie™ DXV “Deluxe Vacuum” model adjusts for a wide range of grind angles and tapers from 15-to-45 degrees (included angle) for virtually any TIG welding application and includes built-in dust collection for dust-free electrode preparation.

Customer Review:

Got this vacuum grinder with the pro kit. Great deal. We have a welder here who is pregnant and the vacuum system really helps with dust collection. Thanks for the candy and the free poster.

Date Added: 05/14/2009 by Roger Wilcox

The Sharpie™ DX “Deluxe” adjusts for a wide range of grind angles and tapers from 15-to-45 degrees (included angle) for virtually any TIG welding application.

Customer Review:

Got this grinder and it worked great even on 1/8 tungsten. Good adjustment angle, used the first side of the wheel then flipped it over and continued to grind. It is a must have for a shop.

Date Added: 03/17/2009 by Hit Hard

The Sharpie™ SD “Standard” has it’s grind angle pre-set at 20 degrees, a good, general-purpose angle for a variety of TIG welding applications, making the Sharpie Standard™ an economical choice.

Customer Review:

I’m a student at the local tech college taking the basic welding course. As you may have guessed, the need to sharpen the tungsten electrode is pretty frequent. The sharpie standard model has been a huge time saver, allowing me more time to learn tig. The price for of the sharpie is fairly steep for a student but well worth the cost in time saved. I would recommend this product to anyone from bigginer to expert. Sincerly, Dave

Date Added: 11/14/2008 by Dave Fasteen

Did you know that Arc-Zone.com carries the industry’s most comprehensive selection of tungsten grinders? In addition to the Sharpie, we’ve got the Turbo Sharp, the Triad, the Neutrix hand held tungsten grinders. We’ve also got the Neutra, the Ultima LTG, the TIG 10/175 and the Turbo 4…. not to mention replacement parts– including diamond grinding wheels for all the industry’s tungsten grinders.!
And if you’re not sure which one is right for you, check out our Tungsten Grinder Selector Guide (pdf).

It was a lucky day for Arc-Zone, when John Schroepfer of Ramona set foot in our building.

John had originally called us up saying that he was having a tough time getting the answers that he needed for one of his technical stainless steel TIG welding applications.  Scott helped him out, made a few suggestions, and before you knew it, John had decided to come by and pay us a visit!

So, when John stopped by, (with his truck, trailer, and welding equipment in tow), we gave him the grand ol’ welcome, and got him dialed in with a new superflex rubber power cable, gas lens collet body, and our ArcTime™ hybrid tungsten electrodes for his WP-17-12-R TIG torch.  When he said that he needed a new extension adapter for his Miller Maxstar 150, why, we hooked him up with one of those too!

The thing was, I don’t think that John wanted to leave!  By the time we saw him off, he had also bought not only a flow meter, a couple gas hoses, and several packages of tungsten, but also two of our exclusive Arc-Zone Weld-Like-A-Pro™ TIG Accessory parts kits as well!

Remember what I said about John not wanting to leave?  Well, that very next day, he called us back!  He wanted to thank us for hooking him up with the new parts for his TIG torch which was now running “sweet” and asked if we might know where he could find himself a new foot control?

Needless to say, John is now our on our list of highly valued customers (I’m kidding — there is no such list, but if there was, every single one of our customers would be on it, because we value every single one of you!), or at least, our list of customers-who-are-welcome-to-drop-buy-anytime-they-are-in-the-neighborhood.  (Wait, that includes all of you too — now I’m stumped.)

But because John did us the nice favor of stopping on by, we felt that we should do something in turn for him!

While he was here, John showed us some pictures of his work, and I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that we were impressed.  John builds high-end custom stainless steel and glass stairway, hand rails and much more.  We were completely blown away by his knowledge and creative ways of working out engineered solutions to difficult custom fabrication projects.

And if you’re ever in the Ramona area, be sure to stop by Sun Valley Glass, Inc. and say hi — ask for a John Schroepfer — we know he’ll give you a red carpet welcome!

You can check out some of his custom work here:

Hobart sure does love its welding students!  Check this out:

Hobart Institute of Welding Technology Announces Five Scholarship Winners

TROY, Ohio
August 25, 2009

The Hobart Institute of Welding Technology in Troy has announced five area high school students as winners of the Hobart Brothers Company Scholarship. This scholarship, which is offered in conjunction with the Troy Foundation, provides the students with $2,000 in funds that can be applied toward their tuition at HIWT during the upcoming academic year.

This year’s winners are: Brandon Livingston of New Weston; Treg  Hutchinson of Versailles; Fred Noe, Jr. of Dayton; Zachary Cox of  Troy; and Jerry Strain of Union, Ohio.

The Hobart Brothers Company Scholarship, one of several available through the Troy Foundation, was established to support area students interested in pursuing welding skills at the HIWT. Five $2,000 scholarships are awarded annually. To be eligible for the scholarship, the applying students must hold a high school diploma, submit letters of recommendation, and provide a statement of how and why they are pursuing a welding career, along with what goals they wish to achieve at the HIWT.  Priority for winners is given to children or grandchildren of employees at one of the ITW Welding Companies, such as Hobart Brothers Company, then to a graduate of one of the local high schools, including Miami, Darke, Shelby, Preble, Montgomery or Mercy County, and finally to all other scholarship applicants.

The Hobart Institute of Welding Technology is the one of the largest welding schools in the United States and is an incorporated non-profit organization. The HIWT has trained over 85,000 students from around the world since it was founded in 1930, and its purpose is to help students develop marketable welding skills through quality training at a minimum cost.  For more information about the Hobart Institute of Welding Technology, visit www.welding.org or call 800-332-9448.

For product specification sheets or to learn more about Hobart Brothers, visit Hobartbrothers.com, call 1-800-424-1543, fax 1-800-541-6607, or write Hobart Brothers Company, 101 Trade Square East, Troy, OH 45373.

Hobart Brothers Company of Troy, Ohio, is a leading manufacturer of welding filler metals marketed under the brand names Hobart, Tri-Mark, McKay and Corex. Hobart Brothers Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Illinois Tool Works, Inc. Based in Glenview, Ill., ITW is a multinational manufacturer of a diversified range of value-adding and short lead-time industrial products and equipment.

If you’re afraid of heights then this is not the job for you… but check out this video clip of fabricators high atop a skyscraper…

…and this video clip features Lincoln Electric’s flux-cored welding technology. Pretty impressive stuff!

A true creative soul, Andrew Smith welded his latest art work without planning. The water work sculpture is both interactive and grand in scale, towering 15 feet above the ground. The piece is cleverly composed of steel pipes, joints, pumps and levers. Andrew’s work has been publicly displayed in several places including Provo, Orem, and Salt Lake City but the Park City Kimball Arts Festival is his first festival. His work is often a tense fusion of intricacy and spontaneity.

Arts fest 2009: Welding industry and art
Andrew Smith’s massive sculpture
Greg Marshall

An immense 15-foot waterworks sculpture composed of steel pipes, joints, pumps and levers is one of the centerpieces of the Park City Kimball Arts Festival, which began Friday with a locals preview and continues through Sunday.

Even amid the bustle of more than 200 artist booths and hundreds of visitors, Andrew Smith’s sculpture, as yet untitled, promises to catch the attention of spectators in the Kimball Art Center’s makeshift wonderland, the so-called Family Creativity Center, in front of the building on Heber Avenue.

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

What would you do if you had 10,000 pounds of 42 in. piping?  Why, give it away of course!  And that’s exactly what Rockies Express Pipeline did with the leftovers of their construction on a natural gas pipeline running between Colorado and Ohio; they gave every bit of it away to Midwest Technical Institute’s welding students.

Company donates leftover pipe to MTI’s welding classes

$7,500 worth of material could help students diversify skills

By BLAKE TOPPMEYER
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER

Posted Jul 22, 2009 @ 12:40 AM

The forklift at Springfield’s Midwest Technical Institute had some heavy lifting to do Tuesday.

Rockies Express Pipeline donated an estimated $7,500 worth of pipe that will be put to use in future MTI welding classes.

Much of the donated pipe is 42 inches in diameter and was left over from the construction of the natural gas pipeline that runs from western Colorado to eastern Ohio and includes a portion passing through southern Sangamon County between Auburn and Chatham.

“To have the access to 42-inch pipe like this is pretty unusual. We know that institutions like this are struggling to have access to things like this,” said Allen Fore, director of community relations for the pipeline.

“If this is a little thing that we can to do to assist them with growing their skills and to have access to materials they typically would not have access to, we’re happy to do that.”

Several MTI welding students and a couple of instructors were present to accept the donation. They unloaded some of the smaller pipe off the trailer by hand, but the larger pieces required the forklift. Fore estimated the total weight of the donated pipe to be about 10,000 pounds.

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

If you already know all about plasma cutting, then this article is not for you, but if you’re new to the industry, or investigating all the metal fabrication processes out there, then check it out.

Plasma cutting and how it works

By Kent Swart, Contributing Writer
August 11, 2009

What is plasma cutting, and when is it your best metal cutting option? What information do you need to choose the right plasma system? This article answers these questions and more about plasma cutting.

The basic technology for plasma cutting has been around for decades. Researchers and engineers remain focused on increasing cut speed, improving cut quality, and extending consumable life, while making systems smaller and more powerful.

What Is Plasma Cutting?

Once a gas is heated to an extremely high temperature and ionized, it becomes electrically conductive and is considered to be plasma. Plasma arc cutting and gouging processes use plasma to transfer an electrical arc to the workpiece. The metal to be cut or removed is melted by the arc’s heat and then blown away.

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

And check out this article about plasma arc cutting over at Arc-Zone.com… tips to maximize the life of your PAC consumables and enhance your cut quality –>

…and check out the line of Plasma Arc Cutting Torches and replacement parts at Arc-Zone.com.

Interested in saving money while you’re welding this autumn? Check out this article over at Welding Magazine — it lists ten simple ways that you stay thrifty, and that’s just when you’re using your MIG gun!

10 Money-Saving Tips for Semi-Automatic MIG Guns

By DAVID BELLAMY | Jul 1, 2009 12:00 PM

Your welding operation, just like any other portion of your business, offers opportunities to conserve resources.

The economy continues to challenge all of us, and it seems everyone is watching his or her finances (at home and on the job) and looking for innovative ways to save money. Your welding operation, just like any other portion of your business, offers opportunities to conserve resources. Consider these 10 money-saving tips for MIG gun care and maintenance, and don’t be surprised to discover you will improve your welding performance in the effort.

TIP #1: PROTECT YOUR ASSETS

Keep your nozzles, retaining heads (diffusers) and contact tips in the original shipment package until you are ready to use them. This prevents scratches and/or dents where spatter can accumulate and will make them last longer. It also prevents dirt, oil or other debris from adhering to the consumables and inadvertently entering the weld puddle.

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

And did you know that Arc-Zone.com carries a full line of MIG Guns and replacement parts, MIG nozzle cleaning stations, and MIG Wire feeders? check it out… then let us know what YOU are doing to save cash! Share your best ideas with the rest of us!