While many of us like to kick back on Memorial Day Weekend, I was reflecting on the sacrafices made by many to keep this country free. I was also enjoying the weather and excited about the opening of racing season. That’s right, I recorded the F1 Gran Prix from Monaco, the Indy 500 and the Coke 600 NASCAR race. But the best thing I did all weekend was traveling up the road to Glen Helen Raceway for the First outdoor Motocross race of the season, the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross series, which got underway in sunny So Cal.

I raced at Glen Helen some years ago and I have not been there for sometime. I was shocked the first time I saw those riders head up the hill and come down the other side at speed. My jaw dropped open, I couldn’t believe I ever raced on that track with my Yamaha YZ 250 in a champion frame with 4”of shock travel! Excited to attend her first race, my six year old daughter yelled out “Wow that was radical!” when the bikes left the starting gate and headed up to the first turn.

Most of the pros were there except James Stewart and I got up close with the Factory Suzuki of Chad Reed. I’m not the kind of guy to ask for a picture or an autograph, so I you won’t see that here, but I did get some good pictures of the pits, the starting line just before the first Pro Moto and the track.

(more…)

THE EVENT

24 Hours of Adrenalin Mountain Bike Race April 25/26 2009, Hurkey Creek Idyllwild California

TEAM ARC-ZONE.COM
Dr. Denis Iwamoto – www.drivisioncare.com
Mike Tiffany – www.dct-sd.com
Mike Larsson – www.blackmountainbicycles.com
Jason Fabiny
Jim Watson (Joe Welder) – www.arc-zone.com

THE COURSE
Start/Finish Elevation: 4400ft || Highest Point 5200ft
Total Climbing: 1394ft || Each Lap: 9.42miles
Terrain: hardpack/loose single track, sandy fire roads, technical climb, fast flowing, often loose descents
Weather – From daytime highs in the mid 60’s (20.0C) to vicious cold near 27 (-2.2C) degrees in the dark of night!

THE STORY
I’m an avid mountain biker and have a group of guys I ride with most every weekend. One of the guys said “Hey, let’s do the 24 hours of Adrenalin race.” It sounded cool, so we formed a team.

I had raced motorcycles in TT, flatrack, scrambles, and Gran Prix events like Hopetown and Barstow-to-Vegas but, that was a long time ago and I was not prepared for the events that unfolded. First off, I was shocked at how many completely buffed-out people had signed up for this event– men and women who take this stuff seriously. I had to train, Unlike my dirtbike I couldn’t just bolt on a new pipe or add some nitro if I wanted to go faster. I had to completely modify my diet, that meant no more In-n-Out Burgers! Instead of nitro in the tank, I found myself mixing different kinds of chemicals—fuel for my body. This is how it went down; A special drink one hour before, followed by another 15, and 5 minutes before I started my ride. Once racing it continued, 15 and 45 minutes into the ride, then immediately after my stint I mixed a “recovery” drink and ate some pasta. The rest of the time was spent trying to catch a few hours sleep and working on my bike and gear. I repeated the process four more times in the 24 hour event. I hope I never see another package of GU energy! Not even the Cappuccino blast sounds good now.

The race started at noon with a “Lemans style” 1/8th mile foot race to the bikes. After the runners made it through the start shack the next challenge was to get your bike off the rack at the same time as the other racers – let the racing begin!

(more…)

I’m going to the Essen Welding Show in Essen Germany.  Yes, that’s right, in Germany!  If you’re not familiar with the show, it is the Olympics of Welding and Metal Fabrication–  it happens every four years, and draws the best in welding and fabrication technology from around the world.

Not only will I have the opportunity to see the latest in innovation for our industry (see above), I’ll get to catch up with some colleagues as well.  It will also be a great opportunity to see what new products our international welding accessory vendors are showcasing.

Schweissen & Schneiden, the Essen Welding Show has established its position as number one in its industry. With the biggest names in the industry taking part and almost 60,000 trade buyers coming to see them Schweissen & Schneiden continues to become more international. With more than 1,000 exhibitors, the show takes place in the entire exhibition complex of more 1.1 million sq feet.

Let me know if you’ll be there! And make your plans early! Oktoberfest starts September 19– the day the show ends….

A buddy of mine sent me a copy of a letter he has written to President Barak Obama, and with his permission, I’m posting it here. Dan Allford from ArcSpecialties in Houston, TX I first met Dan when he came to San Diego to do a technical presentation at the local AWS section meeting on behalf of Arc-Zone.com. At the time our Sales Manager was Mr. John Dimock, who knew Dan personally and invited him. Dan came in and put on an outstanding presentation about automated welding systems and related equipment. His company builds some highly engineered equipment and since that time he has been gracious with his time, helping several of our customers improve their operations.

When I read Dan’s letter to the President I was impressed that it clearly tells the story of a real person trying to build something of value, and it includes facts — no emotion, no negative attacks — about the shift that has taken place in the American economy, a shift which clearly is not working.

Thanks Dan for taking the time to put your thoughts in writing — I hope you get a response, and more importantly I hope we as a nation can get back to building things of value — preferably out of metal!

You too can let President Obama know your thoughts. The White House website is easy to navigate– and you can use the easy Contact Us email form, or go old skool and write a letter.

---

LETTER FROM DAN:

President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

I am writing today to express my belief that the bail out of financial
institutions with tax payer dollars is wrong. Private liability should
not be covered by government debt. I believe failure should be
punished. I encourage you to cease such payments and instead prosecute those in the financial sector and government who have committed fraud and embezzlement.

I have watched with dismay as the US GDP swapped from 25%
manufacturing 11% financial services in 1978 to 21% financial services
and 13% manufacturing in 2008. I believe that industries such as
manufacturing are essential to a healthy economy. What our government is doing is shifting money from industries which CREATE wealth such as manufacturing, mining and agriculture to sectors which simply TRANSFER wealth specifically financial services.

I own a small company which builds robots and other industrial
machinery. I just paid the corporate taxes for my company for this
quarter. An amount many times larger than my salary.
(more…)

Bring it On! California sets the standard again for innovation and job creation. I look forward to working with the contractors, engineers and fabricators that will build and maintain the new plants needed to produce alternative fuels of the future.

From facilities complete with tubing, piping, valves and more to the equipment needed to transport the finished product you are looking at a big opportunity for the metal fabrication market.

From Today’s LA Times:

As the state moves to reduce the carbon footprint of fuel, an engineer hopes to build a plant in Lancaster that will convert garbage into an alcohol-based mixture.
By Margot Roosevelt. April 22, 2009

Arnold Klann has a green dream.

It began 16 years ago in a sprawling laboratory in Anaheim. This year, he hopes, it will culminate at a Lancaster garbage dump.

There, in the high desert of the Antelope Valley, Klann’s company, BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, plans to build a $100-million plant to convert raw trash into an alcohol-based fuel that will help power the cars and trucks of the future.

It’s just the sort of improbable concoction that California is now demanding. On Thursday, the state is expected to adopt the world’s first regulation to reduce the carbon footprint of fuel. And, just as California created the first market for catalytic converters decades ago, this rule, a likely model for national and even global calculations, could jump-start a huge demand for new technologies.
CONTINUE READING LA TIMES ARTICLE–>

We’re ready… are you?

Recently I headed up the road to the Tulare Fairgrounds for the World-of-Outlaws Sprint Car Race!

Tulare is located in the Central Valley of California, “the nation’s bread basket”. They call it that because of all the agribusiness. And I have some history in Tulare, my family farmed in the valley for generations — they had several big ranches and dairy barns, that’s where I learned to love the dirt.

I know it sounds strange, but growing up I always looked forward to going to dirt race tracks with my family. I began amateur motorcycle racing and that passion for competition ultimately lead me to build my own cars and form a Sprint Car Team. I still love the dirt and I ride my mountain bike at least 3-days a week in the local mountains.

I took Matt with me — he’s Arc-Zone’s Director of Video and Graphics. We brought all the gear to video the action. I wanted to share some of the things I love about motor racing and show how it relates to the welding/metal fabrication market.

At the track we met up with “Hollywood” Mike Sweeney my friend and former driver in the CRA Sprint Car Series (I talked about him on a previous post). We also met long time friend World of Outlaw driver Jac Haudenschild a superstar in the dirt racing world. Picture below: That’s me with Jac– Driver of the City Wide Insulation # R19 Owens-Corning Outlaw Sprint Car in front of his transporter (nice toolbox!)

We talked about the new cars and old friends. Jac told me he is putting a winged Sprint Car team together for his son Sheldon and he has been fabricating some of the parts needed to get him on the road.

Jac mentioned our mutual friend and former driver– now TV personality (and part time welder) Brad Doty (also a Hall of Famer) was having trouble finding the right remote amp control for his Lincoln TIG machine. Jac suggested I contact Brad and get him dialed in… That will be another post!

And if you like fast cars look for the video of our trip– we’ll have that ready soon…

Our very own Joe Welder can boast one very unique claim to fame.  He grew up down the street from Eddie Lawson!  They raced motorcycles together in AMA district 37 when they were little!  (Okay, perhaps not so little…)

And now, they still remain connected, although in a different way: they help to keep each other in business.

In dirt-track racing (how Eddie got started in his career), you need something called a “hot shoe”.  No, they’re not hot.  And no, they’re not really shoes.  They are actually the antithesis of their name – they keep your shoes from getting hot.

On a dirt racetrack, as the rider leans the bike into the turns, he has to stick out his left foot to keep balance and direct the bike through the corner.  And, as you can imagine, direct contact with hard-packed dirt going over a hundred miles an hour might hurt your foot just a little bit.

That’s where the hot shoes come in.  Hot shoes are metal casings that are formed around the bottom of your riding boot.  They are perfectly shaped so that they don’t fall off or let dirt in when you use them to turn that corner at speed.

Iron Cobbler Hot Shoes is a company out of Salinas, Ca that custom makes hot shoes for riders in AMA district 36.  They use the best tungsten carbide hardfacing available to make them and let me tell you, this material is not for the faint of heart.  It’s the same stuff used for mining equipment.  If it can dig into rocks, it can certainly protect your feet from a little wear and tear.

So where do Joe Welder and Arc-Zone.com come into this?  Well, in order to create great hot shoes, you need the proper welding equipment by your side.  And what better place to find it at than Arc-Zone.com?  If you’re interested in welding hot shoes, check out our TIG section, especially the Tungsten Grinders…

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.

Look for Jesse James on the upcoming Celebrity Apprentice! That’s right The Welder from Long Beach California is going to be on the show. Check out this preview:

It is true what he is saying: not everyone has the skills to be an engineer, and not everybody needs to (or wants to) go to college. But kids do need the educational opportunities to help them succeed with good job skills. Many kids have the ability to build things from metal that require thinking, planning, measuring, testing etc. Metal fabrication involves hands on learning of metallurgy, electricity, and geometry to name just a few.

I bought my first TIG welder when I was 19 and immediately started building accessories for motorcycles and cars out of my parents garage. It wasn’t long before the big guys began to ask if I could do work for them. I was shocked and had no idea how – or – what to charge them!

Welders– especially if you’re good– can make really good coin. And if you specialize in welding titanium, or pipe welding you can really do well for yourself.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Don’t worry, this is not a post about Annie Proulx ’s novel, or even the movie with Kevin Spacey….

Arc-Zone.com is located in Carlsbad, California which is just a few miles north of San Diego. Our office and warehouse is in an active and vibrant business park. In fact, when I located the business here a few years ago we chose it for that very reason. Plus it’s close to the service centers for UPS, FedEx and DHL.

Last night I was in the Shipping Department. It was late and the guys were jamming to get the late day orders out. Dennis, our UPS driver, was there waiting.

It used to be the UPS guy would come early and not wait. He’d come back if he had time… but more likely we’d have to drive our “after pickup” load over to the UPS Office.

“How’s your load count?” I asked.

“Way down,” he said. “It’s sad.”

Then Dennis told me that Arc-Zone is the only company on his route that is consistent… As he picked up the last boxes to load onto his truck he said, “Man, you really do a nice job of packaging your orders. I bet your customers are happy to get a package for Arc-Zone.com.”

And we didn’t even tell him about the M&Ms that we include with every order!

Yes we do have a lot of raving fans and that’s why I’m proud to say Sales and Profits are up.
Arc-Zone.com closed out 2008 with a modest increase in sales and a huge improvement in our bottom line.

We’re looking forward to continuing the upward trend in 2009, because despite the current economic crisis, we see that the trend is steady. We’ll be here to serve the fabricators doing important repair work, and when the economy improves we’ll be serving fabricators working in construction and innovative areas like alternative energy laying the foundation for the future.